Betty
Brewer
Sysop
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Gary
Brinck
Sysop
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John
Canfield
Moderator
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Jeff
Cousins
Sysop
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Jim
Dick
Sysop
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George
Drake
Sysop
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Tom
Jones
Admin
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Marsha
Lassen
Sysop
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Marc
Lanteigne
Sysop
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Wendy
Lawrence
Sysop
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Carl
Lundquist
Sysop
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Ron
Marabito
Sysop
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Bob
Maxwell
Sysop, Chaplain
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Don
Miller
Sysop
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Steve
Pally
Sysop
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Ned
Reiter
Sysop
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Lou
Schneider
Sysop
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Scott
Sysop
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Ron
Ruward
Sysop
Emeritus
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Fred
Thomas
Sysop
Emeritus
|
Ever wonder who or what makes this forum tick? In addition to the great group of
members who participate in our forum, we're fortunate to have a wonderful group of Forum
Hosts. This dedicated team of folks welcome newcomers to the forum, patiently
answer questions (or find relevant sources for answers), organize rallies and other events, provide
spiritual help and comfort to folks in bad health or otherwise in need, and who work
behind the scenes. They have a vast combined experience and knowledge of various
aspects of RVing
and the RV lifestyle which they readily share with others.
They give their time freely for the benefit of our forum
members and the only reward they seek is to see folks enjoy the RV Forum. Without
their tireless efforts, the forum would not run as smoothly as it does or be the
place that it is. Next time you see one of these folks at a rally or some other
event, or bump into them somewhere along the way, please say a big "thank you" for their efforts.
Click on a photo above to read a brief bio on the respective host.
I should also mention that, in addition to the team, we have a number of
folks here who help out in various ways around the forum, both online and offline.
We have also had folks help out in the past. My thanks to all and
apologies for not listing everyone.
Betty Brewer
Betty retired from a career of 32 years in public education where she served as
an elementary school principal for grades K-6. She and husband Terry started
camping with back packs at the bird sanctuary on Catalina Island in the early 80's.
They moved up to car camping with a tent, then purchased a Volkswagen pop-up
camper. For more room and power they moved to a Sportsmobile with a porta potty.
After a short time they purchased a class A Winnebago Vectra. Loving the
lifestyle they upgraded to a country Coach Intrigue with a diesel. Latest
purchase in 1999 was a Country Coach Magna with no plans for a new coach. (I do
not speak for Terry) At present they live full time in the coach. Betty likes to
organize things hence the calendar duty.
John Canfield
John retired a few years ago from AT&T Information Systems where he performed a variety of jobs as a member of the technical professional staff. John and spouse Jane are recent converts to the RV lifestyle after transitioning from sailboats and lots of blue-water cruising. Jane and John lived aboard their 40' ketch for over six years, and spent about a year and a half in the Eastern Caribbean and Venezuela. Most of that year and a half was spent "swinging on the hook" (anchored out) and living on power generated from wind, solar, and diesel generator where necessary. Before taking off for the Caribbean, John completely rebuilt the electrical and plumbing systems on the boat and installed all new rigging. These skills have been completely adaptable and transferable to RVing since there are so many common elements. Jane and John spend several months each year touring the country in their Winnebago Itasca Horizon when they are not enjoying their little ranch near Kerrville, Texas.
Jeff Cousins
Jeff grew up camping in northern Maine and he and Sue have owned five motorhomes, acquiring the first, a 1972 22\’ Starcraft, in 1978. He has been a full timer since retiring from a 40 year career in aviation in 2005. Hobbies include anything to do with RVs, golf, and genealogy. The Cousins are busy trying to see North America by land in their National Tradewinds.
Gary Brinck
Gary & wife Nancy have been campers since about 1970, starting with a second-hand tent and following the path that many of us have taken, through pop-ups, travel trailers, fifth wheels and motorhomes. He discovered the RV Forum in 1996 and has been a regular ever since. Natives of central NY, Gary & Nancy have lived in Florida since 1977 and now have their home base in the Ocala National Forest in north-central Florida. They travel 6-7 months each year in their 2004 American Tradition motorhome, sometimes traveling to places like Alaska and other times workamping anywhere from Maine to Washington. Gary says "Whether touring the Alaskan boonies or work-kamping in Maine, we always meet friendly and interesting people. RVing is the best way I know to see this woinderful land we live in and to meet folks from all across the nation!". Gary retired in 1993 after a 28 year career with IBM as a system software developer and product development manager.
Jim Dick
Jim retired from Southern New England Telephone after 32 years of service. He
and his wife Pat bought their first motor coach, a Bounder, just before retiring.
They have been living full time in a motor coach since 27 December 1996, the date
of their first departure from CT to AZ. After living in the driveway of their home
for two years, they decided it was going to work. They now reside in Titusville,
FL at The Great Outdoors where they spend time when not on the road to somewhere.
Jim and Pat enjoy off roading in a Suzuki Grand Vitara which is towed behind
their 2000 American Dream motor coach. Cycling and photography are also active
interests.
George Drake
George is retired from a sales/marketing career in the telecommunications industry. Ruth is a retired educator. They have been campers since the early 70’s starting with tents, pop-ups and a couple of motorhomes. They maintain a home in Olathe (KC suburb) Kansas although they spend a great deal of time on the road. George has an interest in Native American rock art and frequently travels the four corners area photographing petroglyphs. In addition to photography, George enjoys fly fishing and ties his own flies. He also enjoys wood working, concentrating on small projects like jewelry boxes, clocks, etc.
Tom Jones
Tom has been an RVer since 1985 when he purchased a Pace Arrow class A motorhome
to tow his fishing boat. One day he wandered into the RV Forum looking for help,
and he's been here ever since. He was born in Wales, UK, where his parents were
avid RVers (or "caravanners" as they're called in the UK), and has lived in
California since 1980. In addition to RVing in their Monaco Camelot motorhome,
Tom and his wife Chris enjoy fishing and boating.
Marc Lanteigne
Marsha Lassen
Marsha, a retired Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, is like many RVers,
in that she started out her camping experiences in a tent. A few years
later, she decided she wanted to "get up off the ground" and moved up to a
slide-in truck camper. After nearly 10 years of truck camping, one day Tim, her
6'2" husband, announced that the slide-in camper bathroom was just too small,
so they made a quantum leap to a 35 foot diesel pusher. They both are very
pleased and comfortable with the new "digs". Marsha and Tim travel a total
of 5 to 6 months per year to various parts of the country and Canada. But
they still like to come "Home". They recently sold their large home and
property in San Diego and have downsized in the little town of Kernville, Ca
located in the Southern Sierras.
Wendy Lawrence
Wendy is a second generation Rver. Her parents bought their first trailer in
the 1960s and fell in love with the RV lifestyle. They spent over 20 years
full-timing and still go off for months at a time. So Wendy says she comes by
the RV bug honestly. When she met him, Wendy's husband Mike was a non-camping
Marine, but he quickly saw the light and they progressed from backpacking to tent
camping to a pickup with camper shell, before Wendy was medically discharged
from the U.S. Army. They’ve owned several Volkswagon camper vans (they still have one),
a 1950s teardrop trailer, a 35-foot Kountry Aire 5th wheel, a 24-foot Class C,
and now their 27-foot Winnebago Sightseer. Since Mike worked as a National Park
Service ranger, they’ve been lucky enough to live in places most folks only
get to visit on vacation .... Everglades, Death Valley, Grand Canyon, San Antonio
Missions and Hovenweep.
Carl Lundquist
Carl is a retired City of Los Angeles civil servant living in the West LA area.
He and his wife Cindy own a 23 foot lightweight '96 Prowler and pull it with a
'95 Ford Bronco. He and Cindy started out camping out of backpacks in the Sierra
Nevada and the Southern California Mountains. With the birth of their kids they
moved, reluctantly, from backpacks to car camping. When the knees started to go
they moved up (down?) to trailering. Carl fishes, fresh and salt, and is into
photography and 4-wheeling. Cindy, currently still working as a university
librarian, is into needle point and crafts. Both are domino fans - fives and
chickenfoot. Carl's general philosophy in RVing is keep it simple and enjoy the trip, not
the challenge.
Ron Marabito
Ron is a retired Architect and has been RVing since 1970. He has visited every
state in the U.S. except Maine and has logged more than a quarter million miles
in his RV's. His hobbies are golf, photography, hiking, off roading and fishing
other than RVing. Ron also is a sysop or moderator on the Yahoo Wanderlodge
Forum. His RVing began with a pop-up, then a travel trailer followed by four
different motorhomes. He and his wife Shirley live in Richardson, TX and
probably travel an average of 4 to 6 months out of the year.
Bob Maxwell
Bob's first RV was a tent camper that he pulled to Nova Scotia on a month's
vacation from Chicagoland in 1970. He later purchased the first of two Class C
Leprechauns and put over 100,000 miles on them. He and wife Bev currently own a
37 foot Friendship Class A. Bob found the RV Forum in 1992 and shortly afterwards
convinced Forum Manager Ed Juge to start a Virtual Campfire. You'll find Bob
Hosting these real-time informal chats on Wednesday evenings at 9.00pm Eastern
time.
Don Miller
Don retired from the U. S. Military in 1983. He served 9 ˝ years in the Navy and 10 ˝ years in the Air Force. In the Air Force he was a radio repairmen and airborne radio operator. After retiring from the Air Force he lived in Fairbanks, Alaska until he retired a second time in 1999 from Holland America Lines Westours. Don joined Compuserve in the early 80's and joined the RV Forum in the early 90's. Don married his wife Peg in 1991 and a 1983 Pace Arrow came along. In 1999 they bought a 99 Safari Zanzibar. Don and Peg now live at their home base in Camp Verde, AZ.
Steve Pally
Steve has been RV'ing and camping most of his life. His parents took him
camping in Northern NY and VT in army surplus tents with folding cots and ground
sheets. Steve and his wife began camping in a tent in the 70's and switched to
the comforts of an Airstream Trailer in 1976. Later they travelled in a Class
B van before trading up to a Class A coach. They have been fulltiming in their
40 footAmerican Dream since 1999, and maintain a winter home base in Central
Florida while spending the summer months in Canada.
Ned Reiter
Ned has been in the computer industry since 1961 and has been a self employed
programmer since 1974. He and his wife Lorna have been RVers since 1990. They
started with a used trailer, upgraded to a new one, and later switched to an
Itasca class C. They currently live full time in a 37 foot Holiday Rambler Endeavor
LE and Ned is able to work from his home on the road.
Ron Ruward
Ron retired in Feb 1998 after 32 years with The Boeing Company. The last 20
years were in the customer support as a company representative to the airlines.
In the early 70's Ron & his wife Sam had a Volkswagen Camper bus that they went
camping in occasionally with their family. While living overseas Ron & Sam
started looking at RV's whenever they were in the U.S. on vacation. Then, in
1991 while living in Montreal, Canada, they purchased a used 1988 Bounder. After
putting more than 40,000 miles on the Bounder, they purchased a new 1993 Bounder
diesel. Though Ron was still working, they averaged 10,000+ miles a year on the
coach. After retiring, Ron & Sam purchased the 1999 American Eagle which they
now live in full time. Ron joined Compuserve in the early 80's while they were
living in Tokyo, Japan, and joined the RV Forum in the early 90's while living
in Canada. Ron & Sam winter in Arizona, taking in the Alamo and Quartzsite rallies
in Az and the Moab rally in Utah on their way North. Sam is an avid quilter and
both Ron & Sam enjoy off-roading in their Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. Sam has
designated herself as the primary driver for both the Coach and Grand Cherokee
the majority of the time. She also likes to drive the Grand Cherokee off road,
while Ron gets to navigate.
Lou Schneider
Lou's been an avid RVer most of his life. His family moved to California when he was 5 years old, and began exploring the great Golden West. Most weekends and vacations found the family camping with a station wagon and tent, with the tent soon being replaced by an Aristocrat Land Commander travel trailer.
Lou has owned one RV or another almost as long as he's had a drivers license. His first RV was a classic 1971 VW camper and since then he has had at least one example of every type of RV made, including several motorhomes (Class A, B, and C), three travel trailers, and two 5th wheels. The only type of RV he hasn't owned (yet) is a Diesel Pusher. Most of the RVs came on the "buy it cheap and fix it as you go" plan, which gave him a good working knowledge of the various systems that make up an RV. Lou's RVs would often have several things wrong when he bought them, but would usually be in good working order when he was ready to trade up to something else.
Out of the dozen or so RVs Lou's owned over the years, one stands out in his mind. In the late 1980s, Lou bought a 20 year old Class C camper for $400 two weeks before the annual Quartzsite RV Forum Rally. On a whim, after determining it would probably survive the trip, he took it to the Rally in place of his 5th wheel trailer. One of the Forum wags promptly christened it "The Trashcan", an apt description of it's condition, but ostensibly because of the black plastic trash can liners Lou installed in place of it's missing curtains.
"Most of my RVs have been less than new, but I've never been made to feel less than welcome at any Forum gathering. That's what I really like about the RV Forum - you're welcome as Framily no matter what kind of RV you happen to have."
Lou's current RV is a 1995 Damon Intruder gas Class A motorhome, in considerably better shape than the Trashcan.
When not RVing, for more than 30 years Lou was the guy who drove to mountaintops to keep the radio station transmitters running smoothly. Many of the "roads" resembled the Quartzsite Ridge Route, except the trip usually took place in the middle of the night and often in the rain or fog.
Lou finally came to his senses and retired from radio in 2005. That's also the year he married his former high school sweetheart, Cindy, and moved to Washington State. They recently finished building a new house on Marrowstone Island near Port Townsend, WA.
Scott
Scott has been RV camping with his family since 2007 when they bought their first motorhome. His camping roots started a couple decades before that however, while camping with his grandparents in their 1973 Dodge Sprinter Class C motorhome. The camping bug bit early and never really left. Scott's oldest son was diagnosed with autism at a young age, and had difficulties traveling to unfamiliar destinations and hotels. The idea of an RV was dreamed up to establish a "home away from home" to make family traveling easier, and the dream became a reality after a couple years of serious research and shopping (mostly online). Between a full time job and full time parenting, the family can only "weekend and vacation" but loves every minute of the RV lifestyle.
Fred Thomas
Fred spent 23 years in the navy, serving on the USS Enterprise and the USS
Saratoga, and later taught and flew ASW missions. He retired from the navy as
Division Chief for Electronics in the Aviation Maintenance Department of NAS
Brunswick, Maine. He then went to work as a QC Engineer doing title and survey
research. Fred is now retired and has been an RVer since 1994. He and his wife
Daisy have been fulltimers for several years
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