What's the Right TM for My Family?

[B_and_D]

I think a 2720 would fit your family and the kids fairly well. With our kids being bigger now (adult size) we are having a harder time fitting into ours as well as we did when they were smaller (boy does that happen fast). It's mostly that they like to hog up the dinette seats, but sometimes I can get one of them to hang out in the upper bed. We usually like to watch a DVD before we go to bed, and it's a little tight. Son sleeps in the upper bed, daughter and I watch from the dinette bed, and DH has a small folding chair that we put in front of the door. It works for us. If they were smaller there would be way more room.

I do have to tell you that even with our Chevy 1500 truck (5.3 V8), we can definitely feel the TM behind us when we do hill climbing, such as into Yosemite, up the grade in I-5 by Ashland, OR, or in the Sierras. On flat ground we hardly notice it, but those long hills can really slow you down.

We chose the 2720 mostly because of our driveway, there is a tight turn to get into it and we didn't think the 3023 would make it. However, having the shorter 2720 makes it easier to get into more campsites. The bigger sites reserve up faster and there are less of them. I don't know if you do much camping now, but if you do you probably know how hard it can be to get into most of the popular CA state parks; we usually make our summer reservations (if we can get them at all) on the first day they become available 7 months in advance, using both the internet and the phone. If you are going to camp mostly in RV parks, then it probably wouldn't matter.

We went and visited two 2720's (owned by some nice members of this forum) before we decided to buy our TM. If you're by a dealer, you could go by and check one out, if not, perhaps one of the TM board members near you would let you "tour" theirs.

Happy camping - and good luck in your search.

D

[Bill]

I'm tending to think like grill-n-go. You probably shouldn't get anything larger than a 2720. Especially if you plan to get into any of the mountains, even the modest ones, in California.

The Enclave is an interesting vehicle. It is big - bigger than a Tahoe - which is usually a good thing in the trailer-pulling world. But it has only half the tow rating of a Tahoe. I'm not sure why. Details about the Enclave seem to be sketchy, but it has a tow rating of only 4200-4500 pounds WITH the factory tow package. It is a unibody vehicle, so you'll want to be sure that the factory tow package includes a hitch receiver that will accept a weight-distributing hitch.

A road-ready 2720 will weigh something like 3500 pounds, maybe a touch more. At first blush, then, you have 800 or 1000 pounds of margin, which sounds good. But remember that all the weight you put into the Enclave (other than the driver) must be directly subtracted from the advertised towing capacity. This includes the weight of all factory options beyond the lowest basic model, plus the weight of a full tank of gas, all the passengers, and all the cargo you load into it. You will have a real hard time keeping all this under 800 pounds. And as a "luxury vehicle", the Enclave will probably be easy to load up with factory options (think WEIGHT).

Finally, it pays to remember that all vehicle manufacturers exaggerate the real-world towing capacity of their vehicles. If you get anywhere near the advertised rating, you won't be happy.

On the TM side, considering the age of your youngsters, a 2720 or 2720SD (but not a 2720SL) is probably a good choice of floor plan. But I would be leery of going bigger than a 2720.

Bill

We have an older 3225 TM. We have Mom/Pop, son 12 and daughter 3. I wouldn't get anything smaller if your kids are anything like ours! There is always "stuff" all over the place from playthings to clothing. Ours has pretty good storage and sleeping isn't a problem.

Great advice. Thanks.

We got the 2720 because it is the biggest that would fit in the garage. Sure love the queen bed and extra storage when compared to the 2619.

We got the double bunk model, but the front bed is rarely used. If brother in law goes with us then he will sleep on the front bunk. Son (24) will sleep there. Daughter (26) prefers to sleep in her backpacking tent, allegedly I snore.

If you want to have everyone sleeping inside, at least some of the time, then the 2720 can handle a total of 6. You could put another on the floor if a big storm soaked a tent.

If the kids want to sleep in tents then you don't need at much bed space.

If it was just wife and I then she would have preferred a model with the siding living room in the front.

Try to figure out current and future needs. It sounds like you will have two kids all of the time and sometimes they will bing friends. Where will they sleep?