Nov 272009
Nov 242009
Here is info about the trailer: Rare vintage Shasta camper/trailer painted vintage style. Painted by artist Teri Freeman. (rustycowboy2Painted like log cabin with sexy cowgirl, cactus, road signs, wheels, fence, etc. The inside is western. The stove is hooked up to propane. There is no heater. Water aquired with hose. Barnwood floor, lodgepole bed and amoire.
Nov 222009
Hi Forrest
I’d like to invite all TCT members to join us in Jackson Center Ohio, at the Airstream factory, for Alumapalooza 2010. The dates are June 1-6.
Although we expect the event to be attended largely by Airstream owners, all makes of trailers are welcome! The program will include five days of seminars on a variety of topics, musical entertainment on three nights, a big outdoor barbecue, nightly movies, daily door prizes, and much more. (Of course we’ll have those treasured elements of many good events: daily Happy Hours, Swap Meet, Open House, etc.)
Full information about the event can be found online at www.alumapalooza.com. Any member of TCT would be enthusiastically welcomed. I believe that this will turn out to be one of the premiere trailerite events in the mid-west, thanks to the support of Airstream and the village of Jackson Center, so this is really an event that I strongly recommend to anyone who loves the trailer traveling life.
Let me know if you have any questions that aren’t answered on our website.
Thanks
– Rich
Nov 192009
Wade F. B. Thompson, who revived the beloved Airstream brand of travel trailers and led a campaign to renovate the historic Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan, died on Nov. 12 at his home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He was 69.
Nov 162009
Back in July, Kate Heber & John Byfield launched themselves and their vintage 22′ Airstream trailer on an Eco-Discovery Tour for an indefinite amount of time. Their trailer, a 1962 Flying Cloud named “Doris Mae,” is open for public display at eco-friendly events and shops all around the country.
After their 7 month renovation/reconstruction project, the interior of John & Kate’s Airstream is stunning. They cleverly mapped out everything in cardboard first before committing to build — adjusting here and there as they imagined their lives in the Airstream — creating an extremely personalized space.
This tiny traveling home has all the amenities including: solar electricity, composing toilet, low-flow sink and shower, low-VOC paint and finish, LED lighting, cork flooring, kirel board & bamboo cabinetry, natural linoleum countertop, even a natural wool mattress.
Check their blog for current updates and maps of their travels. Cheers and good luck to both of you!
Nov 102009
We ask our readers for details on this 1962 vintage camper
A DISCOVERED TREASURE: There is little information available about this interesting find.—photos courtesy Sgt. Jason Brown
Sgt. Jason Brown of the United States Army sent us an e-mail and some pictures of the vintage camper he just purchased. We ask our readers to peruse the information and photos below, and see if you can help Sgt. Brown obtain more details about his find.
“I am looking for info on a small camper trailer I recently purchased. It is a 1962 CamPact. I have searched forums of vintage camper trailer owners and came up with nothing. I contacted the RV Heritage Museum and from the photos I sent them, they believe it is a Canadian-made unit. If you could help me with any info on this unit it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help in this matter.”
—Sgt. Jason Brown, US ARMY
If you have any information that could help, please e-mail Sgt. Brown at jbrown99703@yahoo.com or phone 907-227-4858.
Nov 082009
Woke up this morning around 7am, Most of the other canners were just getting out and around. Most everybody was getting packed up and ready to head back home. Although everybody who attended were from Florida, some of us had around 500 miles to get back home. Everybody said their goodbyes and found out where and when they would see each other down the road! Most will get back together at the Cedar Key Caravan or the Winter Convention. I will be at both, but with a different trailer than the Spartanette……You will have to come to find out what it is!
By 8am I was all ready to head out and was saying my goodbyes. I had decided to follow Herb and Sidra back home just in case they had anymore problems with their 1963 Suburban that they pull their 1963 Airstream. They had a slight oil line problem a few days ago and thought it wouldn’t hurt to have another Rig follow them just in case. They decided to stay off the interstate just in case, so off we went around 8am. (they live about 40 miles west of me, in Fort Walton Fl.) We took 41 north to 17, about 45 miles down the road we turned on 17 and when I made the Sharp right turn to get on Hwy 17 my long trailer didn’t clear the corner too good and I curbed the trailer on the curb very bad!!!!! And to make things worse there was a draniage hole there and the tires fell into it and the trailers side frame bottomed out. I thought every thing was alright till I got about half a mile down the road and the trailer felt like I was pulling a sled!!!!! So Here I go again with my typical problems!!!
I pulled over on a very small one way street and was afraid to get out and look, went out to look and the front streetside tire on the trailer was blown out!!!! So time to pull out all the blocks, jacks, spare tire, tools, and……..that was all I had…..No Lug Wrench! Forgot it at home! Thankfully Herb and Sidra turned around to help and had a lug wrench with them, so after about 30 min we had the tire changed and were back on the road. Now I need a new rim, tire, and hubcap! I lost my hubcap so if anyone sees one on Hwy 17 it belongs to me!
The weather was great with the occasional gust of wind. Around noon we pulled over for a quick lunch somewhere near Lakeland. then it was back on our 500 mile journey home. A little farther down the road we pulled over for gas and Sidra recieved a phone call with an update on the Hurricane…..What Hurricane? We had no Idea there was a hurricane and all we knew was there was just a small storm heading north and was just going to be a lot of rain and some wind! Now it was a Cat 2 and heading right toward our part of Florida! So Back on the road and this time a little faster as we were ready to get home and see what the storm was doing and get ready if needed!
Thankfully the rest of the trip was uneventful and we made it home without any other problems. I can’t wait till the next rally!!!!
Tim Heintz
Panama City Beach, Fl
TCT S.E. Rep.
“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel, until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow” – Lin Yutang
Nov 072009
This morning started out with a great Biscuit & Gravy breakfast provided by the State Park Volunteers, there was plenty of food and everyone enjoyed the great breakfast. After Breakfast it was time to get ready for the open house. I still had quite a lot of stuff to get ready in my trailer and I knew people would start showing up early as they always do! I belive the first people arrived around 9am and by 11am the area was loaded with people touring the trailers. The crowd was full of people that had been to the show before and made sure to come again this year, most bringing others with them to see the trailers!
The crowds stayed pretty constant through 5pm even though the open house was only to last till 4pm. Had all of the usual stories of how people had lived in trailers just like ours and how they remembered seeing these rigs going down the roads back in the 50′s and 60′s. There was also an abundant amount of people very interested in the Tin Can Tourists and were asking how to get into the Vintage Trailers, how to find them, and how to join the TCT!!! I believe this rally had more seriuosly TCT intrested people than any other rally I have been to. There were even a few who wanted to register today!
Overall the Open House was very successful and hope to see it get even bigger next year. By around 5pm the last of the crowds were gone and it was time for the BBQ dinner!
At 5pm we all gathered for dinner, There was BBQ pork, Beans, Cole Slaw, and rolls. Tasted Great! We also found out that the estimated count for the open house was around 300 cars and 500-600 people! We all sat around eating and talking till around dark. Then it was back to the camp area for sitting around the camp fire which ended up being a lantern as the winds are really blowing outside! We went through about 3 lanterns before going to a battery lantern as apparently the ‘ghost’ who live in the historical part of the park (where we camp) wouldn’t let our lanterns stay on! We sat around for several hours trading stories and enjoying the last night before most of us head out in the morning. By 7pm most people left for bed (time change has really messed with most of our schedules!) A few of us stayed around for another hour and had a great time trading trailer pulling stories! Specially me as I seem to always have something go wrong on every trip!
Well that was about it for today, it has been a very long and busy day, and I am about to fall asleep!
Tim Heintz
TCT S.E. Rep.
‘If you don’t know where you are going, any road will lead you there’ - unknown
Nov 062009
Tin Can Tourists 2009 Fall Rally
November 6, 2009
This morning started very early as breakfast was at 730am, Specially since most are still getting use to the time change! Breakfast was great and everyone enjoyed the time talking and catching up on their past travels since last time. As soon as breakfast was over there was time for some of us to hit a few antique and thrift stores on the way back to the campground! At 10am the park gave a tour of the Historical ground, the weather was great with just enough wind to keep us cool. The Historical buildings and exotic plants really make this state park very unique, I highly suggest a visit , even just for the day, if you are ever in the area! The Tour lasted about an hour and after that there was plenty of time for everyone to do what they wanted. Most people went shopping, antiquing, hiking, fishing, or just relaxing under the awning!
Around 2pm a lot of us gathered around to share trailer stories and just visit. Todd and Randy supplied Fresh Key lime coconut cookies and lemonade! That Didn’t last long! John Culp told a very interesting story of a trailer he saw at a show many years ago that you pulled around and a smaller trailer like room could be detached from the rear like a small travel trailer! Sounded like a Mobile Home you could pull and the rear part could be used as living space or pulled separately as a travel trailer!!!! Two Trailers in One! He said it was a prototype and never went into production!
By around 5pm everyone started to gather for dinner! Before we ate we showed all of the new Members the Secret Sign, Handshake, Password and Song. Then it was time to eat, we had Chicken and Ham with tons of side dishes brought by everyone else! There was pleanty of food!!!!!! After dinner we sang Happy Birthday to John Culp and had cake!
When Dinner was over we all headed back to my trailer for a slideshow of the History of the TCT. (I hang a screen {white shower curtain} from the awning!) Forrest got setup early and showed several pictures of past rallies to pass the time while we waited for everyone. After everyone was there he gave the History of the TCT along with some more pictures! After that I hooked up my computer to the projector and showed some pictures and ads I have on various trailer brands. Also took request of trailer makes to show what I had on them! Then I showed several different companies of unusual trailers such as the 2 story trailers like: Pacemaker, Stewarts, Smoker, Space Queen, Richardson etc…. Then I moved on to the Budger Expando trailers that when you pulled them, were 8′ wide by 31′ long and after setting them up were 15′ wide and 31′ long!!!! The First DoubleWide! By the end of that it was time to close down for the night.
Got a BIG day tomorrow! Our Show is on the front half of the paper and we are sure to have a big crowd for the open house!
Tim Heintz
TCT S.E. REP.
Panama City Beach, Fl.
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”
Nov 062009
Pretty fabulous Scamp Makeover
The Wanderlusters are Stephanie and Taylor, formerly Houston residents, now full time wanderers. The couple purchased a 13′ fiberglass trailer (a 1977 Scamp) and renovated it, updating it to a more modern look. During their traveling life they have been spending their time re-prioritizing and deepening their relationships, and of course crocheting. You can read about it all on their blog. (via Design*Sponge)
http://thewanderlusters2009.blogspot.com/2009/09/scamp-renovation-photos.html
all the pics on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wanderluster2009/sets/72157613012514111/
Before:
After
