Death of my Trailmanor
I bought my 2004 Trailmanor 3023 as my first RV, for $4000 with salvage title because it had been hail damaged and sat on an insurance company lot for a year. We got 8 years out of it, during which I fixed almost every part of it and learned a lot.
In November I had a heart attack (not a bad one, and I'm fine now) and as a result the unit sat closed and uncovered through the winter rains. It had developed a number of problems on the front shell and these got worse. Through the rains, and perhaps some past ones, it seemed to have picked up some weight on the front shell, or the torsion bars weakened. It's almost impossible for one person to open when leveled. I guess because of the extra weight, it knocked off the front 2 pocket stop steel reinforcements, and then the pocket stop bolts penetrated the frame and the pocket stops could no longer be adjusted. These are very hard to access, as they are recessed into the shell. Then it bent the shell in back of the door. The front shell now opens with a 4 inch gap in front of the front bed.
After this, decided that I had reached the point of diminishing returns and would no longer attempt to repair this RV. I towed it to a property where I can store it, covered it with a tarp, and ended my local RV lot space rental.
I will remove my compressor fridge, the solar panels, and some electrical parts, but it will then be available for sale to anyone who wants it for spare parts or to part down. It's near Highway 97 in far-northern-California about 45 minutes south of Klamath Falls.
I am not purchasing another trailer until I am able to keep it at home - my current home has a sloped and curved driveway that would not admit a trailer. Keeping the trailer away from home made it that much harder to care for.
- Bruce
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