iso trailmanor

[renene]

Looking to buy a trailmanor. would like to spend $4500 or less. it needs to sleep 6 . I am in NW Pa but willing to travel.

[BrucePerens]

At that price, you won't get a perfect one. Beware of the ones older than 2003 or so, they had wood frames rather than aluminum, and those rotted. Saving one of the old ones from rot can be a thousands-of-hours hobby. I bought a 2004, aluminum framed, for $5000 and ended up spending a lot of time on maintenance. The low price was because this was my first RV, and I wanted one that I could afford to trash if I made mistakes. I have made the mistakes, and someone with less patience might indeed have trashed it.

Use the checklist here.

To that checklist, I would add these (every one was wrong with my Trailmanor):

Do all four shell latches close and hold well, and is there any sign of damage around them?

Do you see sags in the roof from inside or out? Especially near the air conditioner and the front vents? With the trailer level, if you go on a ladder and hose water on the roof, puddles should not form. The roof must have a slight peak, or puddles will form and it will be difficult to avoid leaks there. This happens from snow load, or from people working on the roof.

Are there bumps in the aluminum shell inside or out near the lifting arms?

Are all four stabilizers present and in good condition?

[Padgett]

Personal opinion: for a 6 sleeper you are going to spend at least $7k and more likely $8k. Now you can either spend it up front and get a nice one you can use immediately, or over time before it is comfortable but unless you find a repo, that is what you are going to spend.

At that price you would be better off looking for a pop-up.

[bheisser]

on facebook
2000 Trailmanor model 3023
Upper Sandusky, OH · 9 hours ago ·
$4,100

.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...37185936367181

[Larryjb]

My 2001 is aluminum framed, so they do exist. If you look my album you will see some images that would reveal the aluminium framing. You could then ask a seller to take a picture of the same area on his so you can see the construction. At some point you would have the confidence to drive out and look at one.

[br2_wdc]

Originally Posted by renene

Looking to buy a trailmanor. would like to spend $4500 or less. it needs to sleep 6 . I am in NW Pa but willing to travel.

For sleeping 6 your best bet is 3023, and Bob H. provided you an example of older unit which could work for you and fit your budget.

Clearly you came to the right place asking about TM's, so you are off to a good start. Many folks come to the forum AFTER purchased a bad unit, so you are already ahead of the game.

But please read and study what Bruce and Padgett have said and know that a "cheap" unit could quickly translate into "black hole for money" if you choose a bad or worn older unit. If there is anyway to raise your budget and target a 2004 or newer, that would be ideal.

Good luck in your search!

[renene]

I just saw your posts for some reason I didn't get notifications in my email. I'm going to try to make arrangement to see the one from facebook.

[renene]

Larry, for some reason when I click on this link it tells me I don't have permission to view it.

[Larryjb]

Your trial membership has ended. You still have access to some parts of the forum though.

Just so you know, the membership fee was the best 12 bucks I have ever spent. And that translates to 15 for me because I'm in Canada! Some ofthe members here are or were engineers. They know their stuff and everyone has been a great help to me.