gary350
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We should have gone camping today it is going to snow 6" tonight.
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Post by gary350 on Nov 9, 2018 14:52:25 GMT -8
I searched this forum several times I am not sure this thread is in the correct place. Owner of this forum is welcome to move it to the correct place.
People on several camper trailer forums discuss me to no end giving other people bad advise. A few days ago someone posted photos of their rotten trailer asking for advise how best to make repairs. I wish I could show you their photos there is no wood in there camper worth saving. I showed them my photos and told them how easy it is to strips the trailer down to the frame and start over, remove rust from metal frame, repair brakes, bearings, grease seals, paint frame, new plywood floor, new stud walls etc. The trailer owner said, I was already thinking that is the best way to go. Then about 20 people jumped in starting telling them how to cut out the rot & scab in a new board or nail a new board over the top of old rotten wood. There were so may people giving bad advise the owner decided they must me right. A few people suggesting removing 1 board at a time and replacing it even that idea was knocked down by people saying, scab a new board over the old board. Bolts that hold trailer to the frame were rusted away several were gone and all the wood bolts attach to were gone too. Still there are people says, scab in new boards attach them to old boards. I pointed out the board at the window was gone on both ends and the middle 70% of that board is gone it is stupid and triple work to scab that board in 3 places this is why it takes some people several years to repair a trailer it is 5 times more work and very slow work. It seems to be a waste of my time telling people how to do a good job.
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PT
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Post by PT on Nov 9, 2018 17:57:39 GMT -8
The vast majority of people out there do not have the motivation/focus/time/talent/understanding/interest, etc., to do things right with these trailers and many other things... All you can do is try to guide them in the right direction. If they fail to take good advice it's their problem. Keep fighting the good fight :-)
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Post by vikx on Nov 9, 2018 20:28:23 GMT -8
I agree there's bad info out there. Are you talking Facebook or elsewhere? Just curious what sort of forums exist that are giving such bad advice.
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kudzu
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Post by kudzu on Nov 10, 2018 5:18:00 GMT -8
It seems to be a waste of my time telling people how to do a good job.
Welcome to the Internet! It is not just Trailer forums, it happens in all types of forums. I am an avid Kayaker and we see it there. People laughing at wearing a Life Jacket. They disregard how dangerous cold water is. People die all the time but they don't pay attention. I am a woodworker. See it happen there too. Also a photographer and do some Photo Critiques. The technical advice is better there but they brag on shitty photos and have no clue on the basics. You either give up and develop a thick skin. I have done both repeatedly.
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turbodaddy
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Post by turbodaddy on Nov 10, 2018 6:13:30 GMT -8
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HOTRODPRIMER
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Post by HOTRODPRIMER on Nov 10, 2018 10:17:18 GMT -8
I'm afraid this is common with many of the sites on the internet but I can assure you the information offered on the VTT is from individuals that sincerely love these old campers and want you to succeed in a proper restoration, we might not always agree but you won't get advice on how to cover up rot for a quick flip.
Members here take their passion for the vintage campers and don't want to see anyone's camper fall apart going down the interstate.
There is no doubt the combined knowledge shared by so many members that have first had experience is free for the asking, not to mention the resident professional restorer Larry, who answers all the same questions over & over yet replies with grace & enthusiasm.
In my mind the VTT is the number one site for honest and truthful help to every day questions. Danny
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Nov 12, 2018 14:06:52 GMT -8
Welcome to my world. I am in a constant battle with all the goopers and painters out there. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.
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Post by danrhodes on Dec 4, 2018 9:11:22 GMT -8
This group has about 5000 members. In the last 24 hours, 39 members have viewed the site, while over 500 guests have visited. That tells me that the vast majority visiting here are too lazy to even make an account, much less interact. Are these the type of people that are going to do things the right way?
TCT on FB has 40,000 members and is likely where Gary sees the bad advice. In a thread of 20 comments, there is usually only one like Gary telling them the correct way to fix a trailer and it's often argued over or the person is called names for disapproving of painted rot. I have recommended this forum on reddit and been called arrogant or "stuck up" for wanting to do a repair properly and safely.
I usually just post a picture of the pink nightmare destroyed on the side of the road as a warning and move on...only so much help you can give to those who refuse to take good advice.
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HOTRODPRIMER
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Post by HOTRODPRIMER on Dec 4, 2018 11:18:58 GMT -8
Refer to the old adage by John Lydgate
“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”. Danny
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oakback
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Post by oakback on Dec 4, 2018 12:28:10 GMT -8
Don't search bots/crawlers show up as guests?
(regardless, your point is valid)
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Dec 4, 2018 13:57:12 GMT -8
Sadly, it doesn't stop with trailers. I was in the construction industry in So Cal for a good part of my adult life. In the building boom before the giant housing crash I watched hundreds and hundreds, actually into the thousands of people do the same thing with the homes they were trying to flip. These people had no intentions of staying in a home until it was paid off. They were just in it for a quick profit. They didn't care that what they were doing was illegal and unsafe. No regard for the poor family who would be trapped in a total piece of crap after the sale. These people had no shame and no ethics what so ever. All they thought about was a huge profit.
The same thing has been happening with vehicles since the invention of the car. Throw a coat of paint on it, put some sawdust in the transmission and really heavy oil in the engine and sell it for a profit. I actually did a remodel in the offices of one dealership and I couldn't believe my ears when I overheard the things going on there. One time I was finishing up the window casing in one office and one of the mechanics walked in and said "Hey we got a mustang out there with a bad oil pump and the light is on." The sales manager told him to just pull the light bulb and forget about it.
So it's pretty much human nature that pushes these practices. People are basically dishonest and lazy. And now with the onset of instant gratification, there aren't many out there who have the desire to spend a year or more rebuilding a trailer when they can just throw a coat of putty and paint on it and call it good. It's also why our children are so stupid. They no longer have to think and they don't have to work for anything. The idiot parents buy them everything they need including their first car. They pay for their gas and insurance AND CELL PHONES of all things. That way they can be sure to text and drive at the same time. And if it weren't for seat belts and air bags they would be dying at an alarming rate. So then the stupid kids survive the inevitable crash and grow up to raise even stupider kids. The cycle goes on and we find ourselves where we are today in a totally screwed up world full of totally screwed up people trying to tell others how to live.
That's why there are so many idiots on Face Book giving bad advice. You won't find them here because they don't want to know the right way. They want to know the fast easy way. You won't find them in my classes either because they don't want to know how to do it right. They want to know how to do it fast and cheap. And when you go to a rally now more than half of the old rolling pieces of rotting junk out there are putty and paint. No imagination because their brains are mush. You can say goodbye to birchwood beauties because they have to cover up the water damage with paint. No more tiled or marmoleum floors because they can put down phony laminate wood that will last about a year. BUT IT'S CHEAP AND QUICK...
I'm proud of the hard work that I put into a trailer and I'm happy to know that it's not going to fall apart on the freeway and possibly kill someone. I'm proud of the painstaking time I put into a trailer because I know it will still be around and looking good when I'm long dead and buried. My trailers are my legacy and you can make that my epitaph.
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kirkadie
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Post by kirkadie on Dec 5, 2018 7:41:34 GMT -8
Larry, I understand your sentiments concerning greed and stupidity touching almost every aspect of life, especially in our good old USA, because we see and read about it daily. Sadly, what we don't see is all the incredibly wonderful people who share this same country, who go out of their way to be kind, honest, genuine. They don't make the news or water-cooler scuttlebutt, don't need to, just keep doing what's right. I'm fortunate to live in a little burg where neighbors treat each other like friends even when they disagree about lots of things, where Christine can absent-mindedly leave her purse in shopping carts, or I can forget to pick up all my purchases, and someone I don't know will call and say "I think this belongs to you". And I think there are thousands of little burgs like mine, even in the midst of big cities where honest people are not out to "paint over the rot to make a quick buck". At least I hope so. (Results of too much morning coffee probably)
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Dec 5, 2018 8:26:00 GMT -8
Larry, I understand your sentiments concerning greed and stupidity touching almost every aspect of life, especially in our good old USA, because we see and read about it daily. Sadly, what we don't see is all the incredibly wonderful people who share this same country, who go out of their way to be kind, honest, genuine. They don't make the news or water-cooler scuttlebutt, don't need to, just keep doing what's right. I'm fortunate to live in a little burg where neighbors treat each other like friends even when they disagree about lots of things, where Christine can absent-mindedly leave her purse in shopping carts, or I can forget to pick up all my purchases, and someone I don't know will call and say "I think this belongs to you". And I think there are thousands of little burgs like mine, even in the midst of big cities where honest people are not out to "paint over the rot to make a quick buck". At least I hope so. (Results of too much morning coffee probably) Yep and I experience what you are talking about every day since I moved to this little farming community in Nevada. I'm so glad I was drawn here and will probably spend the rest of my life here. But city life is exactly as I told the story above and I just couldn't handle living and dealing with some of the stupidest people in the world any longer. So I moved and now life is good again. We are really affected by the people around us and when you can't make heads or tails of what's going on you must change your environment or get sucked into their's....
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kirkadie
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Post by kirkadie on Dec 5, 2018 14:57:44 GMT -8
I spent several decades with my home and shop in the heart of Austin, and watched it go from one of the coolest places anywhere to an recognizable nightmare, as you did. So I totally understand. The great people that were my world were still there but surrounded by an influx of the same stupidity and lack of concern for others and that took all shine off Austin for me. So I totally get where you're coming from. I guess we're both lucky to have found safe havens, eh. Sorry to gary350 for dragging my soapbox again. Maybe it's time for Vikx to employ the 141 character limit on my posts.
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n2hcky
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Post by n2hcky on Dec 6, 2018 8:18:37 GMT -8
I have finally learned to just keep my mouth shut "keyboard" when it come to people "restoring" campers online "like facebook groups". There is one now trying to do a Scotty wrap from the inside and insist that it can be done "he has done it before"....the curbing is all rotted too......says he has even pieced in patches in the Scotty walls before. SMH AND people are asking HIM for pointers......good Lord....I give up.
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