Exciting news!!!

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by BaconLover

I have questions:
- So wait, do we need to switch to a different forum or is this one staying the same basically (and the changes are on the “backend”)?
- I’m currently a member of RV Life/CampgroundReviews, do I have to pay more to have access to the TrailManor Forum under the new deal?
- And will all of this forum’s info be available in the new RV Life version?
- Will the search be better and easier to find things under the new RV Life version?

Sorry, I don’t think I understand how this will all work. I’m glad to see that Bill will continue to be part of this since he’s helped me out so much over the last 10 months when I joined.

Thanks in advance.

I'm glad Bill's staying on as well - he's been doing an amazing job and is a great resource to the community.

About your questions:

There is no need to switch to another forum.

RV Life (network) is a group of sites focused on on camping and RVing - these sites are all independent. They have their own urls, their own moderators and each one has a little different focus. What they share in common is that RV Life maintains the sites, keeps the doors open, handles the tech issues (software etc) and for some of the RV Life sites, there is a single login to access many of them. For example: iRV2.com members can access their Campground Reviews.com account with the same login credentials but this forum has not been integrated into the single sign on system.

Most of the RV Life family of forums are specifically related to an RV brand and so the addition of TrailManor was a natural fit. Other RV Life sites include www.campgroundreviews.com, the RV Life magazine and www.tripwizard.com

Right now this forum doesn't have an integrated login with other RV Life sites but with time that may be possible. That said, there are some changes coming down the road and I think they will be welcome additions.

Forum software update: Currently this forum is running on a fairly old piece of software. It's secure but aging and it will need to be updated. I'll post more about that when the time comes. With new software will come better searching.

Forum look: Currently the forum is pretty basic looking and has limited features - we might want to gussy up the view and add some extras.

Forum Sponsoring Membership: Currently the Forum has a paid membership. Most RV Life forums have no cost associated with them and ads are displayed to keep the lights on with one big exception. RV Life oversees the trip planner RV Trip Wizard and has an RV GPS mobile app (RVLifePro) and there is a subscription fee for these.

We're planning to open access to RV Trip Wizard and RV Life Pro (mobile app) to TrailManor forum Sponsoring members at no cost, since they have already paid a fee and then open forum membership up to new members at no cost. Down the road ads would be shown to non-sponsoring members and unregistered viewers but Sponsoring members would see no ads and have access to Trip Wizard and the Pro version of the the RV Life app. Best of all there would be no ads when using www.CampgroundReviews.com

Details for all this have not been firmed up but I've found that forums with membership fees often have trouble sustaining growth - a lot of folks are unwilling to make the leap to paypal. I'll post up more about this in the coming weeks as I get to know the community.

[Shane826]

RV Life magazine… I’ve never seen this. Is it digital, print, paid subscription, or whats the details on that?

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by Shane826

RV Life magazine… I’ve never seen this. Is it digital, print, paid subscription, or whats the details on that?

RV Life News is a digital publication although for many years it was a print magazine. It's also free. You can subscribe or simply browse articles here: https://rvlife.com/magazine/

[ShrimpBurrito]

Originally Posted by Janet H

Details for all this have not been firmed up but I've found that forums with membership fees often have trouble sustaining growth - a lot of folks are unwilling to make the leap to paypal. I'll post up more about this in the coming weeks as I get to know the community.

On the other hand, having a paying subscription also keeps out the riff raff. We've been very lucky here in that, overall, everyone is not only quite cordial, but also super helpful. If you're going to spend $30k on an RV and then fret over paying $10 for access to an incredible community resource focused on that $30k expenditure, then you need a lesson in personal finance. Of course, I don't know what the finances are on the backend, so maybe that doesn't pay the bills.

I frankly don't want to see anything change, as least as they are visible to me. Things here are simple -- the forum is simply laid out, no flashing lights, most importantly no ads, no trolls, no spammers, and easy to navigate. If there is a change in software, I seriously hope that all of the current content gets migrated. It's an incredible archive that has taken us all many many hours to collectively compile, and to discard that would be a travesty.

From the meeting space and atmosphere to the content and quality members (including Bill, most notably), I hope we can retain what we as a community have built here.

Dave

[BaconLover]

Thanks for answering my questions Janet H! I agree with everyone that there are pros and cons to both. I am currently a sponsor of this site, but I also paid the fee to get the RV Trip Wizard (although it took us down one really scary road, so we don’t trust it anymore, but I’m trying to see if MaintainMyRV is worth the fee) and membership to Good Sam. So it does start to add up (plus the America the Beautiful pass, etc).

I like not having to pay, but that’s true that this forum is great because it’s clean with no ads. I just wish the search was a little better since you really have to think hard about what search term to use to get the relevant posts. I also agree with the others that there is a wealth of info here, so there would need to be a way to port that over.

And no offense Shane, but I do find people on this forum to be nicer and more cordial pretty much all the time where as sometimes, I just don’t get that same nice feeling with people on the TM Facebook site. A lot of the time, it’s fine and supportive, but sometimes people seem entitled or not as supportive there. Could just be me not getting them though!

[rickst29]

and less on-topic.

[Janet H]

Originally Posted by BaconLover

And no offense Shane, but I do find people on this forum to be nicer and more cordial pretty much all the time where as sometimes, I just don’t get that same nice feeling with people on the TM Facebook site. A lot of the time, it’s fine and supportive, but sometimes people seem entitled or not as supportive there. Could just be me not getting them though!

There's no plan to change the vibe or intent of the forum and I agree that Facebook can be a wasteland for RVers looking for really good info about rigs and the practicalities of rving. The only changes being considered are to:

• update the software
• update the looks of the board (newer colors, some nice graphics, etc)
• and finally to remove the sponsorship fee (still being considered)

All the current content, topics, attachments, accounts and even the forums current topic layout will be retained.

If you compared the proposed change to a home reno it would be like a new exterior paint color and an update to the house electrical service (invisible but important). The rooms would all be the same, the front door in the same location and the house address unchanged.

[Bill]

That's encouraging for me, Janet, and I'm sure for others. Thanks for posting it.

Bill

[Larryjb]

I may be in the minority here, but I far prefer to pay a sponsorship fee so that I have an ad-free experience. $12/year is a small amount to pay for such a great site. Also to consider, having a small fee helps ensure you have a "quality" membership. Anytime I have a question, I can count on having great suggestions. This happens in ad-based forums as well, but I do feel a positive difference on this sponsorship-fee based forum compared to the ad-sponsored forums.

But that is just one opinion among many here. As I said, I may very well be in the minority.

[Kwantau]

I agree with you Larryjb. It is a small price to pay, a couple of cups of coffee, for a year of ad free enjoyment.