New to "trailer camping"...thinking of buying a TM

[jsgraves]

My wife and I are looking into a TM because we want to do more camping but want a bit more comfort than the tent and air mattress gig. Trailers like the TM and Hi-Lo seem like what we're looking for but because we've just started investigating we don't know yet. Given this is a forum for TM there is probably a bias of TM vs. Hi-Lo vs. tent trailers but we're interested in what led you to purchasing your TM...and would you purchase another?

Also, here in Northern California it seem that the only dealer handling TMs is Dinuba RV in Rio Vista...anyone have any experience with this particular dealer...good and/or bad? We'll be visiting the RV show at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in September to check out TMs and others and talk to the folks from Dinuba and I'd like to go into this with some knowledge.

Thx much in advance.

Joel Graves
Pleasanton, CA

[Bill]

We bought a TM for two reasons.

1. Weight. We expected to do a lot of camping in the high Sierras and Rockies, and despite this, we wanted to have reasonable tow vehicle, not a moose. "Reasonable" for us turned out to be a Ford Explorer with a small V-8, and it has been adequate. I am under the impression that Hi-Los are considerably heavier for an equivalent size.

2. Overall length and height. We must be able to get it into our garage in AZ - Home Owners' Association rules. The swing tongue saved our butts here - I'm not sure that other trailers make one available.

After we bought, we learned about a couple other advantages.

Unlike other trailers, a TM does not sway, and sway control on the hitch is not needed.

In common with a Hi-Lo and tent trailers, the much-reduced wind resistance makes towing much easier, and less gas-consuming, than a full-size TT.

HTH

Bill

[B_and_D]

We chose the TM because you get so much more trailer out of the towing size and weight. We needed the extra room & beds to fit 4 people. We also liked the idea of a hard-sided trailer vs. the canvas (no security, harder to heat, dealing with rain/wet canvas, less privacy, bears can get in, etc.) Hi-Lo's are great for a lot of people, people who have them seem to really like them, also people seem to really like their tent trailers. For us, the TrailManor was ideal for what we wanted. Our 2720 is small enough to get into a lot of spots that you can't get a bigger trailer into, but it expands out enough that we are pretty comfortable in it. Plus, it has everything that we need and want in a camping unit. We also needed a shorter trailer to make a sharp turn into our driveway, and we can easily get the TM in and park it where we want it. We have never regretted our decision to buy (we looked for a while and found a good used one) and continue to enjoy using ours.

When is that show in Alameda? I'd like to go see one of the new ones. We're in Santa Cruz county.

[jsgraves]

Thanks for the response...you're confirming what we have been thinking. Good to know that we're on the right track. Great minds think alike eh? The Fall RV show at the Alameda County Fairground in Pleasanton is September 16-25. You can find out more about it at http://www.rvshow.net/ or http://www.alamedacountyfair.com/new3/month_09_september.html

We're definitely going. Where did you buy your TM? Our choices are limited if we buy locally...here in NCAL only Dinuba RV in Rio Vista (near Fairfield) carries TM.

Thx again.

jsg

[BrigCA61]

We purchased ours in Feb. through Dinuba RV at the Surf & Turf show at the Fair Grounds in Sacramento. We purchased the show model and picked it up at Dinuba RV in Rio Vista about 3 weeks later. We've had excellent service from the owners/staff there (small friendly, family owned/operated business), but don't expect quick service... they take their time there but are very thorough. They also installed our trailer brakes and the weight distribution bar. Sway bars are not necessary with the TrailManors as they do not tend to sway (unless perhaps you add a bicycle rack on the back). We have used our Trailmanor on average 2x a month over the weekends and have a few longer trips planned before the end of summer. We have been extremely pleased with the TM thus far and expect to be for many years to come. Our main reason for purchasing a TM is due to the fact that we can tow it with our exhisting vehicle (Jeep Liberty V6, but limit ourselves to towing on hills & flat land only rather then high elevation mountain roads until we get a V8 towing vehicle). This is our first RV and so the ease of towing (low profile) was very important to us as well as the better fuel efficiency with the present high cost of gasoline. These travel trailers also hold their resale value moreso then most other travel trailers. Previously we have been active tent campers but with 2 dogs now and not wanting to spend all our time packing for trips we decided to look into a travel trailer. We have no regrets whatsoever.

Brigitte

[jsgraves]

Brigitte - Thanks very much for the reply and the info. Good to hear about Dinuba and your experience thus far...all pluses. This will be our first trailer and want ease of use, quality, and want to be able to tow the TM with our current vehicle...a Chevy Blazer w/ a 4.3L V6. Sounds like we're on the right track.

Thx again very much for the feedback.

[PopBeavers]

We bought our TM 2720 from Dinuba RV at some show in Sacramento. It took about a month to get it because DW wanted the blue interior and they only stock the beige/brown interior at Dinuba RV.

Stan was great to deal with during the purchase phase. Stan was providing daily reports to me over the phone as to the current location of the guy that was hauling it out from the factory. We were nervous because we had a trip planned for a mountain bike race the weekend after it was delivered.

I have not had any reason to go back for service yet. We took delivery in March and have 1600 miles on it in 5 trips. I have not found a single flaw yet, except the front bed seems slightly off of level. I don't have a conclusion on that yet.

[Elaina and George]

Hi we too are looking at the tm, we started out tent camping and sweating our buns off when we awoke with the sun shining down, (not to mention the bones screaming help! :new_evil: ) we then graduated to an old 17ft tt that we remodeled and it was very small but quite fun until the fridge went on the blink. We then traded in on a beast of a tt - a 2003 mako gulfstream 30ft with a slide out. Unfortunately the heavy big tt's are a pain to tow any long distance, especially in traffic - not to mention the horrible gas mileage you incur. So here we are too - going to make the plunge for a tm - give up a few luxuries - and gain an rv that will be easier to tow and more practical. Good luck on your quest

[Gwordelman]

we purchased a trail manor for many of the above reasons and have found it not to be a very good value for the money. a number of quality issues.. etc..

it does tow easly but the quality is not up to snuff for the price in my opinion

G

[grittyoctopi]

Did you buy your TM new?
What type of problems did you encounter? Were you able to get any help from your dealer or the factory?

Cliff

[Queeniereads]

We had a lovely travel trailer which was hit by a gust a wind on a cross country trip and totally demolished (along with our brand new tow vehicle). We did not want to experience any sway or huge gas bills again, so we bought a TM...and we love it. It is easy to set up. We have an Equalizer sway sytem, and we have no sway when the big trucks pass us. What I like is that we can live in a certain amount of luxury and comfort but tow low and safe. Our dealer has been wonderful (Cape Cod MCD). We are happy owners of IRIS our TM. Queeniereads aka Judi