Good points regarding braking. I have scheduled an apointment with the Toyota dealer for tomorrow to install a brake box, check for/install trans cooler and engine oil cooler...hopefully won't cost too too much. One added bonus is that because I am purchasing this in Montana there is no State Sales Tax, so an unexpected savings on top of what I think will be a great deal. We are expecting the grandaughter now any day. As soon as she is born (ok maybe a day or so later) I will drive up and pick it up. I will likely take my two boys along and we will take it out on the inaugural trip. I will update here in the forum in terms of how things work out. Everything is contingent now on the trailer being in excellent condition as the seller states it is. I went and looked at the 2027 model at a nearby dealer in SLC. The salesman told me that they were going to discontinue selling the Trailmanor. His reasoning being that they "are too expensive comparitively speaking and too many moving parts." He freely admitted that he wasn't the biggest fan, however, another salesman (who wasn't there that day) absolutely loved them. I informed him that I was planning to purchase one pre-owned and told him the price we were paying, interestingly he significantly altered his assessment. His feeling was that Trailmanor was an excellent choice/product ( i.e. the weight, design, etc) IF you could find one pre-owned at a decreased price. He also went on to say that TM's meeting this description were extremely difficult to find. I looked at the 5th wheel trailers on the showroom in a similar price range and have to agree that a Trailmanor would be a difficult sell for the salesman to the average person walking off the street not really knowing what they were looking for. I could see many people taken by the width, appearance of the bedroom, etc, and be taken by the 5th wheel. However, based on our needs, this was the better aproach considering (1) The 3124 should provide plenty of room for what our needs are. (2) We can tow it with our 4Runner. 3) We already have a lot of light weight car camping equipment i.e. xtra long rei roll-up table, Black Diamond LED lanterns, Backpacking stoves/ fuel cannisters, Propane Heater, tarps, down sleeping bags, etc (4) Less depreciation, better resale.
We have always tried to be frugal, so it's somewhat different for us to be do something along this scale. Hopefully with our research and the wonderful feedback from others that we have recieved along the way, and a little luck, we will have found a wonderful value to resources spent.
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