Saturday, June 13, 2009

Day One


Today, June 13th, 2009, we brought home an Aliner camper that was given to us by our good friends Sue & Alan. It is a 1999, not sure yet which model. We know Sue and Alan mostly through camping at Otter River State Park. But I also know Alan through my Uncle Mike as they have both worked at Norton's (St. Gobain nowadays) for years. A few years ago Sue and Alan stopped using the Aliner and started using the Yurts at camp. Over this few years we all tried to get together to talk about us taking over ownership of the Aliner. Our lifes are all so busy that we finally got around to doing it today. We probably would've had an easier time redoing it if we had taken them up on the offer back then, but that's okay I'm glad we finally did....and I think Sue is real happy to have it out of the back yard too! It's kinda funny because we all feel like the other is helping the other out. They don't have to figure out what to do with it or look at the white lump in the back yard anymore and we get the chance to restore a really cool camper back the way we want it to look like. We are very thankful that they passed it on to us and we can't wait to be able to go camping at Otter River someday after it is done and let them see it. But she does need a lot of work and it's going to take a while because we do not have a lot of money, none really, to put towards this thing. But we've seen it in it's hey day and know just like a home it has a soul and is worth the hard work and patience. The floor is rotted out, a known problem for this camper, particly 1998-9. There is a window vent on the top with a hole in it and the weather seal is shot so there is a bit of water damage too. Mike has done a bunch of research on the Aliner over the few years we've been vowing to do this and he has a pretty good grip on what to do to repair it and where to get parts. He says everything is replacable. I love my tent and really haven't been to gong hoo (however you spell that) about doing this, hence the lack of nagging to go pick it up for three years, lol....but now that we've brought her home and I see her in the driveway I am starting to have a change of heart. I have found some online resources and linked them to the right. There is a club, of course, and there's a Yahoo group for everything so why not Aliners too? I haven't joined any of them yet, but I wanted to bookmark and document what I've found. If you happen by and own an Aliner yourself please leave a comment! Leave a comment even if you don't ;-) This blog probably will not be updated often, but I will post when we do something or find something. Wish us luck!

2 comments:

  1. In fact, there are several online groups that discuss Aliners. One is:

    http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/alinerchaleta-frames/messages.

    You'll probably find everything you need to know by joining it, if you haven't already done so, then doing a SEARCH for whatever topic you need help on. Also, there's a WIKI with all sorts of info about Aliners and Chalets.

    Dave

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  2. Thanks Dave! We have joined the Yahoo group, ton's of info. I've lost track of time searching the messages a few times this past week. We also found the Wiki the other day. I think I actually found it searching through the Yahoo group. I've been trying to add all the helpful sites to the sidebar. The Yahoo group is without a doubt the best resource we've found so far.
    JoAnne

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