Quote:
Originally Posted by JVMaxwell
I am curious to know how much time Trailmanor owners spend breaking camp. My wife and I, generally speaking, enjoy our 2005 Trailmanor 3124 KS, but what we are finding is the time we spend preparing to leave and breaking camp is starting to wear on us.
While at camp and getting ready to break camp, we notice that those with 5th wheels and standard travel trailers start a significant time after we start and are generally finished and heading down the road in minutes.
It seems to take us hours to break camp. Now, I will admit that we are not fully engaged in breaking camp during the time but we do feel that it does take a lot of effort.
Going through the check list to make sure everything is properly stowed; pulling off the walls everything that was hung - cabinets and other items, putting everything away that we have to make the camping experience enjoyable seems to take quiet a bit of effort.
The actual closing the camper and hooking up is short comparatively speaking to the rest of the process.
It has gotten to the point that we are seriously given consideration to moving up to a 5th wheel.
We are reluctant to take the camper on a long trip as the time spent opening/closing - i.e. setting up camp and breaking camp is too long for our likes.
Perhpas others on this forum may provide some ideas as to how we may make this process move along with less effort.
Thanks
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You have struck a vital chord in my mission here....that is to speed things up. I agree, it does take a bit longer to pack up.
You might go and look at my website
http://www.trickmytrailmano.com as this IS the central theme on what it is all about. I have done things to help speed up the process of getting away. Like you, I also have a 3124KS. What I like the most is the fuel economy I get. You won't get that with a 5th wheel. So if you can afford it then go for it. You'll need a much bigger tow vehicle with a bigger engine or a diesel (which will cost more to operate).
So if I were you, here's what I would do. Before we turn in at night we start putting things away that we got out during our stay so that in the morning that's something we will not have to do. All the things that we got out of our truck are ready to go back in as well. We try to get organized the night before the departure. Close down the vent if you're not using them. Unplug and store the television and other appliances. Close all the curtains. Store all the food away along with whatever cooking utensils and if you're cooking your own breakfast have only what you need for preparing that out and ready to go. Paper plates are a must here. You don't want to spend a lot of time washing dishes before you head out. After breakfast I get the garbage ready to go and set it out the door. Have your clothes sorted out and ready to put on in the morning as well. Our dirty clothes hamper is in the cabinet under the bed.
So in the morning I get up, do my business and put my clothes on. We have breakfast and straighten up our remaining mess. Next we fold up the flaps together and while I start putting the different systems away outside, my wife loads the truck. By then we are ready to close things down and lock er up. The last thing to do is hook up the WDH and trailer wires and we're ready to roll!
Now I wouldn't put anything up on the walls accept the cabinets and maybe a shower caddy or two (that's what we have in the bathroom...they are the over the shower door type that we hang on the wall between the kitchen and the bathroom...see website).
The idea is to take out and put away as little as one can. I understand this and have shaved about 30-45 minutes off our getaway time. Now some of this stuff that I have done was pretty easy and some a lot more involved. Basically I took all the different systems that one uses to run a house/trailer and streamlined the process while keeping all of the safeguards in place. The water, electrical, stabilizing, waste and the other systems I tackled one at a time, thinking "what can I do to make this faster".
If you go and read thru my entire website you'll see where I am coming from. It's all explained in there and too much to relate here. I hope this helps. If I can be of any assistance (other than financial) please don't hesitate to drop me a line.
The moderator, Bill is a wonderful source of information. I hold him in the highest regards and think of him as the wise sage on this site.
TC