Compact/Compact Jr./Hunter class owners

[JenPB]

As noted here, I recently attended my first FGT rally. The hosts and hostess couldn't be beat, and there were lots of Casitas, some Bolers, a handful of Bigfoots, one FiberStream, and two Compact-family trailers. Recently there's been some discussion of a potential Hunter/Compact-dedicated rally.

How many of us are out here?

Would you REALLY be interested?

HOW FAR would you be willing to travel?

How soon?

[Lisa H.]

Are you limiting it to just Hunter and Compacts or will you include all those fiberglass trailers that have pop-tops? There are a number of less common brands that are practically clones of the brands you are talking about. I have a Trailswest Campster, live in SoCal and may be interested in attending a rally at some point. . . depending on the location and time of year. I'll be at the Lake Casitas rally at the end of October.

[Bobbie Mayer]

Yeah, me, too, Campster and all, but not at Lake Casitas. And I'm gone in the summer. But otherwise I'd come if it was close enough for a weekend trip.

[bbuehler]

I'm ALWAYS game for another ROAD TRIP!
I posted an answer to the '74 Compact II Restoration project thread and just saw this thread, that you folks later added.
We are definitely gearing up for a First "POP-UP TOP" fiberglass egg meet. It could still happen this year or we could wait until next year, to get more folks lined up. It gets hard to reserve enough sites in Oregon parks, where I live and in Washington state. I assume Calif. is much the same...everyone has already reserved group camping for the summer season, unless you know of some private spot we could use.
So, send me a list of potential camping spots and your email addresses, and I could help coordinate...unless someone else would like to get 'er done. I would think we'd be looking at next spring, unless someone has a private group camping spot for us!

gardencoach[at]live.com

Barbara

[Bobbie Mayer]

It would be a good idea to gauge interest (including non-cracked egg owners who might want to come ogle our eggs) and figure out about how large a place we need. Some group sites might still be available for fall but anything else would need to be spring.) Central California coast might be a good location- fairly central (except for Oregon.)

[JenPB]

California's Central Coast (Marin County to Santa Barbara County) experiences some of its BEST beach weather in early October. (SHHHH! Don't tell anyone! We locals LOVE getting the BEST of the beach weather to ourselves!)

So perhaps an October meeting might work this year. Or we could go with next fall.

I'm not partial to making this an exclusive event at all, but getting more cracked egg folks together would be really wonderful (particularly for those still learning about our relatively new acquisitions). Sure, I got some ideas from the Casita and Boler folks, and they were fun to see, too. I was just carrying on in Joe's footsteps - gauging interest levels...

I wonder if any of these campgrounds would work for us:
- Montana de Oro State Park (SLO County - do they have a group site?)
- Morro Strand/Morro Bay State Park (hookups for those who need them?)
- Lime Kiln (Big Sur coast)
- Patrick's Point State Park has a group site, and its much further north so may be more accessible to our PacNW friends (think Larry & Carrie would make it down there?)

Or we could head inland...or toward the mountains (though the potential for cold temperatures and snow exist throughout even the summer months at higher elevations there).

Tahoe?

[Joseph Domingos]

I JUST found this thread (THANK YOU Jen for starting this!hehe) and am very happy to see that there seems to be some interest for a Hunter siblings sort of rally! YAY! hehe
I do agree with Jen though, I don't know that we would want to make this just an exclusive trip, but maybe an 'emphasis' on Hunter siblings? After all, it's always fun to get folks together, the more the merrier I say, and there would probably be some great input/insight from people who are PAST Hunter sibling owners (Like Frederick), and who are also just very handy/knowledgeable folks to have around. And just to clarify what we're counting as "Hunter siblings":
1. Compact Jr
2. Compact II
3. TrailsWest Campster
4. Havasu
5. Family Wagon
6. Peer Mini
7. Hunter I
8. Basically anything that has that obvious resemblance in shape to any of those, with a pop-top, right? Maybe even include anybody with a pop-top at all, like Cadets, or Eriba Pucks, etc?

Then there's the question of, as Jen mentioned, when choosing a location do we need hookups or not?
Personally, from the list of campgrounds that Jen mentioned, I've camped at Morro Bay State Park and at Montana De Oro State Park as well. They are both beautiful sites, actually only like 15-20 mins apart if that, but Morro Bay SP has some hookup sites, running water bathrooms with showers, all that sort of thing. And I believe they went through a big remodel in the last 4-5 yrs, so most of the facilities should still be fairly nice. I believe they have a group site that is somewhat secluded from the rest of the park, but I believe there are no hookups there, just a bathroom.

Montana De Oro SP is a very beautiful location, but only pit toilets and no hookups. So it's a bit of a different flavor of camping. But again, you're close to Morro Bay, and you actually are welcomed to hit Morro Bay SP for shower use, and maybe even for dump station priviledges (not 100% sure on that one). I don't believe there's an actual group site at Montana, but I don't think it would be hard to just take over part of one of the loops for a trip like this. And there are so many beautiful hike options there, it's really a beautiful place. Can you tell I have a soft spot for Montana De Oro? hehe

There are other places in the SLO County area, as well as northern Santa Barbara County, just depends on what people want. Some possibilities include:
1. Lake San Antonio or Nacimento (Sure some of you have been to the rally there!)
2. Lake Lopez
3. El Chorro Park-SLO Area
4. Morro Strand
5. San Simeon Campground (Near Hearst Castle)
6. El Capitan State Beach (Just north of Santa Barbara)
7. Refugio State Beach (also north of Santa Barbara)
8. Jalama Beach Park (near Lompoc)
9. Gaviota State Beach (north of Santa Barbara)
10. And the list goes on...

I would be happy to work together with a few other members to plan this event out, but I would not want to do it all alone. I'm just not that big of a martyr...hehe
I do kind of think that this might be too short of notice to pull something off for fall of 2009, but maybe spring of next year would be more possible? Again, just tossing some ideas out there to see what people think.

So what does everybody think so far, huh? More input is a good thing! hehe

Joe

[Bobbie Mayer]

Patrick's Point would be 10 hrs Plus trailer for me- too much for a weekend, worse for the LA-SD folk. (At least for those of us not-yet-retirees.)

[Kent I]

We have just returned from a 2 week trip to the central california coast so it wont work for a weekend.We drove number #1 down the Oregon coast and the California coast to Cambria, just south of San simeon and Hearst Castle.We stayed at the San Simeon Campground. On our return trip up I-5, just outside of Grant's Pass we lost our clutch which meant a return to Grant's Pass and wonderful service there. But my panic attack was thinking about all the places on #1 where the clutch could have gone and wondering what would have happened with the traffic. There are narrow places on that road and what do they do with "dead" cars while you wait for a tow. I have jokingly wondered if they just push you off.
All the best with planning but it would have to be a lot closer to B.c. for us to be involved.

[Lisa H.]

Remember, all us pop-top folks are welcomed to come to the Lake Casitas Rally Oct. 29 - Nov. 2. More people need to register for this event so we can secure the Bass Loop for FGRVers. Given that we already have a SoCal event at the end of October, I suggest we shoot for the Spring.

Joseph is right on about Montana de Oro. I camped there a couple of years ago and it was very primitive camping. While it has beautiful cliff trails above the the ocean, dogs are not permitted on any of the trails and I'm not real happy if my pups can't join me. Also, it was literally raining ticks out of the trees. I have not camped at Morro Bay for a good 20 years or so and cannot comment on it since the renovation. As I recall, they used the horse campgrounds as group campsites. . . I stayed there with a biology field studies class many moons ago. Also, I remember the pit toilets had FREEZING COLD METAL SEATS. Ughh! It's kinda funny what sticks in your mind about a particular campground, huh?

The San Simeon State Park is one of my favorite campgrounds for Spring camping. However it does not have hookups. Their website states, "San Simeon State Park is located 35 miles north of San Luis Obispo on Highway 1, and 5 miles south of the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument Visitor Center. The community of Cambria is located 2 miles to the South and offers gas stations and grocery stores. The San Simeon Creek Campgrounds offers 115 campsites for tent camping or recreational vehicles. The maximum length for a RV is 35 feet. Each campsite has a fire ring and picnic table. Water spigots are available throughout the campground. Restrooms with flush toilets and coin operated showers, a dump station and water fill-up for RV's, and pay phones are also available. Firewood is for sale from the campground host.
Recreational activities include camping, picnicking, hiking, fishing, surfing, beachcombing, bird watching and whale watching. The Junior Ranger Program is a regularly scheduled interpretive program for children. Interpretive walks of the San Simeon Trail may also be available."

What I appreciate about the San Simeon campground is: Each campsite is visually separated by shrubs and trees. has plenty of soft, green grass and a water spigot (I live in brown, SoCal, so green grass is a real treat!) The bathrooms are immaculate and the showers do not run out of hot water. It is not crowded in the Spring and it is adjacent to the beach. San Simeon is close to the Hearst Castle as well as close to a lot of choice antiquing in Cambria. You can view elephant seals on a nearby beach (must drive). And lastly, there is a fantastic BBQ joint in Cambria. . . MMMMM!!!!

As far as travel time goes, it depends on what time you leave the LA Basin or Orange County. I've made it up there in as little as 4 hours on a weekend, but it could take many, many hours longer if you get stuck in the LA/Ventura traffic on any given weekday. Planning is imperative for travel anywhere in SoCal. Okay, there are my two bits!

[Bobbie Mayer]

I wouldn't mind not having hookups. I've survived without them before (hopefully I'll get my 12V system up one of these days, though.)

Bobbie

[Linda of San Diego]

Count me in, anywhere in SoCal, but I will be in the Holister Area in August.


Great Idea!!!!

Linda

[Joseph Domingos]

Well I'd be game for something fairly local myself. I'm still kicking around the Lake Casitas trip, gotta see what the rest of my calendar is like first...

Just got back from a weekend of camping with my family, and though I had a good time, the Compact needs some work. Apparently when I put it away last year I didn't fully drain the water system, because I have a split in the supply line leading to the bathroom. Since the split was in the line BEFORE the bathroom shutoff valve, there was no way to isolate it from the rest of the system, so no water pumped all weekend. Oh well, they're always a work in progress, right? hehe

Still, I'm looking forward to a rally where I can eyeball other folks Hunter siblings, and steal all kinds of ideas for Mods! hehe

Joe

[Dana T]

My wife and I are interested. I'll keep watch on this topic and we'll join if we can.

[francene]

I'm interested in get togethers in Washington and Oregon - once I get mine put back together!! Hopefully this summer...

Great group!

Fran
'74 Compact II

[Cory Hilby]

Recently there's been some discussion of a potential Hunter/Compact-dedicated rally.

How many of us are out here?

Would you REALLY be interested?

HOW FAR would you be willing to travel?

How soon?

I'm interested, haven't had time to read all the posts so am stepping into the middle of this conversation--
Let's see--how many? At least me
REALLY interested? Depends on when/where, let's say I'm pretty darned interested
HOW FAR? 2 states, but in some circumstances 3 states

I would suggest: At the Oregon Gathering 2007, I think, there was a fiberglass RV there called a "Havarti". It was almost exactly the same layout as my Compact Jr. except that a "pop-top" is molded fiberglass in the Harvarti. I'd suggest inviting the Havarti's if the Compact Jr's are coming!

Cory
(with interest from brother Steve)

P.S. I THINK the photo below is the Havarti

[Joseph Domingos]

Hey Cory,
You've got a good eye, that IS a Hunter sibling, but it's a Havasu, not a Havarti... Very close though...hehe I've honestly never seen a Havasu up close, just in pics, but it's a clever idea in a way, to have the 'poptop' space be permanent. The downside would be that it takes away one of the best features of the Hunter line, that you can park it in just about any garage because of that shorter height...

On the subject of the rally, well I put in for the time off for Lake Casitas, so maybe at this point we (at least us So Ca folks?hehe) can concentrate on attending that event, and lets see how it goes? Heck, maybe we can FLOOD that trip with Hunter siblings! hehe

I look forward to meeting some of you folks in person, now that we've chatted on here for so long! hehe Take care,

Joe

[Michael M]

We're interested in a weekend trip, SoCal, no hookups necessary. October sounds great! Yay! I'm so excited to attend my first rally! Linda (and Frederick) it would be great to see you again.

Hillary

[Harry Young]

Harry and Kenna are interested,

1971 Astro, thanks for the thread here,
We think its a great idea,

Only requirement is for us is the fur baby is allowed to come...

The pooch...no hound...no can come.

She is people and holds a grudge.

Harry & Kenna

[Cliff]

Yeah! A couple more Compact owners signed up for the end of October event at Lake Casitas. Hopefully a few more pop-top fiberglass owners will join in. See ya there!