Clubhouse?

[grumpygrady]

there is always Florida
we have three acres that is just sitting here with a water well and electric
outside of gainesville florida
about half trees and half grass field
need to think about more than one spot need one in the north and east ,the south and the west and can have a meet at each one once or twice a year with the main club members dues ,helping out all of them and each one having it own members dues used at their place
this way each would be able to go to at least one main meet each year and others more

[ihbuilder]

I was thinking more in the line of a sole person own a place/layout and host get together . I'm thinking along those lines in the future with an outdoor/indoor layout once I start my 1:14 scale GR layout . We as americans and canadians have a major draw back ( vast miles between us ) I don't think just 1 place will work I have to finish my shop/addition and truck shed , but after that I'm planning to build another pole/bank barn just for the layout . Me being on the mountain side , it could be an interesting layout

[spudd]

I will get some this weekend and post them

[doodlebug]

Anybody considered a used 53 ft reefer trailer? Portable
just my $.002 from the back far side of everywhere

Cheer's, Neil.

[pigeonfarmboy]

Yeah no reason not to start this same discussion in the other regional forums.

[woodhog]

there should be older rundown homes in almost any part of the country!Take and gut them on the interier.i do like steve's ideas on some one owning for the sake of security when leaving items (toys)

[ihbuilder]

Originally Posted by pigeonfarmboy

Yeah no reason not to start this same discussion in the other regional forums.

Sorry , Nate I was just trying to make a suggestion and give a little insight to something I've been kicking around in my cluttered head for awhile .

[pigeonfarmboy]

No need to be sorry. Just suggesting so you guys could get the ball rolling on having maximum fun! It's a sad truth we're so spread out here.

[Ken Orme]

Hole the event in conjuction with an another event such as the "Cabin Feaver Expo" in york Pa. It would be one way to see what the interst would be.

Ken

[Izzy]

Hey ya'll - Wow - great idea finally crossing everybody's mind. I think we all wouldlove to have some place to go 'play' throughout the year.

I would think that a fixed location would be fantastic, but we are really spread out.

but

a fairly organized group can pull this off. with enough advance notice and we 'all' can schedule a vacation time for a fabulous weekend. I say 'all' because I know there are some that that is just not possible. And like PFB pointed out it takes a structured group - only so that others can easily step in and cover or when some have an interuption. Nothin like calling off a big thing just cause of regular day to day stuff. And carpooling makes all the difference in breaking up the cost - and it takes just a little coordination to pull off.

Also - I think we all know of an almost forgotten biulding on the skirts of a town or in an older industrial area or something like that that could be arranged fairly easily. Spudds offer is huge.

as for the semi trailer idea - on the surface it sounds good, but in actuality - not much space....bummer though.

If we had a regular facility we wouldn't need to rely on events like Indy to get together and have a good time.

Izzy

[pigeonfarmboy]

So.....
Building across from Ed's

Pros:
$1500 per month operating cost
A/C & Heat
Sleeping bag/cot to cut hotel cost
Hotels close by
Airport access
Alarm system
Constantly able to be monitored by Ed on a daily basis.
Area next to bobcat perfect for co-op tools / mill / lathe
Hobby shop access

Negative points:
Distance for some (always going to be an issue no matter where we go)
Cost depending on # of members

Breakdown of monthly membership costs:
10 people $150
15 $100
20 $75

Thoughts? Where do we go from here? Getting a list of how many will participate so we can nail down cost will be key. I've been looking @ buildings here for higher rates and no climate control/ alarm. I'm willing to dedicate at least one weekend a month to this. (more in the winter) I'm sure others will vary. Something else to keep in mind, guys that can't make it often could "work off" dues by building structures or elements to the site. This is the same setup the model railroad club guys have.

Discuss

[Snochaser]

Nate, I was trying to find a "center" point for most of us and I see Ft. Wayne, IN --> Celina, OH. If that works I'll do s'more research. Ben Ed's is a bit far for me to do on a regular basis. I don't Know........

[woodhog]

Originally Posted by Snochaser

Nate, I was trying to find a "center" point for most of us and I see Ft. Wayne, IN --> Celina, OH. If that works I'll do s'more research. Ben Ed's is a bit far for me to do on a regular basis. I don't Know........

same here for us southern guys but if there is enough members to get cost down im game just keep us all posted

[Supermario]

Originally Posted by Snochaser

Nate, I was trying to find a "center" point for most of us and I see Ft. Wayne, IN --> Celina, OH. If that works I'll do s'more research. Ben Ed's is a bit far for me to do on a regular basis. I don't Know........

Hey, hey ! I can do Fort Wayne! It's about 7.5 hrs for me. That type of location would allow us guys just north of the border to get involved..... If you'll take us that is... PLEASE!
In regards to non members and admission. offer an open house every now and then. Get them in and get them hooked!

I know the location which serves the most will make it more successful so I can only hope it ends up somewhere near my neck of the woods. That's my 4 Canadian cents....

Remember this phrase?....." Build it, and they will come "

Mario

[YoungGunz]

I would be in if we had atleast 10 guys. I could come down possibly once a month maybe every two. Keep us posted on what you figure out. Car pooling would also cut down on costs.

[rockNmayhem]

Nathan that was a great location and area to have setup. I would only be able to make it once every couple of months if that but I would be willing to build and help with anything I can. I do have a guy here in town that approached me this morning about having us do a show here in town in april and he has a location that we can set up and he will let us use anything we need to, to have a good time. It will be going on during an antique semi truck antique show so there would be some very interested spectators so I was thinking it may be a neat thing to try and setup if anyone would be interested in heading this far west. I'm about 8hrs out from St. Louis.

Tyler

[dabears]

Location is always going to play the problem part... As well as size. For those that dont have a dump truck or trailer or a loader dirt does no good. road area and docks bridges etc would be needed too. Eds place was a decent size but we outgrew it in a matter of hours with limited floor space to run the highway trucks vs the construction equip... Now if we would be using rubber vs dirt, that makes it a little nicer and cleaner obviously we could build bigger bridge systems etc.. I like the ideas that we could do and things we can make. Maybe we should also look at making a list of all those who would be interested, how often they would go, what they would bring to run as well as how far they would want to drive. Im sure we can find a common medium and if its in an area that we could get good internet services then we can set up IPbased remote security cameras to monitor the area when people are not there. This helping protect any and all assets inside. Just my .02 i love the idea of having a clubhouse or a place to meet when we dont have things like Indy to go to.

[pigeonfarmboy]

I don't expect this to all happen right away. I do think it gives us a reference point for cost and idea basics though to determine the ideal place.

I definitely agree Aaron. I just assumed we would make a roadway for semis. Wifi security isn't good enough for me to leave my stuff somewhere. I need a club "foreman" to be able to take action should something happen. St. Louis sets a pretty high bar for security level. Going to be hard to beat that space. I agree too with amount of space. It's a very large space but the area gets taken up quickly. Unfortunately anything larger than that is likely to drive up the price beyond "affordable".

So Tyler you bring up a good point. Do we allow non club members access any time they want to come? This defeats the purpose of members paying (investing) into the club and doesn't seem fair. That said I think it's stupid not to let non-members play but there has to be an admission price to do so. This is one thing that would add revenue to the club but an unpredictable amount. Not allowing non-members in doesn't allow the club to expand and cuts off growth to the hobby.

[rockNmayhem]

Originally Posted by pigeonfarmboy

I don't expect this to all happen right away. I do think it gives us a reference point for cost and idea basics though to determine the ideal place.

I definitely agree Aaron. I just assumed we would make a roadway for semis. Wifi security isn't good enough for me to leave my stuff somewhere. I need a club "foreman" to be able to take action should something happen. St. Louis sets a pretty high bar for security level. Going to be hard to beat that space. I agree too with amount of space. It's a very large space but the area gets taken up quickly. Unfortunately anything larger than that is likely to drive up the price beyond "affordable".

So Tyler you bring up a good point. Do we allow non club members access any time they want to come? This defeats the purpose of members paying (investing) into the club and doesn't seem fair. That said I think it's stupid not to let non-members play but there has to be an admission price to do so. This is one thing that would add revenue to the club but an unpredictable amount. Not allowing non-members in doesn't allow the club to expand and cuts off growth to the hobby.

Nathan great point there. As I mentioned before I will gladly help out and pay anything I can or build whatever we need (that I can fit inside the car of course) for the facility but as you brought up non member fees for entry would be a good idea.

You could simply have a $10-$20 admission fee for a day to use the facility and run equipment along with also providing growing relations if people wanted to come and try it out to see if it's something they'd be interested in.

I know for me if there was a place to go and play and have a fun day running my machines and it was climate controlled and had all the facilities I needed I'd gladly pay $20 to go play for a weekend of enjoyment.

Now I know some people would think that was absurd but maybe do a one or two day free trial to see it and if they decided it was worth it they may be willing to come back or become a member?

Many many good thoughts to consider and I'm sure something could easily be worked out.

Tyler

[YoungGunz]

Originally Posted by dabears

Now if we would be using rubber vs dirt, that makes it a little nicer and cleaner obviously we could build bigger bridge systems etc.. I like the ideas that we could do and things we can make.

I do agree that rubber is alot cleaner than dirt, but rubber is much better for shows since we will have to clean up at the end, but you cant really do "work" with the rubber. I feel dirt would be in our best interest, true, it makes a mess but we could actually work towards making roads, bridges, or whatever we want, because it has that packing ability. And since this would be a long term thing we wouldnt have to worry about cleaning up the dirt.

Originally Posted by pigeonfarmboy

Going to be hard to beat that space. I agree too with amount of space. It's a very large space but the area gets taken up quickly. Unfortunately anything larger than that is likely to drive up the price beyond "affordable".

The space would be perfect, we wouldnt have nearly as many people each time and people would bring what they need, not all of their projects. Using the back wall as a "workshop/workbench" area would be plenty. Eventually we would make more than one level for the trucks increasing actual play area. I feel like at this show the space was used up so quickly, because first off, we didn't have a real game plan, so things were spread far apart to begin with, then we had tables set up all around which would be useable space in a club house.

Originally Posted by rockNmayhem

You could simply have a $10-$20 admission fee for a day to use the facility and run equipment along with also providing growing relations if people wanted to come and try it out to see if it's something they'd be interested in.

Tyler

I think $10-$20 would be unfair for paying members. Let me throw some numbers out there and see what you guys think. If a club member was paying $100 a month to be a member of the club they would pay out $1200 a year. Now if they made it to the club house one weekend of every month, they would be technically paying $50 a day to play. (this is most likely not true for most guys, since once a month isn't always feasible. Most likely some would be paying over $100 a day to play.) Personally I think it should be more expensive for non-members to play, that way we avoid guys coming and playing more than club members and still benefiting more since they don't have to pay dues. Also non-members wouldn't have to worry about buying the dirt, the club members would worry about that and that would be on top of the club dues. I think the whole idea behind a club is to have benefits that not everyone else has. I don't want people to think that i don't want them their if they aren't in the club, but it needs to be fair for everyone.