Interesting.....

Cynical guy that I am, this site struck me as highly skewed on the up, positive side. Camp Inn’s significant presence and Betsey being a moderator added to my cynicism, so I did some homework.

Of the 100 registered users, only 78 are willing to say where they were from to get on the map, so I counted 22 of them out. Evan may know more and some of them may even be Camp-Inn owners. My numbers are based on the map.

28% of the mapped users are wannabes, Camp-Inn folks or own other tears.

42% have owned their Camp-Inn less than 2 years. I consider these folks newbie’s unless they have over 100 nights in the Camp-Inn or a tear.

30% appear to have owned their tears over two years based on the serial numbers. I’m surprised the percentage was that high.

The large majority of the posting is from the top 28% and Evan. I wonder why most of the 30% group are so quiet? I also wonder why Camp-Inn has not sent out a mass email to all of its past customers letting them know this site is here. Is it too risky?

Our experience with our Camp-Inn has not been all WOO-HOO. If this post sticks, I’ll be back to post the rest of the story.

Hilditch

 

As a Wanna-bee I'll speak up. I have a 33 ft. 5th wheel that we currently live in and that's why we want something smaller to travel with. The 560 Ultra fits our needs and desires perfectly.

First of all, Camp Inn did not establish this site and they have their own website. They probably "word of mouth it" to their new customers but this is an UNAUTHORIZED camp inn site for camp inn owners and wanna bees.

You may not have had a WOO HOO experience with your Camp Inn but I guess it's all about what a person expects. Correct me if I'm wrong but by the picture of yours it's not a 560 with the couch. That alone makes it appealing to me. The quality and double usage of things also makes it appealing as well.

Anyone that's camped for years knows what they want, whether they've used the Raindrop or teardrop for over 100 nights, which in your opinion makes a person qualified to say whether it's a great deal or not. Whatever...how ridiculous!

As a bean counter you may be great, but this site is for those of us wanna bees and owners to discuss our travels, fun times, options and upgrades and dreams. And the negative comments you have made are to me personally, not appreciated. It spoils the fun and besides, I don't think anyone asked or cares. If you want to gripe, why not go to Google and post?

 

As a new user here and as a wanabee and only a wanabee because I am researching the camp inn compared to other tears (i.e. I am not going to spend 20K on a trailer that I am not happy with before I purchase). I find the information here helpful and informative especially from users like Evan.

I have in my short time on the forum seen some of your comments which to be honest come across as let me use the radio phrase (Shock Jock) aimed at trying to get a response to controversial statements .

If you was to post a general poll about anything in any community you are more likely to get a greater response from people who feel they have something to say on a matter rather than people who are happy with the Status Quo. It is no surprise therefore to discover from your figures that the percentage of Camp Inn owners on this forum is as low as you say as those owners are probably happy with their purchase and don’t feel the need to contribute.

I have seen many comments by yourself but no defined statement stating what your issues are so perhaps you would like to Put Up so the respective people can answer your queries in an open forum if they wish.

If however you feel that this is not the forum to do that I as a perspective owner would appreciate your private message telling me directly what you think the faults are.

I also want to say I have no intention of entering into a repeated posting match as I think this is a good forum with good people all with something to say positive or critical to say that can only go on from strength to strength.

 

I have less than two years and fewer than one-hundred nights in my trailer. I have valid opinions about it. As a satisfied Camp-Inn customer and one of those infrequent posters, I have found this forum to be extremely helpful, and its participants wonderfully welcoming and friendly. Thank you. All of you.

 

Having a boring weekend? This definition from Wikipedia should look familiar from another one of your threads on a different site:

From Wikipedia.

'In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[2] In addition to the offending poster, the noun “troll” can also refer to the provocative message itself, as in that was an excellent troll you posted.'

As a wannabee, I would second what has been said above. If you have some Camp-inn experiences you wish to share, I would be glad to hear them. I will consider the source from which they come as I do all of the information provided.

I enjoy this site and the people who participate. Thank you all. Let the fun continue.

I hesitate to hit submit and fall prey to the troll, but what the ...

 

Geeze Joan, the consensus was that Len & Ross were trolling and I wouldn't bite. Whatever. Later.

Hilditch

 

Hilditch if you don't like it sell it....

 

Barry & Annie you are spot on. We would not spend 20K on something without a lot of research.
Meribeth and I are in WI and will visit CI on Tuesday to kick the tires and order our 560.

Evan, after we put down our deposit will that make us a Gonna–Bee :>)

We have been a contributor but mostly lurkers since the board was founded by Evan. Thanks to EVERYONE on the board the information posted is priceless.

As for the folks from camp-inn they couldn’t be more helpful and honest. If you read their web site they do reference this site and state if its too baised go to the T&TTT site.

Last week one of their children returned home for an unscheduled upgrade. They made the changes in two days and had it back on the road. Try to get that kind of service after the sale these days.

Look forward to meeting some you in our raindrop travels.

Gonna Bee’s
Benn and Meribeth

 

Hilditch, I have to say that initially I was very reluctant to state my whereabouts on this forum. Although it is "just a place" that I am revealing, for privacy reasons I carefully pick and choose how much information I give out directly (as a registered member) and indirectly (through posting contributions). This certainly has a bearing on the extent of my participation on this forum. As a result, I don't believe that lack of participation is necessarily indicative of a slanted forum.

Incidentally, I too did my homework before choosing a CI. The starting point was to look at websites of the various teardrop manufacturers. From there I went on to reading postings from other forums such as T&TTT, Tear Jerkers, and T@B. I then looked at a couple of teardrops. It would have been considerably more convenient (and less expensive) to go with another manufacturer. But, it was because of the information that was consistently posted in T&TTT and Tear Jerkers that I kept coming back to the CI. It wasn't until I had pretty much already made up my mind that I was going to purchase a CI, that I turned to this forum (mainly for option selection guidance).


Kelly

 

Hilditch, Re: "highly skewed on the up, positive side" I too did my homework before buying a CI and I love it. Life comes at us in many ways and I for one choose to look for the "positive side". At over 70 I can easily say it has served me well and I don't regret a day of seeing the good and overcoming the bad.
I hope if you don't enjoy your CI you do sell it and find something that will bring joy to you.

 

Hilditch, It is my humble opinion that you live in a very special world. I appreciate having the opportunity to interact with you, or not. We all earn our peace and happiness at some point in our lives and I encourage you to look for yours.

Kent

 

By nature, each individual has their own personality. Hildich confirms he is cynical, I am a positive up beat type of person. The Constitution gives all the right to express ideas. Thank goodness forums are one method. Constructive critism creates ideas and improved products. I like CI products, yet wish Cary could change a few items. Darn the engineer in him.

As for registered owners and fewer being active: hey, give them a break. Obviously those inactive members aren't interested, which is their right and choice. How many forums should I be actively involved in: Coleman, T & TTT, geocaching, healthcare, Dodge Dakota, cast iron cooking. Gees, I don't have the interest in being a cyber expert.

During a convesation with Cary, Camp-Inn has sent emails Camp-Inn owners.

As for camping nights and excercusions: I have slept in the raindrop 3 nights in one trip. Have slept many nights in tents, back of the truck, pop-up, travel trailers, and 5th wheels. To state that "newbies" are classified as less then 100 nights in a TD is placing unfair titles on many who have a wide variety of experiences. I should state that you are a newbie because maybe you haven't had the same experiences as mine.

" highly skewed on the up, positive side." As for positive comments being posted: every product has issues, the T@B forums, IMO, are heavily posted with fix it issues, yet those who post enjoy the T@B. The posts lead to creative solutions, resources, and knowledge level of T@B owners. Gee, I don't know of a single product that doesn't have issues. Home, vehicle, electronics, paper, pens, food, air, rain, sun, religion, education, healthcare, on and on, and on.

Be thankful for right to free speech, forums, and financial security to purchase recreational items.

Jean

 

Hilditch,

Perhaps your intention was not 'troll' like in nature but it seems to have the same result.

I think part of my reaction is that I am confused as to where you are coming from. It seems to me that you value experience. Assuming that you are the same Hilditch on other teardrop sites (if I am wrong, let me know,) what I know about your experience is that approximately 3 years ago, you decided to change from a self described Holiday Inn camper to teardrop camping and have spent more than 100 days in your Camp-Inn camper.

My 'experience' with experience is that you can be just as experienced in doing something wrong as you can be experienced in doing something right. You can also be experienced in doing something differently. Since you are long on cyniscm and short on details it is difficult to judge whether I should also value your experince.

Now take Evan as an example. Based on his postings, he has been teardrop camping for approximately a year. I don't know what his camping experience prior to that is. He has obviously embraced teardrop camping with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. He set up this website where owners, gonnabees and wannabees can get together and share experiences. The website is informational as well as entertaining. He has graciously shared his experiences with the rest of us. There are many others on this site who have done the same. I value their willingness to share as well as their experiences.

Again, I would be interested in hearing your experiences, the good ones as well as the not so good ones. Any details as to why you chose Camp-Inn over over manufactures; why you chose the 550 over the 560; what options you selected and why; why you did not chose other options would be great as well; were you able to view one before you bought it...etc.

 

Well I'm not a newbie to camping - have camped in tents and different types of RVs for years now. I am a newbie to teardrops. As a newbie to teardrops and Camp-Inn's this forum has provided me with great information plus the friendly atmosphere keeps me coming back.

On researching teardrops and going on many websites I found this review, is this the "rest of your story"?

"Hilditch : For the price, I want quality and low maintenance. In the last 15 months with my loaded 550 Ultra I've had to wear too many hats. Electrician, Plumber, Roofer, Engineer, Mechanic, Front-End Man, Painter, Carpenter, & Detailer. When one uses the cheapest Aluminum on the market with no protective coating and neglects to use glue on the body where it is needed, you can expect that pretty look to last until the first time it rains, followed by wet bedding. Beware, this ain't no Airstream."

Sorry to hear that not everything has been good. Nothing is perfect, not even Airstreams. One thing I know is that the folks at Camp-Inn stick by their products and go out of their way to ensure their customers are happy. They even helped out a friend with a leak problem on her teardrop and it was not even a Camp-Inn! So for your complaints posted in the review above, have you given Craig, Betsey & Cary the chance to help/remedy?

Also, I for one am glad that Betsey, and others from Camp-Inn are active members on this forum. This tells me that they care and are there for their customers and stand by their products 100%!

 

I would have thought that a leak within this time frame would have been covered under warranty. Anyone else have this type of issue?

 

To all,
I am a person who is "up and on the positive side." I have enjoyed this forum from the beginning. My wife and I are member #11.
I stepped away from tents some time back. I researched all the teardrops I could find. I looked for anything online negative about any teardrop. I did find a negative post about campinn wood. Otherwise all went well. This trailer is better than a tent and better than any trailer I could find. I am nearing 60 not yet to the club with Pat.
Linda, Barry and Annie, Jim, Joan, Benn and Meribeth, I want to thank all for your responses and contributions to this post and to this forum. I am right now at Land Between The Lakes, Piney Campground space B2. The 550 is right next to me. The Northern Breeze is over the picnic table. The eze-up covers me. Yep Pat, it is heavy. Our big tent is set up as well. We have another tent on another site. We have two of our four children with us. There is one Aunt. There are 8 grandchildren. My son brought the boat. We poke at the fire at night and eat s'mores till our bellies hurt. Without the Tear My wife could not have made the trip. She is inside with the AC on. Her spinal cord damage does not allow her to get up and down out of the tent anymore. The C-I...17K, the other stuff, another 5K. The memories of my childhood camp trips still linger. This gift to the next generation.....Priceless.
There are those reading this that will remember the first lantern they bought. Maybe one from their Dad. This is what the outdoors is all about memories. Even the bad memories become good over time. The Camp-Inn is only a vehicle to good memories. When my eulogy is spoke, I doubt anyone will say, "Things would have been so much better if he had not bought that Camp_inn" I got to go...I am cooking burgers for everyone tonight.

Steve

 

To All:

Well, as one of the early responders to this thread, I'd like to take a moment to add two more thoughts after having heard from you others.

First, my reply above was heavily -- heavily -- edited from what I had initially drafted. I wanted to blurt out some pretty strong feelings after reading Hilditch's thread-starter, mostly to the effect that I feared this might be a watershed event in the life of this forum, one that turned it to the dark side. Now that I see your upbeat responses on the forum's behalf, I'm thankful I didn't. Thank you all.

And to Hilditch: I have found your many postings on trailer-tech and camping topics very, very helpful. Please, stay with us and keep up the informative postings like those. Membership and ownership statistics notwithstanding, it's pretty obvious that there isn't much support here for negativity, a position that Camp-Inn trailers are of low quality, or that the Petenwell folks are anything other than the kind of people we wish all small business owners in this country were.

Jim

 

Folks,

Unless I ask a question, I am not looking for any feedback about my posts. You are welcome to read them, understand them, misread them, accept the ideas, dismiss them, and make your own off base conclusions if you wish. If I get some people to think about them, that’s cool. I’m not going to argue, try to convince you, answer every question or try to teach you. If you don’t understand or like what I say, which is usually in the grey IMO area, that’s OK with me. I like balance.

Hilditch

 

Hilditch, a very special world indeed!

Kent

 

A very tempered response. Thanks, Hilditch.