Barry - thanks for the detailed trip report. And welcome to the TM community. I also (like Mr. Adventure) encourage you to join the forum. You will find lots of good information here and lots of help with problems or questions - whether it be TV issues or TM problems.
One thing I'd like to add - you mentioned towing with 40 gal of water. I've done that and it is not recommended! I have a 3124 also and tow with a Durango with 4.7 L V8, and found that the extra weight of the water changed the towing characteristics enough that I didn't want to do it again. The extra tongue weight is just not good. So whenever we camp now, I always plan on filling the tank when I get to my campground. Unless you are truly boondocking, you should be able to find water somewhere near a campground. And it is not as difficult as you might think to just pop up the front, fill the tank, latch it back down and head to your site. Plus, several people on this forum have modified their TM to be able to fill with the shell down. You should be able to search for the threads.
Don't forsake camping in the mountains just because of your towing limits - your rig has plenty of "omph" to get to a lot of front range campgrounds with a minimal amount of climbing. Hope to see you at one soon! (The Mile High Trailblazers have 7 campouts scheduled this summer and at least 4 require no hill climbing at all!)
Alan
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