Time to say hello, and thanks to forum members...
We picked up our '06 2720 a couple of months ago. Thank you to all the regulars on this forum... I doubt we would have our TrailManor if the posts hadn't answered so many questions (and you really showed us how dedicated TM owners are!) We took two short weekend runs to start our hands-on education. And then on July 6 we headed north to the lakes, rivers, mountains, wilderness, ocean and redwoods in very northern California. After a month and 2,000 miles we've learned a lot and had a fantastic time.
Our Honda Ridgeline felt like the ideal tow vehicle. We maxed out the TM's weight limit because we almost never had hookups, thus hauling fresh, grey and black water in addition to the 3 clunky bikes hanging off the TM's rear hitch (and of course we've pledged to leave behind half the food and clothes for the next trip). Still, we didn't nearly max out the Ridgeline's GVW or it's 5,000 lb max tow weight. There was plenty of power up steep mountains (although we didn't go above 5,500 ft), and the whole setup was just as stable and smooth as could be. Our dealer, Custom RV in Anaheim, set us up with a WDH and brake controller, and helped install the wiring harness we ordered from Honda.
We enjoyed discovering the wisdom behind all the unique design features of the TrailManor. In the wilderness campsites, we were always the most luxuriously equipped. There weren't any other 2 bedroom trailers or Class A's that could make it in! The TM sure is a curiosity for most folks!
We stayed a few days at the Wyntoon/KOA Resort on Trinity Lake, which is a great place for boating. We were really enjoying the full hookups until two of the biggest 5th wheelers ever made pulled up on either side of us. Their slide-out living rooms came so close that we had to completely retract our awning, and suddenly it was as though we were camping in Manhattan with skyscrapers all around. After that, hookups didn't have as much appeal. Our very favorite spot was Aikens Creek, a Nat'l Forest campground on the Klamath River. If you make it there, head for site 14 (most of the others were wiped out by the winter floods). There you can back way in and have your bedroom hanging over the rushing creek. Please add some stones to the dam that campers have been slowly building over the years, and say hello to the host of many years, Dave Stone (he'll greet you in person when you pull in).
We had a 22 gallon blue boy in the bed of the truck. That gave us spare dumping capacity. (Hey, it also makes a good float in the middle of a lake!) We bought a FloJet portable waste pump on sale at Camping World, so we could easily pump our our tanks directly up into the blue boy on the bed of the truck. (And we also use it to dump - through a garden hose - 50 feet from our curb into our sewer drain when we get home. It will pay for itself.) We ran conduit from the power harness behind the fridge, through the frame and into the rear bumper so that we have 12V power to run the pump right there, and we also use that power connection to run an inexpensive 12V winch that attaches to the rear trailer hitch; that way we can pull the trailer up our sloped driveway and tuck it into our garage, steering with a $40 tow dolly we bought on eBay.
On our way south at the end of our journey we called Custom RV with our list of little fix-it items, camped out for the night in front of their shop, and first thing in the morning they took care of us and we were headed home.
Now we have a number of small improvement projects for the TM. They are things we thought of on our own, on the trip, but sure enough we weren't the first to think of them... there are lots of helpful instructions posted on this forum. So thanks again!
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