Aluminum Campers Club with Rallies - Any INTEREST ??????

Started by PaulJ, August 16, 2017, 10:32:22 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

PaulJ

Is there any interest in starting Local Chapters of a Camp-outs , rally's, and meet and greets among us?
In a former life and with a former trailer we hosted an annual rally in Florida in the Winter months. We did it for years and averaged about 30 trailers at the Rallies.

Pinstriper

I would never join a chapter that was willing to have me as a member.

Capt J-rod

I'd get kicked out. Some of us were just born to be loners in a tin can behind a truck traveling around lost in the woods and waters. ;)

gbpack

DoctorJJ - You may find enough interest out there to get something like that going, but it might be easier to just have someone volunteer to organize a meet-up in their region, as has been done previously in Oregon and Maine. If someone wanted to organize one in the Midwest or S.E. or S.W., they could certainly raise their hand and begin to plan it. Just my two cents worth!

PaulJ

Thank you all for the input!

Pinstriper, I have you down for a Charter Member.

The group I belonged to was not formal, just a bunch of owners who would meet and show off their mods/hacks and enjoy each other for about 3 days.  The whole thing revolved around a forum just like we have here.  Putting faces to the posts we already do here and having fun Camping! We wished we could have been in Maine this year, but previous commitments messed that up! Look out 2018 Camping we shall go!

Thanks all!


gbpack

Yes, I'm sure that there will be additional meet-up's in the years ahead. I am going to try and get one organized down in AZ sometime next year (maybe in the fall of 2018). I hope that we can meet up sometime in the future at one of them!

DavidM

Having organized the most recent two meetups in New England- Acadia and MWP and participated in the first one in Fundy NP organized by Paul, let me offer some thoughts:

These meetups work more on a social level than on a technical level- sharing mods, etc. At our very first meetup in Fundy, something really clicked. Maybe it was that the environmentally friendly, simple rugged construction of the LL just attracts owners that I like to hang out with. The same was true at the MWP meetup where more owners participated. We just got along very well.

Currently, Paul (the original organizer of the Fundy meetup), Ross (another Canadian) and I are talking about venues for next year's New England meetup. When we figure out a likely place, one of us will take the lead and post a potential meetup notice, to gauge support and start the ball rolling.

That is what I would do if I were trying to organize a meetup in the SW, SE, NE or wherever. Find one or more LL owners that live near where you are planning to meet, discuss locations offline and post a notice to get the ball rolling. It doesn't have to be any more complicated than that and an organization, chapter, news letter, etc dedicated to organizing meetups probably won't help any more than just jumping in and doing it yourself.

That's my take.

David

LivinLite AZ

Quote from: gbpack on August 21, 2017, 12:13:28 PM
Yes, I'm sure that there will be additional meet-up's in the years ahead. I am going to try and get one organized down in AZ sometime next year (maybe in the fall of 2018). I hope that we can meet up sometime in the future at one of them!

Hi gbpack. I'm not much of a joiner, and my wife and I only ever do remote boondocking.  But being an Arizonan who frequently camps in northern AZ, southern UT and CO, a southwest meet up would interest me. I have enjoyed the spirit of this forum and would love to meet some CL alumni (Aluminumi?, Aluminati?). Keep me posted if things move in that direction.

Thanks,
   Steve
2014 Camplite 13QBB. TV = 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo


Merlin

Leslie, Pinstriper, and Ammobob were the instigators and doers behind the 2016 meeting in Oregon that grew organically, much as David describes for the NE meet ups the last 3 years.

If I find someone else (or several someones) interested in helping organize a midwest meetup in 2018, I'm in. My wife and I just had a wonderful experience at Indiana Dunes State Park on Lake Michigan that could be an example of a potentially great meetup place:

Easy access with multiple E-W and N-S Interstates (7 in all) in the area
Nice level campsites (with electricity) in the dunes along Lake Michigan in a large public campground (couple hundred total sites)
A great beach on Lake Michigan with a beautiful trail through the dunes from the campground
Lots of on-site park amenities, including a nature center, hiking trails, bike paths, and did I mention the great beach
An easy-to-use commuter train within walking distance of the park for day trips into Chicago
Adjacent to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore with all the federal park amenities
And, its only an hour and half drive time down Interstate 80 to the Livin Lite plant in Indiana (I wonder if they still do tours?)(I wonder if someone from LL would come over?)

Downsides: Trailers will have sand in them, no water hookups at individual sites (water for RVs is available), can be buggy in the early season, no alcohol in the park, very crowded on weekends (so reservations would be needed months in advance for the busy season- late June to late August)

Anyway, just some random thoughts about next year on the kind of thing that may or may not have legs
Michigan

PaulJ

Merlin, I was born in Chicago and camped at 16 with a boyfriend by riding the train to the dunes from  Chicago.  It was a different World back them when we could hitchhike and no one killed or did harm to others.  Anyway I know the Dune's very well and I think you have a great idea. 

If Dan Miller is hiding in plain site I hope he shares this with LL. It would be FANTASTIC if Thor realized happy owners = more happy owners long after the sticker price falls off the trailer.  LL appears to maybe listening to their Customers.  LL forget the "Dealer Mentality" and service what you have sold.  Bye the way my dealer 10 hrs away - I love THEM! 

David you nailed it NO FORMAL CLUB - Never had it at Casita and we had GREAT Rally's with owner clicking with owner all proud; and all learning from one another.

ammobob

Quote from: gbpack on August 21, 2017, 12:13:28 PM
Yes, I'm sure that there will be additional meet-up's in the years ahead. I am going to try and get one organized down in AZ sometime next year (maybe in the fall of 2018). I hope that we can meet up sometime in the future at one of them!
GD I would be interested in an Arizona trip fall of 2018 so keep me in mind if you decide to go that way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ammobob

I'd be interested in a meet-up in Arizona fall of 2018.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

gbpack

Will do Ammobob! We just got down here (to AZ) and are moving here from Ohio. Bought a house in the Superstition Mountains area about one hour east of Phoenix but won't be moving in right away because we are going to do some major renovations first. Will be living in our 21BHS from now until about the end of March when the renovations are complete. Hopefully I will find some time to organize a meet-up somewhere around here for the Fall of 2018! If anyone has any suggestions for possible places to have it, please PM me and we can toss around some ideas!

Merlin

Quote from: gbpack on September 18, 2017, 03:04:23 PM
Will do Ammobob! We just got down here (to AZ) and are moving here from Ohio. Bought a house in the Superstition Mountains area about one hour east of Phoenix but won't be moving in right away because we are going to do some major renovations first. Will be living in our 21BHS from now until about the end of March when the renovations are complete. Hopefully I will find some time to organize a meet-up somewhere around here for the Fall of 2018! If anyone has any suggestions for possible places to have it, please PM me and we can toss around some ideas!

Hmmm.....we should keep this idea alive. I could be interested in a SW trip in the fall we'll after the peak of the summer heat. Jan and I would like to go to Grand Canyon, Arches, Zion, Cedar Breaks NM and lots of other places in the SW. I don't know the SW area at all, but I'll bet there are some interesting places for a meetup and quite a few LL owners are within a 2-day drive of the 4-corners area. When you and Joan get settled in, maybe start a dedicated thread on a SW meetup? Of course anyone else can to! (Like Ammobob  ;) )
Michigan