Advice for a 6-12 mos. stay in a TM

All,

I could use some advice on an upcoming long-term stay in a TM. As a member of the Navy Reserve, I was recently recalled to active duty and will be assigned to NAB Virginia Beach, VA for 6-12 months. My family will remain back home in Boise where they work & attend school. Thus, my decision to drive the 2720SL out here to live at the RV park on base for the duration.

Has anyone out there ever lived for more than a short while in their TM? Any suggestions? I have used the search feature on this site and have seen a wide variety of suggestions for real cold-weather camping like wrapping the lower trailer in visqueen and duct tape. I'm not sure that would be necessary (or even allowed) here in the Tidewater area. Also, I've seen good suggestions on use of ceramic heaters/fans and such but are there any lurking maintenance "gotcha's" that would be unique to a long-term stay? I'll have full hook-ups with a laundry and bath house nearby--not to mention the base gym. Should I consider a propane delivery service like I've seen at some of the snow-bird camps in the SW? Any good products or goodies I should consider for this trip that would be impractical for more typical weekend camping like the "Florida Room" awning enclosure? Anyway, you get the idea.

Thanks -- Steve

Hi Steve,
First, allow me to thank you for your service to our country. God bless you!

After we retired, we did some volunteer work while we traveled and many times were living in our 2619 for 6 weeks or longer. After two years we decided the TM wasn't enough trailer for that purpose so we upgraded to the unit we currently have, listed below. Here was our reason for changing:
1. The shower was not convenient for us to take daily showers after work. Since you will have a bath house nearby, this may not be an issue for you.
2. We preferred sleeping on the front bed because it gave us more room than the rear bed did. However, after crawling over DW for 2 years to go potty in the middle of the night, we decided an island queen worked better for us.
3. The 2619 didn't have very comfortable seating for "lounging." When inclimate weather forced us to stay inside, we were uncomfortable.

Using an electric heater will keep you from using the noisy propane heater most of the time. You will only be using propane for cooking purposes and heating water. You should be able to get 3 weeks or more out of your 2 tanks. That should make it easy to refill, so larger tanks shouldn't be needed.

Gotta run,

[fcatwo]

We've spent up to three months in our 2619 and I don't see 6 months as any different than a week in a situation like you described. You spend a week and then just do it over again. We have the ceramic heater for quiet sleeping plus many of the other things you'll read about here. Propane is generally a non-issue for us in that we watch for the red ring and fill the empty bottle when needed. Some long-stay people rent a large auxillery propane bottle from a dealer and set it beside the regular bottles to lessen the hassle. TM's generally don't use a lot of propane because of the small area you are heating however. I assume you'll have wheels.

We appreciate the sacrifices you and your family are making.

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...t=cold+weather

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...t=cold+weather

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...t=cold+weather

The above links provide some previous discussions on this topic. One thing I didn't see listed in my posts was that made a BIG difference was putting lengths of pipe wrap in the channels along the sides of the beds (from outside, simply push them up into the gap along the 2 sides of the bed(s). On the front bed they would go undert the fold down flaps that you push down. One it cuts down on drafts but the biggest benefit I found was the reduction of condensation that will occur on those flaps. It soaks right into the bed linens! Not a real comfortable feeling. We do use an electric blanket also.

As noted in the above links, we have been out in 18F weather. Using 2 electric cube heaters, one in the back bed and one up front, the propane heater only cycled once. Other than that the temp stayed 65F or better (which was comfortable with the electric blanket.

The Amphib base has it's own propane filling facility on base about 3/4 mile from the campground. We store our TM on base in one of the RV/Boat storage lots.

We do have a "winter" water hose that we wrapped pipe wrap around but the other suggestions above will work as well.

Insulated covers for your sky lights (held up in place with velcro) will also help keep you from losing heat from your TM.

Finally, let me also thank you for your service. I retired from the reserves last October. We brought our TM in September and have replaced my monthly drill with a monthly camping trip (as a minimum, there are some months we were out for every weekend somewhere!)

Bill

All,

Thanks very much for the info. I am amazed at how much information is contained here and how willing folks are to share and help others. I'm sure in my 2500 mile sprint across country and a few months in the 2720SL I will learn a few things and maybe come up with a suggestion or two that I can share to pay you all for your help.

Steve