3124KB vs 3124KS vs 3326 King

[Bob Jenkins]

We have pretty much narrowed our choice down to these two models for the following reasons:

1. We are both large people so we need the King-Size bed for us.
2. We need to be able to take our teen daughter and her boyfriend with us (in separate beds). Of course, we could always put him in a small tent outside!

We have studied the floorplans and we have actually been inside a 3124KS. We also saw a 3023 with the front layout similar to the 3124KB. We are leaning toward the 3124KB but I really like the extra space up front in the 3124 KS.

We love the 3326 King but we are not sure about the sleeping arrangements. Does the Dinette make into a small bed? Our dealer is also concerned about us towing a 3326 King with a GMC Yukon (NOT XL)

Can anyone please add any further insight on these models? Any information, opinions, etc. will be GREATLY appreciated!

[jellis]

Bob,

We had the same models to decide on, for a few different reasons. Probably the only thing I have against TrailManors is that we were never able to see all the models side by side; or anything larger than the 3023, for that matter. Dealers never seemed to have the larger models in stock. That seems to be because the larger ones aren't normally ordered on spec; only on order, at least in our part of the country.

After agonizing for several weeks, we decided on the 3124KB for the following reasons: 1) the second (48 X 78) bed is larger than the sofa (41 X 69) bed. The double bed area is very handy for extra guests, a place to keep baggage, packs, cameras, etc. accessible and a sleeping/resting area for our two dogs. Storage gets to be a large issue for us, plus we still have a third bed in the sofa if needed, though I'd hate to imagine six people in any TM for very long, 2) the eating area seemed to be more amenable to serving four folks at once than the KS. (This was a supposition from brochure photos and dealer comments; may not be accurate, so I would ask the KS owners about this.) and 3) the sliding mechanism adds some weight and necessitates a different LP tank arrangement that seems to be a little less handy for filling, etc. OTOH, the KS has more kitchen counter working space and the "living room" atmosphere must be wonderful. I'm sure KS owners love both of these features.

This all said, we occasionally wish we had gone with the 3326 for the dinette. If they had built one with the extra double bed rather than the sofa/chair, we might have bought it. Two axles might have some advantage also (in case of a flat tire, for instance).

They're all great and I'm sure you'll love whatever you end up with. Just be sure you know what features/compromises fit your particular needs before deciding. This forum addresses just about all I can think of.

Jon and Rita

[Bill]

Bob -

The GMC Yukon is the same as the Chevy Tahoe, right? If I am right, I think it is what I call a mid-size SUV - bigger than a Chevy Trailblazer or a Ford Explorer, same as a Ford Expedition, smaller than a Chevy Suburban or Ford Excursion. I wouldn't think that vehicle would have a problem with any TM, unless there is something I am missing. I certainly wouldn't advise ignoring the dealer - but is your dealer worried about something specific?

What year is your Yukon?
What engine, tranny?
What is the rear end ratio?
Does it have a factory towing package?
What is the towing rating for the vehicle?
I think there are 3 classes ("trim levels") within each model - something like LS, LT, XLT. Which do you have?
And of course, as I ask everyone, WHERE DO YOU PLAN TO TOW?

2WD vs 4WD doesn't matter in most cases.

There are better people than I to comment on this question. We might want to move the discussion to the Towing Rigs question.

Bill

[BLAZER]

I'm not sure of the weight on that king, but I bet my S10 blazer would give it a go. The Yukons/tahoes have probably an 8000# pull weight, 7-800# tongue weight along with a V8 under the hood. A good receiver along with a WDH and you should be good to go. Those SUV's are basically a full size enclosed truck. Just make sure you have the above along with a good brake controller and a tranny cooler is a must, biggest one you can mount behind the grill.
Good luck and happy camping!
Bill, they aren't mid size, they are full size. The XL is just the new name for the old suburban. The S10 blazers are considered mid size and they still have a towing rating of 500/5000#'s =/- a few hundred.

[Bob Jenkins]

I agree that the Yukon should be able to do the job, especially with a transmission cooler and a Weight-Distributing Hitch. I think my dealer was just being conservative since he has already offered to order any TM he doesn't have on the lot.

My biggest concern though is with the arrangement at the front of the 3326 King and the 3124KS. We basically need a King-Size bed and two other beds.

[wbmiller3]

Used to pull our 2619 with a Yukon and you could not really tell the trailer was there. I'd be amazed if it couldn't tow any TM.

[Bob&Karen]

We just recently bought the 3124 KS model and we love it! Your Yukon should tow something like it just fine (we tow with a Ford Expedition) and have no real issues. I just leave overdrive off in the hilly country and go.

However, the KS may not fit your needs as it may not have enough sleeping capacity for your plans. There is a king size bed on one end and the sofa that makes into a double (I think) bed - that's it. We love the front sofa slide but that's all we need - our kids are grown and don't go with us anymore, except to visit when we are camping locally. We can seat 4 to eat as one of the flip-up tables at the sofa ends has an extension that can be inserted.

The funny thing is that when we went to the dealer to look, we went to look at the 2720SL - wife took one look at the 3124KS and asked if our vehicle would tow that one. I looked at the weight sticker (GVWR) and it's well within the weight limits of our Expedition, so that's what we bought.

Hope this helps,

[Hondo]

We are trying to make the same decision. Here are some things we are putting into consideration. How much privacy does the couch bed give someone that sleeps later or wants to go to bed earlier? If you keep the trailer long enough to have grand children, what would be best? Do you think you will spend a lot of time in the trailer and need extra floor space because of climate or bugs? How much fancy cooking will you do? We are leaning more toward the KB because we think it is more versatile for us, but we are learning a lot from the posts.

[tucsoncarol]

We have a 3326 and absolutely love it. That being said, we have only ourselves and sometimes our teenage son to house. He is 15 and over 6' and has a very hard time fitting on the sofa-bed. It is very narrow. The dinette is a bed in theory only. It is even more narrow than the sofa-bed, and way short for an actual human being to sleep on. Maybe a young child could use it, but not a teen. Also, the cushions don't fit to cover the dinette for some strange reason. After you place the seat cushions there is not enough room left for both back cushions to fit. If you use only one back cushion, there is a gap left unpadded. Our son often asks to just sleep on the floor, where he can sprawl as needed. He uses a Travasack, so it's no trouble. Depending on how old your children are (and how tall) and how long you intend to keep your TM you might think about the floor option for one of them.

[hal]

Regarding privacy, we divided our 2720Sd by attaching a curtain track across the ceiling. Two rooms are separated beginning at the front corner of the refer. We also included about 16" of mesh at the top of a floor length curtain to allow air from the aconditioner to reach the front "room".

Hal

[Bob Jenkins]

Thanks to everyone for the Great Feedback!
You have given me a lot to think about!

Hondo mentioned the lack of privacy for anyone sleeping on the couch. Does the person sleeping in the front bed have any means of privacy? I dont recall seeing any kind of privacy curtain when I was at the dealership.

The one thing I AM sure of is that I definitely need the King-Size bed. I'm 6'7" tall and I refuse to sleep in anything smaller. This limits my choices to the three largest TrailManors.

[Hondo]

At the factory tour I believe that I remember a track along the ceiling where you would attach a privacy curtain at the front bed. There wasn't one attached, so I don't know if one comes with the unit, or if you have to buy one. I liked the post about the curtain with the mesh at the top of the curtain that they made to allow the air conditioning to get to the front bed. What a great idea. If the Trailmanor comes with a privacy curtain, does it block the air? Maybe some one else can give an answer.
The couch/bed in the KS at the end is the same couch at the side on the KB and makes into the same bed. They demonstrated how it could be done in a matter of seconds. It would be suitable for children, but I don't think it would be very comfortable for adults for very long.

[jellis]

The KB has a privacy curtain, which does block light (good) and AC (not so good). Our nephew slept there and kept one side of the two-side curtain closed, left the other open to get air conditioning, as well as letting the dogs get up there to sleep with him. Worked well for him, at 11 years old. YMMV.

[mjlaupp]

Leon,
Does your TM have a piece of velcro on the bed side of the bath wall, the wardrobe and the rear curtain? If so, you can remove the curtain from the overhead rail and attach it 4 inches down with the velcro for both privacy and ventalation.
Mike

[Ted Chance]

Hi,

This is my first post to the TM Owner's forum but not my first visit. My wife and I are seriously considering a 2006 or 07 3124KS, and I happened to notice a posting by Jon and Rita that you are towing a 3124 KB with an 03 Tundra, precisely the vehicle we plan to use. Ours is AWD with the V6 and a 5000 lb theoretical towing capacity. Considering fudge factors for fluids, combined vehicle weights, passengers, etc. and the actual weight or our truck, I anticipate a comfortable towing capacity of about 4700 lb. Having done the math as to dry weight of the 3124 KS, fluids, hitches, clothes, gear, furnishings, etc., I believe we will remain comfortably within that margin. However, we live on an island in Alaska and our routes out (after a trip on the ferry) involve significant mountain grades, and much or most of our travel will touch the mountainous west. With all these considerations in mind, I ask your impression as to how your 03 Tundra has performed, especially if you have the V6.

My wife and I are flying to the lower 48 this week to look at TMs along with a few other campers of interest though we are not going to buy until we are ready or precisely the right deal lands on our doorstep.

Thanks very much!

Ted Chance
Sitka, Alaska

[Bill]

Ted -

Use the search tool to find posts by RockyMtnRay. He is our towing expert, and also our Tundra expert (you'll find him moderating the Tundra forum), and our towing-at-high-altitude expert. He has a Tundra and a 2720SL, and spends a lot of time in the highest altitudes of the Rockies. He wasn't satisfied with his V-8 Tundra until he put (IIRC) $4800 of power-train upgrades into it, but now he just flies up the high-altitude grades. A truly nice rig.

The mention of $4800 to upgrade a V-8-based Tundra might make you gasp (it does me), so it is worth digging out all of his posts on the topic. You'll be much more knowledgable with that under your belt.

Bill

[Ted Chance]

Thank you for the suggestion, Bill. As I read through RockyMtnRay's posts, I find that his discussions of variation in engine performance by vehicle, transmission, engine model, altitude, torque, and so on offer pretty clear guidance by way of inference as to what my vehicle will handle--probably not as much as I would hope. Here's what I get so far:
At sea level, my Toyota 4.3L V6 5VZ-FE engine will probably manage just fine with an actual combined vehicle weight of around 9200 lb, which is what I'd estimate I'll end up with a 3124 KS, the actual weight of my vehicle, anticipated passenger weights (more than I would care to admit, sadly), accessories, and all the various other things I anticipate will add to the demand. Climbing at a fairly steep, steady grade out of my sea-level environment to something less than 4000 ft, which is what a trip out of Southeast Alaska entails as a minimum "cost of doing business," probably also will work reasonably well assuming I don't have any wish to fly up the passes, though a transmission cooler probably wouldn't be a bad idea. No problem here. Nobody drives fast anyway. The air itself is all too cool and therefore plenty dense, so I'd not expect much decrement in performance. For many purposes, traveling in the Pacific Northwest, performance will be adequate. Pushing into the Colorado Plateau and other truly high-altitude areas of the west, however, will likely tax the performance and perhaps even safety of the vehicle. The 5VZ-FE engine is I believe used across a number of vehicles contemporaneous to my 03 Tundra, generates about 220 lb/ft of torque @ 3600 RPM, and by all reports performs reliably up to specs given inevitable variation for conditions such as altitude. I inquired of our nearest dealer (95 air miles away, more by ferry), who indicated adding an aftermarket supercharger, which TRD manufactures and markets, would be very unwise. That would seem to address the altitude problem to which RockyMtnRay alludes to some degree; on the other hand, when the dealer tells me he's seen catastrophic engine failures with the supercharger I sit up and take notice. The remainder of the design of the 03 Tundra SR5 w/ 3.4L V6 and 4WD seems adequate to the task, the engine marginal at best. So I will need to think very carefully about whether it makes sense to start looking for a different tow vehicle. Meanwhile, RockyMtnRay, if you happen to read this post, thanks very much for your clear and systematic explanations--they make it easy to extrapolate.

Ted Chance

[jellis]

Ted,
Our Tundra is equipped with the V8, which is more than adequate for the 3124KB; however, I would be leary of the V6 with this much weight, especially in the mountains. It seems your investigation is driving you in this direction also. As stated, Ray is the towing expert so see what he recommends. Just for comparison, I get about 18 mpg solo, and 15 mpg towing.
Jon and Rita

[Ted Chance]

Thanks, Jon and Rita,

The input you and others have provided is very useful and interesting to me. I appreciate it.

Ted Chance