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Old 04-23-2009, 10:31 AM   #2
ng2951
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Well first what is the mission you want your RV to fill? It may be that there are other trailers that fit your mission better.

As far as durability goes, go look at used TMs. For the most part I found that TMs held up rather well. I was very concerned with seals and leaks. The older units I looked at did not seem to have any problems. There were certainly lots of wear marks and color fades (UV does that) but everything operated perfectly.

In the folding trailer arena, TMs interior space are among the best. Until you get to the larger Hi-Los TM interior space and usage is a lot better. Even the largest TM is significantly lighter than modest size Hi-Lo.

The TM is built to be really light. TM uses composite construction. Real pluses there if you ask me. There is not lots of wood since wood is heavy. Exterior-wise I do not see lots of issues. Its no better or worse than most RV builders.

Interior-wise, TM still uses composite construction. This works fine and saves considerable weight, but it will not take the abuse wood would. You cannot put a hot pot on the table top and not risk problems. This type of construction has the same issues any laminated surfaces would, but not hugely so. If I could avoid clipping corners when I store our gun cart in the main aisle I wouldn't have chipped some molding. Also I have to convince Lady, one of our dogs, to stay off the couch ledge we be in tall cotton.

I really regard the Hi-Lo and TM as the near equivalent competitors. Frankly, the only Hi-Lo I really like is the largest Hi-Lo. Forgive me if I wrong, but that Hi-Lo weighs a lot more than the largest TM(3326). I don't see how you can drag that Hi-Lo with a V6, but you can drag 3326 with one.

All folding trailers do have an inherent problem: you have to stow everything before you close them. That gets to be a bit of a drag especially one one-day stays. But if you work from a checklist and stay organized this is less of a problem.

The TMs bathroom is really among the best. Despite people's fussing the recirculating toilet is a great concept. Once you learn how to charge it properly, it works just fine. Its big advantage is that it does not consume water and stores all its waste. If you are dry camping, you do not have to watch drinking water get consumed on every flush or watch the level in the black water tank. This again saves on weight. The downside is learning how to use the chemicals properly and tank charging.

The TM also has one of the better hotwater systems IMHO. It is both electric and gas. What is slick about that is that you can run them together. That greatly reduces recovery time. However, I think most users if they have electricity available run on it rather than gas. I usually preheat the HW before I leave on a trip. That tank is so insulated it will retain for a very long time.

Until you get to the larger Hi-Los, the TM's bathroom configuration is better. You don't have the "wet floor" bath like some trailers do.

One thing I did find out is that the smaller TMs set up better than the big ones. On the large ones the ends tend to sag some. Its a non-issue if you know that, but I didn't. I would have problems getting the rear door jam to align properly. When I started to realize what was happening and read some cryptic comments in forums, I realized that the rear of the trailer was sagging. I was going to install some levels on the rear shell, but I have a small bullet level that I use instead. Works fine, no problem.

I don't think this happens on the smaller trailers.

So if you want a hardside folding trailer, that is light, can be towed by a V6 or less a TM can be the right way to go.
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