Trailmanor 3326

[Brightsu]

We are to pick up a 3326 Trailmanor Thursday and this will be our first camper, we think we are getting a good deal, it appears to never had been used that much its a 1995 and looks clean as a pen, they will install our hitch and go over all the details we need to know, they will have a owners manual for us and I don't want to leave not asking the right questions, its 90 miles from our house, any suggestions on things I need to know. I've read alot of the discussions and they have been very helpful, but until I actually start using it, I really don't know what to ask.

[BOB_STRONG]

You did not say what kind of tow vehicle you will be using to pull your  3326 King Trailmanor. I had a 1994 3326 King, and now we own a 2002 3326 King. With this size trailer, you want to make sure you have the right class hitch, and also you should invest in a weight distribution hitch plus a sway bar for piece of mind and safety for your family.
 
I hope that you checked into the towing capacity of your vehicle. Don't forget that  the 3326 King has a lot of storage space, and the weight of the trailer can add up very quickly. I'm sure you want to be safe than sorry down the road.

For me, the above questions would be the most important. Don't forget that you will need your tow vehicle wired for the trailer lights, brake lights, and turn signal and 4 ways to work. Also, you want to make sure you have a brake controller installed
on your tow vehicle. Without the brake controller, your trailer brakes will not work. I'm sure you don't want to try and stop with an extra 4 to 5,000 lbs pushing you down the highway

Good luck with your new purchase. Keep in touch to let us know how you made out.


Bob Strong

[Brightsu]

we have a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer, the dealership is installing a class 3 hitch, our suv comes already wired and   they recommended and will install the weight dist.type, also this is a Fleetwood dealership but the man whom we spoke with, has worked for TM before  going to work for this dealership, he said for us to plan on spending 4 hours there with them, did you ever have any problems we need to be aware of and anything we need to check, the dealer is doing a detail on it and a safety check and making  sure everything works properly
my husband will be retiring in about 6 years and we thought this might be a good investment, I paid  $10,600 for it and it has all the options available on it, I glad I found this web site I've already printed tons of things to ask the dealer. My brother in law has a Hi-Lo and that's where it all started, he had looked for  2 years for a used one and ended up with a new one, we visited him in Fla. last week and  decided we might look for one in the next couple of years, I found this one in two days, it had not been listed yet and just traded in. That's the end of the story. Will look forward in e-mailing this site.

Pam  

[Bill]

Pam -

While you are at the dealer, two things will be happening. The mechanic will take your tow vehicle into their garage and install your brake controller, install the hitch, check the wiring, and so forth. And the salesman will take you out into the parking lot to walk you through the TM, showing you the operation of the appliances, helping you open and close a couple times, answering questions, letting you take notes (bring a pad of paper), and so forth. As long as both of these things are happening at the same time, three or four hours ought to be adequate.

But then, when the mechanic has installed the hitch and the brake controller, and the saleman has gotten you comfortable working the TM and its systems - they still have to close the TM, hitch it to the tow vehicle, adjust the springbar height, adjust the brake controller senstivity, road test it - and then show YOU how to hitch and unhitch. This might take another hour.

So don't plan on spending any less than four hours, and make sure you have at least a couple more hours available if you should need it. And be sure you allow plenty of time to drive home, since you will be going much more slowly than when you drove over.

Oh, don't forget to ask about the TM's external mechanical systems - how to change a tire, how/when to grease the wheel bearings, how/when to lube the hitchball and springbars, etc.

Sounds like you have a good dealer - they are not going to hurry you. Just make sure you have answers to all your questions before you leave.
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On a separate topic - towing capacity vs trailer weight.  If you don't know your Mountaineer's towing capacity, you should.  Go to
http://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/...0/BBCAMPER.PDF
The entire booklet is good, but in particular, turn to page 10.  This page describes the various combinations of engine, transmission, rear end ("axle&quot ratio, etc, and the towing capacity of each.  (The Mercury Mountaineer is the same as the Ford Explorer, I believe.)  If you have a four-cylinder engine, you have the wrong tow vehicle.  If you have a V-6, then the rear-end ratio is important - the standard 3.27 and 3.55 are pretty marginal, while the 3.73 and 4.10 are adequate.  If you have a V-8, you are pretty much good to go.

Bill

Ditto on you having a good dealer who will spend the proper time with you.  It didn't take us quite four hours, but then, we didn't take it home when we did our walk through because we still had to purchase the tow vehicle (I think that's what Chris Bauer did, too!)  

I would try to do everything the dealer does, such as light the water heater, turn the fridge on gas (the DC and AC is too easy to spend time trying), light the oven, etc.  Also, as previously noted, you should open and close the entire unit including the awning by yourself under the supervision.  This may sound like a lot, but it's really quite simple, as we can all attest to.  You just want to make any mistakes when the dealer is watching you, rather than at your first campground.

We also found that videotaping the whole walk through process with our camcorder was great insurance.  While we've never had to use the tape, just having it to refer to is a great comfort, since our dealer is now over 100 miles away!  

Welcome to our club!

Hello, we are looking to purchase a new 2003 3326 TM and would like to know if our price is in line.  We are being quoted $36,000.

You're going to love the 3326.  I just bought a 1999 in April.  It is very roomy, has tons of storage space and a king size bed.  I know people don't like to talk price but I paid under 14,000 and feel I got a good deal. It has all options except electric jack, but included the Fiamma screen room (which I have yet to put up).

Before purchasing though, I got a quote from MCD on the East coast.  I am almost sure they quoted me 28,500 with options.  You may want to take the time and spend the dime.   Call around and you will be able to use those quotes to negociate.  I always tell them "your best cash price" and then work from there.

Chris

Tries, tires, tires. Ask for a new set of tires. The factory was using Goodyear marathons in the past. When I traded in my 2002 2720 trailmanor for a 2003 29'Hi-Lo Classic, I had the dealer replace the Carlise tires with Goodyear marathons.

Regardless, of what brand you select, don't leave out without new tires.

Enjoy


Paul

One thing to do as someone mentioned is to take a pen and paper, but more importantly, DON'T FORGET TO USE IT! Make sure to write down specifically EVERYTHING about how to get the furnace going, where the pilot light in the oven is, hot water heater, etc etc. One thing I noted was though my owners manual for my furnace had directions on getting it going, it left out one simple, but VERY important thing, the gas on off valve, and what position that it's in the ON position, and what position it is in to be in the OFF position. (And it's not labeled on the valve either). Little details like that can cause much frustration later on. All too many times I've seen new owners on this board ask the question, "I can't find the pilot light in my oven, can anyone help me out." Which we don't mind at all in helping, but it's frustrating kinda for the person asking the question because they have to wait for a response from someone, while their new toy sits there in the driveway beckoning them!    Anyway, hope this helps!


[glow=red,2,300]Happytrails.........[/glow]

[Brightsu]

We picked up our Trailmanor 3326 Thursday and the dealership was not quick ready, our salesman kinda dropped the ball, our owners manual wasn't there and they forgot to change the old style gas bottles over, we took our good friend with us whom has been rving for a long long time and we took all the notes I had from you, the dealership was surprised that we knew so much, lets just say we left with more than orginally asked for they are going to come and pick it up this week and do a more complete detail, change the tanks install a 20 gallon water tank to replace the 10 gallon they had installed, the owner gave me lets say just about anything I wanted to make  him feel better this dealership takes pride in there business and treated us as if we had purchased a 300,000 RV. He gave me one of those Coleman Table or standup grill, all new hoses ,
and etc. told me if I thought of anything else let him know and he would put it in the TM, our appointment was at 1:00 and we finished up at 7:00 so lets say it was a learning experience for everyone, the poor salesman lost his commission, he forgot to charge us for our swaybar, forgot to order the receiver   and so on and so on, we  ended up overall, in good shape, thanks to this good website, just remember as everyone has said be well informed and ask lots of questions, and to the one who ask about tires new ones all way around and this TM came out of Bedford VA, and had not been used for over three years, that why it looked so new.