Western US - Camp Plymouth Swap Meet & Military Vehicle Display Presented by MD Juan, April 16-21, 2019 California

[John Neuenburg]

The biggest annual MV event in western North America is coming to a NEW VENUE April 16-21, 2019! The Military Vehicle Collectors of California CAMP PLYMOUTH 42nd ANNUAL SWAP MEET & MILITARY VEHICLE DISPLAY PRESENTED BY MD JUAN will be at the 49er RV Village and Amador County Fairgrounds, 18265 Hwy 49, Plymouth, California. This is across the Central Valley from Tower Park, northeast of Lodi and east of Sacramento. This is historic "gold rush country," 29 miles from where gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in 1848. Many historic frontier towns are along Hwy 49 and Plymouth is the "Gateway to Shenandoah Valley Wine Country."

This event should be bigger than it's annual Spring predecessors going back to the late 1970s: Camp Petaluma, Camp Delta at Tower Park, the Big Bear Meet, and the Patterson Rally. It solves some issues we had for two years at Petaluma KOA, and new Tower Park rules that will keep us from returning. The 49er RV Village is large and there are practically an unlimited number of tent camping sites at the adjacent Amador County Fairgrounds which the MVCC has rented.

Here are the highlights:
•Pro and amateur parts & militaria vendors. No seller fee, just your campsite or cabin rental. Vending in paid camp spaces only
•No visitor admission fee
•Free parking for day visitors and commuters from hotel or home including a MV parking/display area, both at the fairgrounds
•No MV registration fee
•49er RV Village is for RVs, travel trailers, toy hauler campers, and pickups with camper shells. Cabins - one, two bedroom and studios
Shade trees, lawns, nearly flat, little dust, scenic. Four night minimum at the 49er
•MVCC members receive a camping discount at 49er RV Village. See www.MVCCNews.net for membership options. All welcome. RV Village savings more than pays for the membership
•The Hagerty Tent Sector at the fairgrounds is for tenters. 20'x 30' sites. $25 dry, $35 with power and water. Flat, little shade, should be green grass, restrooms, trash pickup. No minimum stay required, no club discount
•Walking path between the fairgrounds and the RV park. MVs can be driven back and forth via the front gates
•Jo-Ann is again our "Wagonmistress" assigning sites. MVCCCampmistress@yahoo.com. 49er office does not assign sites! After March 1 a one night deposit must be paid right away to the office to hold your RV site
•Tent site rental must be paid in full to the MVCC at time of reservatioin. Ask Jo-Ann for information
•Cafe, store, pool, spa, laundry, rec hall, games, fishing at the RV Village
•Hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants are nearby. Grocery store across the street

Fairgrounds has an arena where we will have the two MV showcases on Friday:
JEEP SHOWCASE - WWII, KOREA, VIETNAM, CJ PRE-1987 Presented by MD Juan. Bring 'em all, any era and condition. People's Choice Contest with CASH prizes, no formal judging. Damon Viola is POC, damon@damonviola.com

FORD GTB Trucks and CHEVROLET M6 Bomb Service Trucks Presented by Hagerty. Ditto, including CASH prizes. Don Gomes is POC. 209-765-1273 or caddymanwestside@yahoo.com

Don is also the general event information contact

•Historic Gold Country and winery tourism
•Military Vehicle Poker Rally
•Ladies activities
•Annual fundraising raffle- includes a new-in-crate MD Juan reproduction 1942 GPW Maxi-Kit!
See the post about this on the jeeps for sale forum, now with a lot of photos and more details on the original post, here:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=304868&p=1777470#p1777470

Just a few of the vendors planning to attend:
•Rod Shaver
•JAY'S WWII JEEPS - Jay Hinton (Jay is a sponsor of the official commemorative T-shirt too)
•Carson Plains Surplus -Jon Bircheff
•Downtown Truck Parts - Norman Gorelick
•Lee Edwards
•Many amateur sellers - time to clean out your garage and closet!

Get a campsite now through Jo-Ann at MVCCcampmistress@yahoo.com. Sites in our blocked area revert back to the 49er Village on April 1.

JOIN US FOR THE BIG ONE!

[Dave 56]

Some additional Camp Plymouth information:

Tent campsites at the Fairgrounds are 20'x30' (John said 20x25). There is limited shade (5 or 6 trees) at some of the sites along the northern edge of the Fairgrounds tent camping area. We're advising tent campers to bring their own shade - here's your opportunity to set up that camo netting for "Tent City"!

Jeep Showcase POC is Damon Viola (damon@damonviola.com). Bring your project and show it off, finished or not!

GTB "Burma Jeep" Showcase will include both cargo trucks and bomb service trucks, as well as Chevy M6 bomb service trucks.

We're hoping to set a record for the most jeeps gathered in one place, and also for the most GTBs in one place. Should be a super photo-op!

Dave

[John Neuenburg]

Tent site size corrected in the original post Dave, thanks! More room for old tents with ropes and pins, and trade goods.

Shade trees in the tent camping area? I don't know how important that is in April although it could be warm. I heard some boys in the Motor Pool talking about if one or two of those spaces could be raffled off at the Friday Night Raffle. The corporal said that wouldn't do much good because everybody will already be where they are, and the event is almost over by then. Then the sergeant pointed out that campers have the right to keep their same site each year if they want at these MVCC meets, and that tree might come in handy in 2020. That pretty much got the boys scratching their heads as they got back to work.

[Chuck Lutz]

So...what exactly is the rate at the 49er for the MVCC members and...is it a three or four night minimum?

[Dave 56]

Contact JoAnn at MVCCCampmistress@yahoo.com for 49er campsite availability, details and to reserve your campsite. There is a 4 night minimum.

MVCC Rates for the two different site types are:
Standard & Premium RV Sites: Sunday thru Thursday $48.40/night, Friday-Saturday $58.30/night. Most of the sites are this type, mostly back-in but 14 pull-thru are available (some pull-thru sites are already reserved).
WF (Water Front) Plus & Premium Plus (larger) Sites: Sunday thru Thursday $59.40/night, Friday-Saturday $69.30/night. There are only 15 of these "Plus" sites.
Cabins go for $216.81/night for the 1&2 Bedroom (sleeps 6), and $146.52/night for the Studio (sleeps 2). Yes, the cabins are expensive, but they are all fully furnished with linens, bathroom with shower, kitchen, etc. They're like premium hotel suites! There is currently a waiting list for cabins.

All rates listed above include 10% tax.

There are no "bad" campsites at the 49er. Some have a little more parking space or a little more grass area, but all are nice.

You'll need to be an MVCC Member to get MVCC Rates. MVCC Rates are valid 3 nights before and 3 nights after the official April 16-21, 2019 camp dates (meaning MVCC rates are good April 13 thru April 24).

Remember, tent camping is not allowed at the 49er. (You can set up a tent there for display, but you can't sleep in it...) Tent camping is at the Fairgrounds next door; $25/night for dry camping, no minimum (no large RV camping allowed in the Fairgrounds either).

Dave

[John Neuenburg]

To clarify a few camping details - no minimum night stay required in the Hagerty Tent Sector tent camping village, and no club discount there. Camping payments for that area must be paid to the MVCC Secretary in full at time of reservation, and the MVCC will make one payment to the fairgrounds. That is our fairgrounds rent payment.

At the RV park there is a four night minimum and a significant discount for Military Vehicle Collectors of California members only (all welcome). After reserving a spot through Jo-Ann (see original post), she will add you to her list which is given to the 49er office occasionally and then you must contact them to pay a one-night deposit. Balance to be paid upon arrival. So like the procedure we had for years at Tower Park. 49er will not accept a reservation or deposit for our event unless you are already on that list.

There is a RV Village map on the event page on www.MVCCNews.net for your convenience. This includes a list of who is camping where. Also you can click on a little button on a site and the renter name pops up. A fairgrounds map will also be published or Jo-Ann can send you one. Sites are numbered.

[Greg Lalonde]

maybe i missed it, but where are i.e.is the jeep show case going to be? at the fairgrounds,or at the camp ground.and on what day.this looks like it is going to be a great meet.also, thanks c.j. for stepping up if i cant make it.but it looks like someone may be setting up a convoy.if they are,count me in, if i can attend.also if they are,and if they need a tail end charlie,let me know.i never have been at the ass end of a convoy before.

[John Neuenburg]

maybe i missed it, but where are i.e.is the jeep show case going to be? at the fairgrounds,or at the camp ground.and on what day.this looks like it is going to be a great meet.also, thanks c.j. for stepping up if i cant make it.but it looks like someone may be setting up a convoy.if they are,count me in, if i can attend.also if they are,and if they need a tail end charlie,let me know.i never have been at the ass end of a convoy before.

You missed it:
Fairgrounds has an arena where we will have the two MV showcases on Friday:

Featuring Jeeps - WWII, Korea, Vietnam, CJ pre-1987. Bring 'em all, any era and condition. People's Choice Contest with CASH prizes from MD JUAN, no formal judging. Damon Viola is POC, damon@damonviola.com

Featuring Ford GTB "Burma Jeeps" and Chevrolet M6 Bomb Trucks. Ditto, including CASH prizes from Hagerty Insurance. MVCC Central Valley Vice President Don Gomes is POC. 209-765-1273 or caddymanwestside@yahoo.com

Greg you have to be there or you won't be part of a West Coast jeep display record and magazine photo.

[John Neuenburg]

Many updates are in the original post and others, including news about MD JUAN and Hagerty Insurance sponsoring the vehicle showcase People's Choice Contests, and MD JUAN being the overall event sponsor. The MVCC has been given a new-in-the-crate MD JUAN reproduction early 1942 GPW Maxi-Kit which will be on display at the meet, and it will be sold to one lucky person during the annual fundraising raffle on Friday night.

[John Neuenburg]

There is a post on the WWII jeep for sale forum about the MD Juan GPW Maxi-Kit that will be raffled on Friday. It shows what parts are in it. Here is a link:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=304868&p=1771373#p1771373

There are now a lot of kit photos posted, and important details.

[John Neuenburg]

Latest flyer. I can email this to people who want to share with others who may not see our information. Let's get some new folks to this meet. We have the room!



Here is the flyer Damon Viola created for the jeep showcase that will be Friday in the arena at the fairgrounds. Let's set a West Coast record for jeeps in one place! We are shooting photos for magazine articles and these might show participant names if there is room.

[The Fireman]

John,

I may have asked this question previously, but I can't find any reply.

Is there a secure area for the trailers which would haul our vehicles to this meet ? If there are two people with separate vehicles sharing a campsite, is there room to park the trailer and or the trailered vehicle. The camp site referred to is not in the tent area.

Thanks,

Frank

[John Neuenburg]

John,

I may have asked this question previously, but I can't find any reply.
Is there a secure area for the trailers which would haul our vehicles to this meet ? If there are two people with separate vehicles sharing a campsite, is there room to park the trailer and or the trailered vehicle. The camp site referred to is not in the tent area.
Thanks,
Frank

Hi Frank
The trailer parking lot is just inside the fairgrounds gate next to where the Swamp Rats will be camping. Here is the portion of the fairgrounds we are renting. Look by the compass symbol:


If this gets full, event POC Dave Porter will designate another area, maybe part of the visitor parking lot. Since the fairgrounds gate will not be closed during the event, it is technically not secure.

Campsites in the RV village vary in length and to some degree width. Generally there is a paved parking pad and lawn next to it. So the number of vehicles and trailers that can be parked depends on the width and length of the paved part. We are not supposed to put vehicles on the lawns. I don't know if reality will be different, like parking a jeep on a lawn if it's not soggy.

If you want to know exactly what your sites measures you need to find someone who has seen it or will go look at it for you.

[Dave 56]

We have designated a trailer parking area in the Fairgrounds near the tent camping area. We will lock the entrance gate at night, so It's secure for vehicle access, but there is no fence to keep people out. I recommend locking your trailer. At the 49er RV park, the typical RV site has enough room for a large RV and a tow vehicle or a personal vehicle. PM me if you have reserved a site or have a site in mind and I can get the dimensions for you.

Dave

[The Fireman]

Dave,

Sent you a PM just now at 14:50.

Frank