Looking To Buy

CamperFam · 06-29-2023, 12:14 PM

Hi fellow campers!

My family is looking to upgrade from a tent to a tent trailer. I recently leanred about the TrailManor and am curious what the main benefits are for the Trail Manor over a typical tent trailer.

I am also unsure where to look to purchase. We are in Edmonton, AB, Canada.

**rich2468** · 07-01-2023, 08:42 AM

I believe you'll need to spend time in both to come to your own conclusions, but I'd say a short list of TrailManor benefits over most tent pop-ups are:
1. A full (but small) bathroom
2. Security/ benefits of hard sided walls (noise reduction, better protection from weather)
3. Space. A TrailManor will often provide more usable space inside when set up. Cabinets are able to be hung from inside walls.

Rich and Lynn
2021 2922KB

**Larryjb** · 07-01-2023, 02:24 PM

While I've never set up a tent trailer, I've heard the TM is much easier, especially in the rain. From fully closed to fully open (not leveled, not hooked up to utilities, not set up inside) is about 2 or 3 minutes.

Of course, leveling should be done first if setting up at a camp site. The more accurate you are at leveling, the better the shells will fit.

**Bailey'sMom** · 07-04-2023, 11:01 AM

I owned a Rockwood pop-up which I loved for about 13 years before I found my used Trail Manor 2720 SD. It is much easier to set up and particularly when it's raining. I had a bad experience with my Rockwood pop up trying to take it down in the rain and I decided to wait it out when it was already half down big mistake. Anyway you can set up and take down the Trail Manor in the rain and not get water all over. It is also larger inside with more usable cabinets cupboards Etc then a traditional pop up. And yet it has the same qualities of being easy to tow and store in your garage. Oh and the awning is much better and easier to use than the awning on my rock would pop up.

As for where to buy one? Check this forum for trail manners for sale there's also a Facebook Trail Manor group page that people will often list their for sale Trail Manor

**inghamm** · 07-04-2023, 12:00 PM

I too was considering upgrading from tent camping to a tent trailer, and then I saw a (rare) Trailmanor ad, and I stopped thinking about a tent trailer. The number one thing for me was the hard (insulated) shell which meant:
1. Never having to worry about taking it down in the rain and having wet canvas that you had to dry out later or else it mildews. Since I live in the Pacific Northwest, finding a day after getting home to dry out the canvas was a challenge. Like others have mentioned, putting it up and down in the rain is no issue.
2. A better bathroom than anything I saw in a tent trailer.
3. Heat and cooling are much more efficient than in a tent trailer.
4. I feel much safer camping in bear country.
5. Rich2468 mentioned quieter inside.

Paco & Jane · 07-06-2023, 01:39 PM

We also looked at pop-ups but decided to buy a Trail Manor.

We actually put a deposit on one, and then drove out to get it - sight unseen!

Like others said, it is much quicker to build and it can be taken down in the rain. Once you have it in the spot you want it (and leveled), you open 4 locks (2 on each side) which release the hard outer shell. Those are lifted up and then you pull out the beds (ours has a front and red bed) which lock the outer shells in place. The door comes in two parts which latch together. There are a few more steps but this process would take max 5 minutes alone.

Trailmanor website doesn't list Canadian deals but it might be worth it to send them an email and ask!

Dodge trucker · 07-09-2023, 07:11 PM

I have had a few vintage apache "hard side" campers before I got my TM. I've only had my TM about 6 weeks, been camping in it exactly once for 4 days/3 nights (about to repeat that 4 day/3 night thing next weekend) and have now set it up 2x in the driveway. The apache had no canvas either, and it wasn't bad to set up but no ac and even though there's only 2 of us (my most recent apache was rated to sleep 7-8 but 5-6 of those better have been jr hi aged or less ...) There wasn't enough space to store a long weekends worth of gear and food. And that was for 2. I got tired of having to always be the one to pack up or retrieve anything out of the thigh high-or-lower drawers it did have. There wasn't enough room in there to hardly turn around.
The lack of a toilet/shower within it didn't bother me. We go to campgrounds with shower houses anyway. And we spent very little time in the camper anyway, besides sleeping in it.
Truth be told I have a (small) bathroom in my 3023 but probably still won't use it because I don't want to deal with the black water tank.
But the difference in space is huge. We can actually spend time inside and be comfortable if we get a rainy day or anything like that.
Yeah you could cram that many people in it (the apache ) but absolutely no space if you did for clothes and such. And if the person who has to get up in the middle of the night is in the farthest back there's 3 people that would get woken up as that person climbed over them to get out for the bathroom and then again crawl back over them on way back to bed.
We aren't the type to being "everything but the kitchen sink" with us either.
Ours is a 97, we'd looked at other campers (both TM and others) up to '08-ish. The 08 we looked at was the newest and the worst for conditions of the bunch. I put 1500 miles on my truck in 2 weeks at one point chasing them down.

I wanted something decent that we could take out and use and don't mind doing a little fix up here n there but didn't want something that needed a ground up restoration. (Though I'm more capable of than many of carrying out such a job) I have plenty of projects sitting here already. House, old car, old pickup truck, a few vintage garden tractors, to begin with.
I like the setup on a TM vs the old pop ups, and that I didn't have to go out and get a 3/4 ton to drag it around.
And when you do need something there isn't a lot that matters to brand of camper when you get to the RV store. At least the more commonly needed parts.

Kmikesell · 07-10-2023, 05:23 PM

I too have moved from a pop-up to "the dark side" as my friends over at the pop-up forum used to refer to hard-sided trailers. Some of the advantages I would echo have been mentioned, The there are several advantages of a "normal" hard-sided trailer as well. Here are a few:
1: More windows (look at most trailers this size and you'll see a couple, maybe three windows. My TM has 10! And they all open)
2: Storage! (need I say more?)
3: Fully insulated floor, roof, and walls (Although there are a lot of windows!~ lol)

Nancy&Ray · 08-01-2023, 11:46 AM

Rv trader website has new and used all kinds. I've had both and trailmanor is much better!

DENNICH · 08-21-2023, 07:02 PM

Hi everyone, I am new to TrailManor campers and this forum. I have always camped in class C motorhomes, but looking for something that is more manageable for going to state parks and national parks. Will be camping with my 3 hound dogs, and sometimes will have grandchildren. We love hiking the trails in the parks. I am based in the mid-atlantic on the east coast.

I am interested in a used Trailmanor. I would appreciate any advice for when looking at used campers ranging in age from 1998 to around 2020. I know that is a huge difference in age, but what is the first thing that tends to go in an older Trailmanor? Do the refrigerator, toilet, and heating/ac units tend to hold out well? Is there any part of the roof that is more suspect to leaks?

For my towing vehicle, I was looking at either a Nissan Pathfinder, VW Atlas, or an Audi Q7. I would prefer to stick to an SUV rather than a small truck. I currently have the Audi but would have to upgrade my hitch. Any thoughts on these towing vehicles?

Thanks for any advice given.