First timers in a Trailmini

We are newbies to be sure! We purchased our Trailmini in Tucker, GA and camped an hour away. Then we drove it home to Ohio without any problem with my 2007 Chevy Rendevous. It did need a different kind of hitch ball to get it far enough off the ground. The dealer in Tucker, GA was fantastic and provided us with lots of instructions; even though the "mini" is new, we've figured out almost everything together. We were certainly the hit of our first campground! People with expensive class a's wanted to see inside and were impressed with the room and storage.

The back porch is small but usable; especially nice with the awning out (keeps the rain out of the doorway). We also like all the storage capability of the back porch. We intend to go to some Nascar races each year and will need to take a generator for my husband's CPAP. Still trying to decided which way to go on the generator as he needs a longer run-time than the 4 hours the Honda's advertise. We did find a Champion 3500/4000 that will run all night. Any thoughts? AC would be nice too; but not an absolute must.

This a picture from our first official stop. We've since been to a local KOA to try out the dog with camping. Oz was very happy to share the bed with Dad. I slept on the pull out couch which is quite comfortable, but just a tad shorter. Haven't had to use the furnace yet but everything else has been tried and seems pretty straighforward. On our close-to-home trip, we met another Trailmanor owner passing through on her way to Nashville. She showed us her screen for the door. I've emailed the inventor with the differences on the Trailmini and hope he can manage a modification.

My only question so far, (operationally) is the light that appears to be on the gas detector is on (green) even with the trailer closed. Do I need to pull a fuse during short term storage? We're going out again next weekend and don't want to drain the battery while it sits in the storage lot. I've learned alot already from this site and hope to learn more as we explore our Trailmini. Thanks for all of your advice so far!

Judy

Congrats on your "mini"....we were thinking seriously of one when we came across our used 2619. The mini really has a lot going for it.

Many campgrounds have limited hours that generators are allowed to be used. I have never been in a campground where a generator was allowed to run all night.

Have you considered using a battery bank with an inverter? This would provide silent operation. The generator would then be used during the day to recharge the batteries for the next night.

PopBeaver's suggestion is one you should take seriously. Most campgrounds will not let you run a generator after 10 p.m.

Not sure what a battery bank is but, I'll check it out with my electrician. The "campgrounds" at NASCAR races are open fields and generators are common overnight. Unless you want to shell out the big dough and find one with utilities; we'll be dry-camping.

[Bill]

Re CPAP machines. They haven't been discussed much here recently, but quite early in the life of this board (meaning 2003 or 2004 or so), there were some long and informative discussions of the machines, and in particular how to power them through the night. You might use the Search tool to find them. I'll add a link if I can find them.

Bill

[Edit - here's a couple
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...p?t-1709.html]
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=3580]
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=4547

Originally Posted by rjlwork

Not sure what a battery bank is but, I'll check it out with my electrician. The "campgrounds" at NASCAR races are open fields and generators are common overnight. Unless you want to shell out the big dough and find one with utilities; we'll be dry-camping.

If you only camp at race tracks you can probably run the generator all night, but it depends.

If you go camping in a campground (National Park, State Park, etc.) then you will not be able to do so.

A battery bank is a group of batteries that are combined together. An inverter is an electrical device that converts (typically) 12 volts DC from the battery bank into 120 volts AC for running household appliances (television, microwave, CPAP) without using the generator when you do not have shore power available.

As an example, if you were traveling to a Nascar race that was some distance from home, and you had a break down along the way, you might want to spend the night in a campground that is convenient. But, the do not allow generators after 10 PM (sometimes 8 PM) so what is your backup plan?

If you are always close to home then this is not at all an issue.

[ShrimpBurrito]

I haven't read the threads Bill referenced above, but I know that an easy but expensive route to go is to buy a portable CPAP unit with an auxiliary battery. That will last all night for sure.

I have camped with someone in our TM who used a CPAP -- I hooked it up to a small 150 watt inverter and plugged it into the cigarette socket by the fridge. I think it only draws 60-70 watts, maybe a bit less. At 12v, that's about 5 amps. If you use it 8 hrs/night, that's 40 Ah. A large 12v deep cycle battery (Group 27?) would last throughout the night, even with moderate usage of the TM appliances (except the furnace), but wouldn't have much energy left by morning. You'd definitely need to fully recharge every day.

If you added a second battery, you could easily go without a charge for 2 days, and maybe 3. Again, assuming moderate use of TM appliances, and not the furnace.

Dave

[B_and_D]

I do believe you're the first person who's posted here who has a TrailMini - it looks so cute! Congrats on your purchase!

Those TrailMinis are cool looking. I am especially impressed with your awning. It looks like it is stretching straight out with no vertical supports. Mine seems to come out at about 30 degrees below horizontal and I have to push it up significantly with its legs in order to clear the door swing. Your pic makes me think my awning is misconfigured.