Forum a bit quiet

[wildebus]

I think the forum would definitely liven up with a name change as 'motorhome' to a lot of people including myself is an 'off the production line' vehicle that doesn't need building...........but if it did change to something like 'camper builder' from looking at other sites you attract people that have done one conversion and are now 'experts'

On your last point, it does amuse me that if you (note, not YOU, but a general 'you') have built a camper AND have documented it on YouTube, you are an expert camper creator and the number of people who blindly follow and copy what you have done is incredible.
I am not going to mention any names, but I have met people who have done just that (followed and copied) and found they have had to redo stuff as the 'expert' they relied on had done it wrong. I have also spoken to different (knowledgeable experts in their fields) people who have tried to help and assist some of these 'experts' and have been rebuffed and ignored by them, probably due to a exaggerated sense of their own importance and knowledge due to the feedback and fawning of their followers.

(Can you tell I am not a fan!? )

 

[trevskoda]

I think the forum would definitely liven up with a name change as 'motorhome' to a lot of people including myself is an 'off the production line' vehicle that doesn't need building...........but if it did change to something like 'camper builder' from looking at other sites you attract people that have done one conversion and are now 'experts'

I had said camper construtor

 

[Millie Master]

I think the forum would definitely liven up with a name change as 'motorhome' to a lot of people including myself is an 'off the production line' vehicle that doesn't need building...........but if it did change to something like 'camper builder' from looking at other sites you attract people that have done one conversion and are now 'experts'

As a marketing man I know there is a lot of appeal which is as a direct result of the brand name.

However in the case in point, Phil was very restricted by what names had already been registered most of which have never been used, so in the end Motorhome Builder was his very sensible and totally plausible choice.

There are of course two very large self building forums on which both @Squiffy and I were once on and in both cases there was a significant nucleus of very knowledgeable, experienced people who spent an enormous amount of time keeping the activity and knowledge of the forums very active indeed.
In relative terms, this forum is still in its fledgling stages of growth and as I have written many times before, if people like you @Tookey were to get into the habit of asking, asking, asking questions no matter how stupid you might believe they will make you look by asking, believe me, at some time or another we have all been faced with exactly the same problem.

Personally speaking I don't like trawling through page after page of detail data and information stored in the archives, I like to ask a question and receive an answer and by so doing, in most cases I remember the reply.

Phil

 

[wildebus]

You do see some forums where asking questions is frowned upon until an extensive search is carried out to ensure that question has never, ever, EVER been asked before in any way or form.
And God forbid if you transgress that rule!!

Needless to say this is not one of those forums I can't recall which specific ones are like that as weirdly my use of them is very fleeting

 

[activecampers]

On your last point, it does amuse me that if you (note, not YOU, but a general 'you') have built a camper AND have documented it on YouTube, you are an expert camper creator and the number of people who blindly follow and copy what you have done is incredible.
I am not going to mention any names, but I have met people who have done just that (followed and copied) and found they have had to redo stuff as the 'expert' they relied on had done it wrong. I have also spoken to different (knowledgeable experts in their fields) people who have tried to help and assist some of these 'experts' and have been rebuffed and ignored by them, probably due to a exaggerated sense of their own importance and knowledge due to the feedback and fawning of their followers.

(Can you tell I am not a fan!? )

That is so true!
I do have our last build (finished vid only) and current build (snapshots) - and a few "how I did xxx" vids - but only showing how I did it, and not professing to be an expert. I just show what I'd wanted to have seen before I started. Any "common" job I've not bothered with as 1001 people have done similar and better
But you are right, so many people telling you "how to do it". With so many variables, usage patterns, budgets and skills, its a dangerous game. There is no 1 answer fits all.
I do the vids mainly for my interest and my parents!

As for other forums, the main old one has my attention, but that's the only one, seems to be 95% quality. FB is too random and tents to be 5% quality!

Its a fine line - if I ask a question I want a quick answer, and sadly that means the busiest forum.

And fairly busy at the moment so not loitering to reply, and I guess until van#2 is finished, no one will really know where my answers come from to validate them!

I'll be here loitering when I can

 

[Tookey]

As a marketing man I know there is a lot of appeal which is as a direct result of the brand name.

However in the case in point, Phil was very restricted by what names had already been registered most of which have never been used, so in the end Motorhome Builder was his very sensible and totally plausible choice.

There are of course two very large self building forums on which both @Squiffy and I were once on and in both cases there was a significant nucleus of very knowledgeable, experienced people who spent an enormous amount of time keeping the activity and knowledge of the forums very active indeed.
In relative terms, this forum is still in its fledgling stages of growth and as I have written many times before, if people like you @Tookey were to get into the habit of asking, asking, asking questions no matter how stupid you might believe they will make you look by asking, believe me, at some time or another we have all been faced with exactly the same problem.

Personally speaking I don't like trawling through page after page of detail data and information stored in the archives, I like to ask a question and receive an answer and by so doing, in most cases I remember the reply.

Phil

Ok, taken on board. As a newbie the active threads that you read are frequently very technical, mechanically, electrical and manufacturing and you fear asking a question that has been answered loads of times or is simply boring or could be considered inept.

........but as I will be an information drain rather than an aid if I can contribute to the forum by means of activity I will do

The others can blame you

 

[SquirrellCook]

have done one conversion and are now 'experts'

What I have found with professional/competent people is, once they have finished a large project or even sometimes a small one for the first time. All they can think about is how poorly they did it and how much better it would be next time. Seeing it as an outsider for the first time you would think it wonderful.

I was approached by a engineering university student some years ago and he asked " how come the more I learn the more stupid I feel" I answered, "as you learn you discover there is so much more you don't know" and it never ends. Most people are not smart enough to know how little they know. Horrible but true.

 

[wildebus]

What I have found with professional/competent people is, once they have finished a large project or even sometimes a small one for the first time. All they can think about is how poorly they did it and how much better it would be next time. Seeing it as an outsider for the first time you would think it wonderful.

I was approached by a engineering university student some years ago and he asked " how come the more I learn the more stupid I feel" I answered, "as you learn you discover there is so much more you don't know" and it never ends. Most people are not smart enough to know how little they know. Horrible but true.

There is a phrase that an old boss of mine used to use a few times with me and sticks in my head and I recount to myself when I need it ....
"The Best is the enemy of the Good"
In other words, you can (and should) strive for perfection but you do need to recognise when something is good enough, otherwise you will never finish anything (as perfection does not exist)
But as Mr Squirrel says above, it does tend to mean that whatever you do, you instantly see what you could have done better and sometimes it is hard to get total satisfaction from what was in truth a very decent result when you end up focussing on the 5% that could be better then then 95% that is spot on.

 

[activecampers]

...
In other words, you can (and should) strive for perfection but you do need to recognise when something is good enough, otherwise you will never finish anything (as perfection does not exist)
...

So so true. We're aiming for the best possible finish, but its impossible lol. Our skills aren't up there. We've redone a few things that aren't quite to standard, but far from perfection. Have to be realistic. No point spending 100 hours to perfect something no one will see.... Or the final layer will cover over.
Its a hard lesson - what is perfect in the minds eye doesn't always finish like that in the real world

 

[Tookey]

....and then you 'box in' and hide all those hours of labour and the first guest says "nice upholstery "

 

[Squiffy]

Ok, taken on board. As a newbie the active threads that you read are frequently very technical, mechanically, electrical and manufacturing and you fear asking a question that has been answered loads of times or is simply boring or could be considered inept.

........but as I will be an information drain rather than an aid if I can contribute to the forum by means of activity I will do

The others can blame you

The whole purpose of any motorhome builders site is to help and assist new builders and indeed experienced builders, if someone asks a question that has been asked many times before a more comprehensive and considered answer usually follows as the amount of people who have taken on that particular work over days weeks and months increases, having found slightly different and sometimes better ways of doing things and so a multiple choice is presented that can be taken or left by the question asker. So, long may it continue these so called monotonous questions that usually cause a burst of activity on the site. Phil

 

[Millie Master]

And all this excellent exchange from a thread "Forum A Bit Quiet"