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Old 10-20-2005, 07:01 AM   #1
jjneff
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Default Help me off the fence

Back and forth we go to buy or not to buy, It is just my wife and I and we are looking at a good used TM the exact model we like. There have been health problems in the family and other concerns over gas cost and the taxes are 400 a year for the trailer. My wife is a logical type who counts every penny and if it wasn't for me well we might never have the fun. Money is not a huge concern as we will have the trailer paid off in 1 year. My wife likes the TM but dose not want it to sit in our yard not being used enough in her mind to pay the 50 per month to sit there. We would use it for sure 2 weeks out of the year and then I'm sure a few good long weekends. We are in our 30's don't have any children and two good incomes. No debt except the house so what is holding us back? I really don't know, I want her to love the idea and she says just get it if you want and we will try it. She hates debt. I think life is short and the things we enjoy are nature, photography, hiking, swimming, biking, and just being together. The TM seems to fit our likes. Well it feels good to get this off my chest and any words of advice are welcome. I have to decide by tommorrow.

Thanks and God Bless
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Old 10-20-2005, 07:14 AM   #2
amp17408
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Default The fence post

You better hurry!
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Old 10-20-2005, 10:01 AM   #3
TandemKids
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Default On the fence

I agree with Leon, and I might add that you never see an armored car following a hearse to the graveyard.

What value can be placed on that first cup of coffee a TM owner sips while standing outside the trailer on a crisp fall morning? Either no value, or priceless depending on your point of view.

I'll take priceless.

Michael
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Old 10-20-2005, 10:56 AM   #4
Cateye
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Default wrong criteria

My wife and I experienced the same anxiety, as there really is no way to justify the cost of our TM based on the amount of usage it recieves. However, at our age (55+), our older pastimes of backpacking and tentcamping just do not deliver the satisfaction they used to without the comforts of our TM. When we thought about this delema, we realized that we were focusing on the wrong criteria, which you "hit upon" in your post. The satisfaction we always experienced, and wish to continue to enjoy, is to "just be (being) together" as you stated. I can think of no better way, given our age and comfort requirements, than to take the TM out for a stay away from home.
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Old 10-20-2005, 11:56 AM   #5
hhoenig
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Default off the fence

The industry in which I work closes down for the first 2 weeks in July, thus that is my vacation. Being a business owner, I can't just pick up and leave to go camping. We go out on some week-ends, but not enough to suit me. Our last trip out, sitting around the campsite, my 12 yr. old daughter said to me,"Daddy I'm glad we have the Trailmanor, if we were'nt camping, I'd be watching t.v., Ben would be on the computer, and Mommy would be doing laundry. This is more fun.and we are all together" Whatever I paid for the TM, it was more than worth it,, after hearing that comment.
I still get a kick out of fooling around with the TM, even if we are'nt using it.
Go for it ,and enjoy it
Henry
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Old 10-21-2005, 05:47 AM   #6
Queeniereads
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If you are going to buy any "camper", the TM will save you money over any conventional TT. We had a lightweight TT and got 8 miles to the gallon. Pulling the TM gets 14 miles to the gallon using our same tow vehicle -- a Mercury Mountaineer. We also can put this one up our driveway and we save $50 per month on storage. Good luck! Queeniereads aka Judi
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Old 10-21-2005, 12:10 PM   #7
Bill
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Default

My wife and I also enjoy "nature, hiking, swimming, biking, and just being together". We do a lot of it in our TM, and we do it in places that we couldn't (or wouldn't) afford if we had to stay in hotels. Have you priced a hotel room for (say) a week, and two restaurant meals a day in Sante Fe, for example? But those are purely financial thoughts. We don't use our TM much near home, because if we are near home, it is cheaper and more convenient to simply stay home.

More important to us is the fact that the TM is the tool that enables us to go to places that we simply wouldn't go otherwise. When we are at home in Maine, we go to Mt Katahdin, and we go to Acadia and Monhegan. But much as we enjoy them, there is more to the world than Katahdin, Acadia, and Monhegan. In the last year, we have been to Yellowstone, Yosemite, King's Canyon/Sequoia, Grand Canyon North Rim, the Canadian Rockies, Banff/Jasper/Lake Louise, Canmore (Alberta), Rocky Mtn National Park, the Oregon coast, Whidbey Island, and more. These are places we would not have gone AT ALL if we didn't have the TM. How do you put a value on going places that you would not have gone? I don't know, but I know our TM is worth it.

Finally, returning to the purely financial, remember that the money "spent" on the TM is not money "gone". If you decide that you don't like it, or aren't using it enough, you can always sell it and get most of your money back. TMs hold their value remarkably well, so the cost isn't as much as it first appears.

Bill
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Old 10-21-2005, 12:57 PM   #8
wwjam
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Default no longer riding the fence

We don't even have our TM yet, and I am so excited about it. We will have it next week. I tried for a long time to get my husband to buy an RV of some sort. He refused because he didn't want to haul or drive a big rig. He discovered the TM's on the web and was sold. I wasn't sold at first because I had my mind set on something different, and wasn't expectin to pay as much as we did. But I've read many reviews about the TM, especially on the forum, and reviews play a big part in our decision making. We both had some anxiety, believe me, but we believe we made the best decision for a trailer for us. We know we will take it out more often than a big rig, we will feel safer, and it will not be a burden on gas costs. I'm looking forward to my husband and I having some time together doing something fun in our retirement. We have earned it. I think the money will be well worth it.

Jo Ann
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Old 10-25-2005, 08:03 PM   #9
boogerhead
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We had a 26' motorhome that we renovated about 6 years ago. We took the kids camping everywhere - even across the country twice. We ALL loved it. About 3 years ago, financial things happened and we could no longer afford the gas (6 MPG). Last year we sold it - although a sad day, the reality of it sitting there and never getting used made it necessary. The kids were very sad with the finality of the fact that the camper was gone. A month ago I purchased a Trailmanor 3023; almost on a whim. When I brought it home the kids were beyond ecstatic. I mean that they were so happy that we could go camping again. We went camping and ohh how sweet - I remember what 'the good old days' were like. Oh yes, it is soooo worth it...and isn't that why we earn the money in the first place?
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Old 11-24-2005, 09:55 AM   #10
MidwestDave
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Smile ToBuy or Not toBuy

From where I stand it is not a cost but an investment, as a house ,a nice car, etc. Since you like the outdoors you will probably find if you had a TM you would go more often. GW an I are about to retire and plan to run the wheels off ours!
Go for it!
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