First timers in a Trailmini

[rjlwork]

We are newbies to be sure! We purchased our Trailmini in Tucker, GA and camped an hour away. Then we drove it home to Ohio without any problem with my 2007 Chevy Rendevous. It did need a different kind of hitch ball to get it far enough off the ground. The dealer in Tucker, GA was fantastic and provided us with lots of instructions; even though the "mini" is new, we've figured out almost everything together. We were certainly the hit of our first campground! People with expensive class a's wanted to see inside and were impressed with the room and storage.

The back porch is small but usable; especially nice with the awning out (keeps the rain out of the doorway). We also like all the storage capability of the back porch. We intend to go to some Nascar races each year and will need to take a generator for my husband's CPAP. Still trying to decided which way to go on the generator as he needs a longer run-time than the 4 hours the Honda's advertise. We did find a Champion 3500/4000 that will run all night. Any thoughts? AC would be nice too; but not an absolute must.

This a picture from our first official stop. We've since been to a local KOA to try out the dog with camping. Oz was very happy to share the bed with Dad. I slept on the pull out couch which is quite comfortable, but just a tad shorter. Haven't had to use the furnace yet but everything else has been tried and seems pretty straighforward. On our close-to-home trip, we met another Trailmanor owner passing through on her way to Nashville. She showed us her screen for the door. I've emailed the inventor with the differences on the Trailmini and hope he can manage a modification.

My only question so far, (operationally) is the light that appears to be on the gas detector is on (green) even with the trailer closed. Do I need to pull a fuse during short term storage? We're going out again next weekend and don't want to drain the battery while it sits in the storage lot. I've learned alot already from this site and hope to learn more as we explore our Trailmini. Thanks for all of your advice so far!

Judy:new_newbi

[Redhawk]

Congrats on your "mini"....we were thinking seriously of one when we came across our used 2619. The mini really has a lot going for it.

[PopBeavers]

Many campgrounds have limited hours that generators are allowed to be used. I have never been in a campground where a generator was allowed to run all night.

Have you considered using a battery bank with an inverter? This would provide silent operation. The generator would then be used during the day to recharge the batteries for the next night.

[Bluegrass]

PopBeaver's suggestion is one you should take seriously. Most campgrounds will not let you run a generator after 10 p.m.

[rjlwork]

Not sure what a battery bank is but, I'll check it out with my electrician. The "campgrounds" at NASCAR races are open fields and generators are common overnight. Unless you want to shell out the big dough and find one with utilities; we'll be dry-camping.

[Bill]

Re CPAP machines. They haven't been discussed much here recently, but quite early in the life of this board (meaning 2003 or 2004 or so), there were some long and informative discussions of the machines, and in particular how to power them through the night. You might use the Search tool to find them. I'll add a link if I can find them.

Bill

[Edit - here's a couple
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/archive/index.php?t-1709.html]
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3580]
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4547

[PopBeavers]

Not sure what a battery bank is but, I'll check it out with my electrician. The "campgrounds" at NASCAR races are open fields and generators are common overnight. Unless you want to shell out the big dough and find one with utilities; we'll be dry-camping.

If you only camp at race tracks you can probably run the generator all night, but it depends.

If you go camping in a campground (National Park, State Park, etc.) then you will not be able to do so.

A battery bank is a group of batteries that are combined together. An inverter is an electrical device that converts (typically) 12 volts DC from the battery bank into 120 volts AC for running household appliances (television, microwave, CPAP) without using the generator when you do not have shore power available.

As an example, if you were traveling to a Nascar race that was some distance from home, and you had a break down along the way, you might want to spend the night in a campground that is convenient. But, the do not allow generators after 10 PM (sometimes 8 PM) so what is your backup plan?

If you are always close to home then this is not at all an issue.

[ShrimpBurrito]

I haven't read the threads Bill referenced above, but I know that an easy but expensive route to go is to buy a portable CPAP unit with an auxiliary battery. That will last all night for sure.

I have camped with someone in our TM who used a CPAP -- I hooked it up to a small 150 watt inverter and plugged it into the cigarette socket by the fridge. I think it only draws 60-70 watts, maybe a bit less. At 12v, that's about 5 amps. If you use it 8 hrs/night, that's 40 Ah. A large 12v deep cycle battery (Group 27?) would last throughout the night, even with moderate usage of the TM appliances (except the furnace), but wouldn't have much energy left by morning. You'd definitely need to fully recharge every day.

If you added a second battery, you could easily go without a charge for 2 days, and maybe 3. Again, assuming moderate use of TM appliances, and not the furnace.

Dave

[B_and_D]

I do believe you're the first person who's posted here who has a TrailMini - it looks so cute! Congrats on your purchase!

[M&M Hokie]

Those TrailMinis are cool looking. I am especially impressed with your awning. It looks like it is stretching straight out with no vertical supports. Mine seems to come out at about 30 degrees below horizontal and I have to push it up significantly with its legs in order to clear the door swing. Your pic makes me think my awning is misconfigured.

[rjlwork]

Thanks for the input on the generator/battery issue. We did purchase a battery backup CPAP, but my husband doesn't like the way it "breathes". So we're still looking for answers; read some of the search items, gives us some other input. He sleeps in the bed with his CPAP on the counter next to him, so this trailer is well designed for him. We've been camping in parks with electric hookup so far, but know we need to figure this out before we go dry camping.

The mini comes in two configurations; ours is the model with the sofa (lounge). My main reasons for our choice were the counter next to the bed, and the aisle that is available when the sofa is pulled out into a bed. The other version (dinette) makes into a bed too. The issue there is someone getting out of the upper bed has to step on the dinette bed to get out to go to the bathroom; stepping on the person(s) below. Both have an "everything" bathroom; floor pan for shower is under the toilet with a curtain all around. Tight but usable. We've found we have to really tuck the shower curtain up around the towel bar so it doesn't get stuck between the outer halves during set up. The towel bar is on the back wall, out over the porch when closed.

The awning isn't very deep, so maybe that's why it stays so straight. The door does have a wheel for a guide on top. Also, the deadbolt is on the top half of the door and the doorknob is on the bottom. If the trailer isn't perfectly level, the bottom doorknob doesn't hold the door shut (pops open). Probably something we newbies are doing wrong. There's lots of storage inside and the garage on the side is good too. We're really enjoying figuring this all out. Any other input is greatly appreciated.
Judy

[Al-n-Sue]

FWIW - the promotional pictures of the TrailMini at this site

http://picasaweb.google.com/trailmanor/2010TrailMini#

definitely show the supports on the awning. The awning may be configured to come straight out on the mini (mine also comes out about 30 degrees down), but I think it should be supported by the awning supports or it could cause damage in a small wind.

[rjlwork]

Both places we looked at them had no side supports to the awning. I questioned that also, but was told they probably changed their prototype at the factory. No supports came with it and there are no brackets to attach it to the sides. The first one we saw didn't have a towel bar in the bathroom and ours does. Also, the outlet is next to the sofa not on the base of the sofa like the website shows. Guess they're still working things out. I'll send the question to the factory though. They did reply that the LP detector runs off the battery and it does not disconnect when closed. Mr Lytle said we should periodically charge the battery if storing for longer periods of time and that the battery will slowly lose it's charge even if it's disconnected.

Thanks Al-n-Sue for the concern; I will check on it further. Judy

[rumbleweed]

Did you check for supports in the bar at the open end of the awning. That is where the supports are on the standard TM.

[rjlwork]

Haven't thought to look for them there, we'll check when we take it out next weekend.

[rjlwork]

Just got a note from the factory. Good news! The awning doesn't have and doesn't require any additional supports. Judy

[ng2951]

I would still go with the Honda. There are external fuel tanks that will allow the genset to run all night and they are under $100. The Hondas are extremely quiet too.

[rjlwork]

Thanks everyone for your input. We're taking the "mini" out this weekend and it looks like we'll have a chance to use the furnace.
We still haven't figured out the generator yet, but we have time. We've been staying close to home with full hookups, getting used to everything. I like the external fuel tank idea and then my electrician recommended Onan with an LP hookup. Expensive but very quiet too.

[rjlwork]

OK, the furnace.....We turned it on high and burned off the smelly gunk. Then later in the night my DH said it was gassing him out. He got up and fiddled with the thermostat and it clicked on and burned off the gas smell. I was sleeping on the sofa and didn't smell it. The next night it was me that smelled it and got up to adjust the temp. I turned the thermostat up and it stuck on and raised the temp to 90! It wouldn't stop running. I removed the cover and eveything shutdown. What's going on? I forgot the manual in the trailer, but will go back to find the Suburban instructions. Everything else was really good; we're figuring out the whole trailer experience. (Getting easier to put it together and take it down.)

Ron says we're gonna have to charge the factory for tours. We must have shown the mini to a dozen different groups of people. It certainly is the talk of the campground wherever we go.

Thanks for all your help; I'm sure I'll be back with more questions! Judy

[lnussbau]

...

Ron says we're gonna have to charge the factory for tours. We must have shown the mini to a dozen different groups of people. It certainly is the talk of the campground wherever we go.

...


Welcome to the world of Trailmanors. Many of us give an occasional tour, pass out brochures (if the factory has sent some recently), and otherwise answer questions about the TM, though your Mini probably attracts even more attention than the more traditional models. I've even had to answer questions in gas stations, rest areas, etc.

[rjlwork]

We've been having a ball telling everyone about how it closes over the porch ect. One woman this weekend said it reminded her of a train caboose! It is extremely unusual in the size department too. Most can't believe it has a bathroom or room for storage. We've been pleased with both.

We've also been KOA camping and in the pull-through full hookup sites. We've got more than enough room to spare. While these campgrounds don't want you to use mats, we can use ours because it's behind us on the gravel. Makes for even more usable room outside. And the plus is, we get to try everything out before we start dry-camping at the race tracks next year. Love being in the TM community! Judy

[rumbleweed]

It is possible the cover of the Thermostat got bumped and was not seated correctly, This can cause the temperature sensing mechanism to stick and taking the cover off corrects it. Be careful that the cover is not pushed on too far. If it becomes a problem, you can easily and inexpensively replace it with a more accurate electronic version form any of the major home improvement stores.

[Harry Womack]

If you replace the thermostat, be sure to find one that will work on 12 volt DC. Most home thermostats are 24 volt AC. I found a LCD thermostat that runs on AA batteries.
The heat from the water heater and the refrigerator gives the thermostat false readings also.