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West Coast Rally - Who is Interested?


Chad Heiser

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MrSeas (Scott Almquist) and I have been discussing the possibility of putting together a West Coast Rally (or at least a long weekend get together). There is getting to be a fairly good contingent of West Coasters here on the forum and not all of us can attend the rallies in Kansas or Tennessee. Some of us are still working and cross country trips just aren't possible and others aren't able for various other reasons. There was a thread discussing a possible West Coast Rally back at the end of 2012 that is now locked. There were 70+ posts on that thread so there was definitely interest back then. There are now even more of us on this side of the country with HDT's (or an interest in HDT's), so I would think we should be able to get some people to show up.

 

I think the first step is to come up with a time to have the rally and then pick a location that is accessible to our needs and available during the desired time. There are enough of us in California alone to justify at least a long weekend get together to put some faces to names and get to know everyone a little better. The Nationally Rally is in October and the East Coast Rally is in April, so those times obviously are out.

 

Scott and I have been talking about doing something in central California somewhere (either in the central valley or central coast). Weather should not be a factor (at least not related to snow or freezing temperatures) in California so maybe something in the early part of the year like January or February would be a possibility?

 

So now comes the big question. Would enough of you be willing to show up to a West Coast Rally in central California some time after the first of the year to make this worth while? I am willing to put some work into this and Scott is willing to put some work into this (and maybe some of you would be too). Any suggestions on dates or locations are welcome. If we get enough interest, we will firm things up and get this going. Even if this initial "WCR" is just a get together, since it is somewhat short notice, I'd be happy and then we can build on it for the following year.

 

Let us know what you think.

 

Chad

 

 

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Chad, I think this is going to be one of those things where, after input, you guys just set the date and place and then enjoy those who can come. Kinda like "build the ballpark and they will come" thing.

 

I for one would love to come, but the Winter season is when I'm in Mexico doing my thing.

 

Thanks in advance for taking this on for all those who can't make the other two.

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Chad, I think this is going to be one of those things where, after input, you guys just set the date and place and then enjoy those who can come. Kinda like "build the ballpark and they will come" thing.

 

I for one would love to come, but the Winter season is when I'm in Mexico doing my thing.

 

Thanks in advance for taking this on for all those who can't make the other two.

 

I am not married to the time I suggested, it was just a suggestion. If enough people say that another time would be better then that is fine. I agree that it will probably come down to setting a time and place and seeing who shows up, but I want to get some feedback before we do something like that.

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Chad,

 

As hosts of the ECR we would be happy to discuss the logistics (goods and bads) of getting a rally together if you have any need of that. Will be at the National the next two weeks but pm me and I will give you a phone number that we can talk if you desire. Great that you are trying to start this.

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I would attend.

 

Am I correct in assuming that this would be to accomodate HDT'ers who have a J O B. That is, attendees would leave Friday, after work and, return home Sunday evening, in time for work on Monday?

 

Or, is the plan (perhaps long term plan) to have a week long west coast rally? If for a week, my suggestion would be to move it east (maybe 500 to 1000 miles) to pick up more HDT'ers from states east of California.

 

Whatever direction the Rally takes, I would attend.

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Sounds interesting. Just got back from 3 1/2 weeks in Northern Ca and Oregon.

 

 

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Chad,As hosts of the ECR we would be happy to discuss the logistics (goods and bads) of getting a rally together if you have any need of that. Will be at the National the next two weeks but pm me and I will give you a phone number that we can talk if you desire. Great that you are trying to start this.

Thanks for the offer. I would definitely be interested. Scott will be attending the rally in Hutch, so he will also be picking up some insight in person.

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My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

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I would attend.

 

Am I correct in assuming that this would be to accomodate HDT'ers who have a J O B. That is, attendees would leave Friday, after work and, return home Sunday evening, in time for work on Monday?

 

Or, is the plan (perhaps long term plan) to have a week long west coast rally? If for a week, my suggestion would be to move it east (maybe 500 to 1000 miles) to pick up more HDT'ers from states east of California.

 

Whatever direction the Rally takes, I would attend.

 

What Scott and I have initially discussed is a long weekend get together/mini rally to start out with. We will see what happens from there.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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Maybe a Napa Valley tour?.

.

 

I had been seriously pondering this before Scott got in touch with me. I had even started looking at a possible venue at the Napa County Fairgrounds. I think it would be a great location, but a bit of a long haul for some of the southern CA folks for a long weekend.

 

Monterey or San Louis Obispo along the central coast or even maybe Santa Cruz to make it more accommodating to all of us in CA for a long weekend may be better for a starting place. Somewhere in the Central Valley might be better still to attract some from surrounding states as well.

 

There are some great camping spots around Lake Tahoe and Lake Shasta/Redding area too, but again they may be a little far north for some for what we are trying to start with. I am open to suggestions on location as I am much more knowledgeable about Northern CA locations than anywhere else in the state.

 

We really need to nail down some dates and figure out if it is going to start out as a long weekend get together/mini rally or be a full blown week long rally right away. Once we get this set, then the location can better be selected to best meet the needs.

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2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
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2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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Chad, I am also still working and only can plan to get away during May to Sept. Since the east is in April and the national is in Oct this really prevents me from going. I do travel quite a bit and could probably make summer months. I traveled through Alberta,Montana,Wyoming,Colorado,Utah,Nevada, Idaho,Saskatchewan,Manitoba,Ontario,Quebec this past season and would love to add California to the list. :)

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Chad, we're a possible, depending, like everyone else, on time and distance. Trish is still working. We're in the foothills east of Chico.

Trish & Raquel

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Guest Lostinaz

A lot of people wouldn't go to California because of:

 

55 mph speed limit

Roads are falling apart-

Too crowded

Gun laws not like in America

Fuel cost way high

 

To name just a few...

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A lot of people wouldn't go to California because of:

 

55 mph speed limit

Roads are falling apart-

Too crowded

Gun laws not like in America

Fuel cost way high

 

To name just a few...

Those people will miss out on a lot of beautiful scenery and destinations then. :D

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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So it at least appears there is interest in getting a West Coast Rally up and going. That is good. Whether this first one turns into a full blown rally or just a get together will remain to be seen, but I think eventually a West Coast Rally is definitely in the cards. Scott is going to the National Rally this month and will be getting some first hand knowledge there. I have made contact with SuiteSuccess (the host of the East Coast Rally) and he gave some good advise and pointed out just how much work coordinating a rally can be. Over the next few weeks, we should be able to at least set a time and a place. Then we can go from there. I will be at the coast with my rig this weekend, so I will have limited internet. I will check in as I can.

 

Thanks for the replies. Any suggestions are appreciated.

2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift
2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard
2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan
2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage)
2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)
My First Solar Install Thread
My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build
My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet!

chadheiser.com      West Coast HDT Rally Website

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Guest Lostinaz

 

I have no argument about the land being a virtual paradise. You've got the ocean, mountains, the desert. Beautiful land.

I have hauled a lot of loads in and out of California and seen places most people don't get to see.

I can imagine Ronald Reagan showing up in the 1940s, it must've been like heaven.

I suppose that is why it got so crowded.

Only a socialized sheep person would think it is what America is supposed to be.

I was born there-it used to be paradise.

That was in the past, it as Jim said, has been destroying itself for a long time now.

Too bad, so sad, but it is not the same place it used to be.

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If you haven't stumbled across the reference, OLDPhoneMan (Dave) held a few Micro - West Coast Rallys in Winchester Bay, OR back in the 2006-2007 timeframe. He might have some useful input if he is still around. To me, the available activities seem to be personal preferences centric. Back east, bright spots, like Myrtle Beach, Gettysburg, etc. have a lot of things to do that have nothing to do with HDTs.

 

As everyone knows, The National Rally started being about the HDTs, conversions and making it all work. It happened to be a perk (maybe) that Kenny Doonan and his dealership provided a physical focus point, content, services as well as event facilities. That made it a strong draw for many people coast to coast even though about the only other thing of real interest in that area was the Airplane factory.

 

I have been trying to see a way to integrate an HDT get together as being deeper than just a few days of talking HDTs. I am wondering if the now rapid regrowth in RVing interests may offer an alternative focus to just the HDTs? Otherwise, maybe it is almost too hard, particularly for those still working, to cover the distances to any one west coast location just for some social contact.

 

Don't get me wrong. Camaraderie counts but is it enough or does there need to be some deeper HDT specific content besides kicking tires and telling whoppers? Maybe some prescheduled multi-person hangouts / Skypes, etc to do some brainstorming? The amount of interest shown in those might be enough to clarify individual motivations to actually participate in a rally out here.

 

We are settled into Port Angeles for the winter as we felt it was too costly to move back down to Redding just to come back up here next spring, but that is just us. What is the unit of worth measured in time/$$$/content for the potential participants and what would it take to make it worth it?

 

Does anyone have any stats on the total attendees/dropouts of the national and east coast rallys? I wonder how many enthusiasts will likely not make the final group?

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Only a socialized sheep person would think it is what America is supposed to be.

 

 

Those are a lot of sour grapes you have to dish out. Are you really the Unwelcome Committee?

Trish & Raquel

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Budd,

 

I think you hit on some important points that we have realized and I know Steve and Gail also have tried to address. The East Coast ,since DW and I took over as hosts, has averaged in the mid 20's rigs. Rough estimates would say that about 20% of people who say they are going to attend do not. We are fortunate that we have a close knit "core" group that regularly attends and I must say we have made some life long friends from this group. IMHO the rally does need "technical" content of interest to both sexes, but I don't feel it should dominate the time. Secondly we are a community and there needs to be some socializing. That turns out to be the hardest thing to plan and keep interesting. We chose a stable location in Crossville because 1. It is a beautiful campground and location 2. The relationship we have developed with the owner has resulted in perks for our group such as improved sites, a BBQ sponsored by the owner, and friendly personal attention. We are two hours from Nashville, one hour from Knoxville, but our experience has been that the majority of folks really are not interested in venturing far from the site. (Our first rally we scheduled a tour of the Jack Daniels whiskey distillery about two hours away and had only a handful go). Finally, I think any rally should cater not only to the "regulars" but also those contemplating moving into this lifestyle either full or part time. We have a Canadian contingent that drives a thousand miles every year so don't think distance is a huge deterrent.

Budd, I think if there were a coordinated effort between the three regions (East Coast, West Coast, and National we would open opportunities for the entire US). Since Gail and Steve are very close friends we have 2/3 of that coordination already in place. I will be happy to assist in completing this.

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Those are a lot of sour grapes you have to dish out. Are you really the Unwelcome Committee?

Raquel, don't be too hard on those of us old enough to remember when California was T H E place to live.

 

We had wonderful year round weather (and still do), unlimited outdoor activities, well paying jobs with good benefits, with large companies like Lockheed, GM (Van Nuys, South Gate and Fremont plants), Ford, Firestone, Borg Warner, McDonald Douglas and many more that I cannot remember. All of these companies supported smaller machine shops that fed the big companies parts. The big plants are all gone, as are the smaller support machine shops.

 

Fun activities included horseback riding, off roading (motorcycle and car), sand dunning, sand sailing, hunting, fishing, skiing, gold prospecting, gold dredging. All of these activities are either illegal or are so heavily regulated that you cannot do them any more.

 

Central California farmlands were destroyed because the water supply was cut off to save a fish (I think it was called the Sacramento delta smelt). I have not driven through the farm lands since the water was cut off, but I have been told that the orchards are all gone. And the farmers were destroyed, financially. Hopefully the smelt was saved!

 

Recently, small companies, with diesel trucks were put out of business, because the cost, to comply with the diesel engine retrofits, was prohibitively expensive. The diesel "health threat" was not based upon actual data but extrapolated by a statistician, who lied about his qualifications. His employer, CARB (California Air Resources Board) still took his data as gospel truth. BTW, the dumbazz who lied on his resume, about his college degree, was not fired, he was just demoted. Let me see, do you really want to believe what a confirmed liar tells you?

 

Sorry for the rant and for hijacking the thread, but those of us who have lived in Cali for more than 50 years remember when this state was the envy of all other states. Now, it reminds me of a third world country.

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Maybe you can supplement with west coast Canadians ?

If I was on a westerly trip we would for sure stop in,wife and I have not been out there in a while and have started feeling deprived ,missing Utah,the canyon (north rim) death valley and Laurie has never seen the red woods.

someday.

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Tried to gather some interest this summer in Western Canadian meet-up. Lukewarm at best, although I was too busy at work to put much time into promotion and program development.

I have been wrong before, I'll probably be wrong again. 

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Jim, I didn't grow up here. My mother and siblings moved here in 1966, right after I graduated, but I've only been here for 25 years. No matter my distaste for the State of California (and I'm in Northern California ... and I don't mean Sacramento or SF), let's talk about having a rally, or a get together, or a meet-up, whatever we decide to call it, and let's bring some cheer into the poor deluded lives of the Californians rather than rehash all the bad things about the state?

Trish & Raquel

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