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Old 11-01-2003, 06:30 PM   #1
Firefly
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Default The dream became a reality!

Hello all...

We can officially say we belong to the "TrailManor" family tonight because we just brought "our baby" home! It was a long trip from northern Illinois to southwestern Ohio...but it was definitely worthwhile! Atleast we know how she tows and it was just like you all said...like a dream!

We first found this board a few weeks ago and it has been invaluable in learning about and finding the perfect TrailManor for our family! We didn't didn't know what a TrailManor was until a couple of months ago and we only saw our first one (in person) a week ago. Can you tell it was love at first sight? ha

We found a 2001 - 3124KB at a dealer in northern Illinois via the internet. They had taken it in on trade and had never seen one before (in over 20 years in the RV business). It was quite the novelty in their showroom! It was in pristine condition and we brought it on home. They winterized it for us so we'll ge to play with it tomorrow and then it will go into storage for the next 6 months. (hurry up spring!) 8)

Now the search begins for a good tow vehicle. My Caravan won't cut it. We borrowed my Grandfather's Ford F-150 (v-6) pickup for the trip and it pulled the TM easy breezy!

I'm sure we'll have a lot of questions to ask you seasoned professionals but here's the first one:

For those of you who bought used TrailManors from dealers, did they offer you an extended warranty? Is this a good idea? The cost of the one they offered us was $980 for 3 years. ???

So...thanks again to all of you for all the great posts! We learned a lot and hope to learn much more in the future!

The Jankowski's
Tami, Garry & son Griffin (8 yrs), Raven (11 yr old black lab)
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Old 11-01-2003, 06:58 PM   #2
BOB_STRONG
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Default Re:The dream became a reality!

Tami & Gary,
Glad to see you found your Trailmanor at last. Finding a good used one is not very easy. I don't know much about the the added warranty except for what I have seen in the Trailer Life Magazine. There are a lot of or's or buts in the contracts. Lots of times, the company that sold the warranty is not around, and most of the time you have to find a participating authorized dealer who will fix anything under warranty. If there isn't an authorized dealer in your area, then this could possible be a big problem. I know you have 2 Trailmanor dealers in Ohio, and one right over the border in Kentucky. If they participate, who knows?????

So I would be very careful. It's just like some friends who bought the extended warranty and they found out real quick how bad it was once they read the fine print

I bought an extended warranty on my Durango, but that was thru Chrysler and was good at any Dodge or Chrysler dealer throughout the USA.

So the word is CAUTION.

Good luck with your new purchase, and happy camping in the Spring

Bob Strong
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Old 11-01-2003, 07:07 PM   #3
Firefly
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Default Re:The dream became a reality!

Thank you, Bob! I think that is good advice.

We were told that it was very expensive to replace appliances and so forth (for one thing)...so we were just curious if anyone had experience much appliance failure. Or anything else major?

We're closer to the dealer in Erlanger so I'll call them and ask a few questions about repair work.

Tami & Garry
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Old 11-01-2003, 07:33 PM   #4
spoutman
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Default Re:The dream became a reality!

Tami & Gary,

Welcome to the TrailManor family. There are very few of us here in southwest Ohio. I have an 89 model 28 (like a 3023 but 2 feet longer and it has duel axles.) I tow it with a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad cab with an 318 v8, automatic, 3.55:1 rear end ratio. It tows my TrailManor like a dream. I don't even use a weight distributing hitch. One suggestion: The next time you are driving south on I-75 thru Tennessee, stop at Lake City and take a tour of the Trailmanor factory. I have toured the plant twice.

Welcome again,

Spoutman
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Old 11-01-2003, 07:37 PM   #5
Chris_Bauer
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Default Re:The dream became a reality!

Congratulations!! Enjoy your new hobby, and remember: " It really is the greatest thing on wheels" .
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Old 11-01-2003, 07:41 PM   #6
Firefly
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Default Re:The dream became a reality!

Dear Spoutman,

Thanks for the welcome! Glad to know there's some TM owners in our neck of the woods. I never see any!

As for the factory tour...Garry and I were just talking about how we need to do that since we have family who live fairly close to Knoxville. It could be a dual purpose trip!

I'm excited about finding a new tow vehicle. I'm not ruling out anything but we're leaning towards some kind of truck. The V-6 seemed to do a great job. Do you think a V-8 is necessary....say for maybe going through mountains or something? Just wondering. ???

Tami & Garry
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Old 11-01-2003, 08:07 PM   #7
BOB_STRONG
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Default Re:The dream became a reality!

Tami & Gary,

I was wondering if your Trailmanor that you bought was from Sky Harbor Rv in Russell, Ill?? I saw on RVtraderonline a 2001 3124 King and it was in excellent condition from what I could see. The price was good, too. It had 2 hanging cabinets.

Love to know if that's the one!!!! If it is, I think you got a good deal.

Bob Strong
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Old 11-01-2003, 10:11 PM   #8
Firefly
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Default Re:The dream became a reality!

;D Yes...Bob! That's the one!

It sure seemed like a very good price to us and we have heard how long it can take to find a good used one.

The folks at Sky Harbor RV & Marine in Russell, IL were excellent!! We would highly recommend them to anyone!

I'm glad you feel we made a good buy. I checked the nada pricing before calling them and thought...WOW...we should act quickly. So we did!

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Old 11-02-2003, 06:46 AM   #9
grayghost
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Default Re:The dream became a reality!

hi tammy and gary - we first went to erlanger to check out the tm - then a trip to lake city, tn for the tour. we live in western ky near paducah and at the time were told there was a dealer opening up about 45 min south of us, but guess that fell through, so we bought ours from cross county in mattoon, il.

are you near cincinnati?

eileen and tom
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Old 11-02-2003, 06:54 AM   #10
Bill
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Default Re:The dream became a reality!

[quote author=The Jankowski's link=board=1;threadid=1499;start=msg10570#msg10570 date=1067740893]I'm excited about finding a new tow vehicle. I'm not ruling out anything but we're leaning towards some kind of truck. The V-6 seemed to do a great job. Do you think a V-8 is necessary....say for maybe going through mountains or something? Just wondering. [/quote]
You've towed around the midwest - pretty flat country, and easy for a V-6 to handle. But now that you have your TM, you won't stay in flat country - the TM brings out the exploring instinct! My opinion, and my experience, is that if you get into any kind of mountains at all, you won't be happy with a V-6. And your V-6 won't be happy, either - it will be working REALLY REALLY hard as you slog up the grade in second gear at 35 mph, being passed by every car and 18-wheeler out there. Overstressing your engine and transmission is just plain false economy.

Unless you are sure you will stay in the flatlands, I suggest getting a V-8, though I know some others will disagree. But even more important than that, be sure to get a factory-installed towing package. The extra coolers, and the higher rear-end ratio will do a lot to extend the life of your vehicle and make towing more pleasant. The Class 3 hitch receiver that is part of the towing package would be quite expensive as an aftermarket add-on. And the pre-wired and moisture-sealed 7-pin electrical connector is SO nice.

And have fun in the mountains!

Bill
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