TV Purchase

Originally Posted by LoveToCamp

...
I will keep mine much longer, as I am currently driving over 45,000 miles per year, mostly for my job. Fuel economy is a huge factor. Have not spent a penny on repairs in the 3 months, 15,000 miles I have had it. Oil changes are pricey ($150 for "the works"), but only are done every 12,500 miles.
...

Diesels make lots of sense in high mileage vehicles, like the above 45K miles/yr. Typically the engines run forever before needing an overhaul.

We recently purchased a second car and looked seriously at the small VW diesel market. But since the car would only be driven 10-15K km (~8K miles)/yr, it just didn't make sense given the initial price differential, and the fact that some modern gas engines (with turbos) can get close to the same mileage at highway speeds as a diesel. We ended up with a Cruze Eco which is averaging 40 mpgUS and was ~20% cheaper.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by CrazyCampers

Is the electric tongue jack the factory lift you mention? Does that also add height?

No. The electric tongue jack simply replaces the manual jack on the front (tongue) of the TM. It lifts the hitch up and down so you can drop it on the hitch ball on the back of the tow vehilce. It doesn't change the height of the TM in any way.

The "lift" (also called lift kit) is a square tube or block of metal, about 2-1/2 to 3 inches thick. It is bolted between the axle and the TM frame, in order to lift the body farther off the ground. This increases ground clearance, provides added clearance to accomodate larger tires - and increases the overall height of the TM.

Bill

Thanks!

Is the electric tongue jack something that is important to have on a 2720? I'm compiling a list of options to have added to the TM.

[Bill]

Depends on your definiton of "important". For most of those who do have one, it is a convenience - no need to manually crank the tongue up and down when hitching and unhitching. But the standard jack that comes on the TM is very adequate for this purpose.

If you are physically limited in some way that would prevent you from cranking the manual jack, then it is important. Similarly, if you are physically limited in some way that makes it very hard to raise the shells, the jack can help by raising and lowering the front of the trailer, which can make it easier to open the shells.

I have no figures, but I would imagine that perhaps 5% of us have an electric tongue jack.

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill

... But the standard jack that comes on the TM is very adequate for this purpose.
...

Love my electric jack, little noisy maybe.

Perhaps the Trailmanor manual jack is better, but I hated running up the jack on our old tent trailer.

I have a desk job. I need all of the exercise I can get.

However, 1 minute of cranking is not much exercise.

I get a lot more exercise loading/unloading the motorcycle from the bed of the truck.

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

I have a desk job. I need all of the exercise I can get.

However, 1 minute of cranking is not much exercise.

I get a lot more exercise loading/unloading the motorcycle from the bed of the truck.

What you need is a trail bike (manually operated).

Originally Posted by brulaz

What you need is a trail bike (manually operated).

I have a trail bike, sorta.

My dual sport is a street legal dirt bike. I use it to run errands when camping and explore fire roads and trails. Due to a solo ski injury last year I an no longer do much trail riding.

To quote my doctor:

"If I injure my neck again the might not be any reason for someone to call 911"

Besides my dual sport I also have the Honda dirt bike. Much easier for me to control on the single track trails.

I like our electric tongue jack, they are pretty easy to add later though, so I wouldn't worry too much about the decision now. 3 bolts and running a wire to the battery.