�EDITOR'S RAVE�
A
ny of you who are
on Facebook will
be familiar with
this feature that
Facebook has of
reminding you of things you posted in
previous years. “Share your memories”
they call it. Today when I logged on it
showed me a post I made seven years ago
of the progress I was making on my very
first vintage trailer restoration. Gosh! Has
it really been seven years? Two years and
a few more trailers later, the bug had truly
bitten me and Vintage Caravan Magazine
was born. Two years after that I began
Vintage Trailer Magazine to cater for my
American readers to whom the word
“caravan” means something entirely
different.
When I first started the magazine
I was pulled aside at a rally that had
been organized by a group of men who
had been very proactive in the trailer
restoration business for several years
before I came along. I guess it’s fair to
say that I shook things up a bit with my
Barbie’s pink camper van meets Gidget’s
Hawaiian holiday themed trailer. These
guys were so pedantic about keeping
true to the original in their restorations
that they even had issues with anyone
who used Phillips head screws instead
of slotted screws in their trailers! The
special meeting of these “elders” and
myself was called to address the issues
that had been raised in response to my
new magazine. There were concerns, I
was told, that I was “turning the vintage
caravan scene too pink and fluffy”. A
quote I have often repeated with glee.
This group’s aim was to preserve the
original vintage caravans of Australia
to their original standard. Some even
refused to sand or paint the old wooden
trailers for fear of ruining their originality.
And that is fine. Truly, I would never
criticize someone for whatever and
however they choose to restore and/
or decorate their own property. I am in
awe of original restorations, and have
said repeatedly that if you are fortunate
enough to have come into possession
of one of those very rare pristinely
maintained relics of camping days past,
then yes, by all means preserve it as is!
Sadly, as it does with all of us, the ravages
of time often take their toll. When there
is wood rot, rusted chassis, crumbling
cabinetry and dented panels, lead paint
and asbestos flooring, it is time to take
out the old and bring in the new. And if
you are going to replace things, then why
not replace them with the things that you
choose and make use of the safer, more
modern equivalents?
Yes, I do like pink and fluffy, as the
interior of my Australian caravan Betty
will attest, but my American trailer “Rosie”
is going to be completely different with a
much bolder color palette in a theme that
embraces the strong and independent
aspects of my personality. Stay tuned
to see her making an appearance at an
event near you this summer!
So, without wanting to alienate the
wonderful men in our lives, in this issue
I have chosen to focus on the world of
glamping and what it means to us girls.
We’ve got an interview with MaryJane
Butters, author of the book Glamping
with MaryJane and creator of the group
Glampers on the Loose, and one of the
most glamorous campers I know, to share
some of her tips with us and the cover
story on Ann Kruger who has embraced
the feminine side of camping to its
utmost with her 1959 Aloha “Dixie”.
A new year brings with it so many
new opportunities and as the weather
eventually warms back up, we look
forward to bringing our “cubby houses”
out of hiding and back out onto the road
and into the woods again. Let the good
times roll!
Happy New Year everyone!
Photo by Temucin Mustafa
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