Where's Dan?

DavidM · January 31, 2018, 11:12:46 AM

Thor, LL's parent, just doesn't seem to understand the cult nature of the LL products and with the loss of Dan doesn't seem interested in supporting that culture.

A factory sponsored forum will probably fail if the manufacturer doesn't support the forum rigorously. Look at how Oliver does it. That is a superb factory sponsored forum. With Thor's attitude even if they assigned another Dan I suspect it would just degenerate into problem complaints with no resolution.

I agree then that Thor should drop this forum and let the independent aluminumcamperforum.com be the only LL forum.

David

prose · January 31, 2018, 03:23:29 PM

Jim,
Thanks for the comments and welcome to the Livin Lite family. I will definitely pass along your comments to management. -pr

utahredrock · January 31, 2018, 09:41:17 PM

Thanks!

Capt J-rod · February 01, 2018, 08:58:55 AM

I hope that Dan was able to transition on his terms and not other's intentions. Mergers never seem to go well. As an engineer I understand that there are profits and deadlines. I also understand the real meaning of planned obsolescence. If the product lasts significantly longer than the competition then the number of people interested drops down. Now there are exceptions such as upgrading or downsizing. I had a different post describing the "Jayco Owner Experience"... I will get out of camping if I have to purchase a Jayco or similar stick framed camper. Dan came from the old company as I understand it. He went above and beyond to help people on the site, myself included. Best wishes to Dan in retirement. As for Thor and KZ, They are yet to represent the customers best interest in the design changes and reputation.

djsamuel · February 01, 2018, 10:50:56 AM

Quote from: Capt J-rod on February 01, 2018, 08:58:55 AM
I hope that Dan was able to transition on his terms and not other's intentions. Mergers never seem to go well. As an engineer I understand that there are profits and deadlines. I also understand the real meaning of planned obsolescence. If the product lasts significantly longer than the competition then the number of people interested drops down. Now there are exceptions such as upgrading or downsizing. I had a different post describing the "Jayco Owner Experience"... I will get out of camping if I have to purchase a Jayco or similar stick framed camper. Dan came from the old company as I understand it. He went above and beyond to help people on the site, myself included. Best wishes to Dan in retirement. As for Thor and KZ, They are yet to represent the customers best interest in the design changes and reputation.

As I live not too far from some of Dan's children, he emailed me a while ago to ask some questions related to his retirement planning. I don't know what his final decisions are, but based on what he was considering, I think this was a decision that was his to make; not forced on him. I certainly hope that is the case.

ThStranger · February 01, 2018, 10:53:08 AM

"As for Thor and KZ, They are yet to represent the customers best interest in the design changes and reputation."

How so ?

Capt J-rod · February 01, 2018, 11:12:03 AM

There are a ton of threads on this. The history of Campsite was a small privately held company that set out to build amazing quality light weight campers. In my opinion they succeeded. Thor is a mega company that controls the entire camping industry. They buy up all the competition and stream line the production. The original camplites were all aluminum with barely any wood. The labor and materials were probably pretty intense and the skills needed of the fabricator were also high. Thor wasted no time eliminating aluminum floors and roofs. Pressboard cabinets were introduced but the aluminum package was still available. Now they have composite floors and are offering composite walls. Brunswick did this to boats like sea ray, Boston whaler, and Lund. When the creator is the owner he truly cares about every trailer. When a factory absorbs a product line and the original team is gone? well you decide. Dan was the last of the original guys that knew every screw and every system. He will be greatly missed.

ADR · February 01, 2018, 12:19:42 PM

Quote from: djsamuel on February 01, 2018, 10:50:56 AM

As I live not too far from some of Dan's children, he emailed me a while ago to ask some questions related to his retirement planning. I don't know what his final decisions are, but based on what he was considering, I think this was a decision that was his to make; not forced on him. I certainly hope that is the case.

As a retiree of a VERY large company, that every American is familiar with, I can say many "voluntary" retirements may technically be that but in reality they are anything but.
I retired at 60 rather than my desired 65 simply because the pressure and stress had got to the point I was truly afraid I would not live to 65!
Best move I ever made- it is difficult forcing myself to live on about half of what I was making, but worth the sacrifices.
BTW it has been 4 years and I'm still convinced I made the right decision.

ThStranger · February 01, 2018, 12:31:05 PM

I'm in my early 50's and own my own business but will get out as soon as possible ! I congratulate you on your decision.

djsamuel · February 01, 2018, 12:57:10 PM

Quote from: ADR on February 01, 2018, 12:19:42 PM
Quote from: djsamuel on February 01, 2018, 10:50:56 AM

As I live not too far from some of Dan's children, he emailed me a while ago to ask some questions related to his retirement planning. I don't know what his final decisions are, but based on what he was considering, I think this was a decision that was his to make; not forced on him. I certainly hope that is the case.

As a retiree of a VERY large company, that every American is familiar with, I can say many "voluntary" retirements may technically be that but in reality they are anything but.
I retired at 60 rather than my desired 65 simply because the pressure and stress had got to the point I was truly afraid I would not live to 65!
Best move I ever made- it is difficult forcing myself to live on about half of what I was making, but worth the sacrifices.
BTW it has been 4 years and I'm still convinced I made the right decision.

Great to hear you're convinced about your decision.

I'm at a maximum of 1417 days from retiring and hoping to make it sooner.

Capt J-rod · February 01, 2018, 02:31:52 PM

Retirement is a moving target. I own and remodel rentals and my wife is in medicine. At age 39 I have 7 units an 4 properties. I also do HVAC, Plumbing , and mechanical consulting for commercial HVAC and sick buildings. Work and income have become less of a concern, but the health insurance and unknowns keep us working and saving at a feverish pace. Right now the wife provides insurance leaving me free to pursue my own business and properties. I always saved and worked, but my new mission is how to maintain this quality of life on a limited fixed income at some point. Best wishes to Dan and the other early retirees on here that broke the mold. I hope to join you guys at age 50... With out big goals you lose your motivation lol!