M&M Hokie

I instigated that particular thread and let me state that horsepower hasn't been a driver to my decision to upgrade. Once I did a weighing of my loaded Sienna and TM, I had to change things up quite a bit to get back within Sienna specs. I never had "trouble" getting up hills so horsepower wasn't the issue.

I ended up removing two seats from my Sienna and all of the optional cabinets from the TM. While I kind of like the open feel of things with the wardrobe out of there, the storage impact for trips longer than a weekend is significant. The wife and I even lost 95 pounds over the winter to make it easier on the van this summer but after first trip this year I just said no more Sienna trips.

Of principle concern though is the lack of ground clearance and the way the Sienna responds to that load back there. While I never felt things feel were unsafe, I feel like I am pushing things in that Sienna. Even with the WDH, the Sienna isn't level enough for my liking and I don't like the idea of putting even more tension in the WDH to try and level things up further. I have only made about 7 camping trips with the Sienna and none of the trips were longer than about 100 miles from home. I want to take the TM on multi-state thousand milers and the thought of doing that in the Sienna makes me shudder.

I don't have my new TV yet because I am still shopping dealers, but I expect to take delivery in time for next trip around Memorial Day. I reinstalled the hanging cabinets, wardrobe, and microwave drawer last night for first time in several months and have to say it is like a completely different trailer in there. I can't wait to see how the experience of hitching up to a full-size truck differs as well.

Your mileage may vary.