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Old 03-06-2011, 03:33 PM   #1
northernsailor
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Default Newby questions

Greetings:

We are new to this site and have some newbie-type questions. My husband and I are both turning 60 this year. For the last 5 years we have lived on a 34 foot sailboat in Alaska and British Columbia, but now the party’s over. We have had to move to Connecticut to help take care of my elderly in laws and we’ve had to go back to work.

We have not lost our wanderlust, however, and hope to take a camping vacation this summer to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland with our newest family member, an 80 pound golden retriever. We have never owned a pop up/fold down camper. We are debating the cost benefits of soft side/hard side campers.

We understand the setting up and folding up a soft side camper takes approximately 3 hours out of a travel day. Plus we really want a toilet! Are the TrailManors easier and quicker? Do you think that they tend to hold their value better and longer? Do you think they are generally less hassle for a couple of active 60 year olds? We love the look of the TravelManor along with the amenities they seem to offer!

Our pocket books will also dictate just how much of a camper we can get. We are looking for a used one that might fit the budget (just like most others).

We would really appreciate your thoughts and experiences on these issues. Hope to see down the road.

Jo & David
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Old 03-06-2011, 04:07 PM   #2
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From the perspective of comparing to soft side, I can't address from experience. TM seems less complicated.
From the age perspective, we are pretty close and the TM is not an issue for us to handle. I could do it myself and Joan could do 75% of it alone.
My observation is that the TM's hold their value better than a lot of alternatives, soft and hard.
The ability to keep ours at home in the garage is extemely important to us. We use it more, it stays in better overall shape, and it lowers the cost of ownership.
We have woke up, early, in the dark, with rain and lightning moving in and I promise you, it didn't take us 1.5 hours to be hooked up and ready to go :-)
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Old 03-06-2011, 05:18 PM   #3
ELM-JLM
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Wink Welcome northernsailor

We are new to TrailManor also and in our 60's! Early January we picked up our used 2619 from a private owner. We had a monster trip of 40 mile to tow it home! LOL! It tows like a pop up but opens and closes much much easier! Being novices at it we practiced a few times in our back yard. With a short checklist in Joans hand and a few instructions I can open and close within 15 minutes without hurrying! Thats after about 15 minutes to unhook and level! No back strain or exertion needed! When Joan helps it takes a little longer because she's pushing when I'm pulling! LOL! All kidding aside it is one of the best investments we have made in our retirement years!

Our first long term trip is to be early April and to return home mid May! We can hardly wait to get on the road to adventure with Our Trailmanor! Good Luck in whatever You decide to do but by all means "Do It"
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Old 03-06-2011, 05:47 PM   #4
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I can tell you from experience having owned two Coleman tent trailers before upgrading to a TM that in the time it took just to crank up the tent trailers we're already unpacking things inside our TM! Can I say EASY!! I would never go back! The TM's easy to pull like the tent trailers. It's very well insulated for cold trips. We've closed down during rainy weather with no concern or need to re-open to dry out the canvas tenting. We love having the wardrobe and the ample space for stowing things that we didn’t have in our old trailers. We always had to move something in order to find something. Having hot water and a shower is also wonderful. As for the toilet; the TM's have a Thetford “recirculating” toilet, and it works OK, but it's not without it's pros and cons to which you can find many threads on this forum. I'm considering removing it and simply using the old porta potty we used for years in our popup, and I'll leave it at that. TM’s are very impressive; you’ll turn lots of heads and have the envy of many friends. I have a coworker who calls our trailer the Swiss Army knife of trailers. I think he’s got it right. I would highly recommend you continue your search in the TM "camp" no pun intended.

Good Luck!
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Old 03-06-2011, 06:08 PM   #5
Wavery
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We have a LOT in common.....

I lived on a sailboat for 14 years and sailed it around the world twice.

When we decided to take up camping, we needed something that we could store in the garage and had never heard of a TrailManor.

In 2004, we bought a 2002 Coleman Tacoma, 12' PU camper and owned it for 2 years. Being in our early 60's, the PU soon got old with all the cranking, bending, stooping and so on. We started looking at the TMs and we bought our first one in 2006. We bought a '98 2720, not knowing if this is really what we wanted to do. We just knew that we couldn't keep doing the PU route.

A few months ago, we sold our '98 and bought a 2004 2720SL. We love our TM and find it much easier and roomier than the PU. The hard sides vs the canvas sides is a "no-brainer" for a sailor. The canvas sided PUs are like a sailboat that you can't reef when the weather gets bad. In the TM, wind makes little difference.

I would recommend taking a good hard look at all the models before deciding on what you want. We thought that the 2720 was ideal for us but had never seen the SL or SD models. After seeing them, we decided that the SL was for us and we love it. We just got back from 4 days of beach camping (still have to be by the Sea) and we are ready to go again.

Just like in the boating community, other TM owners are eager to help.
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Old 03-06-2011, 06:18 PM   #6
scrubjaysnest
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We spent 6 months last year in a pop-up tent camper, set up was about 1 hour at the trip start and down to 30 minutes by the end of the trip. The TM is just as quick if not faster. We get the same gas mileage towing the TM as the pup. We are in our mid 60's. Planning a 6 moth trip in the TM starting in April. Don't plan on going to Alaska again this year.
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Old 03-06-2011, 06:38 PM   #7
knoxjere
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We bought our first ever (and hopefully last) trailer last August. We love our 2006 2720. It wasn't cheap because they do retain their value. However, it is our retirement entertainment! We love camping and love to camp at state and federal parks where we get a discount (being over 62 has its advantages). We also love to camp at TVA campsites. The actual set-up and up-set takes us about an hour each, but that does not include putting up/taking everything down inside. However, it is worth it!
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Old 03-07-2011, 06:54 AM   #8
northernsailor
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Always love hearing from sailors! The 2720SL is exactly the model we have been oogling over! Trying to find an older trailer to start with and then maybe work our way up. Like you two, we can't stay too far away from the water which is why we hope to spend a month up in Newfoundland, camping on the cliffs. Thanks for the help and advise!
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Old 03-07-2011, 06:59 AM   #9
northernsailor
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Default Newby questions resolved!

Thanks so much to you all for your stories and advise! Everyone here seems so very nice and boy do we wish you all lived closer! We will now get serious in our hunt for a TM that fits. Being landlubbers again has been tough (especially under the current circumstance) but once we have our own TM, at least we will be "on the move landlubbers"! I will keep everyone posted on our hunt. Thanks again for all the help...you guys are great!

Jo & David
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Old 03-07-2011, 01:46 PM   #10
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Quote:
We are debating the cost benefits of soft side/hard side campers.
I previously owned a Coleman and Starcraft popup. The popups are generally lighter and cheaper. but not always! I liked the huge window areas in the popups.
For keeping warm, noise reduction in campgrounds and most of the comforts of home - the TM wins. My first trip in the TM, as we were baking biscuts in the oven, we wondered "are we camping or did we just change the view outside the house?".

Quote:
takes approximately 3 hours out of a travel day
I do it faster than that by myself.

Check the videos of actually setting up a TrailManor posts of this thread:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=10772
The first video of post#5 shows the complete setup in about 5 minutes by one lady. This video doesn't skip steps like some of the other videos.
(direct link: )

What is NOT shown is backing into a site, leveling, crank down stabilizers, connect water/electric, move food and stuff between truck and camper ...those will need to be done with any type of camper.

.
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