Good Sam Club RV Owners’ Council To Survey Membership Concerning RV Tire Safety Issues

2010 survey to provide insight into RV tire safety, care, maintenance VENTURA, CALIF. (July 12, 2010) – The Good Sam Club, the world’s largest RV owners’ organization with nearly one million member families, announced today that the Good Sam Club RV Owners’ Advisory Council (RVOAC) has just deployed its annual survey. This year, the Council hopes to gather empirical data concerning RV tire safety. The survey was sent to approximately 250,000 randomly selected Good Sam Club members and will seek to determine the frequency of RV tire failure and RV owners’ knowledge about RV tire selection, care and maintenance. “We’ve had quite a number of members write to us to express their concern about RV tires. The failure rate of RV tires is simply not known at this point, because there is no data available to confirm or refute those concerns,” said Tom Gonser, RVOAC Chair. “Our survey will involve an extremely large sample size, and should begin to provide answers as to whether a problem with RV tires exists; and, if so, what types, sizes, and brands of RV types might be most involved. Separately, we’ll be collecting significant information pertaining to RV owners’ understanding of issues pertaining to tire safety, and to the need for owner diligence in tire care and maintenance.” Read more  Read More →

Good Sam Club Unveils Model “Lemon Law” Legislation to Protect the Rights of Motorhome Buyers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE VENTURA, CALIF. (June 10, 2009) – The Good Sam Club, the world’s largest RV owners’ organization with nearly one million member families, today unveiled first-ever model motorhome “lemon law” legislation, developed in conjunction with RV industry officials and the International Association of Lemon Law Administrators (IALLA). If enacted by a state, the legislation will provide specific rights and remedies for motorhome buyers against product defects if the motorhome does not conform to material provisions of the manufacturer’s warranty. If the motorhome purchaser can demonstrate that a purchased unit does not conform to the statutory standards prescribed in the model law, the remedy available can include replacement or repurchase of the unit by the manufacturer. Read more  Read More →

Good Sam RVer of the Year Award

When we at the Good Sam Club decided to start a new annual award, the Good Sam RVer of the Year, the choice was easy and totally unanimous. Like many of you, we had been following the articles and postings on the online Forum about Richard Daniels of Waynesboro, Georgia and his rescued dog, Old Fella. For those who don’t know about Richard, here’s the story. In 2005, he and his wife, Sue, spotted an old stray limping dog at a South Carolina campground. Apparently, the dog had lived there for 3 years, being fed by the park’s guests. Something about that dog kept haunting Richard, and he started chatting about him on the Good Sam Club’s online Forum with other RVers. They encouraged him to find the dog a home, and he went back to the campground and adopted the dog himself, naming him Old Fella. Richard started updating his friends on the Forum about the dog’s adjustment to his new life. Words of encouragement and even financial assistance kept coming forward. And Richard learned from his dog….lessons like not to give up. Someday he would have a better life. Inspired by Old Fella’s spirit, Richard founded the Old Fella Burke County Animal Rescue, which currently consists of a group of volunteers who foster stray pets. They transport many of them north to larger animal shelters where they have a better chance of getting adopted. These shelter officials are amazed at how well the Old Fella dogs behave as a result of their care and training. And Richard continues to use... Read more

Social networking can be fun!

Unlike many of my fellow bloggers on this site, I’m certainly not leading the pack when it comes to the latest and greatest technological tools. And I certainly never thought I’d be blogging! But it’s fun, and it’s easy! At Good Sam, we’re also experiencing a brand new phenomenon (well, for many of us, it’s new) as we enter the world of Facebook, Twitter and learn more about social network marketing. Three weeks ago, the Good Sam Club formed a Facebook group. Today, we have more than 500 members, or “friends” as they’re called on Facebook. We post daily updates and information about our Club activities, and those 500 members are posting their own comments, questions and observations. They’re talking back and forth about RV trips, Samborees they’ve attended, local chapters, how to keep kids entertained on the road, traveling in Alaska, asking each other about good campgrounds, kayaking, hikes and restaurants. As people begin sharing information, their zest for their RV adventures and this lifestyle just becomes more obvious. Some of our local chapters and state organizations have also joined the Facebook phenomenon. The Maine Good Sams, for example, had more than 2000 visits to their profile page in their first 5 weeks, attracting a lot of interest in their upcoming Samboree, where they’re planning a Facebook reunion. We are truly excited about the way our new Facebook networking is taking off, and hope that many of you will join us. It’s easy (and... Read more

Good Sam Welcome Mat Winners Recognize RVers’ Needs

RVers traversing across the country have learned that certain businesses can be more RV friendly than others. To recognize these companies, and to share that information with fellow members, we ask Good Sam members to vote for their favorite RV friendly businesses in a number of categories. We can then recognize and thank those organizations through our annual Welcome Mat awards. Over the years, we find that the majority of our Welcome Mat winners remain the same, proving that these companies truly understand the needs of RV owners and appreciate our business. Read more  Read More →

Anyone RVing to the Inauguration?

The Good Sam Club has been contacted by a popular network television morning news show, asking if we know of anyone RVing to President-elect Obama’s inauguration in January. If you are driving to the inauguration in your RV, or know of someone who is, please pass this along and ask them to contact me via this site as soon as possible! On behalf of all of us at the Good Sam Club, we wish you many many Happy Holidays with your families and friends! Sue Bray  Read More →

Motorhome Lemon Laws….are they on the horizon?

The Good Sam Club’s RV Owners’ Advisory Council has now conducted three major surveys of Club membership, asking our members to identify issues which were of most importance to them.  The results were overwhelming:  1.  the quality of RVs; 2. service for RVs; and 3. the need for appropriate lemon law protection if the RV can’t be fixed. Under the leadership of our Council Chairman, Tom Gonser, the Club joined the International Association of Lemon Law Arbitrators (IALLA), a group which was in the process of developing model motorhome lemon law legislation which could presumably be used by the states as a template should they choose to draft individual state legislation. This is important because currently most states do not have RV lemon laws — but try to use automobile lemon law legislation to deal with RV issues.  There are enormous differences between a car and an RV — mostly because the RV offers living accommodations in addition to transportation.  And it’s our opinion that to some extent lemon law protection should be offered when there is an ongoing problem with a living component of the RV, not just for mechanical issues. In May of this year, Tom and the Council prepared a detailed position paper on the RV owners’ lemon law needs, and submitted it to IALLA.  On the other side, the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) also submitted their proposed legislation, offering far less protection to the RV owner. Since... Read more

Clean Teams!

For the past 12 years, the Good Sam Club has held a National Cleanup Day to remove litter from our public roads and lands.  Hundreds of Good Sam members and local chapters take part, cleaning up tons of litter each year. This year, we chose the weekend of September 6-7, a week after Labor Day weekend, for our cleanup efforts, with the hope that we could make a difference in cleaning up public lands as the traditional camping season comes to a close. We also partner with the Take Pride in America program on our Cleanup Day events.  Take Pride in America is a U.S. Department of Interior initiative that aims to seek, support and recognize volunteers who work to improve our public lands, including our parks, forests, grasslands and wildlife refuges, as well as our cultural and historic sites, local playgrounds and recreation areas.  Volunteers can simply log on to their website, www.takepride.gov, and record their volunteer hours on any of the Take Pride projects.  After working 500 hours, volunteers earn an America the Beautiful Volunteer Pass, which allows free access to participating federal lands, including our National Parks. Employees at Affinity, the Good Sam Club’s parent company here in Ventura, have also participated in the Club’s Cleanup Day, and this year was no exception.  39 of us spent our lunch hour last week picking up trash at San Buenaventura State Beach, which located right across the freeway from our offices.  Although it’s a bit back breaking,... Read more

Good Sam Club’s RV Owners’ Council….Who Are They?

We at Good Sam are proud to offer many member benefits – camping discounts at Good Sam Parks, our new Petro gas and diesel discount program, our website and this magazine, just to name a few.  But we take particular pride in applying the powerful size of our organization and the enthusiasm of our members to protect and preserve the rights of all RVers, particularly in the legislative arena. Over the years, we’ve worked on such issues as special drivers’ license requirements for drivers of large motorhomes and trailers, RV weight limitations, RV friendly highway signage, access to our public lands, gas rationing, not to mention the dozens of restrictive RV parking ordinances we face on a daily basis.  We have always tried to do the right thing for the RV owner – acting as an advocate for those of us who participate in the RV lifestyle. As more and more issues at the state and national levels develop, we want to more actively involve our members in the process.  Two years ago, we formed the Good Sam RV Owners Advisory Council, a small group of members, to do just that – provide RV industry personnel and legislators with direct input from RV owners on specific and pertinent issues.  We are hopeful that this resource will prove to be a constructive communication channel with the RV industry, and by establishing this process of continuing dialogue, we can address issues of common concern for the benefit of both owners and those in the RV industry,... Read more

And we wonder why the younger generation isn’t embracing RVing?

In the August issue of the Good Sam Club member magazine, Highways, I wrote about my fears and trepidations about my 27 year old son’s RV tour through Mexico with his friend and his dog…all aboard a 1982 Minnie Winnie, completed with surfboards strapped to the top. Holding my breath for most of the trip, I had visions of rushing down to Mexico to “save” them from all kinds of lurking dangers, or even worse, having to try and bail them out of a Mexican jail. Raising children has never been an easy task. Those of us who have been through it can look back at the joy, the craziness, and the frustrations of those years, and then reality hits. At some point, the kids grew up and we lost control. We teach them many things in life, but eventually they become adults and begin to make their own way in this world, whether we agree with it or not. Both of my children have presented me with various challenges over the years. Watching them grow and testing their mother with their new found independence was a tiring, often sleepless experience, to say the least. Somehow we all survived those teenage years. Despite my convictions that it would be impossible for either of them to survive without me, they moved on to college, to travel, to work and earn their own living – all without Mom to hold their hands. Try as I might, I was unable to dissuade Ryan and his friend (also named Ryan) from taking their Mexico adventure. So I waited with baited breath, while... Read more