[ShrimpBurrito]

- The tires and wheels never got more than even warm to the touch.

If you are traveling somewhere with the temps in the 20s and 30s, I certainly wouldn't expect them to get anything more than warm. Tow in 80 degree weather, and you will likely get a different result.

- We only have 20 gallons of fresh water, not 40 like we were told. The dimensions are 13X22X12.

You might want to re-measure that tank. Your dimensions equal about 3400 cubic inches, which is only about 15 gallons. I don't know of TM ever offering a 15 gallon tank.

- The upper door outside latch is broken and the little latch at the bottom of the door did not keep the door from popping open on the road.

That little turn clip on the upper door outside is worthless. It's not long enough, IMHO, especially as the TM ages and the part of the shell to the left of the door (the skinny part) gradually migrates away from the door. I replaced it with a rectangular piece of thick nylon (maybe 3/16"), and it works excellent.

- The four inch memory foam pads we put on the beds made the beds acceptable for sleeping.
- But introduce another problem, where to store those pads when the TM is folded down.

I have a 1.5" memory foam pad on top of the original factory mattress, and I can just barely close the shells. You might consider removing the factory mattress and try sleeping directly on the memory foam.

- Make sure you have everything out (or in) the TM before you fold it up. This is a real PITA

There is no way around this, but I assure you, you'll get to be pro at it with practice. We can set-up and tear down (camping to road ready) in about 15 minutes, tops.

- The clip on mirrors I bought from CW Shake badly.

I had initially bought some clip on mirrors from etrailer, supposedly specifically fitted for my vehicle, and they shook to the point of being unusable. I replaced them with the McKesh, and haven't looked back.

- My new Honda generator eu2000i would only run about 7-8 hours on a tank running the furnace, converter and 1 twin sized elec. blanket.

You could add a second battery, a down comforter, and dump the generator. And build/buy an extended run tank for the genny.

- Wind causes serious air leaks in the rear bedroom area.

You can seal alot of these with weatherstripping and foam noodles (pipe insultation). Check for leaks all over the place.....off the top of my head, check around all the door hinges (there are several, maybe 4-5), be sure the vinyl flaps are velcroed down taught, and cover the air register in the bathroom with a vinyl magnet (it goes right to the outside).

- The furnace runs 75% of the time and blows against the opposite wall of the trailer instead of down the length of the trailer, meaning the front is toasty warm while the back bed and bath are cold.

I have an SL model such that the furnace blows down the length of the trailer, and I can assure you that the back bed and bath remain cold. Open the bathroom door a bit to help with the bathroom....not much you can do about the rear bed except put a fan in there to blow hot air back there. Or get a down comforter.

- It is difficult to pre-pack for an early morning departure because all storage space is also required for normal access in the TM. This became evident because our sons have a very large slide in and 5th wheel and were packed and ready to go 1st thing while we spent a hectic hour (or more) getting everything stowed and ready to leave.

Again, this was your first trip, so give yourselves a break. Packing up becomes a breeze after a dozen trips or so. Like I said, we've got it down to 15 min. Tearing down the bed to remove the mattress pad is a drag. You gotta fix it so you don't have to make the bed every time you setup.

And remember, every RV is a compromise. While there are more comforts and advantages of a 5th wheel, you need a F250 to tow it, and you can get away with a Suburban, which is also less expensive to purchase and operate. You will be able to go places he can't being smaller, and it will cost you less money to get there. You can also park your TM in the garage; he can't.

Dave