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Old 11-13-2017, 05:43 PM   #1
RottieMom
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Default Wish list for new owners: exterior

[Split from another thread]

Actually, I wish they would pursue a hydraulic lift of some sort to lift the shells. Don't know whether the only design for something with a lift would have to be like what they were trying to do with the Rise (which I think is like the Hi-Lo trailers) or whether some other design would be viable. I've thought a lot about what I want to do when I can't lift the shells by myself anymore and while I like the Lance trailers, I would still prefer to be able to store my trailer in my existing garage and I really like the low profile towing so I wouldn't get that with a traditional trailer.
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Old 11-15-2017, 03:30 PM   #2
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For expansion like the TM, I think a mechanical system makes more sense than hydraulic. Travel is too great & angles change.
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Old 11-15-2017, 05:16 PM   #3
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I'm with Padgett on this one. The shells can flex a lot and potentially bind. Mine does if it travels to one side as it lowers. The shells would need some way to stabilise the shell as it rises or lowers and that would add more weight.

I'm still relatively young in my late 40's. If the shell becomes too heavy, the torsion bars need adjusting or replacing. If I can't handle lifting a properly adjusted shell, I would also have trouble lifting propane tanks for refilling, the hitch, even packing the trailer.

Before this thread gets too off topic, perhaps we should start a wish list thread? Maybe I'll start.
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Old 11-15-2017, 05:22 PM   #4
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Access doors on the upper shell so that you can still get to the two storage compartments when the trailer is closed. Isn't it a pain to get everything closed up only to discover you left your cordless drill for lowering the stabilizers in the storage compartment? Been there several times! (Especially when you are hurrying in the rain )
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Old 11-15-2017, 05:57 PM   #5
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Or, alternatively (or perhaps preferably), add a new perhaps optional exterior storage compartment under the frame that is never covered by the shells.

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Old 11-16-2017, 05:05 AM   #6
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As long as we're talking access, how about to the battery when closed?

And moving/enlarging the stirrup to assist closing - my feet are size 9's - not very big - but can only manage to get my toes in there.
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Old 11-16-2017, 05:33 AM   #7
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Mickey -

I bet you have a TM from the mid-2000's or older. I remember complaining about this very thing in maybe 2004, and guess what? The factory read it, and the next year the stirrups were considerably bigger.

Of course it is easy to retrofit larger stirrups. Just buy the size stirrup you want (they are actually called U-bolts), paint 'em, drill one new hole at each location, and install.

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Old 11-16-2017, 05:56 AM   #8
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Just an idle thought. It seems to me that the hardest part of lifting the shells, at least on my two TMs, is the first 12 inches or so. Once the shell is up that far, the rest of the lift is easy to do by hand. Perhaps there is some way to install a motor-driven jackscrew, much like a tongue jack. It would assist with the first part of the lift, then stop and let you take over. That has got to be a simpler mechanism than one that continues to operate all the way to the full-open position.

Padgett, you've thought a lot about this. What do you think? Cindy, would a partial lift work for you?

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Old 11-16-2017, 06:04 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill View Post
Mickey -

I bet you have a TM from the mid-2000's or older. I remember complaining about this very thing in maybe 2004, and guess what? The factory read it, and the next year the stirrups were considerably bigger.

Of course it is easy to retrofit larger stirrups. Just buy the size stirrup you want (they are actually called U-bolts), paint 'em, drill one new hole at each location, and install.

Bill
Well, it's an '06 2720SL, so maybe we got one with the earlier bits. Thanks for the tip, though; will look into it.
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Old 11-16-2017, 06:22 AM   #10
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I have found that if you lower the tongue significantly the front roof becomes much easier to lift as if it's opening downhill.

Same for the rear, if you then jack up the tongue.
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