Trailmanor length and Campsite availability?

[jquarles]

I am looking at buying a Trailmanor in the very near future, but don't really know how the length of the trailer will affect my selection of campsites. My wife and I have always camped with tents and never worried at all about the length of sites. We now have two small children and are moving up to a trailer. I don't think I will camp in campgrounds with hookups, I still like the idea of primitive sites and not so many big RVs around.

So the million dollar question here is if I were to buy a 3023 or 3124, would this limit in anyway my selection of campsite of the 2619? I am not sure how to get the size of campsites for enough areas to make a decent decision. I figured this forum would have enough experienced campers to help.

I would appreciate any advice

[B_and_D]

Even with our 2720, it's impossible to get into a lot of campsites, mostly because of tight roads, trees, rocks, and those little stumps that many campground roads are lined with. If we could pick up the TM and move it, that would make it easier, but it's too heavy. Some people on the board use a dolly to move theirs around, but I have no experience with them. It's not so much the length of the campsite, but the access to it, that's the limiting factor.

I guess a lot depends on where you like to camp. I miss our cabover camper because it was so easy to find campsites; just anywhere you could park the truck, you could camp.

On the plus side, because of the way the 2720 hangs over both the front and the back of the trailer box, you can fit into more campsites than a regular trailer.

The 2720 is adequate for our family (now 4 adult-sized people, everyone is taller than me). I've often wished we had a bit more room in the front area (as in a 3023) but we wouldn't be able to get it into our driveway easily at home. We didn't want a 2619 because we wanted the queen bed.

It sure beats sleeping in a tent.

I agree with B and D - the issue is generally more about access than site length. I report our length as the closed size, which in my case is 20'. If you get the swing hitch you can knock 2' off of that. But on another note, if you are considering a TM and sites without hookups, there are other options for you to consider. The TM does have very limited storage of fresh water and very small holding tanks for waste water. There are workarounds, but none are too convenient. This may become an issue for you when dry camping, especially with small kids. On the other hand, the TM does have massive advantages in other areas. When getting a trailer, it comes down to compromise. No trailer does it all...

We moved from a tent to the TM after our second child. We still tent it sometimes but the TM has been a godsend. Our kids are now 1.5 and 3.5 years and camping is easier now since they are walking and can run away from the snakes.

We mostly dry camp (boondock) and have enough water for a long weekend even with everyone taking sailor showers. Being able to clean off those kids makes all the difference. I actually prefer the TM to a hotel because we don't have to live out of suitcases and figure out how to feed the kids during inopportune times.

We've never had trouble fitting into a campsite. We do a mix of hookup sites, dry sites, and remote camping on BLM land. I prefer the 2720 and don't feel that a bigger unit like the 3023 would really be significantly more usable space. I'm sure 3023 owners would differ. Seems the four of us end up in the rear queen most nights anyway. If you are going to go for it, you may as well go for the 3124 with the king bed and the huge storage below. Otherwise the 2720 seems to similar to the 3023.

[jquarles]

Thank all of you for your replies. Coming strictly from tent camping I don't exactly know what to expect.

Thanks B&D and Scott O for your advice on the drive in obstacles are more the issue than the actual site length. I had not thought of that. Both of you have the 2720 and have adequate space. I have two little ones.

Lars. Thanks for your reply. I think our situations are very similar.. I have a 1 and 3 year old...1/2 year behind you. I also intend on doing lots of dry camping. I went to your web gallery and it looks like you have gone to many of the same places as well. the 3124 did appeal to me mostly for the storage capacity, but also thought I may be able to gain a lot of space by adding a very large trunk to the rear 2" receiver.

What size of fresh water do all of you have? the 40 gal?

I also saw that a couple of you are from California....I just moved from their to Colorado 2 years ago.

We have the 20gal. Many camp grounds don't have hookups but do have the occasional spigot disbursed. In a pinch we can fill up again. We went on a five day trip over Thanksgiving. Day 4 we ran out of water but put in a splash from an adjacent outlet.

We didn't run out of power either but we are careful and have big batteries.

Coming from tent camping, we initially had more storage, water and battery than we could use. Somehow now we take more junk haha.

I'd wait on the trunk. Avoid it if you can. I notice when there are one hundred pounds of bikes back there. Not dangerous but more sway.

Enjoy whatever your choice.

We have the optional 40 gallons. We almost never have hookups. If it is just the two of us, that will last a three day weekend. If anyone else goes with us it only lasts two days.

The easiest way to stretch the tank a little is I walk down to the local campground faucet for large quantities of water, like for spaghetti, potatoes or a pot of coffee.

[jquarles]

Thanks for the additional posts on the H2O tanks. If possible, I will try to get a 40 gallon. Got to clean those little kiddies clean... or at least try

It's all about water management. If you get the bigger tank you don't always have to fill it full and save on weight. Evaluate your tow vehicle. The bigger tank will take away storage. TM likes to put the tank inside to prevent freezing I guess. Many TTs have them below the floor. That would be good for us CA folks.

Don't get carpet with those kids. The woodgrain flooring is so much easier to keep clean.

[jquarles]

Month and a half later, I will now be able to answer my original question in person. I ended up buying a 3326. I pick it up this weekend from a great couple I found on this forum. Being so excited about our purchase and knowing good local sites book up early, I have already planned about 7 three day weekends this spring/summer. I used recreation.gov because you can choose sites that are long enough. So I was able to get 35' sites. Let's hope those little campground roads aren't too twisty.

Thank you all for contributing knowledge to help my decision