TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post

05-16-2008, 09:57 PM

Take heed in what Nancy says. Popups have the big advantage of price. They are cheaper than Hi-Los and TMs.

Go out to the showrooms and look at popups. If you don't mind the limitations of those types of popups, go for it.

As far as hardsides go, there are only two choices Hi-Lo and TM.

There are lots of things I liked about Hi-Los. In many ways Hi-Los are a little more conventional than a TM. This is especially true when you get to their slide-out (maybe flip-out) models. This definitely gives you a larger living room than you will get in a TM.

Sue and I came pretty close to getting a Hi-Lo. What had been slowing us down was the weight issue. At the time our TV was rated for 3,500 lbs. That restricted us a lot to the smaller Hi-Los which we did not particularly like. When you got up to the 22 size they started getting to be fairly nice.

Even the 22T was beyond our 4 cyl Tacoma. Empty weight with a/c would easily put you beyond 3,500 lbs.

Just about when I had thought we had a TV that could handle a Hi-Lo, I found the TM. What I liked about the TM was the lack of power required to open and close the TM. I never found a Hi-Lo at showroom that had enough battery power to run a Hi-Lo up and down. That fact had a lot more to do with the sales staff than the Hi-Los, but it did influence our decision. We always wondered how reliant the system was on electric power.

The TM had several advantages over the Hi-Lo. It was a lot lighter, no power to set up, a better bathroom, gas/electric hot water tank, beds that required less set up.

Originally, I was concerned about the way the shells opened. I was somewhat worried about whether the shells were raintight or not. After looking at several used trailers, I never found one that had any problem with rain along the seals. There were certainly ones that had had leaks in some of the usual places, but nothing major even on older units.

TMs had all the advantages of Hi-Los but were far lighter, simpler erection scheme, but were much more expensive. Even TMs 3326 has a lighter gross weight than a Hi-Lo 22.

That doesn't make the TM or the Hi-Lo better, just different.

05-16-2008, 09:57 PM	#17
ng2951 Guest Posts: n/a	Take heed in what Nancy says. Popups have the big advantage of price. They are cheaper than Hi-Los and TMs. Go out to the showrooms and look at popups. If you don't mind the limitations of those types of popups, go for it. As far as hardsides go, there are only two choices Hi-Lo and TM. There are lots of things I liked about Hi-Los. In many ways Hi-Los are a little more conventional than a TM. This is especially true when you get to their slide-out (maybe flip-out) models. This definitely gives you a larger living room than you will get in a TM. Sue and I came pretty close to getting a Hi-Lo. What had been slowing us down was the weight issue. At the time our TV was rated for 3,500 lbs. That restricted us a lot to the smaller Hi-Los which we did not particularly like. When you got up to the 22 size they started getting to be fairly nice. Even the 22T was beyond our 4 cyl Tacoma. Empty weight with a/c would easily put you beyond 3,500 lbs. Just about when I had thought we had a TV that could handle a Hi-Lo, I found the TM. What I liked about the TM was the lack of power required to open and close the TM. I never found a Hi-Lo at showroom that had enough battery power to run a Hi-Lo up and down. That fact had a lot more to do with the sales staff than the Hi-Los, but it did influence our decision. We always wondered how reliant the system was on electric power. The TM had several advantages over the Hi-Lo. It was a lot lighter, no power to set up, a better bathroom, gas/electric hot water tank, beds that required less set up. Originally, I was concerned about the way the shells opened. I was somewhat worried about whether the shells were raintight or not. After looking at several used trailers, I never found one that had any problem with rain along the seals. There were certainly ones that had had leaks in some of the usual places, but nothing major even on older units. TMs had all the advantages of Hi-Los but were far lighter, simpler erection scheme, but were much more expensive. Even TMs 3326 has a lighter gross weight than a Hi-Lo 22. That doesn't make the TM or the Hi-Lo better, just different.