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Good
Sam
Club
highlights
concerns
over
quality
issues
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(Ventura,
Calif.)
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The
Good
Sam
Club’s
RV
Owners’
Advisory
Council
(RVOAC)
was
appointed
earlier
this
year
for
the
purpose
of
identifying
RV-related
issues
of
major
concern
to
the
membership
of
the
Good
Sam
Club,
an
RV
owners
club
of
more
than
a
million
members.
RVOAC
is
also
charged
with
analyzing
those
issues
and
making
recommendations
to
the
Good
Sam
Club
management
on
matters
of
policy
and
legislative
priorities.
RVOAC
has
already
completed
a
detailed
member
survey
to
determine
what
issues
Good
Sam
Club
members
deemed
most
important
to
them.
The
survey
presented
nine
specific
questions
on
issues
thought
to
be
of
interest
to
RVers.
It
included
an
opportunity
for
“write-in
comments”
to
catch
other
issues
of
major
concern
not
addressed
in
the
specific
questions
used
in
the
survey.
The
tabulated
results
of
the
survey
showed
the
following
results
listing
members’
concerns,
starting
with
the
highest
ranked
issues
first.
1.
Quality
of
RV
manufacturing
98%
2.
Availability
of
competent
RV
service
93%
3.
Existence
of
adequate
Lemon
Law
protection
87%
4.
High
fuel
costs
86%
5.
Protection
from
local
parking
ordinances
79%
6.
Availability
of
suitable
commercial
RV
parks
65%
7.
Federal
access
user
fees
(80%
retained
by
federal
facility)
63%
8.
Decreased
Availability/high
cost
of
RV
storage
yards
52%
9.
Uniform
state
special
RV
drivers
licensing
33%
Unlike
the
tabulated
questions
in
which
fuel
costs
came
in
as
the
fourth
“most
important”
issue,
comments
about
high
fuel
costs
clearly
ranked
first
in
the
“write
in”
portion
of
the
survey.
Complaints
about
high
costs
of
everything
(including
fuel
cost),
from
campground
fees
to
RV
repair
costs
clearly
attracted
the
greatest
number
of
comments.
RVers
are
increasingly
concerned
about
local
restrictions
about
where
they
can
park
their
RVs.
There
are
a
number
of
issues
relating
to
“big
rigs”,
including
campgrounds
that
do
not
adequately
provide
for
them,
fuel
stations
that
don’t
have
adequate
room
to
maneuver
(or
have
steep
curbs),
and
a
general
desire
for
RV-friendly
highway
signage.
Interest
was
also
expressed
in
“no
frills”
campground
options,
and
in
having
federal
state
and
local
parks
provide
an
adequate
percentage
of
non-reservable
sites.
“Most
notably,
the
rather
startling
result
is
the
1-2-3
place
finish
of
RV
quality,
RV
service,
and
Lemon
Laws,”
said
Tom
Gonser,
chairman
of
RVOAC.
“As
the
Council
said
in
its
report,
it's
as
if
RVers
were
saying
‘build
it
right’
and
if
you
don't,
get
it
fixed
the
first
time.
And
if
you
fail
on
the
first
two
I
want
Lemon
Law
protection.”
According
to
Gonser,
"RVers
would
not
be
at
all
surprised
at
the
high
rankings
of
these
three
items.
The
real
surprise
is
that
RV
owners
now
have
a
forum
through
the
Good
Sam
Club
to
express
their
concerns,
and
potentially
have
them
represented
in
meaningful
discussions
with
industry
leaders.
RVOAC
members
intend
to
use
the
survey
as
a
means
to
bring
constructive
focus
on
the
issues
pertaining
to
RV
quality
and
service.”
Neither
the
Council
nor
the
Good
Sam
Club
can
have
any
major
influence
on
pricing.
However,
other
issues,
including
concerns
about
RV
quality,
RV
service,
and
even
the
availability
of
suitable
Lemon
Law
protection
have
the
Council’s
attention
as
matters
of
priority,
and
the
Council
is
studying
possible
courses
of
action
to
deal
with
these
key
issues.
The
issues
pertaining
to
Lemon
Laws
are
to
some
extent
an
emotional
reaction
to
the
frustration
so
many
RVers
have
to
the
quality
and
service
issues.
There
are
substantive
issues
here
as
well,
as
the
state
laws
are
a
very
confusing
patchwork
that
offers
some
protection
in
some
states,
but
virtually
none
in
others.
Moreover
there
is
confusion
about
which
state
laws
govern
which
transactions.
The
real
need
here
is
for
reasonable
protection
that
is
consistent
among
states.
“What
constitutes
‘reasonable’
will
require
balancing
the
interests
of
the
industry
and
RV
owners
to
come
up
with
a
fair
and
balanced
solution,”
said
Gonser.
All
Good
Sam
members,
the
Council’s
four
members
were
appointed
late
last
year.
Chairman
Tom
Gonser
founded
the
popular
website,
www.rversonline.org
after
retiring
as
a
highly
regarded
attorney
and
having
served
as
Executive
Director
of
the
American
Bar
Association.
Jan
McNeil
is
a
full
time
RVer
who
retired
from
her
career
as
a
realtor
and
now
works
out
of
her
RV
with
her
husband,
Chris,
a
physician.
Leo
Everitt
has
been
RVing
since
1972,
and
was
an
executive
with
such
major
manufacturers
as
Cummins
and
RV
maker
FMC.
Bill
Estes
retired
in
2006
after
38
years
with
Trailer
Life
and
MotorHome
magazines,
and
is
considered
to
be
one
of
the
most
trusted
and
influential
voices
in
the
RV
world.
About
Good
Sam
Club
The
Good
Sam
Club,
www.goodsamclub.com,
is
the
world’s
largest
RV
owners
organization
with
one
million
member
families.
Founded
in
1966,
the
Club
offers
its
members
a
wide
variety
of
services,
including
RV
Insurance,
Extended
Warranty
on
RVs
(the
Continued
Service
Plan),
Emergency
Road
Service,
RV
Financing,
Good
Sam
Credit
Card
and
Life
&
Health
Insurance,
as
well
as
member
discounts
at
parks,
campgrounds,
and
RV
events.
Good
Sam
Club
members
also
receive
a
subscription
to
Highways,
the
Club’s
popular
RV
travel
magazine.
Additionally,
the
Club
represents
more
than
2,000
local
RV
chapters
designed
to
bring
RVers
together
from
similar
geographic
regions
for
group
camping
excursions.
Extremely
committed
to
its
RV
members
as
well
as
to
the
environment,
the
Club
is
a
founder
of
the
annual
National
Cleanup
Day
program
and
an
advocate
of
public
land
access,
Adopt-A-Highway
programs
and
Adopt-A-Park
programs,
to
name
a
few.
The
Good
Sam
Club
is
headquartered
in
Ventura,
California,
and
is
a
subsidiary
of
Affinity
Group
Inc.
|
What
do
you
think?
-
do
you
have
concerns
over
RV
quality
issues
Give
your
comments
below |
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