THANK YOU

[Coach George Jessup]

I wanted to say thanks to you folk. Im a new member here throwing out lot of questions and getting respectable answers. BTW no one has asked but I do search first.

Also, being a member of other forums I know often flame suits are required when you ask questions about modifying the loved object that a Bulletin Board's discussion is all about.. You folk have been GREAT! Thanx much.

[Jana J]

No problem - Oh, you weren't just talking to me.
anyway, you ask good questions. AND have good ideas. Keep it up.

[Gina D.]

We have tried to keep this forum as a place where no one WOULD fear asking a question, for just the reasons you mentioned. It is comments like yours that give us a little idea that we may not be so crazy after all. Thank You.

Now, thats not to say you won't get a smarty pants answer sometimes (Of course... I would NEVER do that... ) but we see it all in good fun and anything that spreads beyond that is just not our style.

We are happy you are comfortable here. Please ask as much as you want!

[BOBSMITH]

Heh heh.

There are a lot of nice people on this forum.

I met a couple in Florida who have a Compact Jr. They did a lot of searching about fiberglass rvs and they mentioned a particular website (which I still have not seen) and talked about how rude the moderator was and how angry the members seemed to be. Then they mentioned this board...and how happy everyone is and how funny the little smilies are and how often the members use them .

This is a nice message board!

[CharlynnT]

No flaming here! That's what I like about it!

This was the first chat-forum I became involved in, was amazed to see how rude other forums can be, the swearing and arguing and so forth.

Oh, and the high-okra content is also good!

[Morgan]

George,

Care to tell us what and where you coach?

[Brian B-P]

In addition to all of the nice people here at FiberglassRV, and Mike and his moderating team to keep it nice, there's also the modification factor: while fans in some areas of interest consider deviations from stock sinful, the moulded fiberglass travel trailer world embraces expresssions of individuality . The factory did it that way for a reason, but it's always possible to think of a way which is better for you; some people can even follow through and build it (my Boler work is just repair so far).

[MyronL]

A (darker) part of me has always wondered if changes I have made that erase some of the original identity of my Burro would be considered a violation of some unwritten pact, and draw criticism. It's never happened here, I think because active members here are sensible. Objects have uses. Objectivety tends to broaden usage. The fiberglass travel trailer is what it is, not what it's named. Brand names amount to nothing more than clever marketing strategy. Original designs can be flawed. Interior modifications that have practical consequences and serve one's instincts to create something new produce great joy and satisfaction for all of us lucky enough to be able to do it.

For example, take the Burro exterior decals. They are at once so distinctive, yet, I thought, so over the top, angry looking enough to make me wince, and did not evoke my sympathy. Being a travelling billboard is also not my style. Must admit to hesitation and doubt, and even some angst, before taking a hair dryer to those dried, flat-looking, faded Burro decals.

For about 2 bloody seconds.

[Coach George Jessup]

George, Care to tell us what and where you coach?

Educational Gymnastics, and cometitive Boy's Gymnastics and Acrobatic Gymnastics. I am in Panama City FL

(No these kids are not my athletes. Just an internet pic. My Acro program is new and young)

[Mike Watters]

The civility of the board:
As stated above - good moderation (in all senses of the word) is the key. People pretty quickly learn what is and isn't acceptable or move on. The rules are pretty simple. Golden rule (as always), keep things to language acceptable for a grade schooler, avoid politics and religion. Kinda sad how good manners seem to be a lost art. (Disclaimer: This is in no way to be interpreted as a statement of any official rules... I'm just a user stating the obvious.)

Not getting flammed for modifying the trailer:
Remember, our toys are as much as 30 years old and more. Bringing them back from the dead is the norm. Clever and innovative "individualization" (ie hacking it up and rebuilding it to suit your whims) is part of the fun for many of us. Now - if you were gonna cut the thing up into little pieces as entertainment we might try to talk you out of it...
Folks here have done small changes (add a clip in just the right place to hold something), large changes (gut the trailer and rebuild from scratch, chop the end off and add a slide-out) and everything in-between. It's all good!

I don't think that sticking one on the back and calling it a mini-motorhome would be for me, but that being said - I like seeing what others make of them. It's the inventivness and innovation I enjoy, even if the result isn't something I'd want to copy.

mkw

[Suz]

Like Mike said, we may not want to have the same modification as someone else, BUT there's usually something to learn in the process that might spur us on to thinking something else. It's for that reason (and being highly curious) that we love to see pictures of others work.

For instance, just removing the body from the frame and securing to something else could be very helpful for someone who is wanting to put on a new frame ... like maybe they want to put the body on a larger frame so they can have a front porch or toy hauler or something.

Too bad we lost the pictures in the forum hijack last year. I think you would have found Thomas Haney's Scamp "cottage" very interesting. It had pretty much collapsed, as I recall, and he actually built framework around the body to pull it back into shape. It was just great. I wish he'd come back around and post some of his pictures.

[Deb in MN]

What a bunch of nuts- anyone who would condemn anyone else for modifiying their Camper!! Nuts! That would be like them flaming anyone for re-decorating or re-modeling their house! *rolls eyes*

[Per Walthinsen]

Myron,
Aside on customizing: originally my Burro had no decals, but I considered putting them on (the legendary "Tony" promised but never delivered).
I agree they are a bit in-your-face because of the donkey expression and the size.

A local sign company scanned a tiny part of a brochure I had and came up with the decals in the picture. As you can see they are more moderately sized and moderately priced at $13 each. I have plans for something on the rear gravel shield which should lay to rest the "angry" thing.

[Loren G. Hedahl]

Considering the flaming situation -- I've seen it happen on other boards. Sometimes it starts with a troll, other times there are strong opinions stated strongly and refuted more strongly and sometimes there are true zealots who are so serious that others have a difficult time with them.

The fact that it hasn't happened here recently is good, but we are not immune in any sense of reality. When it happens, the best strategy is to not respond unless it can be done in a way that builds up rather than tears down.

Silence is Golden as an effective method of Learning How to Take the Heat!

[MyronL]

Per,

You said it better than me. Too "In your face" sums it up nicely. I think Your smaller version of the Burro logo is the ideal answer. That price is a bargain! That said, I, none the less, have opted for something completely different.

Since my street-side wall has a big round patch to hide, which covers a hole 14 inches diameter, from removing a fan the previous owner probably salvaged from a depression era soup kitchen, I decided to design my own Burro decal. Here's the preliminary design. 14 inch (probably blue-green) circle behind these guys gets patched hole well hidden.

(Got big trees in front, and dog named Jenny, so we named our little acre Jenny Pines, so I decided to call it a "JennyPinesBurro.")

[Jana J]

Got big trees in front, and dog named Jenny, so we named our little acre Jenny Pines, so I decided to call it a "JennyPinesBurro."

I love it. and the picture - fantastic.

[BOBSMITH]

Love the Jenny Pines Burro logo!