What is up with the new Generic "Vintage Kin" Instead of Trailer Named at Member ID!?

[Tom_T]

I don't know when AirForums decided to demote us Vintage Kin owners to stop listing our trailer make & type/model at the member listing under the Avatar - to now only list "Vintage Kin" for each Trailer/RV.

But that does a disservice to both we Vintage Kin owners, as well as to the other AS owners in general, when they need or want to see what another member is towing - especially when it may be relevant to a member's comment/reply, such as knowing the Vintage Kin owner's trailer size & weight relative to their AS.

It also smacks of AS snobbishness!

After all - our 1960 Avion T20 was always advertised as "Better than an Airstream" - and in recent years Airstream/Thor bought Eriba - who made our 1970 Puck, & for a while Thor/AS was making a USA/Canada version of the bigger Puck.

How do other Vintage Kin owners feel about this change by the Forum?

Can the Admins revert this change back to the original format showing all Trailers/RVs regardless of AS or Vintage Kin?

Respectfully,
Tom
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[PLVMB]

My Curtis wright was actually designed by Wally.

[Boondocker]

Not to make too fine of a point, but this is a forum about Airstreams..... I see your point but.... On the other hand, we let the motor home's and vans in so why not . Now let me get some pop corn and a chair to watch this from.

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by Boondocker

Not to make too fine of a point, but this is a forum about Airstreams..... I see your point but.... On the other hand, we let the motor home's and vans in so why not . Now let me get some pop corn and a chair to watch this from.

Rodney -

Yes, the title says "Air Forums" - but then they saw fit to include a category for "Vintage Kin" as one of their "Community Forums" under the "Airstream Knowledgebase" sub-forum section.

So why impede & lessen the value of the "AF - AS Knowledgebase" of Vintage Kin trailers for the AS owners on here - when we all have the same issues with aluminum skins, appliances, tanks, frames, floors, plumbing, electrical, hitches, TVs, etc., etc. - many of which are the same?

Your `68 TW AS probably has or originally had the same stove, heater, toilet, sinks, vent fan, AC (if originally equipped, as well as newer today), etc., etc., etc. So you and other AS contemporaries benefit by having additional Vintage Kin owners' experience & info, parts sources, etc. for these items & issues.

I know that I've helped far more AS owners than Kin owners with water heater mixing-valve, AC, towing, TV, hitch, etc. issues info & advice over the past decade on this forum.

Also this Air Forums has listed the members' vintage kin trailers since we joined in 2010, so I don't get why they're changing it now.

It would appear that this is a new thing where the site owners or admins or mods or whomever decided to cut out what is useful info - even for the AS owners on here.

For example - if I reply to an AS owner about a problem they're having with a similar size & weight AS trailer - but they cannot see what trailer I have, then they will not be able to see how that info translates to their trailer.

Also, in the Vintage Trailer Rally & Resto world - people are just not as uppity about what trailer you own, when they're all in the same vintage genre, as I'm sure that you know with your `68 Tradewind - if you've ever gone to any Vintage Trailer/RV events.

And like PLVMB's Curtis Wright - there are several other "Silver Twinkie" Vintage Kin that were predecessors of, & spin-offs by ex-AS employees from, Airstream during the post WWII to 1970s era.

Other Vintage Kin Silver Twinkies were other makers trying to improve upon the Airstreams - and many did so successfully by both having better features than Airstreams - as well as successfully competing in the marketplace for many years or decades - as did the Cayo's 1955-1970, and then under the Fleetwood banner up into the 1980s. Eventually the AS brand name & business practices were able to push them all out of the marketplace, especially when THOR took over Fleetwood/Avion, so that competing line was doomed.

So now I wonder if THOR/Airstream could be behind this "demotion" of all vintage kin owners to the generic VK moniker?

However, in the overall picture - it really does hurt the AS owners as much as or more than the vintage kin owners - by now hiding the actual trailer name/model/length info at the Member ID section.

Any one else VK have opinions? ... & any other AS owners?

Cheers!
Tom
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[Boondocker]

Tom,


I was just twisting your tail some . I agree it was an odd choice to reorganize the listings.

[Hittenstiehl]

I would like to see what trailers folks have if they choose to list them in their profile.

Generically lumping all Vintage Kin into that one category is a disservice.

Is it a fill by selection category where they preformat the choices. If that's the issue could you list your trailers in a freeform part of the profile or signature block.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Sorting posts out is tough enough when you *do* have the info about who has what. Taking that away ..... yikes ..... I see no benefit to removing the information and a significant downside.

The decision to include folks with these RV's was made long ago. It's worked for a lot of years. I don't see a reason to toss them all out or to "nuke" their ability to communicate. It's not like there are only a finite number of messages a day allowed .... (if that actually *is* the case ... hmmm ..... )

Bob

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by Hittenstiehl

I would like to see what trailers folks have if they choose to list them in their profile.

Generically lumping all Vintage Kin into that one category is a disservice.

Is it a fill by selection category where they preformat the choices. If that's the issue could you list your trailers in a freeform part of the profile or signature block.

It works the same way as the Airstream categories - you click the VK group, then fill in the box for your trailer type, length & make - same as the AS.

So the site has just chosen to block all trailer descriptions & simply list us as "Vintage Kin" - & this has also blocked when we have more than one trailer.

In our case we have the 1960 Avion T20 VK + the 1970 Eriba Puck - the builder of which Hymer-Eriba has been owned by Airstream's parent company THOR since 2018, and which Airstream made an aborted effort to build the aluminum skin with FG top/pop-top Puck/Touring for the USA/Canada at their Roadtrek plant in Canada/Ontario.

So this VK change is also blocking trailers with clear AS roots & connections - such as the Byam designed Curtis Wright mentioned above, and the Hymer-Eriba-Airstream trailers being built now.

And I think that they've also blocked the original 1930's Wally Byam Masonite sided Airstreams (choice of factory built or home-built kit) with the Vintage Kin change - which is just weird!

Cheers!
Tom
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[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by Boondocker

Tom,


I was just twisting your tail some . I agree it was an odd choice to reorganize the listings.

Oakey-Doakey! Tail duly twisted then!

Cheers!
Tom
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[Tom_T]

Hey folks -

Please make sure to VOTE in the Yes-No Poll at the top of this topic for the naming of the vintage kin trailers.

As of this there are only 2 votes (both yes) for 5 individual posters.

I've found on other classic car forums that the Admins/Moderators & Website Owners do pay attention to such polls - as well as your comments so far which all seem to be "Yes" votes - and will change things according to membership preferences.

I'm sure that RV Life - the owner of Air Forums, doesn't want to lose a bunch of of Vintage Kin members from here by ostracizing us in this callous way.

And Air Forums & RV Life should take note that so far - 3 of the 5 members posting on here AGAINST this change are solid Airstream owners!

There are plenty of other make/brand specific web forums out there for most makes/models that we & most others also participate on - as I/we have long done on several others for our Avion & Puck Trailers & Westfalia camper van.

But the advantage that Air Forums used to have before this VK slam, was that it was a broader membership & trailer base for older vintage trailers & RVs which typically share the same appliances, systems, options & accessories, construction, maintenance, etc. with each other and Airstream contemporaries - as I posted above.

So the 1950s AS benefit from the same era Vintage Kin trailer members experience, knowledge, info & sources, and for the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s etc. era AS & VK members.

And that's true even for the newer 2000> AS & the non-silver-twinkie AS models also benefit from both current VK reboots like the "new" vintage Bowlus Road Chief & a dozen others, as well as for the actual vintage kin with newer system updates & restorations using the new equipment (our Avion has a bit of original & new, but the Puck is all original).

So - lets make it clear to the powers that be on here that this demotion to a generic Vintage Kin descriptor for our trailers hurts both AS owners & the VK owners - which will eventually hurt the Air Forums & RV Life brands.

So I don't care what is your party or none ....

Please VOTE!

Cheers!
Tom
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[Hittenstiehl]

Tom we will consideri voting when we get on a computer versus the phone functioning app.

Have you been able to find out why the changes were made. Although we may not like it did the management have a solid reason behind the change or it is possibly an oversight or temporary.

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by Hittenstiehl

Tom we will consideri voting when we get on a computer versus the phone functioning app.

Have you been able to find out why the changes were made. Although we may not like it did the management have a solid reason behind the change or it is possibly an oversight or temporary.

Nothing yet from "management" Hitt.

However, as I & others have said - the vintage kin trailer make/model info has been shown based upon what the member entered into the fields when they joined &/or updated their profiles - then that was what showed.

I can't see that it "cost" them anything more in storage &/or bandwidth to display the trailer make/model vs "Vintage Kin" for each trailer someone owns. It still populates a field with however many 0's & 1's of binary code.

The owners & admins/moderators have been silent on this so far, & I don't know where on the website to ask them directly.

Also - I see that 2 folks voted "No" - but I don't see any more posts negative on the subject, & everything so far appears to support a "Yes" vote based on posted comments so far.

So I don't know if that poll is really worthwhile or useful, if people just vote without any comment supporting a position & their reasoning one way or another.

Cheers!
Tom
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[coyoterun]

I am one of the two who voted Yes. I have not been that active on the forum but own a 1949 Curtis Wright which I bought gutted and she is still in her pre makeover stage. I absolutely believe that the posting of make and model is conducive to the sharing which is the whole point of the forum!

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Tom_T

Hey folks -

Please make sure to VOTE in the Yes-No Poll at the top of this topic for the naming of the vintage kin trailers.

As of this there are only 2 votes (both yes) for 5 individual posters.

I've found on other classic car forums that the Admins/Moderators & Website Owners do pay attention to such polls - as well as your comments so far which all seem to be "Yes" votes - and will change things according to membership preferences.

I'm sure that RV Life - the owner of Air Forums, doesn't want to lose a bunch of of Vintage Kin members from here by ostracizing us in this callous way.

And Air Forums & RV Life should take note that so far - 3 of the 5 members posting on here AGAINST this change are solid Airstream owners!

There are plenty of other make/brand specific web forums out there for most makes/models that we & most others also participate on - as I/we have long done on several others for our Avion & Puck Trailers & Westfalia camper van.

But the advantage that Air Forums used to have before this VK slam, was that it was a broader membership & trailer base for older vintage trailers & RVs which typically share the same appliances, systems, options & accessories, construction, maintenance, etc. with each other and Airstream contemporaries - as I posted above.

So the 1950s AS benefit from the same era Vintage Kin trailer members experience, knowledge, info & sources, and for the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s etc. era AS & VK members.

And that's true even for the newer 2000> AS & the non-silver-twinkie AS models also benefit from both current VK reboots like the "new" vintage Bowlus Road Chief & a dozen others, as well as for the actual vintage kin with newer system updates & restorations using the new equipment (our Avion has a bit of original & new, but the Puck is all original).

So - lets make it clear to the powers that be on here that this demotion to a generic Vintage Kin descriptor for our trailers hurts both AS owners & the VK owners - which will eventually hurt the Air Forums & RV Life brands.

So I don't care what is your party or none ....

Please VOTE!

Cheers!
Tom
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Hi

Given the way the question is phrased, you can only answer it if you own a Vintage Kin RV. I don't but I still have an opinion ....

Bob

[Janet H]

The info that displays under your username is pulled from a preset list - there have been no changes to this list in a long while other than to add the 2022 models.

These are the non-stand lines on that very long list:

Curtis Wright
Vintage Kin Owner
Mobile Rail Bunkhouse
Airstream - Other

[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Given the way the question is phrased, you can only answer it if you own a Vintage Kin RV. I don't but I still have an opinion ....

Bob

Just Vote anyway Bob.

Unfortunately I cannot find any way to change the Poll title at this point, & didn't think about the wording as you've pointed out.

I'll check with my older post printouts later when I have more time, then get back to Janet by PM on the subject, as this may morph into an "add the VK trailer makes/models topic" - vs. a dropped names issue ... if it is just my "half-zymers" thinking that our Avion & Puck were listed below the avatar.

Cheers!
Tom
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[Tom_T]

Originally Posted by Janet H

The info that displays under your username is pulled from a preset list - there have been no changes to this list in a long while other than to add the 2022 models.

These are the non-stand lines on that very long list:

Curtis Wright
Vintage Kin Owner
Mobile Rail Bunkhouse
Airstream - Other

Hi Janet - Thanx for posting,

I don't know what you mean by "non-stand"?

I thought that our Avion was listed back when we first joined back in 2014, but I'll check with my older post printouts later when I have more time, & then get back to you by PM on the subject.

If it is just my "half-zymers" thinking that our Avion & Puck were listed below the avatar, then this discussion may morph into an "add the VK trailer makes/models topic" - to be an add the vintage kin trailer names to the "pre-set list" that you mention above - vs. a dropped names issue.

Right now I'm wrestling with too many critical issues to get further sidetracked.


Cheers!
Tom
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[Tom_T]

Unfortunately I can neither modify the Poll Name nor my OP first post to say that Airstream Owners Can & Should Also Vote on whether they want to see the Make, Model & Type of Vintage Kin Trailer that a posting member owns at their Member Information in the Left Bar below their Avatar Photo.

So AS owners - Please do Vote yes or no to list Make/Model as I put at the Poll title - even if you aren't a Vintage Kin Owner.
> You have this Original Poster's & Poll Creator's Permission!

As stated by myself & others above, it can only help ALL members to know what Trailer &/or RV that ALL members have, as they comment in topics.

Cheers!
Tom
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[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Tom_T

Just Vote anyway Bob.

Unfortunately I cannot find any way to change the Poll title at this point, & didn't think about the wording as you've pointed out.

I'll check with my older post printouts later when I have more time, then get back to Janet by PM on the subject, as this may morph into an "add the VK trailer makes/models topic" - vs. a dropped names issue ... if it is just my "half-zymers" thinking that our Avion & Puck were listed below the avatar.

Cheers!
Tom
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Hi

Ok, since I have permission. I'd hate to do something wrong on the forum. I've been good for at least an hour at this point

Bob

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by Tom_T

Hi Janet - Thanx for posting,

I don't know what you mean by "non-stand"?

I thought that our Avion was listed back when we first joined back in 2014, but I'll check with my older post printouts later when I have more time, & then get back to you by PM on the subject.

If it is just my "half-zymers" thinking that our Avion & Puck were listed below the avatar, then this discussion may morph into an "add the VK trailer makes/models topic" - to be an add the vintage kin trailer names to the "pre-set list" that you mention above - vs. a dropped names issue.

Right now I'm wrestling with too many critical issues to get further sidetracked.


Cheers!
Tom
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Non-stand = a typo. Should have been non-standard.