Terry and Michelle Bone: Royal Tin Can Openers
The second generation of the Bone’s are proud represent the Tin Can Tourists. We recently retired and live in Michigan and we camp as much as we can in the surrounding states. We’ve been part of the TCT club since 1998 when the club was renewed and have owned four vintage trailers. Our current trailer is a 1957 Avion Regal and is considered the oldest Avion on the road.
Email: TCT1919@gmail.com
Address: Terry Bone, PO BOX 619, Prudenville, MI 48651
Representatives Role
The Representatives are asked to develop activities in their geographical region and serve as a sounding board for ideas concerning TCT events and policies. It is our goal to develop a major Gathering in each area. Gathering attendees can then develop additional activities through the Regional Representative.
TCT Representative responsibilities include:
- Grow the membership within their region and/or state
- Insure that the TCT guiding principals are adhered to by our members at rallies or in TCT venues: Our guiding principles are clean camps, friendliness among campers, decent behavior and plenty of clean, wholesome entertainment for those in camp.
- Representatives are role models to our members and set examples for others to follow at our events and in TCT forums
- Provide guidance and coordination for members and campgrounds wishing to host a TCT gathering
- Collaborate with other representatives on events and activities
- Provide consistency in Tin Can Tourists activities, logos, images, etc.
- Leverage the Tin Can Tourists membership FUNd (a percentage of membership fees) to help rallies and activities with their needs not covered by rally fees.
- Communicate events to TCT leaders & membership. Leverage the facebook groups, website and newsletters. Submit articles for the website and newsletters. Assistance in managing the facebook groups and other social media.
Our Regional and State Representatives are:
Tim Heintz – Southeast Regional Representative:
West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana
Email: TCT.Heintz@gmail.com
Heintz Designs Vintage Trailer Restorations
Heintz Designs’ Vintage Restoration Team grew from the passion & hobby of its founder, Tim Heintz. For over 20 years Tim has been collecting and restoring vintage rv/trailer coaches and displaying them at various vintage rv shows and museums. Because of our love of vintage trailers Heintz Designs is committed to providing its clients with the same quality restoration that we would provide for a trailer in our own vintage collection. We enjoy and understand the excitement that is felt by a new vintage trailer owner but we also respect and appreciate the love and pride possessed by vintage trailer owners who have had their trailers for many years.
For over 10 years Tim has served as the Southeastern Representative of the Tin Can Tourists, an international, vintage rv & trailer coach club
Brandon & Liz Morrison: Mid-States Regional Representatives
Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Arkansas.
Email: redbrandon03@gmail.com
My wife Liz and I are very honored and excited to be the new Mid States Representatives for the Tin Can Tourists. We first became involved with the organization in 2008 when we were in the process of restoring our first trailer, a 61 Avion T27. It didn’t take long to realize that we had stumbled upon something special, our kind of people! Since then we have hosted the West Michigan Vintage Gathering for 10 years and also organized the Super Dooper Yooper Looper caravan across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in 2015. Along the way we have made some of the best friends anyone could ask for as well as refined our trailer restoration skills. Currently we are camping in a 51 Lutes Coach built in Kalamazoo mi, and believed to be the first coach built! Outside of the TCT world Liz and I enjoy all things old, we have a couple classic cars and also enjoy working on our historic home in Muskegon Mi. We also house junior level hockey players in our home from September to May. We look forward to continuing to meet new people through this organization and are here to help any of our Mid States Tincanners anyway we can!
David Coon and Harry James – Northeast Regional Representative:
New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and New Jersey
David’s Email: fairviewfarm@frontier.com
Harry’s email: jameshywood7890@roadrunner.com
David Coon – On the personal side. We have been married for 46 years. We reside in Fairport, NY, just east of Rochester. We have one son who is married and has 2 daughters. Jan is a retired Nurse. I still work as a sales mgr. for a Wealth Management firm. We have been involved in the collector car hobby for many years. Owning a vintage trailer seemed like a natural extension of the hobby. We purchased a Winnebago trailer in 2008. With some help from Bill and Denise Fletcher we were able to make it Road and camping worthy. We attended the first NE Rally and been to every one. We also attending the Spring Rally at Camp Dearborn twice. We have really enjoyed all the events. Getting there and back with a vintage car adds to the fun. We have a new circle of friends from our camping adventures.
Harry James – I have lived in the Boston Hills, a piece of the South Towns of Western New York with my wife Nancy for the past 24 years. Our interest in vintage trailers began with a trip to Bill and Denise Fletcher’s in Trumansburg New York to check out his selection of slightly used trailers. We bought our new to us, 1965 Avion H-24 travel trailer from Bill the next week. Most of our camping trips are to the Adirondack mountains and their many state camp grounds. We look forward to working with co-representative Dave Coon in growing the annual North-East rally held at Sampson State park.
Watt “Orbie” Mungall – Northwest Regional Representative:
Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah
Email: wattmungall@gmail.com or call 435-730-3840
Watt grew up in the Blue Ridge Mts. of South Carolina. He spent 30 years working at various jobs associated with the oil and gas industry, living in 38 different states during his career. After retirement, he moved to Willard Utah, which is 50 miles north of Salt Lake City. In 2000 Watt and his wife, Mary Jane, decided to find a tear drop, but ended up buying a 1947 Boles Aero . Their first trip in 2001 took them to Laughlin, NV, where we met Don and Jeanette Boles who autographed the “Shinny Hinny” in the closet door. The bug had bitten and they have ended up with the following: 1947 Boles Aero; 1951 Boles Aero; 1951 Silver Streak; 1965 Barth; 1951 Home built; and the last is a 1947 Boles Aero, that is final stages of restoration. Over the years ,Watt took note that his area was the, “hole of the donut”, having no rally’s that were anywhere close, therefore he decided it was time to have one. Check the Rally listing for Watts Up-By the Bay – Willard, Utah.
Karen Campbell – Southwest Regional Representative:
Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Hawaii and California
Email: karencampbellwithrt66@hotmail.com
My trailer interest or addiction it seems was started in 2002, when we bought a graffiti-ed, abandon, little 1956 Mobil Scout from our local junk yard. After removing all the spray paint, cleaning rats nests and spider webs, we towed it behind our 1957 Ford to a couple car shows. The plan was, it was just a cool old accessory to the car, we never thought about camping in it. Well, several friends followed suite thinking it was fun and found their own canned hams, to match up to their classic cars. As things happen, before long my husband and I were repairing and decorated the interior-thinking lets go camping in the tiny trailer.
About this time, we co started the Southwest Vintage Camper Association, finding more trailer enthusiast, camping and hosting several events each year. Its been a great hobby, met lots of wonderful people and over the course of this adventure we have had over 40 trailers. Most memorable and spectacular was our 1948 Aero Flite.
Now with all this vintage knowledge and appreciation, Kenny and I travel helping new reps and seeing our country in a newer 24′ class C motor-home. You will know our coach by the brass TCT emblem proudly affixed along the entry door. Thanks for having me as your SW representative. Karen Campbell
Staci Bloomer – Oregon State Representative:
Email: Oregontct@gmail.com
Hello! My name is Staci Bloomer and I reside in the beautiful state of Oregon with my handsome husband, Tim Dunks, our amazing son, Brody and our fur baby (aka trailer security) Willy. Our family has a love of all things vintage. We have attended Hot August Nights in Reno, NV for many years. It has become a reunion of sorts as we converge as a family, along with our parents, aunts and uncles and friends to “ooh and ahh” over the eye candy. Two years ago, while cruising Facebook, I came across a post for Trailerfest. It was only an hour away (we lived in Napa, CA at the time) and the theme was Christmas in the Trailer Park. While we were still on the hunt for our first trailer, I simply could not pass this up. It encompassed all of my favorite things; vintage trailers, Christmas décor, ugly sweaters, camping and family! We booked a cabin, loaded up in our 1956 Chevy 210 Wagon and headed to Lodi. GAME OVER! We purchased and began work on our 1970 Ideal soon after. My husband and I both work full time, so we spent weekends and other free time working on “The Brat Pack.”
During the restoration, our family made the decision to move home to Oregon. Shortly after, we completed (is it ever really complete?) restoration and headed to Brooks, OR for our first rally, in the trailer. I was literally applying decals and other finishing touches at the rally! My husband asked me to kick him if he ever said he wanted to restore another vintage trailer. Four trailers later…his legs are still intact! We are now the proud owners of a 1970 Ideal, 1958 Ideal, 1967 Shasta and an early 1960’s Conway Caravan out of the UK. We have also committed (and are super excited) to help restore a 1951 Spartanette that my parents purchased after accompanying us to Trailerfest the last two years. In addition to growing our fleet of vintage trailers, we met some of the best friends a girl could ask for! (You know who you are!)
It is safe to say, we are HOOKED and we love every minute of it. Please feel free to reach out to us. If we don’t know the answer, we will help you find it. We are SO excited and honored to represent Tin Can Tourists in our home state.
Rene’ Perret – Washington State Representative:
Email: downriver11@yahoo.com
Hello all. My name is Rene’ Perret, my handsome guy, Jeremy Ralston, and I live in SW Washington. Together we have 5 adult children, 1 adorable grandbaby, and 1 fur baby. We started our vintage trailer addiction with a 1955 Aloha we found on Craigslist in 2012. “Tin Lizzy” was restored right in our carport, we signed up for our first rally, Mt. Baker Vintage Trailer Rally and from there we’ve been taking BIG gulps of the Vintage Trailer Kool-Aid ever since. I joined Sisters on the Fly, started an Aloha Facebook page with a friend and began making connections with some wonderful people. 6 years later we now host the Mt. Baker Rally, largest vintage trailer gathering in the NW. We have 2 personal trailers we currently use, a 1955 Aloha and 1956 Jewel. Our 1953 Nashua is next on our list for restoration. We own 20 trailers ranging from 1942-1962, and we started a business Down River Vintage Trailer Restoration Down River Vintage Trailer Restoration. We live in a floating home on the river. We love this lifestyle and attend approximately 12 rally’s a year. We have made the best friendships that we would not trade for anything. We are fully embracing this honor to represent Tin Can Tourist in Washington State and can’t wait to make more amazing connections in the Vintage Trailer world.
Rob & Lrae Wintercorn – Arkansas State Representatives
Email: scion4rob@gmail.com
Hello my name is Rob and my wife Lrae are so stoked with the honor of helping represent the Arkansas area of Tin Can Tourists! We have been married 34 years with 4 grown kids all now doing the life thing on their own. One newly married in the Marine Corps. Soon to get out and join us in the Northwest Arkansas area. Our camping roots are deep with a camp out in our early dating days, to my kids growing up with vacations in tents or in our 65 Volkswagen Sundial camper. As they got too big for that our 73 Starcraft pop up. We had camp outs in the backyard or our favorite regular state park Devils den. I picked up a 68 Serro Scotty Gaucho as a project for Lrae and I to get back into camping back in 2013 and we’ve been joining in all the ones in the area we can as life allows since finished in 2014. I also run a page called Rats and Rods with camper trailers on Facebook. A great site for car people to kick the tires on the vintage trailer idea. We have also been hosting an event for the past 3 years called the Ozark Vintage Trailer Rally in Eureka Springs. The town loves us and we have a great time! We hope to help share the love and fun of this great club and hobby. Also to help others plan and put on events. Thanks you so much for the privilege of this position! Rob & Lrae Wintercorn.
Denis and Ginger Blaquiere: Florida State Representatives
Email: denblaq@gmail.com
Hello, my name is Denis Blaquiere. My wife Ginger and I are originally from Michigan although we have lived in both Southern and Northern California. I spent my working career in Michigan as a design engineer in the automotive industry. Ginger was a pre-school teacher and still substitutes from time to time. We are now retired and live in Cape Coral Florida. We have been life long campers, starting out with tents during cross country motorcycle trips when we were a lot younger. During our child raising years we did quite a bit of camping, mostly in tents. After the kids moved out we finally got a camper. Our kids have not forgiven us for that! We bought our 1975 Avion in 2007. It belonged to a coworker of mine, his dad bought it new in 1975 and used it until they could no longer travel. It is original unrestored. We discovered TCT shortly after acquiring the trailer and attended our first Gathering in May of 2008. To our surprise our trailer won best reserve of show!
During the last eleven years we have attended quite a few TCT events, too many to mention. In 2016 we embarked on a three month,12,000 mile road trip out west and represented TCT at a vintage trailer show in Hemet Ca. While we love all the cool trailers the best thing about TCT is all the new friends we have made along the way. Lets go camping!
Kirk & Beth Olmsted – Michigan State Representatives
Email: wagongirl@gmail.com
Hello, we are Kirk and Beth Olmsted, and we are very excited and extremely honored to serve as Michigan Representatives for the Tin Can Tourists.
Our TCT journey began in May of 2003 when we attended the Spring Rally in Milford, Michigan as spectators. We had heard of an open house of vintage trailers near us and decided
to check it out for ourselves. Already having a passion for vintage cars, motorcycles, furniture, and design, it was a great experience to see all the creativity that people put into their rigs. We knew right away that these were our kind of folks. When we attended that rally, we toured many trailers, discovered the many sizes and types of trailers we liked, and made lifelong friends. We planned to get a trailer in the next 5 years. But one month later, we hastily installed a trailer hitch on a Ford Explorer Sport and drove to Pennsylvania to pull home our first trailer. It was a 1967 Airstream Globetrotter, and that fall we attended our first TCT rally. It did not take us long to realize we had no idea what we were doing, but with each other’s help, and the many years of wisdom shared with us from our new TCT family, we learned how to RV safely and have fun camping!
Since then, we discovered and shared the joys of rescuing vintage RVs. We have renovated a 1967 20’Airsteam Globetrotter, 1976 26’ Revcon motor home, 1964 24’ Avion Holiday and currently travel with our recently restored 1989 Avion 30P. We have attended many TCT and Silver Avion Fellowship (SAF) rallies, traveled on four TCT Caravans: Route 6 (2010), Route 40 (2012), The Super Dooper Yooper Looper (2015), and the Centennial Celebration (2019), and have been blessed with many years of camping in our vintage rigs with our TCT family.
Outside of the TCT world we enjoy all things old, from our Mid-Century Modern home, vintage cars, and motorcycles. We also have our newer 3 wheeled unique vehicles (a Ural Retro and a Morgan) that have that vintage feel. No matter the vehicle, “We love to go a traveling”!
As we learn the “ropes” as your TCT Michigan representatives, we look forward helping new and current members as well as meeting more fine vintage RV enthusiasts here in The Enchanted Mitten and across the world!
All our best,
Kirk and Beth Olmsted
Gail Leggett – Arizona State Representative
Email: ggleggett@hotmail.com
I live on an acre in the foothills of Oro Valley (Tucson), Arizona with my husband, 2 dogs, and 2 horses. I had attended the University of New Mexico and continued to make regular visits back there while raising my children. In those days, we were still tent camping and shaking our shoes to check for scorpions.
My interest in vintage trailers began in 1994 when I started camping with my husband up in the Yellowstone area of Montana for the summers. Tents were not allowed due to the danger of bears so I began to look for a small trailer and bought a 1958 Corvette (trailer) from a neighbor. We lived in it for two summers before upgrading to our current 18’ 1958 Kenskill- which, yes, we found in a barn when attending a party at a local ranch. I loved the wood interior of the trailers and bought them for their timeless appeal.
When vintage trailers became popular, I became involved with various vintage trailer groups and attended a number of rallies. It was back in New Mexico at a Taos rally that I first met Karen Campbell, now the Southwest Representative for Tin Can Tourists.
Tim Viall – California State Representative
Email: tviall@msn.com
Tim and Susan Viall have been retired for five years and have traveled extensively through the US and Canada with two Serro Scotty trailers, a ’58 Scotty teardrop and a ’64 Scotty Sportsman (just rebuilt from the frame up). Their first vintage trailer, acquired 11 years ago, was a Kit Kamper teardrop, with which they toured the west. In retirement, Tim has a “light career” as a travel writer/photographer, writing a weekly travel column and travel blog for the Stockton Record newspaper (http://blogs.esanjoaquin.com/valleytravel). Tim’s business career included 20 years managing non-profit organizations, including the Emergency Food Bank of Stockton/San Joaquin. His earlier career spanned 21 years in daily newspapers with The Stockton Record, The Toledo Blade, OH, the Peninsula Times Tribune, Palo Alto, CA, Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, and the Sacramento Bee. Susan worked as an accountant for a homeowners management company for well over 20 years. The Vialls reside in Stockton, CA, and have two daughters and three grandchildren, all in the greater Sacramento area. Tim and Susan are delighted to be representing Tin Can Tourists in California, and are planning to take in TCT and vintage trailer events in this state and the west. They would love to stage a TCT Rally, perhaps in the Lake Tahoe area in the fall. Contact Tim at tviall@msn.com, or phone (209) 969-3875.
Jean Bundschuh – Colorado State Representative
Email: ColoradoTincanners@gmail.com
My name is Jean Bundschuh, and I have been camping since I was 6 months old. The fascination with my grandparent’s 1960’s Coastline camper trailer as my playhouse in their driveway, had me lured from a young age. My grandparents had instilled the love of travel and camping and family togetherness. Once I grew up, and the family trailer was no longer, I yearned for one of my own. I was quickly infected with a disease called Aluminitis and had to have more. I have owned a handful in the last 5 years. My first was an unidentified one that I quickly learned was above my skill set. My second was a 1966 Avion 25M that we loved as a family and took to Yellowstone to enjoy. The 1954 Boles Aero near original MiraMar, was my prize however I had to sell her to purchase a home. Currently I own 2 1961 trailers; one a prototype Compak Keuka and the second a Streamline Baron. I am also on a few year project of renovating a 1947 Boles Aero for my mother. Did I mention it is a disease?
I am looking forward to making many more camping friends in the near future and camping with some awesome Colorado folks.
Rose Larson – Oklahoma State Representative
Email: roselarson@att.net
Hello, I’m Rose Larson. My husband and I collect and restore vintage campers. Our collection spans 5 decades of campers (30’s-70’s) and I love every single one of them! I actually closed my Real Estate Brokerage and retired at 55 to spend more time restoring and decorating them and to have more time to camp with fellow vintage camper enthusiasts. We attend approx 12 rallies a year in Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas and I’m excited at the opportunity to represent TCT here in my home State of Oklahoma where spectacular camping opportunities abound. (See pic).
Feel free to contact me with any questions at all.
Rick Myer, Eastern Canada
Lexie Kensington & Charon Henning: TCT Representatives at Large:
lexicaligari@gmail.com
Lexie Kensington and Charon (Say it: Karen) Henning met in the Fall of 2003 as fellow Sword Swallowers working thrill shows and carnival lots all over the country. It was in this gypsy like life-style that they fell in love with each other and the joys of being trailerites. Lexie is a former commercial photographer, who ran away with the circus when serving the corporate advertising game lost ground to the internet, and Charon is a much sought after Tattoo Artist working a circuit of high end tattoo studios around the country. She hold a BA from Prince George’s Community College and a BA from George Mason University in Fairfax VA. Alex has BA from Butler University In Indianapolis, and a BMS in Mortuary Science from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. Together they have been full timing in a 1966 Airstream since 1 October 2009 and will complete a second 1966 Airstream this fall. They have been members since 2002 and have performed their Comedy Thrill Show at several TCT functions in Florida and Michigan. They hold and embrace the traditions, philosophy, and heritage of the Tin Can Tourists as describe in David Thornberg’s “Galloping Bungalows” and as experienced around campfires, on highways and anywhere travelers seek fun, and adventure. The More We Get Together, The Happier We’ll Be.
Hunt Jones (Susan) – TCT Representative at Large
- Mountain Lakes NJ
- Braden Castle Park FL
- Anywhere in the lower 48’s
- Usually found: under the hood
- TCT Member since 2001
- Towing vintage with vintage since 1997 (13K miles/year)
- Motto #1: “Noise to some, Music to others” (exhaust note)
- Motto #2: “Never pass by a beater tavern”
Email: hhcjones@att.net
Dal Smilie – TCT Representative at Large
My Father and his parents spent a lot of WWII living in areas where there were large war construction projects. My Grandfather figured bids and supervised the plumbing and heating aspects of those jobs. For a while he ran the entire construction project at Oak Ridge, TN which was part of the Manhattan Project. My Father ran blueprints for the job as a Summer job during college. Of course it was all top secret. Still have his ration book. I came along after that war but they still had the trailer and used it as he supervised the construction of power plants and such. By the early ’70s they spent part of their retirement in a Holiday Rambler in Ft Myers. My maternal Grandmother spent a good bit of time in her Holiday Rambler in Florida also. I camped as a kid in Boy Scouts and in various forts we had built on open lots in the neighborhood. We did a lot of tent, car and motorcycle/tent camping over time. Now its in our 1949 Curtis Wright Clipper or 1972 Cayo Motovator. No meal tastes better than those you make or share while camping. For quite a while I had an aversion to pulling a trailer. We tried to haul our racebikes for years in the back of a truck or van to avoid backing, parking and so on. But while attending a large vintage motorcycle meet in Del Mar, CA I saw a group of about five couples who not only had their vintage motorcycles but also vintage travel trailers and vintage tow rigs. And they all looked happy, sitting in their vintage lawn chairs. I’ve kept in touch with Vince Martinico who was one of those who got us started with vintage trailers. We started looking and found our 1949 Model 5 Curtis Wright Clipper about eighteen years ago. Sitting out in the desert outside of Palm Desert, CA. It was painted green, had a swamp cooler on top, door off, some windows out, with 1961 tags. The owner was ready to deal and we packed the bearings, bought tires and rigged lights and towed it home. We have probably towed it about 40,000 miles since then. We also have a 1972 Cayo Motovator. That is a Class C RV built on a Dodge van chassis with only 21,000 miles on it. The Cayo family had built Avion until they sold it in 1971. The new company did not want to build their classic pickup campers so they continued those under the “Cayo” name. Then they built a larger version and called it the Motovator. We have serial #5. This unit was built a couple of weeks before I went to Viet Nam in 1971 and while the Cayo seems new, going to Viet Nam seems like a long time ago to me. The dogs and us probably camp about 45 nights a year in our vintage rigs. I currently work part time with homeless veterans in Helena, MT. A rewarding retirement job where I have learned a lot. Jane has taken a job running the Deschutes County Health Department in Bend, OR so I commute back and forth. We hosted the TCT Fiddler’s Picnic Vintage Rally on the Mercier Ranch South of Livingston, MT the last two years. In August of 2015 we will host the TCT Bend Classic Vintage Trailer Rally in Bend, OR (come on over to it!) The entire proceeds of each rally were contributions to either the group that put on the Fiddlers Picnic itself, an acoustic roots music jam, or this year to the J Bar J Youth Ranch where the rally will be held. Vintage camping is great fun. Being at a rally, volunteering at or hosting one is even more fun. Even more fun is towing with a period tow vehicle. You can’t get out of a gas station or into a campground without getting swarmed by interested folks, a great way to spread the vintage camping message. We found ourselves utilizing the Tin Can Tourist site quite a bit. After awhile it just seemed wrong being free riders on the site and we joined eight or so years ago to help support this great organization they have breathed new life into. Since the Curtis was designed and built by Wally Byam (and Curtis Wright) who is the man behind Airstream we also belong to the Vintage Airstream Club. And the Rolling Oldies Vintage Trailer group in Oregon. Great organizations, all.
Email: dalsmilie@aol.com
TCT International Representatives
Trish Martin – Australia
My husband Dave and I are musicians and have a duo called “Leather and Lace”, Dave is a cabinet maker and works for the local shire council, we have three daughters aged 15, 13 and 9 and live in an old Hotel in country Victoria, Australia. We are renovating the old pub and it isn’t open for business and hasn’t been for some time, it is 140 years of age.
I have always had a love for caravans and currently have three old ones: 1970 Travel Home DeLuxe, an old English Fairholme Romeo from the 1950’s and the other a Hawthorn built in Hawthorn Melbourne in the 1940’s. A few others have came to us and been sold on to other enthusiasts who proudly tow them behind their vintage vehicles. I would love to give your members an Australian perspective and show you vintage caravans that I come across, we live in a very beautiful and unspoiled area of the country and I always feel proud to share that with others. I feel honored to be a representative for Australia.
Email: sandford@netspace.net.au
René Leenders – Netherlands
My name is René Leenders, 48 years old, father of 2 beautiful sons and known in this part of the world as Mr. Airstream. Back in 1999 I owned a catering- and event business who was looking for something special to promote my company. I ended up with the Tin Can Trailers as I thought back then that every US Travel trailer looked like that. It became quite a journey trying to find out how to import one of those shiny trailers and to become familiar with the huge differences between the US spec travel trailers and the European ones. Internet was not as well spread as it is today. In fact the TCT site was one of the few providing some information. The Airstream plant did not even have a website back then.
To share my experience with the rest of the world I started a small website called www.airstream-holland.nl and that is how I became “famous” in the world of aluminum travel trailers here. I imported and converted a lot of Vintage trailers and started my own business in renting them out. In 2008 I was then approached by Airstream to become an official dealer for their European spec Airstream models. The Rental & Vintage business was then broadened to what it is today with www.airstreamprofessionals.com . Our client base is continental Europe with clients from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. We learned this business the “trial and error” way and with an 11 year experience we know our ways.
The business does not only include Airstream. We also serve other brands provided they give the Tin Can feeling or add something to the camping experience not available in Europe. We are selling teardrop trailers of our own brand FunTear and will soon release the FunTear Retro – a new 1950’s inspired aluminum travel trailer. Our showroom has been given the name “American Caravan Center”. The word caravan in the UK and Europe means travel trailer (not what it means in the US)
The install base of Tin Cans in the Benelux has now come to a point of almost 300 trailers. I guess now is the time to start a local unit of TCT. There is going to be a rally from the UK via Belgium to The Netherlands on June 17 expected to be the largest one of all so far with 50 participants.
Email: r.g@leenders-online.nl
Website: http://www.airstream-holland.nl/
Hiroshi Okamoto; Japan Representative
Website: http://www.airstreamcafe.jp/
Click here to watch Hiroshi’s airstream conversion
Forrest and Jeri Bone: Retired Royal Exalted Tin Can Opener and Royal Exalted First Lady
Email: tincantourists@gmail.com