The RV caucus
For a group of Republican legislators, their home away from home has four-star amenities and peace and quiet. And it happens to be on wheels.
By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published April 19, 2005
TALLAHASSEE - For most of the year, Rep. Charlie Dean lives in a three-bedroom ranch-style house in a lakefront community just outside Inverness.
But for two months each spring, home is a 38-foot gray and green Safari Zanzibar in a recreational vehicle park on the outskirts of Tallahassee. His neighbors are all Republican legislators who prefer living on wheels to the sterile confines of a hotel room or furnished apartment.
They call themselves the "RV caucus." Or, more jokingly, the "trailer trash contingent." Members include a retired Army colonel from Jacksonville, a Bradenton insurance agent so immaculately groomed that even his jeans have creases and a health care administrator from Stuart whose husband is a doctor.
They swear they have the best living arrangement in town.
"I like the privacy of having my own place all to myself," said Dean, who favors cowboy hats and western shirts and spent 16 years as Citrus County sheriff. "It's my bed, my stuff. And I don't have to share anything with a roommate."
In addition to Dean, members of the RV caucus include Reps. Larry Cretul, Gayle Harrell, Stan Jordan, Ralph Poppell, Ron Reagan and Dennis Ross. They are from all over the state: Ocala, Vero Beach, Bradenton, Stuart, Jacksonville and Lakeland.
Technically, it may be camping, but these lawmakers aren't roughing it. Their rigs feature showers with hot water, cable television and working kitchens. Some cost as much as $250,000 or more.
Dean's Zanzibar typically retails for about $125,000. He bought a 2000 model from a friend last year. He used to have a 30-foot travel trailer, but it was too cramped for the 6-foot-4 lawmaker.
"When I would take a shower, the water would hit me right here," Dean said, pointing to his chest.
The Zanzibar is luxurious, with overstuffed beige leather chairs and wood paneling. The full-sized shower provides plenty of hot water, Dean says, and he can stretch out on the double bed.
In fact, he said he has trouble waking up on rainy mornings for those 8 a.m. committee meetings.
"The sound of those raindrops - it's just like on a tin roof," he said. "It's so soothing that I have to force myself to get up."
Poppell, 63, of Vero Beach, knew exactly what he was looking for in a travel trailer. First, it had to have a big bathroom. Second, he needed a bed he could walk all the way around so it would be easier to make in the mornings.
Finally, and most important, he needed plenty of closet space.
"We're legislators," Poppell said. "We have lots of suits."
His 31-foot trailer fits his needs exactly; it even has a slide-out closet that expands and contracts. The couch and chairs are decorated in a black and white floral motif, and the cabinets are wood.
Poppell's trailer also has a microwave, coffeemaker, television set and a hookup for a washer and dryer, although he doesn't use it.
Poppell said the main advantage to living at the park is the peace and quiet. He typically gets to the Capitol at 7:15 a.m. and spends his days rushing between committee hearings and meetings with constituents. The tranquility is a welcome relief.
"It's nice to get away," Poppell said. "You have your own place. You can relax and do a little reading and studying."
The leader of the legislative campers is Stan Jordan, a 67-year-old retired Army colonel, who was first elected in 2000. He has a Monaco Camelot (which retails for about $250,000) that he keeps near the entrance to the park.
Jordan organizes an annual gathering at the park, encouraging lawmakers to exchange suits for jeans and wingtips for boots. This year's event, held April 11, paid homage to the veterans of World War II and featured female servers dressed in USO hats and big band music piped over a loudspeaker.
In a tent set under a clump of sugar pines, lawmakers and lobbyists, including representatives from the Florida RV Trade Association, munched on barbecued ribs and fried grouper fingers. The booze from a fully stocked bar flowed freely.
It's a lot more laid-back than the typical legislative chicken dinner.
"Some people might hear "RV park' and get the wrong idea," Jordan said. "But everything out here is so clean and pretty. And this is a fun night - I'm tired of all those parties with cold boiled shrimp."
The 9-acre park, just west of Interstate 10, is lush and shady. Residents can splash in the park's pool or check out books from the exchange library. There's a laundry room onsite and a recreational center with a television set. Hookups for cable TV are offered free of charge.
All the members are friendly, but they don't spend much time together at the park. The legislative schedule, with 13- and 14-hour days, doesn't leave much time for socializing.
"We never see each other," Jordan said. "You would think we'd all come back here and roast weenies, but that's not the case."
A typical visitor to the park is charged $26.24 per night, but the legislators pay a fixed rate of $395 a month, according to park manager Kevin Kenworthy. That's a drop in the bucket for most House members, who receive an annual salary of $29,619 plus a stipend of $4,147 per session for living expenses.
Kenworthy said the legislators are model tenants: clean, law-abiding and quiet. Plus, they generate good publicity for the park.
"And they pay their rent on time," Kenworthy said, smiling.
Spouses are somewhat divided on the RVs. Poppell said his wife likes to stay in the vehicle when she visits. Harrell said her husband wanted to buy an RV long before she suggested it and happily bunks with her. Dean's wife, however, prefers a hotel during her visits.
Ron Reagan and his wife, Lynn, are enthusiastic RV owners who try to take at least one trip per month in their Winnebago Adventurer. They've visited Mississippi, Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia and Georgia, to name a few.
A bonus: the family poodle, Mickey, can stay with them.
"It's just like if you have a big boat," said Reagan, 50, who is spending his third session at the park. "Why should you just let it sit? Might as well use it."
Reagan seems an unlikely candidate for RV life. He is known for always being impeccably groomed in freshly pressed suits. On the night of the party, he is wearing perfectly ironed jeans, complete with creases.
But it was Reagan who converted Harrell to the camping life. It was about three years ago, and Harrell was planning to buy a condominium in Tallahassee. But then she ran into Reagan in the bridge connecting the Capitol to the House Office Building. He raved so much about the park, Harrell convinced her husband they should start shopping for a motor home.
A few months later, Harrell bought a 35-foot Holiday Rambler. She has never looked back.
"It's a great way to live," Harrell said. "I have my own place, and my husband gets to be my roommate. Who could ask for anything more?"
-- Times staff writer Jorge Sanchez contributed to this report.