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Old 03-30-2017, 03:07 PM   #21
jquarles
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Originally Posted by rvcycleguy View Post
I've owned 2 TM's over the last 15 years. I'm generally pretty optimistic on most things.. But I don't see a positive here with the TM ownership righting the ship and providing a consistent new inventory or parts supply business. It's a shame that it's come to this point. There are, I guess , hundreds, thousands? of TM owners out there that will need service on TM specific parts that cannot be found but on older, salvaged, units.

I'm one of these owners with a 3124KB. At some point, I'd like to renovate what I have with replacement trim, curtains, bed arms, hold down latches, stirrup latches, exterior trim, and various other components that are TM specific. I'm aware of the standard camper components being available most places, so I'd reiterate that I'm speaking of TM specific only. Guess we are all out of luck here... If they can't answer a phone or make a reasonable effort to even return a call, then their not interested in customer service going forward. That alone suggests that it's gone, gone as a viable business. I'm sure the original family that started it all is fraught with disappointment that it's gone this way so soon.

Good luck.

This thread seemed to have stopped. But I went back to it to follow up with my story. I wanted to restore my 2004 3326. There isn't much else like this big boy on the market that I know of, and, I love it. So I started communicating with TM for a list of specialty refurb parts...seals, flaps, torsion bars etc. It was a real struggle to get communications back and forth. They finally start to really try to work with me. When they found out I lived only a few blocks from the freeway they travel down all the time, they were kind enough to say that their truck could stop on the way back to the plant and grab my trailer so they could do some of the refurb in their plant over the winter. I thought this was AWESOME. What a let down is what really happened. Starting in October we arranged for the pick up and the work in the factory. No one showed up at my house and no phone call. Tried again in November and December with the same result no pick up and no phone call to say they weren't showing up. In January I got a call saying they were sorry and had lost all the notes about me and didn't know why they still had my phone number in the "to do list". So we started everything all over again and they said they'd make arrangements. It's now the end of March. Sigh.

Am I a total idiot to still want to keep my TM? My good friends are dumping theirs before they even need work because they don't want to be stuck with it.

Thoughts from the TM community?

John
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Old 03-30-2017, 05:04 PM   #22
Padgett
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A good country mechanic can fix almost anything. If you know of someone with a 2922SD who wants to dump it cheap I have cash...

That said I had a vixen TD21 RV. This was a 21 foot class A with a turbo diesel you could drive anywhere. One set a record at over 100 mph. Was made in Pontiac Michigan by ex-GM engineers. Verified 30mpg at 55 mph (national speed limit).

Unfortunately it came out at the same time as Caddy and Buick diesels were littering the Interstates and destroyed the salability of passenger car diesels for a generation (Vixen had a BMW (524TD) also used by Ford. All had been cancelled by 1990. The Vixen Motor Coach company went bankrupt after building about 500 coaches and limousines.

In 2009 I paid $15k for mine at a time when Class As were going for pennies on the dollar. Sold it in 2014 for considerably more than I paid for it. Really nice ones are going for $25k-$30.

GMC motor coaches have a similar following.

What happened was the Vixen Owners Association arranged for the purchase of everything at the liquidation sale in 1989 and financed the move to Montana (personally think Central Florida would be a better place). Parts have always been available and the Vixen has become something of a cult vehicle.

Just saying I bought my 2720SL in early 2014 and suspect the current value is more than I have in it even with all of the electrical/mechanical tricking out.
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Old 03-30-2017, 05:10 PM   #23
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From what I gather, the TM has a solid structure with very few leak issues. Even if they do leak, most of the rot on wood frames seems to be in the upper shell which is repairable. When other trailers have leaks, water makes its way to the floor causing the floor to rot. When this occurs, the trailer is pretty much toast. Later TM's have metal framed upper shells.

I live in Canada, so even if I wanted to make use of TM service, it would be difficult because there are no TM dealers up here, and transporting to the TM factory is out of the question. So, I'm considering the purchase of a TM knowing that any service will pretty much have to be done by me. As long as I approach a TM with this mindset, I think it makes a TM totally worth it.

If I require some one to service the TM, I would probably be better off purchasing something else that has a factory or dealer near me. It seems to me that the TM fan club is populated by those who can come up with creative solutions, and willing to share their solutions. This I will be counting on once I get a TM.

Larry
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Old 03-30-2017, 11:38 PM   #24
jquarles
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I can and have fixed many things on the trailmanor. I understand that many of the parts are all aftermarket and i can order them. In 13 years I've replaced a lot of items due to wear and tear. But the things i am looking to get done now are the TM custom made items. The things that make a trailmanor a trailmanor. I need all the vinyl flaps since mine are 13 years worn. I need all the seals that go between the tops. I need to get the horizontal lp tanks with all the welded on brackets and the torsion bars. Now I guess i could find, and pay a grip of money, to have local seamstress who can make the vinyl flaps with wood inside then find the plastic wood that their attached to all the other things that would need to custom created. From the replies i am getting on the forum it sounds like i should not be expecting the factory to follow through on what they promised me. Don't get me wrong, I love my TM. They dont make my model anymore, so I can't get another. I guess I was hoping someone else had found a way to work with the new ownership. They are the nicest people when you talk with them, but they haven't followed through.

Losing hope :-(
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Old 03-30-2017, 11:52 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jquarles View Post
I need to get the horizontal lp tanks with all the welded on brackets
This is an item you mention that it NOT TM specific. They are available online for about ~$150 each. When I bought my replacement set, I took them to a welding shop before I filled them to have a galvanized reinforcing ring welded the "bottom" ring the tank factory installed. That was the point of failure on my last tank, and the improved version has held up like a champ.

Dave
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