FMCA votes to include towables

[dirtyboots]

We talked about this a while back.  It's now been voted on and passed.

http://rvtravel.com/fmca-welcome-towable-owners/

FMCA to welcome towable owners

December 1, 2017 Chuck Woodbury

 

After several months of voting, members of the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) have voted overwhelmingly to admit the owners of all self-contained RVs. For more than 50 years FMCA has been exclusively for the owners of self-contained motorized RVs.

Approximately 13 percent of the membership voted, a total of 9,801 votes. Of those, 6,820 voted to accept owners of towable RVs, with 2,981 opposed.

“Per FMCA’s governing documents, the paperwork is being filed to make the vote official. Until the paperwork is finalized, we cannot accept membership applications from owners of self-contained RVs,” FMCA wrote to members in a Friday afternoon email.

The club will still be named the Family Motor Coach Association but will be commonly referred to as FMCA.

[travelinbob]

The way I read this is that they need revenue and at $60 each that would total a sizeable amount.  I for one would not join because of being restricted for 50 years.

[Kirk W]

6 minutes ago, travelinbob said:

I for one would not join because of being restricted for 50 years.

We joined when we bought our motorhome and were members for 2 or 3 years. We only ever attended a couple of events, but with our rather humble gas powered motorhome we felt like second class citizens (not completely sure why) and so we dropped out. Over time we have dropped all memberships except those we participate in and feel we receive value from. 

[trailertraveler]

Quote

Over time we have dropped all memberships except those we participate in and feel we receive value from.

This has always been our philosophy. From what I know; one of the potentially more valuable benefits (and I think offered only by them in the RV Club Community) is the free Medical Emergency Travel Assistance. For those of us getting up in age, this may be something to consider. Their other benefits, discounts and services do not seem all that different from the other RV Clubs and Discount Membership Programs.

[Bill Joyce]

We were one of the 6820 who voted yes.  

One of the ironies of life is that many of those who looked down on Kirk for having a gas motorhome ended up with orphan brands, since their manufacturers went bankrupt.  

[Bobi and Dick McKee]

I will be curious to see how a "towable" member is treated when they show up at a FMCA rally.

[Mr. Camper]

Here's a shocker.  I apparently agree with everyone who has posted.  Go figure.

[docj]

20 minutes ago, trailertraveler said:

This has always been our philosophy. From what I know; one of the potentially more valuable benefits (and I think offered only by them in the RV Club Community) is the free Medical Emergency Travel Assistance. For those of us getting up in age, this may be something to consider. Their other benefits, discounts and services do not seem all that different from the other RV Clubs and Discount Membership Programs.

Even though this is often touted as a "bring you home" benefit, if you actually read the fine print (on the FMCA website) it is not required to do anything more than get you to the nearest facility that can provide an appropriate level of care.   There is no guarantee that if you're in Canada, for example, that you will be taken back to the US if a nearby Canadian hospital can treat you.  The fine print goes on to say that if, after treatment in the nearest facility, you need additional care that transportation back to your home hospital may be authorized, if approved by the insurance company.  All benefits regarding relocation of your MH to your home area are dependent on the decision to transport the ill person.

I'm not saying that this is no benefit at all, but what's in print is not what people often post that it is.  The issue, as I see it, is that people post anecdotal stories about someone who did get repatriated home and these anecdotes are used as the basis for claiming that this is the benefit that is available.  What unfortunately gets lost in those kind of stories are the details of the medical condition the person had.  Sure, if you are sick enough you may well get transported, but the majority of people who get ill will not necessarily be sick enough to require transport back home.

Because we like to summer in Canada and have been concerned about this very issue, I've been investigating our options.  (In the US I'm not particularly worried because Medicare and our Medigap policies will cover us well enough even with respect to transport to another facility, etc).  The more research I've done the more I've become convinced that what would be best for us would be a short-term medical insurance policy that would cover us in Canada, not a "repatriation" policy.  Of the companies like SkyMed, MASA, etc, that offer repatriation policies, the vast majority have small print pretty much the same as FMCA's; they don't promise to "bring you home" only to "get you to care."  For roughly the same amount of money I can buy $100k health insurance policies which will cover our expenses with small (or zero) deductibles.  Although most Medigap policies do cover $50k of expenses, it would be on a reimbursable basis and the coverage is 80/20.  By buying a Canadian policy you can avoid the need to pay upfront and you can choose a premium level that provides any copy you wish.  The premium costs I've been looking at are comparable to the repatriation policies.

About the only limitation I see is that most of the affordable policies limit coverage for pre-existing conditions.  So if you have diabetes, for example, you would not be covered if you had a problem associated with that condition.  But, if you are a diabetic and have your condition well enough controlled to be vacationing for the summer, the chances are good that you will not need medical assistance.  Personally, I'm more concerned about needing an emergency room because I did something like trip and break and ankle than I am about needing short-term assistance with any of my existing conditions.  Each person's situation is different.

[D&J]

2 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

Over time we have dropped all memberships except those we participate in and feel we receive value from. 

This is also what we have done over the past few years, we have our own towing and medical transport policy's so that isn't needed. We are actually down to three, Passport America that pays for itself (our lifetime membership has payed for itself already), our small $5.00 per year membership for our HH club and our Escapees membership that if things don't chance will be dropped next year.

Denny

[trailertraveler]

6 hours ago, docj said:

...Even though this is often touted as a "bring you home" benefit, if you actually read the fine print (on the FMCA website) it is not required to do anything more than get you to the nearest facility that can provide an appropriate level of care.   There is no guarantee that if you're in Canada, for example, that you will be taken back to the US if a nearby Canadian hospital can treat you.  The fine print goes on to say that if, after treatment in the nearest facility, you need additional care that transportation back to your home hospital may be authorized, if approved by the insurance company.  All benefits regarding relocation of your MH to your home area are dependent on the decision to transport the ill person.

I'm not saying that this is no benefit at all, but what's in print is not what people often post that it is.  The issue, as I see it, is that people post anecdotal stories about someone who did get repatriated home and these anecdotes are used as the basis for claiming that this is the benefit that is available.  What unfortunately gets lost in those kind of stories are the details of the medical condition the person had.  Sure, if you are sick enough you may well get transported, but the majority of people who get ill will not necessarily be sick enough to require transport back home...

Thank you for this additional information. I did not see it in the website available to the general public. I tried several approaches to get the details of this program. Since I am a trailer owner and not yet able to join, I was not able to access the information that you provided which is likely in the information available to members when they login. Not being able to find the details was the reason I stated that it was potentially one of the more valuable membership benefits.

[Ray,IN]

You may find out more by visiting the FMCA motorhome forums than anywhere else. The FMCA ASSIST program is fully explained there, including the name of the actual provider which is contracted by FMCA.

Also you find an explanation about the lopsided vote total. I joined last year and doubt I'll renew, even though they just rolled out a $69/yr emergency road service, but after 3 yrs the "price may change". The vote is in, FMCA name will change, and it will become a Good Sam clone IMO. Since I'm a GS life member paying to belong to both is not logical.

Someone mentioned a requirement for being over 50, that is not true according to several posts on the forum by folks with young children.

[theeyres]

Why should I join? I just don't see the benefits. So many with the large motor homes have made no bones about them having a "Coach" while we have a "trailer". Like so many groups, FMCA is losing members so now they want us to boost their income. We belong to a local RV group and probably half of our members also belong to FMCA. And without exception those people have no trouble accepting us! But I've felt so looked down on by so many other FMCA people that I have no desire to join. Personally, I'll bet this move will go nowhere. Let's face it, all these types of groups are losing members and no longer attracting younger people. We, and our types of groups, are relics from the past. Younger people want other types of activities. Why don't we just accept that?

[docj]

7 hours ago, trailertraveler said:

Thank you for this additional information. I did not see it in the website available to the general public. I tried several approaches to get the details of this program. Since I am a trailer owner and not yet able to join, I was not able to access the information that you provided which is likely in the information available to members when they login. Not being able to find the details was the reason I stated that it was potentially one of the more valuable membership benefits.

I hadn't realized this information wasn't available to the public.  I've posted it on my Microsoft OneDrive (cloud storage) where it is available to anyone who wishes to read it.  Just follow this link (if you don't have a Microsoft OneDrive account, just ignore the request to sign in and click on the link at the bottom of the pop-up which says "no, continue to view"): https://1drv.ms/b/s!AjeRbgZUPi9QguEaBRCSrYKUf013qA

[somewhereinusa]

I am a member of FMCA and will continue to be, if, for no other reason than buying all of my vehicle insurance through them is much cheaper than the annual membership fee.

If you have had bad experiences with the high dollar folks perhaps you just haven't connected with the right chapter, there are hundreds of them. Every chapter is started by like minded people who like to get together to enjoy their own interests. Believe me, I would be the low man on the totem pole in one group that includes everything from 3/4 million dollar Prevosts to my lowly skoolie. Not one of them has ever indicated that they are better than me.  The owners range from the "I bought it this way" to "If it's in here I did it myself" Another group we probably won't join again, while all are very nice, just aren't that interesting to me.

 

[LindaH]

Although we have a motorhome, we haven't joined FMCA.  I've thought about it when the time comes to buy new tires, but I wonder if the savings on tires is really better than what you can get at, say, Costco, especially considering the membership fee?

[richfaa]

Membership has been dropping in these kind of RV clubs for decades.The newer generations of Rv'ers  and the changing society are some of the issues.We now only belong to the FCRV (family campers and RV'ers) and that organization is dying.Things change.

[dirtyboots]

Personally, I'd only join any 'club/organization' for the dollar benefits they might offer.  The social aspect isn't of importance since I won't attend rallies or meetings.  Very few people want to go the places I go, so doing it in a group doesn't work, nor would I want to. As I remember when this was discussed before it was because of the tire benefit that was mentioned.  Each person has to decide for themselves what a good deal is....this past year I benefited from Escapees and Passport America.  When I'm ready for tires, I'll see what's available and where I am in life.  This has been an interesting thread.

[motojavaphil]

We used to ramble around in a Beaver, was a member of FMCA, Escapees and had a lot of fun.  There was a declining membership back then.  The rallies were old school, pre-boomer in those days.  Lots of information and support from fellow members, not unlike here.  The increase in RVs on the road surprises me the FMCA has not become larger.  It is an old club and has done a lot of good with strong support for its members.  I think you could do worse joining.  There is nothing like a high end DP this side of a French House of Ill Repute nor as expensive.  Lots of pride to be had in those rigs which I cannot fault the owners for.  Their membership is also represented in our Club and has always been positive.  Just some thoughts...

 

[Mr. Camper]

4 hours ago, motojavaphil said:

We used to ramble around in a Beaver, was a member of FMCA, Escapees and had a lot of fun.  There was a declining membership back then.  The rallies were old school, pre-boomer in those days.  Lots of information and support from fellow members, not unlike here.  The increase in RVs on the road surprises me the FMCA has not become larger.  It is an old club and has done a lot of good with strong support for its members.  I think you could do worse joining.  There is nothing like a high end DP this side of a French House of Ill Repute nor as expensive.  Lots of pride to be had in those rigs which I cannot fault the owners for.  Their membership is also represented in our Club and has always been positive.  Just some thoughts...

 

Somehow 13% doesn't sound like strong support to me.

[Kirk W]

9 hours ago, motojavaphil said:

There was a declining membership back then.  The rallies were old school, pre-boomer in those days.

It sounds like you may have been there about the same time as we were. The people were friendly enough but just not of our social group and we didn't fit in. As an owner of a gas rig, I think most folks we met found us to be strange because we had no "diesel envy" and no interest in "moving up." Only a few of them were rude about our choice of RV and most were very nice but we just didn't have common interests or lifestyles. Many of the people we met had spent more on their RV than we would spend for a house. Most of them were very good people but we lived in different social/economic worlds and had very little in common. 

[GR "Scott" Cundiff]

To quote Groucho Marx: "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member."

(Just kidding)

[pjstough]

On 12/3/2017 at 7:58 AM, LindaH said:

Although we have a motorhome, we haven't joined FMCA.  I've thought about it when the time comes to buy new tires, but I wonder if the savings on tires is really better than what you can get at, say, Costco, especially considering the membership fee?

Four years ago we joined FMCA to get the discount on tires.  Including the cost of one years membership, we saved a total of $150.  Not $150 per tire, but $150 total.  So not a bad deal.

[richfaa]

Many things have changed for the Rv'er.We now have two member working families many times different jobs and schedules do not match our jobs in  air traffic control  meant rotating shifts  for both of us  with few weekends off. Campgrounds are still full and the RV industry is booming but the current and past generations do not join RV clubs for many reasons.

Our Local Rv club was founded in 1961 and for several years the membership was restricted to 100 units with a waiting list by the time we were wagonmasters in the club in the late 80s the club was at 35 units'  and today it is dead. The FCRV(family campers and RV'ers is still hanging in by a thread.The F stands for Family and there were and are many family oriented activities. but even that is not enough to attract the diversified RV family anymore.  

[LindaH]

5 hours ago, pjstough said:

Four years ago we joined FMCA to get the discount on tires.  Including the cost of one years membership, we saved a total of $150.  Not $150 per tire, but $150 total.  So not a bad deal.

Thanks for the information!

[docj]

9 hours ago, pjstough said:

Four years ago we joined FMCA to get the discount on tires.  Including the cost of one years membership, we saved a total of $150.  Not $150 per tire, but $150 total.  So not a bad deal.

That's what I did ~7 years ago when we were new to full-timing.  That's when I thought that buying the Michelin brand was important.  Now I realize that I can buy excellent tires, such as Hankook's, with no discount and still be a lot less than the cost of the Michelins.