Member Spotlight

Dale and Millie Johnson
St. Louis, Mo.

FMCA membership number:  F157253. We joined FMCA in 1992.

FMCA chapter memberships:
Gateway Getaways (charter members), FMCA Chapter: Habitat For Humanity® (charter members)

We decided to buy a motorhome because:
In the 1960s we started camping in a pickup truck with a cap on the bed and
two cots inside. In the early '70s we upgraded to a slide-in camper with an over-the-cab sleeper, then to a travel trailer. In 1979, just before being transferred to Mexico, we purchased our first motorhome. We continued to upgrade until we purchased the 2001 Marlin with two slideouts.

Our former occupations:
I (Dale) am retired from General Motors Corp., where I worked for 39 years. I was a mid-level executive and spent most of my career in the assembly plant quality control area. My final assignments were in strategic planning and in information management. I retired in 1992.

Millie also worked at General Motors, in the data processing department. She retired in 1968 when I was transferred from Missouri to Ohio.

Children, grandchildren:
We have two grown sons, Jeff of Salem, Ohio; and Scott of St. Louis. Our only grandchild is Brooke Nicole Johnson, age 5, Scott’s daughter. She is in kindergarten (full day).

The best thing about motorhoming is:
Learning United States geography by going places and doing things ... TOGETHER.

When we’re not motorhoming, we’re:
Usually at home in St. Louis, catching up with our mail, laundry and house maintenance or cleaning. We travel in the motorhome six to seven months per year.

If we could meet anyone from history, we would choose:
Dale: Will Rogers. I really enjoyed the Will Rogers museum and farm at Claremore, Okla. I learned many things that I didn’t know about him and would like to know lots more. He was a great humorist, politician and adventurer. Millie: There are just too many to list.

Our all-time favorite motorhome trip was:
Our trip to the FMCA convention in Billings, Mont., in 1996 is our favorite, so far. It was our first trip to that part of the country. We traveled with another couple and took plenty of time to get there. We truly enjoyed our journey, to and from.

One of our fondest motorhoming memories is:
Getting a phone call in the middle of the night in Billings, Mont., telling us that our traveling companions had become new grandparents. We had to wake them to tell them, at 3 o’clock in the morning.

Our worst motorhoming experience was:
The fire! It happened Sunday afternoon, May 21, 2000, as we traveled east on Interstate 40 about 75 miles west of Nashville, Tenn. I just happened to look at the side mirror and saw a large burst of white smoke coming out the back of the motorhome. I told Millie, “We have a problem” as I pulled to the shoulder of the interstate.

I ran to the back of the motorhome and saw fire coming out from around the radiator. I ran back to the side door and told Millie to shut down the engine and get Maya, our dog, and get out of the motorhome and get as far away as possible.

A car stopped in front of the coach. It was two sheriff’s deputies from another county on their way to a training session in Nashville. They called the local fire department for us. Cars were stopping on both sides of the interstate and people came over and offered assistance and the use of their fire extinguishers. A Tennessee state trooper also stopped to offer help.

After the extinguishers knocked down the fire, I was able to disconnect our undamaged towed car and back it away from the coach. By the time the fire department arrived, the fire was just a smoldering mess. The fire personnel carefully went inside the coach, where I lifted the bed so they could spray the engine compartment until they were satisfied that the fire would not reignite.

One of those who stopped to help was the local county judge. He helped and then left, leaving his fire extinguisher behind “in case we might need it."

The state trooper called FMCA’s road service for us and then told us that a tow truck was on the way. The truck came all the way from Nashville.

About four hours later, after the smoke had cleared, we arrived at a large truck/Freightliner dealer in downtown Nashville. After finally finding a motel that would accept us with our dog, we checked in for the night.

The next morning, after talking with the dealer service manager and an insurance adjuster, we decided to return to St. Louis rather than to try to complete our trip to Americus, Ga., by car.

No one was hurt in the fire. The metal heat shield under the bed did it’s job well and kept the fire from entering the coach. There was very little smoke damage inside the coach. The damage was confined to the engine compartment and exterior smoke residue on the rear of the coach. The access cover at the rear of the coach had to be replaced.

The cause of the fire was a braided oil line that feeds engine oil to the turbo. The line had developed a leak at the fitting and had sprayed oil all over the hot exhaust system, which ignited the oil. Damage $21,500. Downtime: three months! Insurance paid most of the bill.

The best thing about our motorhome is:
It has lots of storage, both inside and in the basement.

Something about motorhoming that we know now but didn’t know when we started is:
We had no idea how much we did not know. Many years of experience, our FMCA membership, and convention seminars and magazine articles have given us lots of answers over the years.

The best alteration or addition that we’ve made to our motorhome is:
The slideout drawer I assembled and installed in the pass-through storage Compartment has made loading and unloading our “stuff” a lot easier.

Our favorite thing about FMCA is:
The friendships that we have made within our chapters and at conventions and rallies. When you get involved you meet lots of people who have the same interests that you do, friendships just develop.

If we could appear as contestants on any TV game show, we'd choose:
We faithfully watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Millie is good at both of them due to her trivia knowledge from all the reading that she does. Sometimes I get lucky and solve the Wheel of Fortune puzzle.

Our favorite way to exercise is:
Maya, our dog, requires attention at least four times a day, so we get to do our exercise while walking her. Walking her is another way to meet people in a campground or at a rally. She just loves people, especially children.

Our favorite movie is:  We are not moviegoers. I (Dale) did see Seabiscuit and really enjoyed it.

Favorite restaurant:
We have many favorites at each destination or along the route to get there.

Favorite store:  Our motorhome turns in at many Wal-Marts. Doesn’t yours?

When motorhomers visit our state or hometown, they should be sure to see:
The Gateway Arch, a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game or a St. Louis Rams football game. Also, Grant’s Farm, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, the free St. Louis ZOO, and of course, a stop at Ted Drewes for a frozen custard treat.

Items that are always in our motorhome refrigerator while we’re traveling are:
Bologna, cheese, Coca-Cola, Miracle Whip, mustard and Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese dressing.

Our advice to new motorhomers is:
Join one or more FMCA chapters. Get involved and you’ll have more fun and meet many new friends. But, take time to smell the roses, limit your daily driving and see all that there is to see in this great nation.

Behind our motorhome, we tow:
A 2002 Chevrolet Malibu towed four wheels down with an RV-mounted Roadmaster tow bar

Our favorite activity to do inside the motorhome is:
Reading, napping and watching TV

Our pet that we travel with is:
We have a 6-year old Sheltie named Maya. Maya loves to travel because she feels that she gets more attention when we are on the road. She seems to act like the conventions and rallies that we go to are just for her to see and meet lots of people. Maya travels safely in her crate just behind the passenger seat, where she can nap while being rocked by the motion of the coach.

Other FMCA members may contact us via e-mail at:
N8069N@aol.com. (I have had a few airplanes over the years, but no longer have one. N8069N was the identification number of my last plane.)

Other comments:
We really mean it when we say “get involved.” I, Dale, am currently the alternate national director of FMCA Chapter: Habitat For Humanity® after having been the president for one two-year term. I also have been president and alternate national director of the Gateway Getaways chapter. Millie and I are involved with the South Central Area’s Six State Rally Association. I am the northern region vice president with responsibility for chapters in four of the six states. Millie is the volunteer timekeeper for the association and records the number of volunteer hours that each host chapter puts in at each of the Six State Rallies. Profits from the rallies are shared on this basis.