Jess,
I looked at the TM for a long time to be sure I would like it or could live with it. Now that I own it, I love it. My concerns re the TM were the following:
* Window height is high. I wanted visibility and got it in the 3326 where you sit up on the dinette.
* Bending over to get stuff out of the cabinets. This is helped in the 3326 by the dinette being right across the isle from the galley. You can reach into the refrig, the oven or stove, and the pantry while seated. Also, don't have to carry food over the carpet. I am working on putting baskets in the cabinets with rollers to bring them out so I don't have to reach way inside to get stuff. That makes much more efficient storage as well. Get the overhead cabinet -- its great.
* You can't walk around the bed to make it or to get in. Have to crawl in. I got the King bed so we can sleep lengthwise of the trailer and neither has to crawl over the other to get out at night.
* The moisture collection inside is due to moisture from humans and cooking condensing on the cold (single pane) windows. All campers will do that.
* Jacking is a work out. Get the electric jack if that is a bother.
* Lifting the shells is a pull. Maybe 40# or so? I bought mine 2000 miles away and camped in it on the way home. My elbow hurt from that. I learned to hook the crook of my elbow under the shell to raise it and that greatly reduced the stress on my elbow.
* The refrig on 12V is a pain. It likes to drain the battery. I have two ideas to mitigate this: a) turn off the refrig on the road. Put dry ice or the frozen dry stuff in the freezing compartment to keep it cold on the road. b) Put a switch outside the TM so I can turn off the refrig when I go into a restaurant and back on when the TV is running. Then I'll get to the camp with a fully charged battery.
I'm scratching the bottom of the barrel here now. Lots more good things to talk about than shortcomings. All campers are a compromise and none are like your house. They all depreciate, have screws come loose, need maintenance, have a small bathroom, have to have grey, black and fresh water tended to and need to be stored somewhere when not in use. Batteries are marginal and need a lot of TLC when dry camping.
I like mine so much I have been sleeping in it the last month. That memory foam pad really calls out my name!
The bigger ones cost more and are more comefortable. The smaller ones may go into your garage, are easier to tow and set up, and go into tighter places for dry camping.
By the way, outfitting the TM is a great pleasure to me. Trying to find a way to add creature comefort at minimal weight and volume is a challenge. Think of yourself setting up housekeeping for the Space Shuttle or the Space Station! It's a lot like that but much more affordable. I do hear Camping World calling me.....
Check it out carefully. Go look at one. Sit in it and pretend it is yours. Set it up and take it down. Check out the bed, the refrig, and cabinets. I'm an ex-Coleman guy, so this is a great upgrade to what I am accustomed to.
Best wishes and hope to hear you as a new owner for the '05 camping season!
Bob Rederick
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