Need an Overnighter Forum

[diandtom]

I think Tom may have mentioned this to Hitchhiker at the Dixie region rally but it would be great to have a forum for members who have a place to offer to fellow rvers that need a place to stay overnight or if they need help in a strange town. We live right off hwy 17 in a rural area,and have an extra hook up for visiting rvers with electricity,water and cable tv,nice big lot,tall trees,quiet and private. If we could have everyone post that has an overnight place to offer and a way to have a printable list compiled(by someone who knows more about computers than me) to have on travels I think this would be an asset to us all. Its no fun when you have no reservations,its getting late,you are tired and not familiar with the area you are traveling in or if you have rv,or towing vehicle problems and need help. What does everyone else think?
Dianne

[diandtom]

I think Tom may have mentioned this to Hitchhiker at the Dixie region rally but it would be great to have a forum for members who have a place to offer to fellow rvers that need a place to stay overnight or if they need help in a strange town. We live right off hwy 17 in a rural area,and have an extra hook up for visiting rvers with electricity,water and cable tv,nice big lot,tall trees,quiet and private. If we could have everyone post that has an overnight place to offer and a way to have a printable list compiled(by someone who knows more about computers than me) to have on travels I think this would be an asset to us all. Its no fun when you have no reservations,its getting late,you are tired and not familiar with the area you are traveling in or if you have rv,or towing vehicle problems and need help. What does everyone else think?
Dianne

[DriVer]

That's mighty neighborly of you. Thank you for the opportunity. The best person to work with in this regard would be Richard.

[CyberVet65]

Sounds like a great idea.
Perhaps even a phone list to call. Someone on the phone that could tell you where the closest Camping World is located or a nice campground to go sightseeing from.
Something that would list the time and places to call. Best times, etc.
Chet

[ParTheCourse]

Living near the intersection of RT's 90 and 81 in the center of NY, I have often thought of such an idea. With a PU capable of yanking a 5er or TT in an emergency and the truck / car and local knowledge to provide emergency transportation/ information to local repair facilities, hospitals, motels, etc. a disastrous situation could be made bearable. Also have a level enough spot to park any RV, no sewer but water, electricity and cable would take the edge off overnight.
Problem is getting a telephone number out, without publishing it on the www for the world to see and other concerns for protection from those jerks in this world who would that advantage of such a network.
Perhaps a 1-800 answering service, but who and how would it be paid for.
I'm sure there is a member(s) of IRV2.com who could get past that hurtle if minds were put to it. Mike

[buddyboy]

I agree it might be a good idea to have such a forum. I live between Vt. and NY and I am familiar with the medical , legal and also park
facilities/staff. We also have our own camping site with electric/and water/ a pool/kennel with beautiful views and much more. We'd be more than glad to help needy folks. Besides helping others we'd even consider a trade off on home sites.

[Hitchhiker]

Hello Diane,

We did toss this around a little at the Dixie Regions spring rally and I think it's a great idea. It was also talked about among the Moderators and Administrators back in January and there was an overwhelming positive response on it.

About the only thing standing in our way of moving forward on this program is that no one has stepped forward and offered to take on this project. It'd require a lot of proactivity and a bunch of organizing by someone and a strong commitment to iRV2.

As I understand the suggestions made here and comments in the previous conversation, the program would consist of a list of members who would be willing to provide RV accomodations and/or assistance to a fellow iRV2 member. One question we have would be how would iRV2 publish this information once it's obtained?

If we used the site would we want our telephone numbers on it?

This seems to be similar to the "Standy Sams" booklet that the Good Sam Club publishes for its members.

If we had a forum dedicated to posting the location of RV sites abvailable from members along with information regarding who would be willing to render aid, would it be useful to folks while traveling?

[diandtom]

Well maybe if we gave just our general location,nearby main hwy and/or large city our first name and phone number,that wouldn't be giving out too much info. And not everyone wants to pay for a long distance call to someone they don't even know for harrassment purposes! In addition to a forum,there would have to be a printable list or it really wouldn't be that much help.
Dianne

[Doris]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> and phone number,that wouldn't be giving out too much info. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't think putting phone numbers out of people who announce when they will be away from home is a good idea. With so many reverse lookups as well as google, it would be very easy to get an address. As long as your phone number is not unpublished, I can easily get your address...and sometimes even unpublished.
I know everyone would say, hey, you takes your chances when you do something like this..but lets just say something goes wrong, with something like this set up by IRV2. With this very litigious society, who would shoulder the blame?
Maybe it's easier for people to just post in an area where they are going, what area they are looking to stay, and someone with that area, could email them. Still not always safe, since you just assume the person looking for your info is a real IRV2er..but harder to trace.

Just my opinion.

[diandtom]

It was just a suggestion! But I do know from experience in trying to locate a friend in another state that the reverse lookup or people search isn't always up to date.Some members already post their names and towns they live in,which already gives the wrong type the opportunity to look them up WITHOUT a phone number! Plus if your name was on the list you just shouldn't announce on any of the forums that you are going out of town anyway.
Dianne

[ParTheCourse]

Doris,
I think you might be on to something. How about this scenario:

First it is my thought to provide help to fellow members in an emergency or in the event that another unforeseen problem occurs while in route, as opposed to replacing Flying J and Wally World with free over night parking. However that could be left up to individuals and be discussed via email, below.

A section of the forum might be set up for the purpose; for the sake of discussion lets call it "Trip Assistance"�

A member planning a trip could post to it, i.e.

"Planning trip Syracuse NY to Middlebury VT, via Rt's 90, 87, 4 and 7 ... Utica, Albany, Glens Falls, and Rutland."� (If there are special needs they could be included also)

Note it is pretty generic, no dates, times etc.

At this point any member wishing to participate could contact the poster via *email, setting up dates and times and provide a telephone number. I would not give up my address at this time, opting instead to meet them and confirm prior to leading them home, if overnight parking were the issue. Some issues could be handled over the phone, if it gets too complicated, such as directions to a RV repair shop or CG they could be met and let to assistance. Nice opportunity to meet other members, provide help and who knows, they might spring for lunch.

*I would suggest that email addresses not be posted, but be in the members profile, at least you would have to join to see it.

Mike

[diandtom]

What I was suggesting is for emergencys not "planned" stop overs which is what it sounds like you are talking about Mike.

Dianne

[Hitchhiker]

These are good comments; your input expounding on Dianne's original suggestion of offering a place to fellow RV'rs that need a place to stay overnight in an emergency or if they need help in a strange town is great.

The suggestion to call the proposed forum "Trip Assistance"� is good too. I'm thinking (and I underscore thinking) that perhaps we could relabel the "Need Campground Information" forum to title it so it can be used for both purposes. Perhaps something like "Campground Information and Trip Assistance".

Of course, such a forum wouldn't fully address the emergency aspect of the original suggestion. It's not realistic to think that RV'rs would refer to a website when their equipment has malfunctioned or someone has taken ill and they just need a place to put in for a day or so. For that purpose I think we'd need a printable list of places offered by members organized by geographic area.

In order to see if we'd have enough members offering such a place to park, I'd like to ask that you make a post on this thread stating whether or not you'd like to participate. If you have a place to park and would want to offer it just let us know, we won't need the details until later on.

Again, thanks for your ideas. We're continuously striving to keep iRV2 the best RV forum on the net.

This feedback will determine if it's plausible to pursue the planning process.

[diandtom]

Lol Yes Richard I did mention it would have to be printable,or wouldn't do the people who need it much good. We want to be one of the first to sign up to participate in this,and hope there are many more to follow!

Dianne & Tom