Where's Dan?

[djsamuel]

I've heard that Dan is gone.  I know he was considering retiring at some point, so I hope that is the case.

Is anyone from the company taking over for Dan?

[tinkeringtechie]

If it's true, then he left without even mentioning it or introducing his replacement. Doesn't seem right...

[djsamuel]

Agree 100%.  Makes me wonder about future commitment to this site and customers.

[tinkeringtechie]

It has always been a pretty low priority for them and this hijacked new forum seems to be more like an echo chamber for questions that go unanswered and issues that aren't addressed. People expect factory participation on a factory hosted forum, and it's just not there...

[djsamuel]

It has always been a pretty low priority for them and this hijacked new forum seems to be more like an echo chamber for questions that go unanswered and issues that aren't addressed. People expect factory participation on a factory hosted forum, and it's just not there...

Exactly.  They would have been better leaving the previous forum alone.

[klaker]

Can you imagine Dan fighting against the Thor tide of down market product changes and intense cost cutting , If I were him I would retire also.

I am thankful I got one of the last "true" livinlites, while my cabinet doors are wood everything else is as it was in the beginning  . The dealer has been excellent with the few minor issues that have cropped up and I tell everyone who asks about my camper to buy a pre 2016 if they want the aluminum floor and roof.

[DavidM]

It may be interesting to compare this factory forum to another "cult" type camping trailer, the Oliver.

The Oliver brand/factory as best I know is still individually/family owned like the original LL under Tuttle. There are some quality complaints on the Oliver forum but these seem to be much less confrontational as is this site. There is a common spirit to fix them and improve the product.

The Dan equivalent does not normally post on the site, but he is well known to all and apparently responds to all emails by the end of the day. The original problem identifier/poster typically works out the solution with "Dan" and then shares it all with the forum. It works well that way.

So, Oliver seems to have a better communications system and a more loyal customer base than LL. It helps that they cost almost double what a LL costs. I suppose that when you come to grips with spending that kind of money you are a loyal supporter from that point onwards. I suppose Airstream owners are similar.

Thor pursues an entirely different business model: keep the cost down while maintaining some semblance of an all aluminum/Azdel camper. The changes that they have made over the last few years are to help hold the price down and make the product more appealing from an aesthetic sense- wood faced cabinets for example.

So would I buy a new Oliver, well no. Would I buy a new LL, well maybe. Would I buy a new LL made like Tuttle used to make them for $5,000 more than a current LL, well yes. But I suspect that the market for the latter is rather small. You need to have owned one of the originals to appreciate it and be willing to pay (even) more.

David

[Dogkinkead]

Does anyone know if he still reads his emails?

[wlmartin54]

Spoke with Paul at Livin Lite this morning , Dan is not with them anymore.

It appears from what Paul said that no one from Livin Lite is monitoring this forum anymore.

Paul is monitoring their facebook page and he can be reached via email at:  [email protected].

[djsamuel]

Well this was certainly a wasted effort.

[djsamuel]

If this forum is going to go with no admin, there is always aluminumcamperforum.com.  That is a great site with a lot of Livin Lite owners.  It is basically the follow on to the original livinlite forum before the company got involved.

[Paul]

If Livin lite is willing to provide the files, database and domain name I would gladly merge the forum with AluminumCamperForum.com. I will try to contact LL to see if this is a possibility

[prose]

Yes Dan has retired from the industry.  Any kind of questions that need a response to in regards to your product or our product in general feel free to contact me here at Livin Lite.  [email protected]. I don't get on the forum regularly.  Just so you know, Dan had a vast amount of knowledge with the product and will be missed.   I've been with the company the past 4 years and I will do my best in answering questions.

[djsamuel]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear Dan retired. Hope he enjoys himself.

[utahredrock]

Prose,

Thanks for commenting. It seems curious that the company would host a forum . . . at all really. Shouldn't it be independent?

And if the company is going to host it, shouldn't it be regularly monitored? As a former Airstreamer I love the Airforums, which Airstream does not host.

Just trying to get my head around the thinking here.

I just bought my CampLite yesterday and am very excited.

One thought is CampLite may want to shut this forum down and let people go to Aluminum Camper Forum. Just a thought.

The CampLite trailers seem pretty cool! Also much more affordable than Airstreams. I still love Airstreams, but had to face the financial reality of them finally.

Jim
Salt Lake City
Recovering Airstreamer (I've owned three vintage Airstreams)