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Old 03-05-2006, 06:40 AM   #4
BobRederick
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{Also since I live in the wonderful west and we have many dirt roadsthat I'll be traveling on to get to the out-of-the-way places that we want to buy the trailer for.... is the road dirt/dust an issue with trailmanors? Never occurred to me that this would be an issue with a hardsided pop-up but I guess it seems plausable since there must be openings to allow the trailer to be setup and down.}

I'll comment on this part of your question. Although I am very happy with my TM, I believe it is not very robust in this area. My Coleman was much more at home in of-road and rough road situations. When I drive the TM on gravel, I go very slow to avoid getting the shells bouncing. There are a lot of examples on the forum of corner latches pulling out and much worse, the middle latches pulling the square tubing out of the shell. And you are right about dust. A layer will be found all over counters of the front half if you go very far in dusty conditions. It has been hypothesized that the shells bouncing actually suck dust in along with displaced air.

That being said, my son has a Weekend Warrior Toy Hauler and we drive about the same speed when off the pavement. Its just not a good idea to bounce these big boxes around. You will find screws on the floor as well as appliances and other things moving around. You will find all campers have limitations and they are not built like autos or off road vehicles.

So you search around and select a unit that provides the ammentities you consider required and that you can afford. Personally, I find the fuel ecomomy, small TV, no-sway safe towing, and easy storage to be very attractive and I am putting up with the detrimental factors that come with this set of features. I have seen full size trailers and trucks inverted along the freeway with big swerve marks leading to the pile-up and I don't find the consequences of such a mishap very appealing at all. Even if you survive such a mishap unharmed, it will negatively affect your desire to pull a trailer again for a lifetime.

All that being said, I find the TM to be an excellent compromise.
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