security and gauges questions

[nvpdub]

I was at a dealer last week and happily discovered I could set up and take down the Trailmanor by myself! So now I am looking for one. However, as a single female, I have a couple of questions: (yes I am probably a paranoid city girl!)

1. When the trailer is open, is there a way to secure the slideouts from the inside? I realized that when you closed the trailer, all I did was step under the slideout and pushed in. What is to prevent people from doing this while the trailer is set up and you are away from it?
2. Are there gauges to keep track of the water, propane, tanks, etc. and if so, where are they located?

Thanks for your help. I have learned a lot from this forum.

[C&V CampCrazy]

Yes, you can lock the slide outs when opened. Inside there are latches that you lock when the beds are pushed out. So from outside the camper you cannot push the beds back in. As far as gauges I'm not sure. My TM is an older one and doesn't have the "New Stuff" in it. But if you are camping at a campground you should use the direct water hookup and most campgrounds can refill your propane tanks when needed.

Hope this helps.

[Mr. Adventure]

These are great questions.

1. There are toggle bolts that secure the beds so that they can't be moved once the trailer is set up.

2. Fresh water and gray water tank gauges are on the front of the sink cabinet, the toilet capacity gauge is at the back of the toilet, and the propane tanks are outside. I use a very old fashioned mechanism to check them: take a cup full of warm water, and dump it down the side of the tank. Then as you move your hand down the vertical stripe where the water ran down, the place where it suddenly feels cooler is the propane level in the tank.

You gotta love these trailers for being easy to use and reliable over the years.

[Scott O]

The propane tanks have an automatic switch-over. One goes empty and it uses the other. There is a visual thingie (not a technical term!) which tells you this has happened, so you can fill the empty tank and have it ready to automatically switch back. Propane lasts a very long time, except when using the propane heater. We mostly use a electric floor heater, which is quieter and takes the chill off without the noise of the main heater.

[PopBeavers]

1. There are toggle bolts that secure the beds so that they can't be moved once the trailer is set up.

Besides that, the rear bed can not slide if the closet is up and the bathroom walls are up. If the front interior flaps are folded down to close off the opening then I very much doubt that anyone would be able to slide the front bed, even if the two locking bolts were unlocked. Some TM models do not have a front bed like mine.

[P and B]

I've forgotten to put up just one of the velcro flaps and couldn't push the couch section in. These are the kinds of reminders you get from the TM that you "missed" something when you go to close up ;-)

Phil

[ng2951]

...1. When the trailer is open, is there a way to secure the slideouts from the inside? I realized that when you closed the trailer, all I did was step under the slideout and pushed in. What is to prevent people from doing this while the trailer is set up and you are away from it?It would be very difficult to close up the unit once it is setup. You have interior locks, cabinets, and walls that would make it difficult to fold up.
2. Are there gauges to keep track of the water, propane, tanks, etc. and if so, where are they located?Like many trailers there os an interior instrument panel that shows remain water and battery life as well as how much of the gray water tank capacity you have consumed.

Propane is different matter. These tanks are mounted on the exterior of the TM. There are two styles that are used: vertical and horizontal.

TM that have slideout beds on both ends (like the 2619, 2720, 3023, 3124KB) use vertical tanks. These are the ones that most people are familiar with. They are much easier to remove and refill than the horizontal tanks.

The horizontal tanks are used on models with living rooms (2720SL, 2720SD, 3124KS, and 3326King). Due to space requirements these tanks are under the LR floor. The gauges on these have sections: one that can be read in the vertical position; one that can be read in horizontal position.

Each orientation has its advantages and disadvantages. One nice thing about the TMs is that system automatically swaps from an empty bottle to a full one. Also, you can remove the empty bottle without interrupting the gas flow.

[larsdennert]

The sliding beds also serve as emergency exits and tilt up. They also serve as ejection seats out the bottom of the trailer if you don't latch the beds.

[Bill]

The sliding beds also serve as emergency exits and tilt up.Yup.

They also serve as ejection seats out the bottom of the trailer if you don't latch the beds.Nope. I'm pretty sure this is urban legend. I certainly can't find any way to make this happen in my TM, and I removed the latches years ago.

Bill

[camp2canoe]

Guaranteed that on my '05 2619 you will fall if the berths aren't latched - ask me how I know! - camp2canoe

[ShrimpBurrito]

Are we talking about that one little door latch on the rear bed that latches the bed slide to the bathroom wall? I've always latched it and have never tried experimenting without it latched, but are you saying that little attachment prevents several hundred pounds of weight from falling to the ground? There's about 400 lbs up there when my wife and I are on it.

Dave

[luvs2camp]

As for security, you may want to check the following:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6283

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296&highlight=security

[larsdennert]

I agree with camp to canoe. The second most thrilling experience in a TM bed is having it pull a James Bond on you. Bill just hasn't experienced that kind of TM adventure.

[B_and_D]

It seems that the only way this could happen would be if there was one person in the bed, putting their full weight on the very front (or rear) outside edge of the bed. I usually don't latch up the back bed (because I'm afraid that we'll forget to unlatch it when we collapse the bathroom walls and tear it out) and we've never had this happen to us, even if there's only one person lying in the very back towards the window.

Have you really had this happen? Why hasn't it happened to any of us? The support arms, plus the weight of the bed towards the center of the trailer seem to be enough to support the whole bed even if the latches aren't in place.

[larsdennert]

I didn't fall through but it got my attention quick. Try sitting against that outside wall. I don't weigh that much.

[B_and_D]

Were youi in the front bed or the rear? I really don't want to fall out of the bed.

[mtnguy]

Guaranteed that on my '05 2619 you will fall if the berths aren't latched - ask me how I know! - camp2canoe

OK, I gotta ask.....how do you know. :)

The last time the bed flip discussion came up, I did a little experiment. I unlatched the bed, and slide the bed in just enough to get my fingers up over the bed tray from the outside, and then tried to pull down. It didn't take much weight to get that bed to start to flip. Now granted, the leverage required right at the edge of the bed (my fingers pulling down) vs. spread out over a little wider area (my 190 lbs.) near the rear/front walls would figure in this, I don't think I am going to try getting in the bed and rolling over to the wall before the missus climbs in her side to counter weight everything without latching that puppy.

Chap

[larsdennert]

Were youi in the front bed or the rear? I really don't want to fall out of the bed.

Rear Queen as I recall. I was working on the back window.

[ng2951]

...There's about 400 lbs up there when my wife and I are on it...You had better be about 280-290# of it Dave or hope she never reads your post...

[ShrimpBurrito]

You had better be about 280-290# of it Dave or hope she never reads your post...

Haha....

Actually, it's less than that, but it's an even number. But I'm 6'2", taller on some days, so I for sure carry my fair share. :D

Dave

[Bill]

Hmmmm. There must be different contruction methods used here - or maybe the front bed is different from the rear. I've owned two 2720SLs, and I removed the latch on both of them. I can lift the forward edge of the bed up, but there is no way that any of it can move down. For one thing, the bed supports slide out directly under the bed, so even if it would move, it couldn't drop by more than an inch before coming to rest on the supports. And no one is going to fall out through a one-inch gap.

I have always been under impression that the little red latch is to prevent someone outside from lifting the bed, not to keep it from dropping. But my TM is in the driveway, and I'll be working on it tomorrow. I'll see if I can spot any way to make it drop.

Bill

[mtnguy]

Bill, my bed sits firmly on the supports. But the supports sit maybe 12" or so back from the extreme edge (the ends of the TM) of the bed. So, if you lift up on the bed as in the emergency exit mode, about a foot of the back of the bed swivels down.....where the supports attach to the bed act as a fulcrum. So my concern, since I can easily pull down on the bed tray from the outside to swivel the bed, is that maybe someone could go to the end walls and get enough weight past the fulcrum point to make the bed swivel up........like you are using it in the escape hatch mode. Only the escape hatch is going to be on the wrong part of the bed. :eek:

Chap

[Bill]

Hmmmm. There must be different contruction methods used here - or maybe the front bed is different from the rear. I've owned two 2720SLs, and I removed the latch on both of them. I can lift the forward edge of the bed up, but there is no way that any of it can move down. For one thing, the bed supports slide out directly under the bed, so even if it would move, it couldn't drop by more than an inch before coming to rest on the supports. And no one is going to fall out through a one-inch gap.

I have always been under impression that the little red latch is to prevent someone outside from lifting the bed, not to keep it from dropping. But my TM is in the driveway, and I'll be working on it tomorrow. I'll see if I can spot any way to make it drop.

BillOK, I examined my TM in detail today. There is NO WAY that any part of the bed can fall down or be forced down, latch or no latch, no matter where the force is applied. The front edge of the bed rests on a solid shelf about a foot wide (this is actually the top of the under-bed storage area). The rear end of the bed is supported by, and tethered to, the slide-out bed supports. Ain't no way anything is going down here!

As I mentioned in my post above, if the latch is not engaged, the forward edge of the bed can be lifted. This is the emergency exit, so if it is not latched, unauthorized entry could be a concern. But if the latch is engaged inside, it would prevent lifting the bed.

In my TM, at least, anyone can lie down anywhere on the bed with no fear of it dumping you out, latch or no latch. It just can't happen.

This describes my 2720SL, which has only a rear bed. Other models with a front bed might find a different situation up there. Anyone?

[Edit] Chap, you're right. When you lift the front edge of the bed, the back edge does tilt down, the tips of the support bars being the fulcrum. However, the tips are so close to the rear edge that it would require an enormous amount of force to pull it down. I can hang from the pull-out handle, which is at the extreme rear edge of the bed, and it doesn't move. And I am no lightweight! So I am quite confident that I could lie on the rear edge of the bed, centered in that 12-inch span you mentioned, and nothing would happen. And I've done just that!

Bill

[B_and_D]

I tested our front bed last week. I don't know about the rear bed. I've slept snugged up against the rear wall many times without the latch engaged (and never experienced a sinking feeling) but I haven't jumped up and down on it.

I tried rocking back and forth vigorously on the front bed, on my knees, with one knee on the very front of the front bed and the other more towards the center of the bed, and it started to tilt down a bit when I put my weight down on the knee right next to the front window. From this test, I'd say if someone who was fairly heavy wanted to sleep in the very front of the bed, or if you had some very rambunctious kids, you might want to be careful to engage the latches. I was surprised because we've never had this happen before.