We were able to take our TM out for a one nighter to test the towing, the setup, and get all our camping gear stowed. We went to Lathrop SP near Walsenburg, CO. It is the oldest SP in Colorado, and has nice facilities. Most sites are flat and open. All four of the loops have electric sites with a camper services building containing showers and flush toilets. As you can see by the pictures, it is mostly pinon and juniper pines. But the mountains are not far away - see the picture of the Spanish Peaks. So here are my impressions after one outing (rather lengthy I'm afraid - I'm an analyst by trade!
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TOWING
My "D" (Durango) tow vehicle did very well in towing. I kept speeds at 60-65 on the interstate (with a 75 mph speed limit) and was able to use the cruise control AND overdrive. However, and here are my concessions, I need a WDH! When I picked up the TM the dealer was confident that I wouldn't need one, but when I hitched the TM with about 30 gallons of water in it, it dropped the hitch almost twice as much as it did at first (3.5 " vs 2"), but also raised the front more than I realized (about 3 inches). The day was very windy, and I could tell the difference in control, even with AWD. In fact, someone passed us and indicated by hand signals that our TV really was dipping in the back and raised in the front. I couldn't see it as much when I hitched up because it was on a slight downhill. So I'll have a WDH before our next trip in two weeks. Should have taken everyone's advice, but now I have experience on what not to do! I was also disappointed in the Tow-n-See mirrors. they worked ok, but it dook some effort to see out of them - not just a glance like on the regualr mirrors. I'll be looking into the McKesh or Eagle Vision sold by Camping World. Mileage wise I was a little disappointed. Typically I can get 16-17 on the highway with the D. I got 11.5 towing the TM. It was windy the whole drive - mostly cross wind but maybe a little quartering as well. I'll check it again on the next trip.
SETUP
No problems here. I've been through this in my mind many times, read the many guides on this forum, and got a thorough demonstration from the dealer. The only problem I had was when helping DW make the bed, I was standing on the rear bumper and stepped on one of the turn clips that hold the bumper trunk cover and broke it. I also failed to realize that the dealer had left all the faucets open, including the low point drains at the back. So once I turned on the pump, I had a bit of water flowing until I found all the cutoffs. The next day I did find a slight drip right behind the left wheel well. I don't know if it is a leak or just some left over water from the initial overflow that was still draining out. I'll check with the dealer and watch it on our next outing. By the way did I mention it was almost dark when we set up? And cold and windy? It was hard not to hurry! But we managed ok, go the heater fired up and had a good, if not short, evening.
GENERAL IMPRESSIONS
With our electric sheet on the bed, we slept very snug despite the sub-freezing temps outside. We had the heater set at about 60 so it came on occasionally - and it WAS noisy! While I went to finish our registration process the next morning, DW finished unloading all the plastic totes we brought with our gear from the pup. When I got back she was sitting in the trailer, empty totes all around, and said, "I've stored everything we had in the popup and I still have tons of space left!" That is the biggest change I see is the over abundance on space to keep things in the trailer. No more loading up the back of the D with gear that we can't carry in the trailer!
I didn't get much done on the outside because of the cold and wind, but was able to store all my trailer gear in the rear trunk and uncoil the electrical cable which was twisted a bit in it's storage area.
CLOSING
When we dicded it was time to leave, we took our time closing down the TM, but even so, I forgot to turn off the water heater and we had to raise the shells back up after we had it hitched up!
We had a major learning experience when we went to the dump - when I opened the black water valve the waste came out so fast it popped the hose out of the drain! We were able to use the gray water to clean up a bit, but now we know to hold it down when we dump!
OVERALL
We are VERY pleased with our camper. The previous owners added a lot of nice features, the dealer did an excellent job of cleaning and preparing it for us, and we found it very comfortable. We look forward to many years of camping with this trailer. If you'd like to see pictures of the modifications/additions, go to my album at
http://www.alancavin.com/PhotoAlbum/...ook/index.html
Comments, feedback, and I told you so's are welcome.
