Upgrade - which Elkmont? [moved]

[hjbourge]

Hi Shandysplace,

I noticed in your early post that you had a 3326 TM and now a Elkmont 26 TM. We have a 2720 TM 2010 for the past two camping seasons and have been thinking of upgrading to the Elkmont. We thought of the 26 footer but last week we were at the dealer and saw a 24 that had a soffa bed instead of the permanent bed, which give you a lot more walking room in the trailer. But my main question is how do you like the Elkmont and is it really worth upgrading to. We pull our TM with a 2008 Honda Ridgeline and have had no wind problems or sway, but we are both in our late 60's and putting up and taking down of the TM is getting tougher. We had taken a crosscountry trip last year with the TM and made 29 campgrounds some for only one night, by the end of the trip we were getting better at the set up and take down, but still it took a toll. Do you get any sway when towing and is set up quicker?

[gerrym51]

Hi Shandysplace,

I noticed in your early post that you had a 3326 TM and now a Elkmont 26 TM. We have a 2720 TM 2010 for the past two camping seasons and have been thinking of upgrading to the Elkmont. We thought of the 26 footer but last week we were at the dealer and saw a 24 that had a soffa bed instead of the permanent bed, which give you a lot more walking room in the trailer. But my main question is how do you like the Elkmont and is it really worth upgrading to. We pull our TM with a 2008 Honda Ridgeline and have had no wind problems or sway, but we are both in our late 60's and putting up and taking down of the TM is getting tougher. We had taken a crosscountry trip last year with the TM and made 29 campgrounds some for only one night, by the end of the trip we were getting better at the set up and take down, but still it took a toll. Do you get any sway when towing and is set up quicker?
may i offer an opinion. the uniqueness of the trailmanor is the folding low profile and no sway. its still a pop up but a unique one.

the elkmonts although they are a quality trailer are still uprights.

mileage will be terrible beacause of wind friction on more exposed area not weight.(and sway greatly increased)

your ridgeline will go from 17 to 8 miles a gallon(guess based on experience).
owned a travel trailer and now own soft sided pop up.( am going to buy trailmanor)

I have also learned not to force using pop up.

if your traveling cross country-use motels for one night stands. don't feel you ha
ve to use your trailer saves a lot of grief.


example. if have 1000 miles to cover use motels first 2 days. drive longer(easier with pop up) then set up for several days stop


gerry

[Bigbit]

may i offer an opinion. the uniqueness of the trailmanor is the folding low profile and no sway. its still a pop up but a unique one.

the elkmonts although they are a quality trailer are still uprights.

mileage will be terrible beacause of wind friction on more exposed area not weight.(and sway greatly increased)

your ridgeline will go from 17 to 8 miles a gallon(guess based on experience).
owned a travel trailer and now own soft sided pop up.( am going to buy trailmanor)

I have also learned not to force using pop up.

if your traveling cross country-use motels for one night stands. don't feel you ha
ve to use your trailer saves a lot of grief.


example. if have 1000 miles to cover use motels first 2 days. drive longer(easier with pop up) then set up for several days stop


gerry

While I agree that MPG will be worse with the Elkmont due to increased wind resistance, our mileage has been nowhere near as bad as the 8 MPG suggested in the above post. Worst case we've done is 10.5 MPG fighting a head wind for the entire trip. More typically, our gas mileage ranges from 12 to 13.5 when towing with our Buick Enclave with 3.6L V6 engine. By itself, the Enclave gets about 17 in the city and up to 24 MPG highway (my personal experience, which closely mirrors the vehicle's touted MPG).

I've never owned a fold-down Trailmanor, so I can't speak for its ease of set-up, but the Elkmont is a breeze to set-up. I would recommend a WDH to reduce sway, and dealing with this is the hardest part of the set-up / take-down process. The hitch is heavy and the spring bars do take a bit of effort. That second part can be made much easier by opting for the electric tongue jack option. You use the jack to "lift" the trailer / TV slightly (not literally) which makes tensioning the spring bars a snap.

[Wavery]

may i offer an opinion. the uniqueness of the trailmanor is the folding low profile and no sway. its still a pop up but a unique one.

the elkmonts although they are a quality trailer are still uprights.

mileage will be terrible beacause of wind friction on more exposed area not weight.(and sway greatly increased)

your ridgeline will go from 17 to 8 miles a gallon(guess based on experience).
owned a travel trailer and now own soft sided pop up.( am going to buy trailmanor)

I have also learned not to force using pop up.

if your traveling cross country-use motels for one night stands. don't feel you ha
ve to use your trailer saves a lot of grief.


example. if have 1000 miles to cover use motels first 2 days. drive longer(easier with pop up) then set up for several days stop


gerry

gerry,

I had the same PU thinking that you do before we purchased our 1st TM.....Our PU (2002 Coleman Tacoma), although very nice was a PITA to set up and I agree, long trips would require motel breaks.

I hope that you will discover what so many of us have. IMO, long trips, no longer require motel breaks because the TM is SOOOOOO much easier to set-up than a traditional, canvas sided PU. The length of time is truly a lot less but more than that, the back breaking struggle of setting up the bunks, cranking the roof and all the rest of it is far less in a TM. I find setting up more "Fun" than work. We came to the point that is was "Painful" and "Stressful" to set-up camp. Not any more (except for the people that want to stand around, watch and ask questions.....that's starting to get old)......:D

I would now consider moving our "Stuff" from the camper to a motel more work and PITA than setting up the TM.....besides, I love my own bed......:p

[cochise]

While I agree that MPG will be worse with the Elkmont due to increased wind resistance, our mileage has been nowhere near as bad as the 8 MPG suggested in the above post. Worst case we've done is 10.5 MPG fighting a head wind for the entire trip. More typically, our gas mileage ranges from 12 to 13.5 when towing with our Buick Enclave with 3.6L V6 engine. By itself, the Enclave gets about 17 in the city and up to 24 MPG highway (my personal experience, which closely mirrors the vehicle's touted MPG).

I've never owned a fold-down Trailmanor, so I can't speak for its ease of set-up, but the Elkmont is a breeze to set-up. I would recommend a WDH to reduce sway, and dealing with this is the hardest part of the set-up / take-down process. The hitch is heavy and the spring bars do take a bit of effort. That second part can be made much easier by opting for the electric tongue jack option. You use the jack to "lift" the trailer / TV slightly (not literally) which makes tensioning the spring bars a snap.

I totally agree with this. We pull our Elkmont 24 with a 2003 Silverado 4.3 L 6 cyl engine, and we get around 13 mpg pullinng and about 18-20 mpg alone. And the WDH is a MUST with the Elkmont. You have about 660 Lb on the tongue, place about 5' behind the rear axle (in my case), so that is a lot of fulcrum effect to deal with. And yes we have gotten up to 15 mpg with a slight tail wind helping us along.

[gerrym51]

I new i should not have used specific numbers. the point is mileage and sway
will be different. the number i used was specifically for the honda ridgeline.

if you go to hondaridgelineowners forum you will see the ridgeline gets very poor milerage for its size then others in its class and encourages premium fuel
while towing.(which is why i did not buy one0.

as for other statements i made. it was based on what the poster said about traveling cross coun try and one night stands.

the elkmont is still a standard trailer and will have greater sway issues

how much sway issues a person can take is strictly a personal issue

gerry:D

[cochise]

I new i should not have used specific numbers. the point is mileage and sway
will be different. the number i used was specifically for the honda ridgeline.

if you go to hondaridgelineowners forum you will see the ridgeline gets very poor milerage for its size then others in its class and encourages premium fuel
while towing.(which is why i did not buy one0.

as for other statements i made. it was based on what the poster said about traveling cross coun try and one night stands.

the elkmont is still a standard trailer and will have greater sway issues

how much sway issues a person can take is strictly a personal issue

gerry:D

We have never had any noticeable sway in our Elkmont/Silverado combo. And as far as comfort is concerned, we love that on a trip we can just pull over and enter the trailer to eat luch or just have a cup of coffee, or even use the bathroom between camp sites. And you don't have to stabilize the trailer for that, just unlock the door and enter.

And often when we travel longer distances we pull into a parking lot or whereever we can after about 300 miles and spend the night in pure comfort, again without having to do a lot of set-up. The Elkmont 24 is perfect for that scenario. Next morning we just get back in the truck and take off for the next 300 or so miles.

[gerrym51]

We have never had any noticeable sway in our Elkmont/Silverado combo. And as far as comfort is concerned, we love that on a trip we can just pull over and enter the trailer to eat luch or just have a cup of coffee, or even use the bathroom between camp sites. And you don't have to stabilize the trailer for that, just unlock the door and enter.

And often when we travel longer distances we pull into a parking lot or whereever we can after about 300 miles and spend the night in pure comfort, again without having to do a lot of set-up. The Elkmont 24 is perfect for that scenario. Next morning we just get back in the truck and take off for the next 300 or so miles.

your right. mileage same pop up or regular trailer . no difference sway regular trailer or pop up; no difference 24 ft trailer or pop up 23 expands to 30 ;

have a wonderful day:D

[cochise]

your right. mileage same pop up or regular trailer . no difference sway regular trailer or pop up; no difference 24 ft trailer or pop up 23 expands to 30 ;

have a wonderful day:D

Perhaps you need to READ what I wrote....I was referring to OUR tow combo. The fact that a Honda may get very poor mileage is too bad. Yes my mileage drops when I tow, but not too bad. As far as sway is concerned, I am sure that if you are traveling at 75 MPH as many do even while towing, you probably will have sway, but I stated that we did not have noticeable sway with our Elkmont/Silverado combo not that there would be no sway!

So you have a nice day too!

[BOB_STRONG]

Having owned 3 traditional TrailManors since 1992, and now owning an Elkmont 26, I honestly can say that I enjoy towing the Elkmont as well as our old 3326King. For gas mileage, I get about 1 to 1.5 miles per gallon less pulling our Elkmont than the the 3326King. I had a WDH and sway bar on the 3326, and I still have a similar set up with the Elkmont. I don't notice any difference in sway or when trucks pass me by.

If you like the 24 foot with the couch in the front that makes into a bed, then I would go for that with the side dinette & bunk beds if you need the additional space for sleeping. If you have no need for the bunk beds, than get the regular floor plan with the couch that makes into a bed. We saw the dealer make the couch into a bed, and it doesn't take very long to do. If you want to leave the couch as a couch, you can always make up the side dinette into a bed. It is real easy to do.

For us, we liked the extra 2 feet plus more storage room. Having the permanent bed, gives you all of the storage under the bed. Plus with the Elkmont 26, you get tandem axles, a larger bathroom, and a nice large side dinette. The price was only $2000 more for us vs the Elkmont 24. Having owned two 3326Kings, the Elkmont 24 just would not fit our needs. That's why TrailManor is building the 22, 24(with various floor plans), and the 26 Elkmont. Only you can decide on what model. I am sure that all 3 sizes will tow very well and still not reduce your gas mileage much. So do your homework on what you need for storage and ease of setting up a bed. That will then determine which floor plan to get.

The other nice thing about the Elkmont is that you can stop at a rest area, unlock the door, and use the bathroom or get something out of the huge 6 cubic foot refrig and sit down at the table. No more having to open and close the trailer. I am not knocking the regular TrailManor, but after 18 years and 3 regular TrailManors, we were ready for the Elkmont to make life a little easier when camping, and if you are stopping every night and setting up.

[gerrym51]

Hi Shandysplace,

I noticed in your early post that you had a 3326 TM and now a Elkmont 26 TM. We have a 2720 TM 2010 for the past two camping seasons and have been thinking of upgrading to the Elkmont. We thought of the 26 footer but last week we were at the dealer and saw a 24 that had a soffa bed instead of the permanent bed, which give you a lot more walking room in the trailer. But my main question is how do you like the Elkmont and is it really worth upgrading to. We pull our TM with a 2008 Honda Ridgeline and have had no wind problems or sway, but we are both in our late 60's and putting up and taking down of the TM is getting tougher. We had taken a crosscountry trip last year with the TM and made 29 campgrounds some for only one night, by the end of the trip we were getting better at the set up and take down, but still it took a toll. Do you get any sway when towing and is set up quicker?

Hi, its me again.

I guess what I;m saying is if your not going to use a pop-up trailmanor then all manufacturer light trailers are in play. the travel trailer market is the largest rv product so it stands to reason trailamor would sell regular trailers and get some added sales.

their hard sided pop-up has no competitor. the trailer does-so i think you should look at them all. my personal favcorite if i was going to buy are hard sided light trailer is the Heartland EDGE. look at new model m17 gerry:D

[[email protected]]

Hi, its me again.

I guess what I;m saying is if your not going to use a pop-up trailmanor then all manufacturer light trailers are in play. the travel trailer market is the largest rv product so it stands to reason trailamor would sell regular trailers and get some added sales.

their hard sided pop-up has no competitor. the trailer does-so i think you should look at them all. my personal favcorite if i was going to buy are hard sided light trailer is the Heartland EDGE. look at new model m17 gerry:D

You should look at the Keystone Bullet series also.

[scrubjaysnest]

Hi Shandysplace,

I noticed in your early post that you had a 3326 TM and now a Elkmont 26 TM. We have a 2720 TM 2010 for the past two camping seasons and have been thinking of upgrading to the Elkmont. We thought of the 26 footer but last week we were at the dealer and saw a 24 that had a soffa bed instead of the permanent bed, which give you a lot more walking room in the trailer. But my main question is how do you like the Elkmont and is it really worth upgrading to. We pull our TM with a 2008 Honda Ridgeline and have had no wind problems or sway, but we are both in our late 60's and putting up and taking down of the TM is getting tougher. We had taken a crosscountry trip last year with the TM and made 29 campgrounds some for only one night, by the end of the trip we were getting better at the set up and take down, but still it took a toll. Do you get any sway when towing and is set up quicker?
When we were thinking about replacing our pop-up for some of your reasons, we are in our middle 60's, we looked at several small TT including the r-POD all gave up the room of the pop-up except the TM additionally we didn't want to deal with the high profile so went with the 2720SL which even DW at under 5' can set up by herself in a pinch.

[gerrym51]

You should look at the Keystone Bullet series also.

i looked at the bullets. they are nice but too heavy.when i researched



the honda ridgeline it has a max 5000 pound tow rating

because it has a unique all wheel drive system honda discourages the use of a wdh(notice i said discourages not flat out says no)

the low sided trail manor pop-up is a good match for this truck.

a light regular sided trailer especialy with wind resistance at higher speeds is not. but can be done if total loaded weight kept below
4500 pounds. i suspect a loaded elkmont would be too heavy . i suggest you look for true elkmont weights with options before you decide

gerry

[cochise]

i looked at the bullets. they are nice but too heavy.when i researched



the honda ridgeline it has a max 5000 pound tow rating

because it has a unique all wheel drive system honda discourages the use of a wdh(notice i said discourages not flat out says no)

the low sided trail manor pop-up is a good match for this truck.

a light regular sided trailer especialy with wind resistance at higher speeds is not. but can be done if total loaded weight kept below
4500 pounds. i suspect a loaded elkmont would be too heavy . i suggest you look for true elkmont weights with options before you decide

gerry

Gerry, why don't you just tell us which trailer manufacturer you work for?

[Wavery]

i looked at the bullets. they are nice but too heavy.when i researched



the honda ridgeline it has a max 5000 pound tow rating

because it has a unique all wheel drive system honda discourages the use of a wdh(notice i said discourages not flat out says no)

the low sided trail manor pop-up is a good match for this truck.

a light regular sided trailer especialy with wind resistance at higher speeds is not. but can be done if total loaded weight kept below
4500 pounds. i suspect a loaded elkmont would be too heavy . i suggest you look for true elkmont weights with options before you decide

gerry

Actually, the reports that have been coming in here have shown that the fully loaded Elkmont is equal to or less than a fully loaded 2720SL fold-up model. This is because they are similar construction but the fold-up model has all of the hardware of the lifting mechanism and the trailer must be more heavily reinforced in certain areas.

One of our members has a PDF file with all of the actual reported weights from all of the members that have reported. He will be posting that this week. You may find some of the actual reports very interesting. Most of the reports are done from actual scale weights, fully loaded for camping and very detailed.

[gerrym51]

Gerry, why don't you just tell us which trailer manufacturer you work for?

are you kidding. I'm a pharmacist getting ready to retire. I have researched
rvs ad nauseaum. I have researched trucks like crazy.

I decided on a pop up trailmanor. Its only because i researched the ridgeline that i commented.

I would love to own one but tow rating is too low. I ended up with the closest equivalent nissan frontier with short box (6100 pound tow rating). 17 feet long which i also love about ridgline. if you reasearch me you'll find i've been on this forum for quite awhile before this came up

gerry

[gerrym51]

Actually, the reports that have been coming in here have shown that the fully loaded Elkmont is equal to or less than a fully loaded 2720SL fold-up model. This is because they are similar construction but the fold-up model has all of the hardware of the lifting mechanism and the trailer must be more heavily reinforced in certain areas.

One of our members has a PDF file with all of the actual reported weights from all of the members that have reported. He will be posting that this week. You may find some of the actual reports very interesting. Most of the reports are done from actual scale weights, fully loaded for camping and very detailed.

the honda ridgeline is well suited for below 4500 total pounds for a low profile
pop up with low resistance and trailer sway. It is not suited for 4500 pound regular trailer with its associated wind resistance and greater trailer sway.

i wanted a ridgeine and if it had the 6100 pound capacity for the frontier i would have bought it. the ridgeline is 3.5 liter v6 the frontier is 4 liter v6

gerry

[Wavery]

are you kidding. I'm a pharmacist getting ready to retire. I have researched
rvs ad nauseaum. I have researched trucks like crazy.

I decided on a pop up trailmanor. Its only because i researched the ridgeline that i commented.

I would love to own one but tow rating is too low. I ended up with the closest equivalent nissan frontier with short box (6100 pound tow rating). 17 feet long which i also love about ridgline. if you reasearch me you'll find i've been on this forum for quite awhile before this came up

gerry
Be careful with the Frontier. Although it has a high tow rating, it has a very low GCWR. The GCWR is what really tells you what you can tow and how much total weight the vehicle can handle. Tow ratings can be very deceptive when considered on their own. You must consider all of the vehicles ratings before you consider the tow rating. Too many people do it in reverse.

Put all the specs in this calculator and you may find that the Frontier falls short.
http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-tt.shtml

[gerrym51]

Be careful with the Frontier. Although it has a high tow rating, it has a very low GCWR.

Put all the specs in this calculator and you may find that the Frontier falls short.
http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-tt.shtml

I'm going witha pop uptrailmanor pulling less than 4500 pounds. GCWR for frontier 4.0 is 11,100. is it possible you were looking at specs for 2.5 liter with is 7300? i checked again gcwr 11.100, 610 tongue weight , 6100 max trailer weight, truck weight 4200 pounds

gerry

[scrubjaysnest]

That doesn't sound right to me. We looked at Frontier in 2001 with that motor and it was less then the 2001 S10 we bought with a 4.3 L v-6 at 5000# They must have really changed the Frontier since then.

[gerrym51]

That doesn't sound right to me. We looked at Frontier in 2001 with that motor and it was less then the 2001 S10 we bought with a 4.3 L v-6 at 5000# They must have really changed the Frontier since then.

look at 2010 towing guide for nissan(google it) things have changed.

4.0 liter v6 crewcab 5 foot box.

gerry:D:D

[scrubjaysnest]

look at 2010 towing guide for nissan(google it) things have changed.

4.0 liter v6 crewcab 5 foot box.

gerry:D:D
Just took a look at it. Here is my experience with the 2001 S10 crew cab 4X4.
4.3 L v-6, 4.10 axles. Pulling a Coleman Mesa. We weighed the Coleman while in Alaska this year with all our gear. The pop-up was 2800# total and on the axle it was 2640#. No water in the 20 gal fresh water tank and full propane, two bottles, with a size 27 deep cycle batt. on the tongue. In 2005 the S10 would barely make 50 mph on I-26 south of Ashville NC.
That is why I was curious. The Nissan is most likely a true fuel injection whereas the S-10 was TB. In 2001 the Frontier empty on the road with the same axles as the S-10 didn't have the same feel of power. Here in Florida the S-10 pulled the Coleman fine. I would never have tried pulling our TM with the S-10 as the 2720SL dry looks to be about 500# heavier then the Coleman was loaded. I haven't weighed the TM yet but from a MPG point of view I didn't see any difference between the Coleman and the TM with our gear plus 10 to 12 gallons of fresh water with our current TV. Highway manners of the TM is way better then Coleman ever was. A slight change in loading of the Coleman resulted in sway. I got a lot of practice moving stuff around on the Coleman.

[gerrym51]

trucks in general have greatly improved in last 10 years.


gerry:D

[Bill]

We weighed the Coleman while in Alaska this year with all our gear. The pop-up was 2800# total and on the axle it was 2640#.Oh my. With 2800 pounds total, and 2640 pounds on the axle, that means 160 pounds hitch weight. That's less than 6% of the total weight. Minimum hitch weight is generally agreed to be 10%, and TMs put more like 14% on the hitch, eliminating sway problems. Did you experience any sway problems with the Coleman?

Bill

[Upstart]

We just bought an Elkmont 24 bunkhouse model with sleeper sofa instead of the fixed bed. No kids involved so the bunks allow a tremendous amount of storage. The sleeper sofa is a breeze to set up and we like the adjustable firmness of the inflatable bed.

We tow with a 6 cyl. Mercedes (ML320) and average 12 mpg. Normal highway mileage w/o the Elkmont is around 24 mpg. But, we have towed a 3,500 lb., 26' boat for years and get only 13 mpg with it. The boat is fairly aerodynamic, so the issue for us is not the wind resistance of the of the Elkmont.

We love the Elkmont! We really like being able to pull off and eat lunch, rest and use the bathroom w/o having to "set up".

[Wavery]

We just bought an Elkmont 24 bunkhouse model with sleeper sofa instead of the fixed bed. No kids involved so the bunks allow a tremendous amount of storage. The sleeper sofa is a breeze to set up and we like the adjustable firmness of the inflatable bed.

We tow with a 6 cyl. Mercedes (ML320) and average 12 mpg. Normal highway mileage w/o the Elkmont is around 24 mpg. But, we have towed a 3,500 lb., 26' boat for years and get only 13 mpg with it. The boat is fairly aerodynamic, so the issue for us is not the wind resistance of the of the Elkmont.

We love the Elkmont! We really like being able to pull off and eat lunch, rest and use the bathroom w/o having to "set up".

Most boats offer more wind resistance than modern travel trailers and are far from aerodynamic while on the trailer. The boats have very many different shapes and the air moving over the surface is very turbulent. The air moving between the hull of the boat and the surface of the highway becomes highly compressed and hard to move. The air under the hull is constantly trying to "Lift" the boat. The power for that "Lift" is generated from the TV. The modern TT (while big & bulky) moves the air over the surface with relatively little turbulence.