My Maiden TM Trip

Went on my maiden TM trip last week, five days in southern UT boondocking. Weather was great and there were no major problems. A couple of minor ones.

First time closing the TM before leaving was a comedy. 1st attempt to close back failed, removed Travelsak, 2nd attempt failed, removed the memory foam topper. Closed and then realized you can’t fold the steps in when it’s down.
Certainly missed the topper on the trip, I’ll have to try again when it hasn’t been so cold. The foam may have been to stiff.

Shortly after hitting the highway I looked in the side mirror and noticed the roadside front edge trim kind of flapping in the wind. Pulled over to find the lower half of the trim has come undone, handy DUCT tape has temporarily solved the problem. Any recommendations on this repair?

Scraped bottom once on a swale (may need to add the extra lift) and maneuvering the 3124 definitely is a little more limited than my previous Chalet 1910. A spot I had previously maneuvered into with my Chalet was a no go in the 3124.

Little lights in the front cabinets aren’t working.

Noticed that my DeWalt 14 volt drill couldn’t handle the lift of the 3124, don’t know if it’s all 14 volt drills are whether my batteries are just too old. Anyone using a 14 volt? May have to upgrade to an 18, cranking by hand isn’t very enjoyable.


Now to get to all those little mods….

Originally Posted by Buck Mills

Went on my maiden TM trip last week, five days in southern UT boondocking. Weather was great and there were no major problems. A couple of minor ones.

First time closing the TM before leaving was a comedy. 1st attempt to close back failed, removed Travelsak, 2nd attempt failed, removed the memory foam topper. Closed and then realized you can’t fold the steps in when it’s down.

Little lights in the front cabinets aren’t working.

Noticed that my DeWalt 14 volt drill couldn’t handle the lift of the 3124, don’t know if it’s all 14 volt drills are whether my batteries are just too old. Anyone using a 14 volt? May have to upgrade to an 18, cranking by hand isn’t very enjoyable.


Now to get to all those little mods….

Sounds like a great trip. I still forget stuff when I close up. When the back shell shows resistance, I have either left the over-sink cabinet up, or forgot to unlatch the doors.

Try the little black switch in the vent to see if that works the front lights.

When putting down the jacks, just use your drill for the unloaded part. Unlock the jacks from the closed position with the crank, then use the drill to lower the jacks until they reach the ground, then use the crank again for the final lifting. That seems to work for me.

Chap

From expieience nothing can be on top of the bed when you close it. Good luck!!

Its 10 times as fun doing that with about 20 people watching!!!

We got rid of the standard bed and replaced it with an Aerobed. With it deflated the Travesak and pillows fit on top with no problem. And we think the Aerobed is more comfortable also! Of course, you need 110 electricity to pump it up...but we can do that with either a generator or the inverter built into the bed of our TV.

Originally Posted by Buck Mills

Went on my maiden TM trip last week, five days in southern UT boondocking. Weather was great and there were no major problems. A couple of minor ones.

First time closing the TM before leaving was a comedy. 1st attempt to close back failed, removed Travelsak, 2nd attempt failed, removed the memory foam topper. Closed and then realized you can’t fold the steps in when it’s down.
Certainly missed the topper on the trip, I’ll have to try again when it hasn’t been so cold. The foam may have been to stiff.

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Noticed that my DeWalt 14 volt drill couldn’t handle the lift of the 3124, don’t know if it’s all 14 volt drills are whether my batteries are just too old. Anyone using a 14 volt? May have to upgrade to an 18, cranking by hand isn’t very enjoyable.


Now to get to all those little mods….

I use a 2 inch memory foam topper in my 2720SL, but I have to remove it to close the TM. So I fold it in quarters and store it on the couch up front (after pushing the slide in).

I use a Makita 9.6 volt drill for the jacks and, as mtnguy suggests, it's only at the extremes of travel that the drill isn't strong enough, so I use the crank until most of the load is off the jacks, then the drill does just fine until the other extreme, when I may have to do a turn or two with the crank.

Originally Posted by Buck Mills

Noticed that my DeWalt 14 volt drill couldn’t handle the lift of the 3124, don’t know if it’s all 14 volt drills are whether my batteries are just too old. Anyone using a 14 volt? May have to upgrade to an 18, cranking by hand isn’t very enjoyable.


Now to get to all those little mods….

Buck - I use a 14 volt Sears drill that I've had for more years than I want to admit. I've only raised/lowered the TM once so don't have a lot of experience yet. But the drill worked fine except at the extremes. I had just charged up my batteries so should have been at full power.

Just an FYI, I had stored this drill in my garage forever, and last fall I discovered that I could no longer get the batteries to charge. I read that leaving them in the cold could permenantly damage them, so I assumed they were dead. When I lived in Texas it was not a problem, but here in Colorado, well that is a different story. However, I eventually (after buying a new drill for Christmas ) brought the drill in the house, let it sit for a day to get adjusted to room temperature, and then charged the batteries and viola, they started working again! So now I have a drill to use specifically for the TM. I just have to store it inside and remember to put it in my TV box when we leave on a trip.

We hope to take our first trip in the TM at the end of the month. I'll post my impressons then.

Alan

[Bill]

Alan -

Similar experience with my Black and Decker 18 volt drill, which I love. I bought the kit, years ago - drill, battery, and charger. Eventually the battery gave out. Went down to my local Ace Hardware to get a new battery, and found it was $66! But next to it was a new kit - drill, battery, and charger - for $65. Naturally I bought the kit. Now I have two drills, two chargers, but only one battery. Annoying! Eventually I discovered that I could order a new battery from the B&D web site for $33. So now I have two batteries, two drills, and two chargers. Love it!

Bottom line - I keep one set in my TV box at all times. No worries about forgetting. And since I have a small inverter, I can charge the battery while we drive, at a boondock site, or of course at home or while set up in a full-service campground. Now that's a good setup!

This B&D will run the jacks all the way up, but when the jack is headed down and the pad hits the ground, it is good for only about two more turns. I level the TM carefully when I hit the campground, so this is always enough. My hand crank hasn't seen use in years.

Bill

I have 1 1/2 memory foam on top of original mattress and even with the bed made with a blanket we have no problem closing the TM. Occasionally I have to pull down the shell with both hands while DW latches it but that seem to be only when it is cold.

Originally Posted by Buck Mills

Little lights in the front cabinets aren’t working.

Noticed that my DeWalt 14 volt drill couldn’t handle the lift of the 3124, don’t know if it’s all 14 volt drills are whether my batteries are just too old. Anyone using a 14 volt? May have to upgrade to an 18, cranking by hand isn’t very enjoyable.

Our front lights didn't come on either until I remembered the little black switch at the vent and then ... voila!

Mark used his 12-year-old DeWalt 14 volt drill when we went camping with our 3124 this past weekend so its power is sufficient. The first time he tried to use it, however, the battery wasn't fully charged and it gave out quickly. Much better luck after recharging. In fact, he went the whole weekend without recharging, so that meant taking the jacks down in the garage, setting up in the driveway to pack, then back down to travel, setting up at the campground, then back down to come home, and finally setting the jacks up for storage in the garage. It was freshly charged at the beginning of all of that however. He says that he thinks these 12 yr old NiCads discharge on their own over time, so he wouldn't have been able to do all of that setting up and taking down if we'd been at the campground for more than a couple days.

He says I should also add that he uses it on speed setting "1" which gives the most torque but is slow and won't lift the TM more than a little bit once the jack hits the ground. The main reason he's wants to eventually upgrade the drill is to get more lift after the jack hits the ground so the kids don't wiggle the TM around so much.

Anne