First Night and Lovin' It

I just picked up my 2619 from The Car Show in Colorado Springs.

My experience so far: Compared to a tent, this is wonderful. As for setup time, it took me 30 minutes from pulling into the site to being fully setup, with full hookups. That's by myself - no help - so I'm particularly happy. Setup was quite easy although I note that it would be trivial for TM to add a level indicator to the trailer which would make it a bit easier to level things. Dealer experience was good - they seem to have their act together down in Co. Springs - lots of little things that I doubt all dealers do.

Towing wasn't bad, either. I was worried about the towing with my V6 Silverado but people here reassured me. I had no problem maintaining 65 MPH going up the hills between Co. Springs and Denver (I am comfortable at between 60 and 65 MPH), although certainly I knew there was a trailer behind me. I'm certainly not going to set any speed records, but I feel safe with the trailer behind me, an don't feel like I'm going to blow up my truck.

I've noticed two "annoyances" so far - first the leaf for the dinette is a bit tight and has a small gap between it and the part of the table near the wall. That's just a matter of bending the metal tabs under it a bit, so I'll take care of that when I get home. The other annoyance is the thermostat for the heater is a tad bit crocked. But, that too can be fixed by myself at home.

Right now I'm pretty happy I went this route instead of the HILO route (much more room for the same towing considerations) or the pop-up route (real walls!).

Well, back to camping.

[countrygirl]

Cool...have FUN!

Glad you enjoyed it. The Car Show is indeed a decent dealer, with a good reputation. I really only have one complaint about them, and that is the fact that they are 80 miles away through Denver traffic and the heavily traveled section of I-25 between the Springs and Denver.

Certainly the TM is one of the easiest (perhaps THE easiest) trailer to tow for the space and amenities it provides. My Sport Trac does fine with my 2720SL. And the TM fits in my garage...

Yes, having to drive through Denver is a mess - and they've got I-25 pretty messed up through Colorado Springs right now with construction. On my two trips down to them for this trailer, I probably spent 4 or 5 hours sitting on the highway in either Denver or Colorado Springs. Considering the size of Denver and Colorado Springs, I just don't understand the traffic problems they have.

I'm home now, have been camping in the driveway to find the limitations of the systems (no water - too cold here still for me to feel comfortable putting water in the tanks - although I *love* how easy it is to winterize, which let me have running water at the campground in Denver). Ran all night with the furnace and fridge on propane, no prob, and the battery is almost fully charged halfway through the day from solar only (80W factory option) - and I didn't make a huge effort to conserve lighting power (although I only used one light at a time, and tried to stick with the florescent light over the stove thinking that it probably used the least power). The low was 28F last night, and I stayed quite warm in the TM. So I'm really pleased with the solar panel option - I expected the batteries to drain more than they did with the heat (I set it at about 70F).

I did cheat a little and brought a TV into the camper so I could play with the TV antenna - it works quite well IMHO. No problem tuning in the stations in my area, which are weak translator stations.

I stayed at Dakota Ridge RV Park in Denver, which was a good experience save one thing - I wanted to leave my trailer there for two hours past checkout (instead of taking it at 11:00 AM, I wanted to have it out by 1:00 PM) because I needed to make an appointment in Denver and didn't really want to weave through traffic with the TM behind me. Long story short, there was no way they would allow that except if I was willing to pay another night's rent (I offered to move it anywhere they wanted me to move it, and I would have considered a small fee). I'd understand this if they were going to be full by 1:00 PM, but I don't think that was going to happen. Oh well, I go down to Denver at least monthly, often twice a month, and will find another place to stay. Maybe this is typical for RV parks, but I was still not very impressed.

The thing fits wonderfully in the driveway - I don't even need to use the swing hitch (I thought I was going to have to), which is probably good since I have to disconnect the regulator to swing the hitch out (that's a bad design).

[Bill]

I don't even need to use the swing hitch (I thought I was going to have to), which is probably good since I have to disconnect the regulator to swing the hitch out (that's a bad design).

Wait a minute. You have to disconnect the PROPANE regulator to swing the tongue?? That's not a bad design - something has been assembled wrong. My 2720SL is different enough (because the slide-out requires horizontal tanks) that a photo of mine won't do you any good. But I'll suggest that someone with a swing-tongue 2619 could post a photo for you. Leon? Anyone?

Bill

Ah, that explains it - my propane bottles are mounted on the swing tongue, not back behind it. Right behind the swing tongue is the battery box. I'd have to move everything back a bit to make it fit - something I could certainly do, but there is no need to do it right now.

On my 2005 TM 2720 with swing tongue, my propane bottles are mounted exactly like yours, except that the hoses are on the back instead of the front.

Well, I looked at how the propane bottles are mounted again, and discovered that they are mounted on a shelf that is attached by two (!) screws to the tongue. Even worse, one of the screws is broken off, so I've got one rather tiny screw holding things on the tongue. That's no good whatsoever, so I suspect I've got a bit more work than I expected this week - I've got to move those bottles back a bit, and attach them with something that's going to survive.