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Old 09-23-2008, 09:28 AM   #1
fife&brown
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Default Ready to purchase, I think

After months of research and emails back and forth to my closest dealer, 5 hours away, I am now ready to make the plunge. I will be traveling to Salt Lake this weekend, pulling my Coleman pop up in exchange for my new 2009 2720 (and a lot of $$). I still have a few reservations regarding pending purchase, mostly because I have never seen a TM up close, so I am relying on this great forum and brochures.
1- with my dealer 5 hours away, I'm a little nervous about any warranty work or potential issues with the TM. Are there any known issues I should be aware of and make sure I check out before I pull off the lot?
2- Compared to my "pop-up", is the setup and take down of the TM that much faster and easier?
3- I don't know if you can help me with this one, but can you think of any advantage of purchasing the TM this fall compared to next Spring? Do you see the prices of TM change much from Fall to Spring?
thanks and I apologize for the lengthy message.
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Old 09-23-2008, 10:03 AM   #2
Wavery
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fife&brown View Post
After months of research and emails back and forth to my closest dealer, 5 hours away, I am now ready to make the plunge. I will be traveling to Salt Lake this weekend, pulling my Coleman pop up in exchange for my new 2009 2720 (and a lot of $$). I still have a few reservations regarding pending purchase, mostly because I have never seen a TM up close, so I am relying on this great forum and brochures.
1- with my dealer 5 hours away, I'm a little nervous about any warranty work or potential issues with the TM. Are there any known issues I should be aware of and make sure I check out before I pull off the lot?
2- Compared to my "pop-up", is the setup and take down of the TM that much faster and easier?
3- I don't know if you can help me with this one, but can you think of any advantage of purchasing the TM this fall compared to next Spring? Do you see the prices of TM change much from Fall to Spring?
thanks and I apologize for the lengthy message.
I just moved from a Coleman PU to a 2720 TM about 2 months ago.

I think that you will be very impressed with the ease of set-up and amount of space that you will have. I do miss the big windows in the PU but I don't miss the flapping of canvas.

When you go to pick-up your new TM, I would recommend finding a campground near-by and spend a night or 2 in your new TM. You really should use everything in the TM.....

Hook up to city water. Water leaking is probably the most common issue in any new camper.

Run the fridge, furnace, AC, water heater and every item in your new TM.

Use your toilet, shower, sinks and holding tank. Fill the holding tank FULL and check for leaks. Dump the holding tank and make sure that everything works and you know how to use it.

Hook it up and tow it around......listen for noises.

Opening and closing will probably be the least concern. Their system is pretty fool proof. It's the interaction of all of the items that are installed in the camper that need to be used and checked closely.

We find our TM so easy to open & close that we often stop on the roadside, set it up to have lunch, close it and go on our merry way. We sure couldn't do that with the PU.....

If you work the bugs out on your 1st trip, I think you will love your new TM. If you don't, you may get frustrated and your experience could vary but I think that would be true with any new camper.
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Old 09-23-2008, 10:32 AM   #3
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Quote:
1- with my dealer 5 hours away, I'm a little nervous about any warranty work or potential issues with the TM. Are there any known issues I should be aware of and make sure I check out before I pull off the lot?
Check everything while you are at the lot. Making sure everything works and how it operates is always a good first step. Some people video tape this activity so they do not forget anything.

Let them set it up for you first. Next try it yourself a couple of times just to be sure it all stuck. Its not that hard and is pretty quick anyway.

Try lighting all the appliaces, especially the fridge and oven. Those aren't difficult, but if you never have done this it may be a little perplexing. One tip is to light the center burner first since that gets the gas very close to the oven and fridge.
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2- Compared to my "pop-up", is the setup and take down of the TM that much faster and easier?
Probably a lot less cranking. I have a 3326 and the front shell with the AC unit mounted on the roof can be a little heavy to lift. The tip is to lower the front end and then raise the front roof.

Normally, I will set the rear feet on the trailer and leave the fronts retracted until I get the front half up. Then I crank it back to level (on the rear feet) and extend the fron feet. Even on a 3326 that goes pretty fast.
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Old 09-23-2008, 10:51 AM   #4
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I had my TM in for warranty work twice:

1) show me how to pop the top of the stove of for cleaning, kink in air vent tube for the water tank, adjust shells and bed as they were crooked.

2) I had a crack in the frame (well documented here) that required welding to repair. Partly caused by design of the swing away hitch. The design has been improved.
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Old 09-23-2008, 11:29 AM   #5
Leslie & Nick
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F&B -

Good advice by prior posters. Since you are so far from the dealer, it would be great if you could try camping out a night or two nearby. If you have any questions or difficulties maybe someone from the dealership can come by and assist.

While picking up the camper at the dealer, just make sure everything works - refrigerator, furnace, water heater, AC, TV Antenna lift, toilet, etc. If it has an awning make sure dealer shows you how to set it up if you're unsure. Make sure the awning cranking rod is 'present and accounted for'.

To check these things the trailer will have to be set up. Have dealer show you how to set up the trailer, and take it down for travel. Take good notes, and pictures if possible for later reference. Trailer is not particularly hard to set up or take down, but there is a sequence that you'll need to follow or else you wind up doing things twice! Best of luck with the new TM!!
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Old 09-23-2008, 01:38 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by fife&brown View Post
3- I don't know if you can help me with this one, but can you think of any advantage of purchasing the TM this fall compared to next Spring? Do you see the prices of TM change much from Fall to Spring?
thanks and I apologize for the lengthy message.
You never know what's just ahead in this world, but the advantage now is a dealer trying to do end of season business and the advantage in the Spring is that dealers often have RV show prices that may include some factory concessions. If I was not going to use it this Fall, I might wait until Spring unless I was getting a deal that impressed me. From what I've seen, it looks like TrailManor has had a pretty good year for both new and resale units.

One more thought, since you asked, is that RV dealers typically want you to go to the office first to sign papers and then out to the lot to do the walk-through. In other words, you've already bought it before you do the detailed examination. If I could arrange it, I'd like to insist on doing it the other way around, so that first we work up the punch list and then we decide about being ready to accept it while there's still some leverage before money changes hands.

It took me a year working with the dealer to get the kinks out of a Winnebago motorhome a few years ago. The TrailManor has never failed me (we're not counting a dumb thing or two on my part).

Keep us in the loop!
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Old 09-24-2008, 08:18 AM   #7
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There's a lot of good information above. I might add that our dealer, the Car Show in Colorado Springs, spent close to two hours showing us all the ins and outs of operating the TM, set up, take down, where things are, going through the manual, how to start the fridge on propane, and more. Hopefully your dealer will do something similar. And the above suggestion to video tape the demo is an excellent one.

With practice, I've been able to do the basic setup or teardown in under 10 minutes, often close to seven minutes, without hurrying, although that doesn't include raising/lowering the jacks and leveling. Nor does it include any inside housekeeping, such as folding blankets, storing food, pots and pans, etc. If yours is the straight 2720 (no slide out), it'll go slightly quicker.

You don't mention your tow vehicle. Smaller TVs will do better with a Weight Distributing Hitch (WDH) -- my 2003 Explorer Sport Trac certainly benefited a lot -- while larger ones (such as my F-150 with heavy duty towing package) may not need one. And you'll certainly need the 7-pin electrical plug on your TV, along with a class III/IV hitch. Hopefully, if you don't already have the proper setup on your TV, the dealer will be able to get you set up quickly (talk to them about this before you make the trip).

One other thing -- be sure that they have the TM prepped and ready to go before you go pick it up. We made two (1 1/2 hour) trips to COS, one to look things over then buy it, another a week or so later to pick it up. With a five hour trip I'd certainly have done things a bit differently.
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Old 09-24-2008, 09:11 AM   #8
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Very good advice. Do not sign for your TM until the Pre Delivery Inspection is complete and then your walk-through understanding it all. We had no RV experience. Our dealer tried to do the same thing--but understood our concerns. Our walk-through took nearly 4 hours + the time to install our WDH. Our dealer is 2 hours away. With 5 you want to be very sure all is as it should be.
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Old 09-24-2008, 09:38 AM   #9
fife&brown
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Default Wdh?

This advice has been great, but everyone keeps mentioning a WDH. I have a sway bar that I used with my PU, but what is a WDH? I will be pulling the standard 2720 with an Acura MDX (aka Honda Pilot). The 2720 is only about 300 lbs. more than the PU, so I was assuming I wouldn't need any additional equipment. Thoughts?
Thanks
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Old 09-24-2008, 01:15 PM   #10
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If you are sensible about loading your TM, sway control won't be an issue. Just don't carry your barbell set behind the axle. I personally don't know any TM owner using a sway control system - TMs tow great.

WDH is our shorthand for "weight distributing hitch". There are hundreds of posts concerning same. They aren't expensive but add just a little time to hookup. As you'll note in the posts above, WDH is essential with some tow vehicles and totally unnecessary to others. I was at a TM rally in Indiana last weekend and the owner of a Pilot and a 2720 was using a WDH. A friend who tows with both a Honda Odyssey and a Ford Sport Trac uses a WDH with the Honda but not with the Ford. I tow a 2619 with a full size Ford 4WD Supercab and have no need for a WDH. My suggestion, unless your dealer strongly argues to the contrary, is to try towing without a WDH and then add one if you need it. You don't need to return to your TM dealer - any RV dealer or U-Haul franchise should be able to help you out.

Did you mention whether or not your MDX has a brake controller or not? That is something you will need. - camp2canoe
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