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View Full Version : What's your least used option?


larsdennert
05-12-2008, 11:23 PM
Here is a different thread. What option does your TM have that you use the least? Not to dis anything in particular but just the way we happen to travel.

Least used for us is the TV antenna. Been used zero times. I usually bring a laptop which will play DVD's and has internet access. No TV.

Next is the generator. Not really an option so to speak, but I use it much more seldom than I thought I would. Long trips I often have hookups and short ones the dual 6V batteries last no trouble.

Lastly is the Air Conditioning. Seldom used but I wouldn't do without it. When I need it, I need it.

What's yours and why?

camp2canoe
05-13-2008, 07:03 AM
I bought the awning, air and antenna as a package mainly because I thought it would make the resale value of my TM better. We seldom use the awning and almost never the air. Hands down the least used option, however, is the antenna which I tried to use once just to make sure it worked. In retrospect, since I store a canoe and a kayak on top of our TM, I wish I would have deleted the antenna.

Let me do the converse - we are so glad we opted for the conventional oven. It is used on virtually every trip. DW likes to bake and we both enjoy cooking fairly elaborate dishes so it has been both functional and a source of entertainment for us. I'd still buy a separate microwave for potatoes, popcorn, frozen vegetables, etc. IF we could find one less than 16.5" wide so it would fit next to the wardrobe. -camp2canoe

Queeniereads
05-13-2008, 07:59 AM
I think we least use the cabinets over the couch. Hard to reach and not shaped for much that we have.

We added a short recliner and we use that lots, along with almost everything else except the air conditioner so far. I think we used it on a very hot day in Cleveland. Love the oven and hubby says he would choose to have a recirculating toilet in any camper.

THanks for asking -- good idea.
Queen

nonichris
05-13-2008, 08:07 AM
This could prove to be a very interesting thread for us, as we are thinking of ordering a TM this week and one of the big questions is the oven. We RV a lot going to dog agility trials and rarely use the oven...have used it only for pizza. We do use the microwave for heating coffee, but stove top cooking is our mainstay, even at home...so we are leaning towards the microwave/convection option. Ed, at the factory, seems to think the support issue of the microwave has been solved in the newer models...???. We definitely use awning and air conditioner in our old RV and we carry a satellite dish with a long antenna cord, which gives us more flexibility in picking up signals. Does anyone regret the hanging cabinets? I didn't see anything in the way of privacy curtains for the bed?? we are thinking of bringing my mother along at times and putting her in the separate "bedroom"...we are looking at the 3124kb....

Scott O
05-13-2008, 08:29 AM
Hanging cabnets are useful, since the popup design limits storage. The only time we have used the generator is to run it monthly at home. Have not needed the AC, but would order it again for resale, assuming we ever sell! The awning is useful and gives the TM a 'homey' look. We do use the antenna occassionally. As for the oven, it is needed for baking chocolate chip cookies! I can't imagine being without a fresh batch...now that would be truly 'roughing it.' There is really nothing on our TM that I regret getting, except the strange factory screen door!

LittleRhodey
05-13-2008, 08:48 AM
I love the hanging cabinets. They are a great addition to both storage and efficiency in the kitchen. You have to load them with light things only or they are hard to hang on the wall when you set up.

Privacy curtains do not show in any of the photos on the TrailManor website but they are included for both the front and the back bed. They are good at blocking out the light as well; my daughter goes right to sleep when we put her down and close the curtains. They attach to a track right above the edge of the front bed.

Least used option- NONE - we use everything but we only added the two upper cabinets, AC and the vinyl wood grain floor, kept the oven and bought our own microwave.

The vinyl floors are great. I put down a runner in the hall and two small throws in the entrance and in front of the couches. I shake out the rugs, sweep the floor, and put it all back. Done! I wouldn't have liked the carpet. I didn't want to carry a vacuum or clean up tracked in dirt and stuff from the campgrounds.

Leslie & Nick
05-13-2008, 08:58 AM
I'd say it's the awning. We've used it a few times, but mostly it stays rolled up. I remember one time we did have it unfurled, left the campground (it was a TM Rally) in perfect weather, and returned a few hours later just before a gusty windstorm, that would have no doubt torn the thing off had we not rolled it up. Not an option per se, but we don't use the outside shower too much either, but it's nice to have to rinse off the dogs' muddy paws!

ShrimpBurrito
05-13-2008, 09:44 AM
Have never used the TV antenna, and have only used the AC twice. I echo others here though in saying I would not want to go without the AC though as when you need it, you need it. It can be particularly miserable otherwise.

Would absolutely not get another TM without an oven. We use it all the time, and would have no use for a microwave since we mostly boondock. We use everything else. The awning has been a lifesaver as a shield from the sun.

Al-n-Sue
05-13-2008, 09:57 AM
Don't hear much about the factory screen door - can you post some pictures?

coulter
05-13-2008, 01:42 PM
The antenna, we've used it once. The awning doesn't get used very often either, not because I don't like it but because of the fear of it getting blown off the trailer.
Options we would NEVER be without are the air conditioner, and conventional oven, we boon-dock a lot, and the oven gets lots of use. As for the air, we live in Missouri and you can't camp here in August comfortably without a cool place to retreat to.

countrygirl
05-13-2008, 02:33 PM
We have used the awning the least...and I have a nice mat for underneath it. DH never seemed to want to put either out so we did not use them. Our last camping trip...to the Ocala National Forest we did put them out as well as four chairs. My DH found he LOVES the awning and the mat. The mat helps to keep the floors cleaner and we had friends constantly dropping by to see what kind of camper it was and what the inside locked like. We camped on site of the Traditional Bowhunters of Florida Archery Tournament. Several friends with large 5th wheels are considering selling and getting a TM. We use the radio some but not a lot...we use it more if we can not pick up tv channels...or want to watch a DVD.

Scott O
05-13-2008, 02:57 PM
Our TM is put away in the garage, maybe someone else can respond with a picture of the factory screen. It is basically about 6 strips of 5" screen, each attached with velcro at the top. They just hang down, overlapping a little, and blowing in the breeze. Sorta clever, but useless IMHO! It probably keeps out small birds, but not much else!!! But it is better than nothing.

PopBeavers
05-13-2008, 04:13 PM
I have used the a/c twice in 3 years. We rarely have hookups.

I used the awning a couple of times until it tore.

I did not get the television antenna.

I have never used the rear hitch.

I do use the front cabinets, but there is not much in them.

I want to add the over stove cabinet.

2bcs1jrt
05-13-2008, 04:23 PM
We have used the awning one time in 3 years.

Cheri

wbmiller3
05-13-2008, 06:03 PM
Didn't get antenna or awning. Our least used was the wardrobe - it was kind of in the way, so I took it out.

wmtire
05-13-2008, 06:40 PM
I have never used the awning, front cabinets, or spare tire. However, that doesn't mean I won't ever have a use for them. :)

B_and_D
05-13-2008, 07:04 PM
We got rid of the A/C when it died, but I might get a new one in case I want to go somewhere hot this summer. We used it on one trip and that was it.

We use the TV antenna once in a while. It works quite well in case we want to watch the weather & catch up on the news. I have yet to find a 12V digital converter box. Bought an AC one for the house here and we get absolutely nothing with it. At least with the analog broadcast signals we get a few fuzzy stations. I guess that will stop in 2009.

We love the awning. We often camp in the fog and it is nice to be able to sit outside in the morning on a dry chair, read, and enjoy a cup of coffee. We use it when we go to the lake, too. It seems to help keep the interior cooler and it's nice to have the shade.

Our gas oven gets a lot of use. I would miss it if we didn't have it; we cook most of our meals at the campsite. We bring along a microwave when we have hookups. It fits right into the spot where the side A/C used to be but I can take it in and out.

We don't use the furnace much, but it's not an option. Our TM is pretty basic, no built-in TV, no radio, no extra hanging cabinets, no outside shower.

Al-n-Sue
05-13-2008, 08:52 PM
We've only been out 2 times in our TM, but having 2 friends with a TM for several years, I pretty well know what I'll use and not use.

The outside shower will probably never get used. We don't live near a beach or do things that would render us muddy or dirty enough to require an outside cleanup. Plus it is generally too cold in the Colorado mountains to get wet outside - even in summer.

I'm not sure I'll use the cabinets over the front bunk - we have so much space elsewhere that the effort to put anything there is more than it is worth. At least at this point. Maybe our stuff will grow to fit the space we have.

I may eventually use the antenna, but we camp to get away from the TV.

We don't use the privacy curtains but those are not options so we just store them. If one of our kids (and spouse) ever camp with us, we might use them.

We use or want about everything else - two hanging cabinets (over sink and over stove), A/C (although not needed in mtns, we may take trips to hotter locals now that we have it), radio -we love listening to CDs when we are sitting around, love the gas oven, love the furnace although we use a portable electric when we can, and I love the awning - sitting under it with a cup of tea and reading is my preferred camping pasttime. We also have a "patio mat" and I second whoever said it helps keep the floors clean.

LittleRhodey
05-14-2008, 06:22 AM
Although several of you have said that you don't use the awning, we did not have ours delivered with one, and I miss having it. We have been camping in cold, wet, rainy weather two times already, and I don't like getting wet the second I open the door. Also the camping books we store in the door get wet. And I would like to get a mat for outside the door to limit tracked in dirt from our 6 year old and others. As for the cabinets in front, we use them for games, DVD's, bird and plant guides, and binoculars. It is just right for our 6 year old to store her little things.

It's funny. If you don't have it, you wish you had it. And if you have it, you wish you hadn't bothered. I think the real reason for the discrepancy between owners is the varied locations you use your TM. Here in the Northeast, we need the awning, mat, and AC. In CA, AZ or CO, the weather is very different and you have different needs. For example, since we got our TM last month, we have never camped without turning on the furnace. It has been down to the 30's a majority of nights. And yet I anticipate using the AC in Ohio this July.

That all being said, we love our TM!