Hi, My name is Paul Beddows, I am president of NATCOA, The North American Truck Camper Owners Association, a non-profit organization. We are organizing the first ever Truck Camper rally & show this spring (all RV types are welcome) in Ogallala, Nebraska June 16-18th. This will be a different type of RV show. It will be held in a State Park, in a camping atmosphere. Several owners of companies will be there including people like Ron Nash of Arctic Fox, Rex Willett of Northstar, Bob Mehrer of Snowriver & others. This will be the first time you can sit around a campfire with the guys who make your RV. Socialization is going to be encouraged. We are not planning on charging admission although we may solicit voluntary donations. A big BBQ & Potluck is planned for the Saturday. We hope to run a shuttle to nearby campgrounds & hotels. This is a new concept & we have no idea how it will come off. If it suceeds it will become an annual event. It may even be the start of a new trend. Company presidents camping with their customers. If you are considering downsizing so you can get into those cool boondocking spots, a TC may be for you. You will be surprised at what is available these days. Truck Campers are no longer Grandpa's fishermans special. They come with slides, leather recliners, etc. You may find its time to get rid of that big unwieldy 5th wheel once you see some of these. Anyway the web site for the event is now up in its preliminary stage and is at: truckcampershow.com
Paul: Welcome to the site. Your concept and the gathering sound interesting. Although as you can tell by my name, I'm one of those guys who drive the big rigs, I'm certainly open to new ideas and will follow your group with interest, perhaps even attending the event. Again, welcome. On this site you will find some of the nicest people in Rv'ing (and an occasional sorehead), and I am sure you will like it!
Yeah I just came across this site while looking for RV Park review sites to add as links to the links page on our site. They also use the same forum software we use. WE started our orgaization back in March & 2 or 3 RV Manufacturers lept intot he idea with both feet. Going from nowehere to organizing an RV show in 8 moinths is quite a feat, we obviously touched a nerve. Its a bit of a jugglign act to represent both consumers with rallies, caravans & just having fun & at the same time represent the industry. We did a caravan last summer (free) & are thinking of ones to Alaska & Mexico as well (also free). We even have thisstupid baton made from a strair rail that has now become the symbol of that & is rapoidliy attaining holy grail status. I actually bought a Truck Camper 5 years ago as a temporary step to a 5th wheel when the wife retires. After seeing where I can get with it & do it in comfort, I would not have any other RV type now. I became good friends with Bob Mehrer, pres of Snow River who was the first to put a slide in a TC. He has a design (patented) that has a standard 4 seater face to face dinettte, consisting of 4 loungers. The outer 2 swivel out when the tabel is lowered. This solves the one big complaint about TC's, nowhere to sit comfy & watch TV. These pictures are from their smallest model a shortbox Camper. By the way, I met Bob Mehrer when I was in a forestry site. The park host had one of these campers & was having a problem with a solar panel. He had emailed the cvompnay. 3 days later the President of the company shows up in person , a 1300 mile round trip to fix it. After seeing that, I decided there was only one brand I was going to buy next. As it happens the problem turned out to be a battery. He then hopped in his truck, drove 70 miles to the closest town & bought 2 new ones. All free, & the camper was out of waranty. He invited to his home to camp in his back yard, which I did, since it was on my route, & I have a competitors product. That was one thing that gave me the idea of forming an organization to include both manufacturers & end users. Since then I've come across Rex Willett, pres of Northstar, who has a similar philosophy of customer service as Bob Mehrer of Snowriver.,
Paul, Welcome to the group. The photos of inside look like a small house, very nice. You can get into places we can not go. You will find this site a great place to find good campgrounds and have other people help you on chat board. Lots of good information flow on this site.
