New Elkmont 22?

Has anyone seen the Elkmont 22? Go to the Mentor RV website (http://www.mentorrv.com/) and check out the pics on page 2 of the new RV's. It has the QB up front, streetside galley, curbside dinette, and rear bath.
It looks like a downsized cross between a 24 and 26.

Originally Posted by Ken Brooks

Has anyone seen the Elkmont 22? Go to the Mentor RV website (http://www.mentorrv.com/) and check out the pics on page 2 of the new RV's. It has the QB up front, streetside galley, curbside dinette, and rear bath.
It looks like a downsized cross between a 24 and 26.

Sure looks legit. Doesn't say anything about dry weight of the shorter rig.

Edited to add: Here's a link to the Trailmanor Dealer website with more info: http://www.trailmanordealers.com/elkmont22.htm

I'm happy with my 2010 24 footer...

[BOB_STRONG]

We have a new 2011 Elkmont 26, and the Elkmont 22 is the same trailer minus 4 feet and the couch and chest of drawers as you enter the unit.

The dealer web site shows the dry weight to be 2850.

IMHO...I think the continuing evolution of the Elkmont portends the end of the classic TM line. There are a limited number of products that any company can do and do well - that goes double for a small company.

I humbly disagree. TM has a very nice niche with the fold-down trailer, which was recently enhanced by the demise of Hi-Lo. But fold-downs are not for everybody, and the lightweight construction techniques developed for the fold-downs are nicely adaptable to create a line of lightweight uprights. This expands their sales base and allows them some economy of scale.

I think the two lines are complimentary and make good business sense for TM.

Elkmont 22' now officially listed on Trailmanor retail site:

http://www.trailmanor.com/WebDocs/el...elkmont22.html

I hate to say it, but I think TM is going to price itself out of the market. There are several companies making light weight uprights of nice quality for sometimes half the price. When you consider that and the problems they have had with the Elkmont line, it might be in their best interest to cut out the Elkmont and stick to what they do best.
If they don't they may end up in the same boat as Hi-Lo.

[Bill]

In my opinion - and I have no special knowledge - the Elkmont might very well be a kind of exploratory model. TM certainly has a lot of experience building lightweight trailers, and since the towables market is being compressed down toward the lightweight end of the spectrum, the Elkmont may in fact be very successful once they get the bugs worked out. I'm sure that this is what TM expects, else they would not have started down this path

On the other hand, if the Elkmont is not a success for whatever reason, I could imagine that TM would discontinue it - that would be the smart business decision. However, I cannot imagine that failure of the Elkmont would doom the collapsible segment of TMs product line. With the end of Hi-Lo - which failed for a lot of other unrelated reasons - TM is the only real player left in the hard-side collapsible arena, and I have to believe that this arena will grow as the drive toward small cars and mini tow vehicles advances.

Just my personal thoughts ...

Bill

[BOB_STRONG]

We have a new 2011 Elmont 26 which we really like a lot. The quality and workmanship is real great. We had to have the bedroom window replaced because of leaks, but that was the window manufacturer and not TrailManor. Also, two of the storage doors had to have new rubber seals put on, but that was the manufacturer again. The people who made the doors decided that the hinge edge should have the seal on the hinge and not the lip where it belonged.

The Elkmont costs more than a lot of so called light weight trailers, but it sure cost us a lot less than buying another 3326 King. Just look on RV Trader, and you will find some real good prices on the Elkmont lines. Texas RV and Mentor's and Custom RV just to name a few.

If you want to talk about price, just look at the new prices on the traditional fold down TrailManor. Soon, people will have a difficult time buying one of these. In my opinion. TrailManor had to add another line in order to survive down the line. Too many former TrailManor owners went to the competitors to buy an upright trailer when they could no longer open & set up their TM. I am sure many former TM owners would have bought an Elkmont if they had been available. You have to remember that the TM is not for everyone. People will come to a dealer to look at them, and then for some reason they will decide to buy an upright trailer. Now with the Elkmont, TrailManor has something else to offer. They might not attract every sale, but they now have a chance. So with a company as small as TrailManor, you need the sales to survive.

We owned 3 TrailManors from 1992-2010, and we were very happy with them. Our new 26 Elkmont tows just as well as our 3326 King, and I get about 1 to 2 miles per gallon less than the 3326 King. The best thing is the huge refrig and all of the overhead storage and the large bathroom acroos the back of the trailer. The other nice thing is when you stop at a rest area, you can go to the refrig or use the bathroom without opening up the trailer. The other nice thing is the huge permanent screen door to let the fresh air in when you don't need to run the a/c.

Both kinds of trailers fill the needs of many new campers. I think that TrailManor has recognized this, and that is why we have 2 different lines of trailers. TrailManor is in business to sell campers, and this is what they are doing. Without trailer sales, the company will cease to exist. I am sure that the quality issues with the Elkmont are being looked at very carefully. Other than the couple issues we had, we love the Elkmont and would buy another one. Having 3 different size Elkmonts, and different floor plans, TrailManor is trying to capture every sale that they can in order to survive in this difficult economic time.