In bridge clubs and in councils of state, the passions are the same.
                 – Mason Cooley 

There are quite a number of organizations out there to help a new RVer get their bearings, but if you have a vintage, collector, or relatively rare vehicle then the gold standard is a club specifically created to support your type of rig.  Since I have received great support from Saab and Suzuki forums, and exceptional benefits from being a member of  the Isuzu Vehicross community, I sought out a similar group for our classic GMC Motorhome.  These GMCs have rabid owners all over country with regionally organized clubs that have regular rallies.  I found the Florida based club, the GMC Sunshine Statesmen, just in time to attend their first rally of the 2013-2014 season.  Once a month the rally host coordinates a discount rate at a carefully selected RV park and arranges food, entertainment, events, social hours, technical sessions, arts and crafts, outings, and more.  We could not have asked for a more welcoming or supportive group.  Arriving at dusk for our first rally, Jeff Sirum noticed right away that I was having a problem with a sticking throttle, and made sure that it was sufficiently reliable to get us home.  Member after member went out of their way to greet us during the weekend, and we had the opportunity to tour a score of other GMCs and thus get a flavor for the wide variety of internal options and styles even in these relatively small motorhomes.  After our departure on Monday we stopped by Jim Bounds’ GMC Coop shop and spent the day getting a number of things inspected or repaired, and had the opporutinity to work side by side with his mechanics so that I could learn what was actually going on under the hood.  Having a support groups, whether for the collective knowledge of the hive mind or just for the social opportunities, is an invaluable asset for an RVer regardless of experience.