Trying to find one!

Hi Everyone! We have finally decided to take the plunge and are now looking for the best "deal" for a 3124ks. With the two of us, one pre teen, a lab and a "mut", it seems like the best fit.
Question.... are there suggestions for the best way to pre and post trip pack the TM so that "everything" fits and its ready to roll out on a moments notice?

Thanks for the suggestion, and if you see a 3124ks....

One thing TMs don't allow for is access to shore power while closed. My usual routine is to set it up in the driveway at least one day before travel. My TM is 10 years old so I am not sure that the new ones have this problem but the ac plug and water intake are not accessible while the trailer is closed. Nor can you get to the inside to add or remove things as I could with my old tent trailer when it was folded down. So I open it up to hook it up to shore power and get the fridge cold as well as stocked, and to add what ever is going to ride in the TM. When breaking down to go home, anything that I want to take into the house immediately when we get home rides in the car. I keep a flat tupperware type container in the freezer of the TM that I transfer into a playmate cooler so I can transfer the remaining food from the fridge to the car without spoiling. We both work full time so often can't get back into the TM to clean it out til the following weekend so this way I can drop it in the driveway and not worry about whats in there. There are only 2 humans (3 canines) in our pack so we might have less "stuff" at the end of a trip than somone who travels with children. (The dogs tend to travel light.)
It doesn't take long to open and close but it does take effort and when I get home late Sunday after some hard playing for a few days, I just want to get in the house and settle in for the 5am wake up call on Mon. morning. Give me another 13 years (if they don't move retirement age to 75 by then) Hope I last that long!
Cheri

To answer your question, the newer models give you the ability to hook-up shore power while the unit is closed. Go to search (above) look for shore power unit closed, it should give you some links on this subject.

Midwest Dave

[Bill]

Cheri has covered quite a bit. I think you can find more in the TM Reference Library, aka TM Info You Won't Find Anywhere Else. Look for an owner's manual post by Mike_D. LOTS of good stuff there.

As Dave pointed out, access to shore power while closed has been arranged starting in (I think) the 2004 models. If you have an earlier model and this is an issue for you, there was a lot of previous discussion about how to provide it. You can find it with a search of the Electrical forum. As I recall, one of the easiest ways was to get a 6-foot FLAT extension cord, usually sold as an air-conditioner extension cord. The flat cord fits between the body seals very nicely, and the inner end (with an adapter) can be attached to the TM main cord.

Hope this helps

Bill

We drag our 2005 2720 out of the garage the weekend before, touch up some cleaning if necessary, fill the fresh water and water heater, charge the toilet, stock the fridge with cold beverages of my choice, set the fridge to run on 12 volt, turn on the fridge fan, load the Travasaks, chairs, floor mat, folding table and close it down. Park it in the garage and disconnect the batteries by removing the fuse.

On Wednesday I put the fuse back in and plug in to shore power.

On Thursday night we load a portable Coleman electric fridge with lettuce and other such perishable items and plug it in to 120 volts at home.

Friday night the Coleman fridge goes in the truck, we connect up and head out.

At camp, my cold beverages are cold and the batteries are fully charged.

I set everything up while DW rests. Her task is swap the contents of the two fridges. If we don't have hookups I also take an ice chest with ice to use in stead of the Coleman electric fridge in camp. While she is completing her task I attack those cold beverages.

Going home the Coleman fridge is again used to bring home any unused perishables, mayo, mustard, etc.

Always take cookie dough, never take cookies.

Wow - thanks for all the great advice. It sounds like getting a "system" will just take practice, which I am ready for!

But why cookie dough?