TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post

10-04-2012, 11:27 PM

I have to report that this past spring I sadly traded in my 24 foot when extended 2720sl Trailmanor in for a 24 foot travel trailer with a slide. After parking the Trailmanor in my garage for free, I was soon faced with rental parking of as much as $180 a month. I moved my new trailer out of town and I now only pay $50 a month to store it, but I have to drive 45 minutes to pick it up. To me the ability to park the Trailmanor in my 21 foot long double garage was the greatest benefit. I also use 50% more gas with the travel trailer, but my wife is now happy she does not have to climb over me into the bed which was probably her biggest beef along with making the bed. The Trailmanor was great and is still a good invention and since I paid ahead for about 3 years on the forum I still find it interesting to hear all the good tips and things.
I first had a 3000 lb 17 foot travel trailer and then got the 4000 lb Trailmanor and now have a 6000 lb trailer and I am on my fourth truck since 2004, having gone from a 3500 lb capacity Explorer, to a 5000 lb Trailblazer, to a 5200 lb capacity half ton Yukon SUV and now to a 3/4 ton pickup truck with a 9400 lb capacity. Normally most Explorers are also 5000 lbs but the one I bought had the Class 2 hitch and was rated at 3500 lbs. Even though there is not much difference in towing capacity with the Explorer (no heavy tow pkg), Trailblazer and Yukon (no heavy tow pkg) as you move up to the bigger and more powerful SUV/truck you can feel the handling, braking and stability improve pulling the Trailmanor. Even the speed you can travel comfortably goes up from 60, to 65 to 70 etc with the Explorer,Trailblazer and then to the Yukon. I don't recommend going over 65 mph but what I mean is that if the speed creeps up, then it is still stable. If I still had a Trailmanor and attached it to my new 3/4 ton GMC crew cab, I probably would not even notice that I was towing anything. I know there has been a lot of talk about getting a tow vehicle that has a 5000 lb towing capacity for the Trailmanor. Since I live on the west coast and always tow in the mountains, I would not recommend anything less. When I bought my new 5000 to 6000 lb trailer in California/Arizona I loaded the trailer lightly to probably about 5200 lbs which was supposedly the capacity of my Yukon. It was not fun driving the trailer back to Canada since it was windy the whole way and we experienced a lot of trailer sway. That is when I upgraded to the 3/4 ton long wheel base pickup truck. Even with the new 3/4 ton, which may seems like overkill, the trailer and my truck weigh 13,000 lb which is still about 80 % of my rated combined combination vehicle weight of 16,000 lbs. It is a very stable combination, with also a high braking capacity with 8000 lbs on the truck axles and 5000 lbs on the trailer axles. If you want to maneuver corners in peace and have your truck pulling the trailer rather than the trailer pushing you around, then you should get a 5000 lb tow vehicle to tow a 4000 lb Trailmanor (80% rule). In the end, it will save you money in purchasing new vehicles later, especially in the mountains. Another vote for the 5000 lb capacity or more tow vehicle. That's my story and thanks for all the help and tips over the years.

10-04-2012, 11:27 PM	#30
BigBear Guest Posts: n/a	80% rule. I have to report that this past spring I sadly traded in my 24 foot when extended 2720sl Trailmanor in for a 24 foot travel trailer with a slide. After parking the Trailmanor in my garage for free, I was soon faced with rental parking of as much as $180 a month. I moved my new trailer out of town and I now only pay $50 a month to store it, but I have to drive 45 minutes to pick it up. To me the ability to park the Trailmanor in my 21 foot long double garage was the greatest benefit. I also use 50% more gas with the travel trailer, but my wife is now happy she does not have to climb over me into the bed which was probably her biggest beef along with making the bed. The Trailmanor was great and is still a good invention and since I paid ahead for about 3 years on the forum I still find it interesting to hear all the good tips and things. I first had a 3000 lb 17 foot travel trailer and then got the 4000 lb Trailmanor and now have a 6000 lb trailer and I am on my fourth truck since 2004, having gone from a 3500 lb capacity Explorer, to a 5000 lb Trailblazer, to a 5200 lb capacity half ton Yukon SUV and now to a 3/4 ton pickup truck with a 9400 lb capacity. Normally most Explorers are also 5000 lbs but the one I bought had the Class 2 hitch and was rated at 3500 lbs. Even though there is not much difference in towing capacity with the Explorer (no heavy tow pkg), Trailblazer and Yukon (no heavy tow pkg) as you move up to the bigger and more powerful SUV/truck you can feel the handling, braking and stability improve pulling the Trailmanor. Even the speed you can travel comfortably goes up from 60, to 65 to 70 etc with the Explorer,Trailblazer and then to the Yukon. I don't recommend going over 65 mph but what I mean is that if the speed creeps up, then it is still stable. If I still had a Trailmanor and attached it to my new 3/4 ton GMC crew cab, I probably would not even notice that I was towing anything. I know there has been a lot of talk about getting a tow vehicle that has a 5000 lb towing capacity for the Trailmanor. Since I live on the west coast and always tow in the mountains, I would not recommend anything less. When I bought my new 5000 to 6000 lb trailer in California/Arizona I loaded the trailer lightly to probably about 5200 lbs which was supposedly the capacity of my Yukon. It was not fun driving the trailer back to Canada since it was windy the whole way and we experienced a lot of trailer sway. That is when I upgraded to the 3/4 ton long wheel base pickup truck. Even with the new 3/4 ton, which may seems like overkill, the trailer and my truck weigh 13,000 lb which is still about 80 % of my rated combined combination vehicle weight of 16,000 lbs. It is a very stable combination, with also a high braking capacity with 8000 lbs on the truck axles and 5000 lbs on the trailer axles. If you want to maneuver corners in peace and have your truck pulling the trailer rather than the trailer pushing you around, then you should get a 5000 lb tow vehicle to tow a 4000 lb Trailmanor (80% rule). In the end, it will save you money in purchasing new vehicles later, especially in the mountains. Another vote for the 5000 lb capacity or more tow vehicle. That's my story and thanks for all the help and tips over the years.