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ANYONE HAVE PAST FMCA DIRECTORIES
Beaver Bus 13 has once again surfaced in Eugene Oregon at http://www.rvcorral.com. This RV dealership is the second in the Eugene Portland area that has had this coach consigned claiming to have been owned by Ernest Borgnine. We know where Ernie’s former Beaver Bus is which is Bus 10, and who owns with paperwork from the deal and buying directly from Ernie in 1994 while it was at Camp Country Coach This time around an FMCA plaque is visible. Latest FMCA directory on internet shows inactive number. Wondering if anyone had older in print directories prior to 2007, that could look up this number F-199086 and give us a name residing in Gaston, Oregon per VIN check from Carfax
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12 Replies
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FMCA Directories…
Jim & Chris,
Call FMCA… I bet they can help you… when we got back into RVing after being absent from FMCA from 1981 thru 2005.. we applied for a membership and they actually called me and asked if we wanted our old FMCA number back because it was such a low number and quite unique… I didn’t even mention we had been members previously… so they must have amazing records !
Our FMCA number is 29470
Good luck, Diane
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Diane,
i don’t know if FMCA gives out that information. When we bought our Beaver Bus, it had a remnant FMCA number still on it beginning with “9”, as a four digit number. At that time, I was trying to build an ownership history of our coach. It took some personnel contacts between the Beaver Ambassador Club Officers and FMCA to get me a name and a number, which coincidently I found the info I was wanting on the same day I heard word the Beaver Membership. I was told FMCA didn’t share info, which is nice to know, but makes my task harder. This Bus 13 like ours, according to Prevost had never been to a Prevost service center. Beaver Coach converted 33 shells from late 1989 to July 1992. Ours was the last numerically as Bus #34, a 1992 conversion, but Bus #33 was the last conversion to be completed and “MSO’d as a 1993
Having researched our coach history, got me going on finding as many Beaver Prevost XL 40’s as I could. The number now totals 24 located with this latest find goring Bus #13. Between GMCBuffalo on this forum ( Beaver Bus #25) and myself, we have found 23 and talk with out 33 Beaver Busses and put the info on a spreadsheet and sent it out to all us owners of this series of “orphaned” coaches, so we know each other.
This most recent coach find of Bus 13, has a mystery about it. As a sales enhancement, this coach seller has claimed the first owner of Bus 13 was Ernest Borgnine. This claim had followed this coach since it surfaced back in 2005 when Mr Oliver’s RV Sales in Texas had it for sale. At that time , our own Ray Davis, flew to look at it. Last fall this coach was consigned at Sunset a RV, Forest Grove, Oregon, and now at RV Corral, Eugene, bearing almost verbatim, the Ernest Borgnine connection. All involved at the Beaver Club, current and past Beaver Coach sales people all agree the Borgnines owned only one Beaver bus, that being Bus 10. We are wanting any proof other than word of mouth. I was told as of yesterday by the consigning dealer, with demise of Beaver Coach, there are no records at Beaver to,prove or disclaim this info. Jon, of this forum, at a past FMCA rally about the time the Borgnines owned Bus 10, Beaver had a show coach at a rally, Jon and Di were participating. While standing in line to see this Beaver show coach, Jon witnessed a woman cornering Mr Borgnine to stand by this show coach with her to be photographed..
Bus #10, on the other hand, has numerous proofs, the Borgnines owned the coach. From a copy of the original title, sales receipts, and placards inside coach indicating it was built for Ernie as well as etching of Borgnine name on the glass shower door, and a paint repair bill, as part of the sale to the current owners of Bus #10 to remove Ernie’s bus logo he used on all his Prevosts , on coach front and rear, the words “Sun Bum”.
So, a cameo photograph of a celebrity in front of a display coach at a FMCA rally is not ownership proof, if in fact that is what is being used as proof of this bus being owned by the Borgnines. Bus 13 also had been advertised being built for Ernie for use on location in Bend Oregon while filming the TV show “Airwolf”. I remember this show watching it as a kid with Ernie, Jan-Michael Vincent and Kent McCord. A quick “google” will show that TV show aired in 1984-86 filmed on location in Monument Valley Az and Hollywood studio and USA network aired it for another year in1987 filmed entirely in British Columbia and never Bend, Oregon. Just want this info out there, so if someone does buy this believing it was once owned by Ernest Borgnine, is not misled.
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To continue this story quickly, you might notice in our signature we are Bus #34, but Prevost sent Beaver 33 shells. The original order, called for 34, but one shell order ended up being canceled and redirected to Country Coach. Beaver Coach didn’t change their numerical production count. I have all thirty-three shell VINs, and there is an anomaly with the Beaver production count at 31 and 32. There is one VIN number for two production numbers. I have identified Bus #30, 33, and our 34. But have yet to designate a VIN number to the missing production number 31 or 32
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Here is Ernie in his Country Coach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aKqaYlzhgc&noredirect=1
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Sorry for the mess above. Don’t know what I did, but cut and paste to see the URL
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Jim & Chris…
Ernest’s son has a Facebook page just search Cris Borgnine and PM him… his page is pretty open and it is mentioned a couple of times that he is Ernest’s son… he should remember or may even have records or and pictures.
Again good luck,
Diane -
Diane. I am familiar with Cris Borgnines facebook page. We have posted on his several times and my note seems to get thrown back at me with nonanswer
jon, I have seen the youtube with the Country Coach. Something has happened to the print on this thread. It comes up stretched out and extremely fine and small
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Jim & Chris…
Did you also notice some of the bus pictures with him have chrome mirrors and some painted burgundy?
Same bus? maybe not?
hmmmm.
Diane
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Safari can’t open Jon link
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I saw the differences from google search Ernest Borgnine bus… some pictures have The Sunbum on front and painted mirrors and others chrome mirrors and no name on bus… both burgundy…looks like same paint colors.
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the burgundy one is the Country Coach with SWest paint scheme and decor
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