About Us
Alpine Coach Association of Southern California (Alpine SoCal) was started in March, 2002 with a rally organized by Jim and Polly Klinko at the Pechanga RV Resort in Temecula, CA. Jim and Polly organized two more rallies that year to give the club a good start. By the end of 2002, there were about 15 Alpine owners that were members of the club.
SoCal was formed as a regional group under the umbrella of the Alpine motorhome owner national club, Alpine Coach Association. Membership was restricted to only those who owned an Alpine motorhome, and who lived in southern California and southern Nevada. In 2008, the manufacturer of Alpine motorhomes closed its doors, and our clubs became more important than ever to support each other in the care and maintenance of our wonderful homes on wheels.
Also in 2008, SoCal became a separate chapter of FMCA to ensure direct access to all FMCA benefits for our members, especially insurance coverage for our chapter rallies. SoCal was now a group of 70 members, and we realized we needed to make another change to ensure that we didn't eventually disappear due to the demise of the manufacturer. Some members were trading their Alpines for another brand of motorhome due to various reasons, and we were in jeopardy of losing friends. Therefore, the club is now open to any current or previous owner of an Alpine (with some restrictions), and includes owners who live in neighboring states or who spend a lot of time in our area of the country. Our membership remains stable at about 70 family units.
Because we are a chapter of FMCA, we do require members of Alpine SoCal to also be members of good standing in FMCA. Although not a requirement, we encourage members to also join the Alpine Coach Association (ACA). Links to both groups are available on the left.
We typically have four weekend rallys and one week long rally each year. These are usually in the spring and fall months to avoid conflicts with member's summer travels. The weekend rallies are in locations that are within a day's drive of our southern California base. The week long rallies are a one or two day drive.
Rally activities are based on the plans of the wagonmaster for each rally. Rallies always include a mixture of group activities as well as free time for members to pursue activites that are of interest to them. Some meals, both catered and heavy hors d'oeuvre (pot luck) are usually provided. All rallies include time for social activities such as happy hour. After all, the specific purpose of this Chapter is to promote fellowship, camaraderie, cooperation, and enjoyment of the Alpine Coach owners and members!
Our rally schedule is shared with ACA and other regional Alpine Coach owner chapters. Members of other Alpine Coach chapters who are in the area and might be interested in attending one of our rallies should contact the rally wagonmaster to see if spots are available. (See our Rallies page.)
