FMCA ballot to abandon motorhome only requirement

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The question that comes to mind when reading this post is how many owners of travel trailers and fifth wheels are going to join, and stay in an organization knowing that a lot current members dont want them in the organization?
 
and in other news.... Looks like the Boy Scouts of America will admit Girls soon.

Same news, different channel
 
blw2 said:
and in other news.... Looks like the Boy Scouts of America will admit Girls soon.

Same news, different channel

Is the Boy Scouts seeing a decline in membership?  I guess it wouldnt surprise me.
 
I never joined FMCA because I don't like joining groups. It seems like the larger any group becomes the more important the group becomes and the reason for the group becomes less important. Every group ends up with officers, dues, committees and study groups. Then every decision is labeled as "political". I have better things to do than to belong to self serving groups. This RV forum is about the closest I want to get to joining a group.
 
SeilerBird said:
I never joined FMCA because I don't like joining groups. It seems like the larger any group becomes the more important the group becomes and the reason for the group becomes less important. Every group ends up with officers, dues, committees and study groups. Then every decision is labeled as "political". I have better things to do than to belong to self serving groups. This RV forum is about the closest I want to get to joining a group.

Tom, I used to be of the same mind, but in the past few years I have joined the FMCA, the FMCA 4 Wheelers, a local Jeep Club and I have discovered a new world. People on this forum who belong to the same FMCA groups have welcomed Susan and I with open arms, and in turn we have enjoyed being able to associate with them. I have met people herein and made many lasting memories, I selfishly admit that I am a willing benefactor of their hospitality. 

I firmly believe that the FMCA, and FMCA 4Wheelers Rock!!!
 
When we bought our first RV, the first organization we joined was the RV Forum, then FMCA and then our local RV club. Being retired and living in AZ, we were sunbirds and most timers; generally taking off in early spring and not returning till early fall. We would plan our summer trips around FMCA chapter, area and national rallies and conventions and RV Forum rallies. Moab always started the summer for us.

Over the years, we developed great relationships with people in FMCA and became BFF with RVers that we saw once or twice a year at the rallies. We found no distinction in the fun and friendliness within our local RV club, in spite of the range of RVs from a popup to a Newell, just like we have had with the Framily.

During our years in FMCA, I was active in chapter, area and the national organization and was involved in the effect of the changes over the last 15 years. When we joined in 1998 there were over 120,000 family memberships active. When we sold our coach in 2013, it was under 90,000 and dropping. And as noted above, magazine revenues were falling even faster. Many of the benefits that were available or were added were paid for, in large part, by the magazine income. The value of FMCA membership benefits was well in excess of the annual dues. But over time, the commitment of people was changing with the demographics. People were no longer "joiners" and didn't volunteer. Discussions about relaxing participation by non-coach RVers began about 2010 or 2011. I'm surprised it took this long to come to grips with it.
 
I can give you a very good reason for Joining FMCA.  First they now offer a more or less "paperless" membership so you don't have tons of fire lighter  to process (Junk mail)

Second.. I just put USED tires on my RV (no help there) but in another year or two I'll drop a brand new set of Michelins in this beast.  FMCA has a 'Discount' Program.. The Discount will pay for my membership... FOREVER.  And that is just one set of tires.
 
Let me say right up front that I haven't decided one way or the other.  I can see both sides of the issue.  It's sad to see some comments being taken personally because staying as "motorhome only" has nothing to do with whether we want or don't want towable owners, but as someone else said we often (usually?) have different technical needs.  That's why our RV Forum has different boards for Motorhomes, Trailers, and Truck Campers, but we all come together in the other boards dealing with rallies, the Shade Tree, destinations, towing, and the various hobbies that interest us.  When we have rallies I don't care one bit what kind of rig you have - but I do care what kind of person you are.  If FMCA does include other types of RVs I can see the expense of rallies increasing because seminars on diesel engines may not be of much interest to trailer owners who might want their own seminars on subjects that interest them.  Maybe it would be helpful to look at FMCA seminars and see which ones might be of interest to everyone, regardless of the type of RV they own.

There are other factors too.  The idea of "motor coach" would be diluted so the organization's name might change which would mean a magazine name change, magazine content changes, and office expense changes such as for stationary.  It could be more costly than it's worth.  Lots to think about!

ArdraF
 
Twenty-odd years ago I showed up in Quartzsite in a beat-to-death, parts falling off $400 Itasca Class C motorhome.  On a whim while in the Big Tent I joined FMCA.

No one asked to look at my RV, I paid my money at the booth and was in.

That same year George Jannini also was at the Quartzsite rally in a very nice VW campervan.  After I signed up, he went over and attempted to join.

He had to submit his campervan to an inspection by a "technical committee" who determined he didn't qualify for membership because his rig used a porta-potti and did not have "stand up access" from the living quarters to the driver's seat.

What a humiliating experience!

That, in a nutshell, is what I consider wrong about FMCA and why I let my membership expire after that initial year.  For decades the club was run in an exclusionary manner - as George's experience showed, you needed the right kind of RV (and probably a secret handshake) to have the privilege of joining their esteemed ranks.

It's only now that their members are aging out, causing the club's membership numbers to fall like a rock towards unsustainable levels that they are even considering letting those other, lesser RV owners in to prop up the organization.

You can darn well bet if their numbers were still good, you wouldn't be hearing anything about admitting those "lesser" towables.

 
Interesting viewpoint, Lou.  I remember George but not the VW.

ArdraF
 
George had a nice Westfalia pop-top camper based on the later model, water cooled VW bus.  It was immaculate and he was very proud of it.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
I think that is a given if it is opened up to the entire RVing community. Whether it would be inferior or superior remains to be determined, but there is a fundamental difference in that FMCA is a non-profit owned by its members while GS is a for-profit business operated for the benefit of its stockholders rather than for RVers.

For FMCA, it boils down to survival. They cannot afford the infrastructure and services they want to provide with the declining membership. If they have to cut services, they lose even more members. They have not been successful attracting younger MH buyers, so hoping to do better with towable owners. Widening the market is bound to help some, but may not be sufficient for the need. If many MH owners don't feel the need for FMCA services & benefits, why will towable owners feel any different? Especially since their demographics are much like the MH owners who do NOT choose FMCA (younger, family-oriented, etc).

FMCA has also suffered a major financial setback with the declining revenue from their excellent magazine. It used to provide a strong revenue stream that was used to fund extra services, but advertising is way down as buyers flock to the internet for info and the manufacturers concentrate their ad budget on interactive media. FMCA's print magazine is probably doomed, just like most other print media.

Since we no longer own an RV or belong to FMCA, our dog isn't in this fight. In my opinion, though, adding towables won't really solve any problem for FMCA. However, it might be good for RVing to have an honest competitor for GS, and RV owners surely could use a voice that speaks for them rather than for improved profits in the RV industry. The latter, however, means that FMCA would have to become much more proactive in RV affairs, a role they have previously shunned.

Excellent comment. To us, FMCA is the magazine, which is shrinking for the reasons outlined above. If the magazine has to serve motorcoach and towables members, we'll all go to the internet more and more, as if that is possible.
 
John From Detroit said:
I can give you a very good reason for Joining FMCA.  First they now offer a more or less "paperless" membership so you don't have tons of fire lighter  to process (Junk mail)

Second.. I just put USED tires on my RV (no help there) but in another year or two I'll drop a brand new set of Michelins in this beast.  FMCA has a 'Discount' Program.. The Discount will pay for my membership... FOREVER.  And that is just one set of tires.

A few years ago I signed up with FMCA primarily to get the tire discount.  The amount of savings would have paid for my membership for about 5 years.
 
Speaking of VW campers have you seen the new electric VW camper?  Not due out until 2022.

https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/21-27-august-2017/volkswagen-reimagines-vw-camper-van-design-classic-21st-century/
 
Looks nice, but I didn't see anything "camper" about it.  Just an electric minivan that wouldn't qualify for FMCA membership.  :(
 
There are many benefits to joining FMCA.  ($50/year or less if you buy more than one year at a time.)

One is their Assist program - if you fall sick or ill or have a heart-attack they will arrange for your vehicle to be returned to your home
and when ready, will get you home too.  That's included in the membership.
There are 2 companies that offer tire discounts through FMCA. There is a magazine which still has useful info in it.
And there are the international rally's which have a lot of seminars that give you info that you might not get anywhere else.
Roadside Assist is $109/year.  And that is just a few of the benefits.

I think for the fairly small investment it's worth the membership fee.

I don't think if they add towables the name will change either which might be good or bad.  They have a copyright on the logo and
are not going to change it or give it up if towables are allowed.

I'm on the fence too.
I haven't read the proposed amendment yet so I don't know enough to vote yet.


And for what it's worth I don't think it's being stuck-up to not allow them (like it is now) as we all know many many people start
very small and upgrade over and over and finally get to a Class A - but to say I'm not going to join because I couldn't before is Silly IMO.
Like I said I think the benefits are worth the small investment for dues.
Personally for the record I have nothing against anyone that wants to camp.

 

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