H.O.T.E.L.: Help for folks who need a hand on the road

[davebennington]

I have an idea for people who are on the road and need assistance of some kind. This would be only for Heartland owners.

If we could create a list that includes your name, state, and phone number, as well as what type of help you can provide example: directions, fuel, parts, tools, a place to stay, or just for a cup of coffee, also how far you are willing to travel to provide this help. The rules could be simple as the caller who needs help would have to identify them self as a Heartland owner by providing vin number or some other means that we can work out. How many people would be interested in signing up to provide assistance to fellow Heartland owners? This idea comes from the Turbo Diesel Register web site that I also belong to. Every year they update the list adding and deleting names so if you sign up it would be for a year.

Below is some basic rules I suggest to follow.

To the Caller: While the services offered are first and foremost for
emergency situations, there may be the times when you simply need
advice or a break from traveling. Please state whether an emergency
exists or not. And while socializing with other Heartland members can be
a legitimate reason for calling a number in the Heartland Travel Companion
book, it is the caller’s responsibility to be sensitive to, and aware of,
the individual limits to that socializing, as presented by the host.

To the Volunteer Host: We suggest that you ask the caller for their
Heartland member number and determine the need. Extending your
services and/or hospitality is at your discretion. It is not possible
for the Heartland Owners Help Line to control the use of the system or to
be responsible for that use. We can only urge that members not
abuse the system in any way.


Thanks for listening to my idea.
Dave

 

[jbeletti]

Please weigh in on Dave's idea but do not provide any personal data within this thread. If this ideas gets some traction, we'll devise a way to make it work.

Thanks for the idea Dave.

Jim

 

[TRAVELER07]

Dave, Great idea to help ease the nerves while traveling! And we would be willling to help if we are in the area as we are soon to be fulltimers. TRAVELER07

 

[JimandSina]

Sounds like a great idea, we use to do something similar with a canine rescue club we belonged to and it worked great, we would be interested.

 

[krehlert]

Sounds great, count us in!

 

[bsummit]

Sounds good to me. It could really help in case of emergencies.

 

[Bob&Patty]

I'm up for it, sounds good. Bob

 

[boatdoc]

Sure!!! Sounds Great

 

[trdeal]

Sounds great. Count us in.We will be glad to provide any service we can provide.

 

[sailorand]

count me in

 

[jmgratz]

The Good Sam Club does this also. They even publish a directory. Escapees have a similar thing going on. With Escapees you can even spend the night in a members driveway or yard if necessary. I don't know if FMCA does this or not.

 

[fljlcw]

were game count us in we would be glad to assist people

 

[HOSS]

This is a great idea. I am a member of the Goldwing Road Riders Association (GWRRA), and they publish a small booklet each year with the names of people who are willing to help fellow members of GWRRA who are in need of help. It covers every state, city and town all across the United States. It makes traveling across this great country of ours easier knowing that help is just a phone call away when you need it. Beside each listed name is a one letter code as to what service they are prepared to offer, the more codes by each name the more service they offer. When traveling to a new destination or just getting there it is nice knowing that it is just possible that your next new best friend is there to give you the help that you need, or just a refreshing cup of coffee to help get you going again.

GREAT IDEA COUNT US IN!

 

[truknutt]

Sounds good to me.

We could call it the

Heartland
Owners
Travel
Emergency
League/Legion/LIST

H O T E L

SERVICES:
I-81 PA Exit 14 (3 miles to the House) Have overnight parking capabilities (30A for now & water). Bunch of restaurants in the area: Cracker Barrel, Applebee's, Red Lobster, TGI Friday's, Red Robin, Fuddrucker's, all with large parking lots. Ford, GM, & Dodge dealerships here as well as private diesel mechanics.

 

[jbeletti]

TN - love the acronym.

HOSS - I'd like to see a page of the GW listing. Maybe you can fax it to me? PM me for number.

 

[Johnm]

Count me in (as a provider) - especially since my truck almost left us (camper, wife and two little kids) stranded while coming home this past weekend. Not a good feeling turning the key and the starter just cranks and cranks and cranks and cranks and cranks, etc. Hey, at least i know my batteries are ... were good.

 

[jbeletti]

Sample document

Attached is a jpg image and a pdf file, of the same thing. It is a sample page a threw together based on my sense of what I am hearing on this project. Let me know if I am on track with what the output would look like.

Bear in mind too that this is all "just discussion" at this point. No commitment has yet been made to do this. We're all still talking out loud. It sounds cool though.

I'd like to hear from anyone who has "made the call" to any helpers in programs like this that they are involved in (trucks, Gold Wings etc.). I'd like to know how it worked out.

Jim

 

[wanttobees]

Sounds good to us. Count us in.

The Wanttobees

 

[jbeletti]

As we continue to gather interest in this project, it would be helpful for those weighing in to indicate whether they have in interest in being a provider.

It can likely be assumed that everyone would be interested in being a user of services.

But without providers - this is not a service.

So step right up folks - do we have any service providers?

If you have already weighed in, please click the Edit button at the bottom right of your previous post and edit it to signify your desire to be a provider.

If this gets off the ground, later, all providers will be able to go into their profile to indicate what services they are willing to provide. So no need to give that level of detail now.

Thanks gang and kep the input and discussion going.

Jim

 

[JimandSina]

Yup, we will be providers as well as potential users of the idea and will better define what we can provide as it evoloves but a first cut says we have a truck, tools, some know how, a coffee pot and etc...
Jim