After an extended absence, Rich and Melinda Roberts rejoined FMCA. They discovered they could still have their original membership number, and they could pass it along to their daughters as well.
By Rich & Melinda Roberts, F99402
December 2021
Rich and Melinda Roberts first joined FMCA in the 1980s and recently rejoined after purchasing a fifth-wheel travel trailer..
We joined FMCA when we bought our first motorhome back in the 1980s. It was a 20-foot Superior that we bought from a friend who sold it because he had just converted an old bus. We kept it a few years until our friend asked us whether we were interested in converting a bus of our own. He knew of one for sale. It was a PD-4104 that belonged to a tour company in New York for 10 years and then to a fife and drum corps. It was in a junkyard. They put a battery and some gas in it. We drove it around for five or 10 miles, and we were hooked.
We really didn’t know where to start, but it became our passion. We took out the seats, got down to the aluminum in the middle, reinsulated the whole thing, closed in the back window. It was like building a house — you had to pick out the colors and hardware. At Christmas we had a porcelain toilet under the tree as a gift for the bus. We worked on it every weekend for a year. Our girls helped us as well, painting the belly bays and capping rivets. They would bring us lunch, although they were only 8 and 10 years old at the time, so lunch was usually peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a glass of water. But it was a family project.
They enjoyed many FMCA rallies and weekend excursions in a PD-4014 bus they converted to a motorhome themselves.
We enjoyed many years in that coach as a family. We took it out every weekend that we could. We were part of FMCA’s Bussin’ Buddies chapter, so we went to a lot of rallies. We were the young ones back then, and the people at the rallies took an interest in our kids. When people arrived, their motorhomes were dirty, so the girls would clean their windshields for $1.
When gas went up to $5 a gallon, we sold the bus and tried our hand at other means of camping. We have a Harley, so we would go tent camping. We got a popup and then a travel trailer. We had two toy haulers. Unfortunately, we had to withdraw from FMCA, because at the time membership was just for motorhome owners.
Rich and Melinda’s daughters also joined FMCA and share the family number, with D1 and D2 added to signify Daughter 1 and Daughter 2. Lisa and her family have D2.
Rich and Melinda’s daughters also joined FMCA and share the family number, with D1 and D2 added to signify Daughter 1 and Daughter 2. Rebecca and her family have D1.
Recently we bought a new fifth-wheel toy hauler. We saw that FMCA now allows members to have towable RVs, so we happily rejoined. What was even more exciting was that we were able to have our original number back — F99402. Our daughters have since grown up and have families of their own, and they love camping. Our older daughter, Rebecca, and her husband, William Whiting, from Florida, have a travel trailer. Our younger daughter, Lisa, and her husband, Antony Sangillo, from Connecticut, have a Class A motorhome. So, it was only right for us to sign them up as well. We are so proud to have them share our FMCA number, with Rebecca being F99402D1 and Lisa being F99402D2, for Daughter 1 and Daughter 2.
On July 1, we all met up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was a great family vacation. We had fun making matching T-shirts, having family beach and pool time, sitting around the campfire sharing stories. We planned outings and a dinner show. We had a fantastic family week together. Spending time with our children and grandchildren is priceless. We’re planning on meeting again next year in Tennessee.
We’ve always loved camping, and we passed that along to our kids, and now they’re passing it along to their kids. Who knows? Maybe one day we can pass along our FMCA number to our grandkids as well.