Advice for prospective buyer

[J_Norris]

Hi Steve
Congratulations! Sounds like you made a great choice. Your trailer is very similar in age to ours, and ours has been a great way to refine our vision of what we really want in our new version of camping without making a big investment that we’d regret (although the tradeoff is certainly a lot of learning and time in maintenance!). This forum is an amazing resource for owning an older TM.

We do have a little more powerful truck, but I would guess the overall power-to-trailer-weight ratio is similar to yours, since our trailer is a heavier model and has gotten heavier still with repairs and additions.

I have not been to Gold Butte yet, but have seen beautiful pictures from there and plan to visit someday.

Good luck at the DMV, and you guessed correctly: I’m not a practicing geologist and am not good at geology, but I do have a degree in it and I love to read about western geology. We often take along geologic field trip guides when we’re out and about. From your description, I'm sure our paths will cross someday even if we don't realize it, and I'm guessing we'll see you more on the forum as you progress with your improvements.

[Larryjb]

My congratulations go to you as well! We have the 2001 SD so it is likely very similar to yours although there are differences even within the same model year.

Ours was well loved as well, so I've had to do a number of repairs that other's haven't had to do.

Here's the very first thing I'd do, for peace of mind. Remove all the vents and risers and reseal them with ProflexRV. You may need to replace the risers, but I found some 1" vinyl square trim from Home Depot that just needed cutting to size. Place a bead of sealant between the roof and riser, and another bead between the riser and vent. If yours is screwed to the roof, place a dab of sealant into the screw holes. It's a pain to do, but it guarantees a good seal.

I have played the seal over the tops of all seams and screws before and failed to get a good seal every time. I even used the Eternabond tape and I couldn't get it to lay flat in one spot. Guess what, that leaked too. Doing what I did has made a great seal and haven't had any more leaks.

Some have had the center seam leak too, but I don't think many have had that problem. I also removed the edge trim and sealed all the screw holes, replaced all the screws with stainless and redid those seams as well.

We have really enjoyed ours a lot and took it from Vancouver BC to Anaheim. I'm pretty sure you knew what we were doing!

And consider joining HarvestHosts if you like wine and golf. It's perhaps a version of "loondocking" (instead of "lamping", if you get my drift!)

Enjoy!

[Marklee]

S&C Nevada- my husband and I bought our used 2417 trailer a few years ago off a notice in this forum, so do watch here. Ours is a 2013, which I think may have been the last year they made this size. At the time we bought it, we had seen several on Craig's list as well. This one met our needs best.

Our TV is a Toyota Tacoma and it tows well. We've had smaller trailers and this actually tows better than the smaller ones.

I do recommend the weight distribution hitch, no matter what. That is certainly one of the reasons it tows so well (in my opinion).

Also, this forum has been extremely useful. Even having had trailers in the past, this one is so unique that the forum has answered a lot of questions for us. If you do purchase a TM, I strongly advise getting a subscription to this forum.

All that said, good fortune finding what you want!

[Marklee]

Steve, I apologize that I just sent you a message about the 2417, without realizing you'd already bought your TM! Sorry.

By the way, we're in Washoe Valley (between Reno and Carson City)! It's great to know of another TM owner in the Silver State.

[rickst29]

Originally Posted by S&C-Nevada

On the trip from home after purchase, I also realized that I will need to purchase mirror extenders.

Steve: Other towing mirror pairs can be had for much less money than the Milenco Aero-3, but the cheap sets are hard to mount and more likely to slip around on 4-Runner mirrors of later generations (I own a 4Runner Gen-4 V6, from 2007.) Your mirrors are more boxy, and less likely to cause as much slip with cheap ones. But I owned a cheap set and later replaced them with a pair of Aero-3 "Extra Wide" mirrors, at a price of more than $100, due to difficulties in mounting the cheap ones and frequently suffering slippage from the fixed mirrors on the road.

Your Gen-3, even if it is the wider "limited" model, is about 4 inches less wide than my Gen-4. I therefore recommend that you also get the "Extra Wide" version, because you therefore need about 2" more extended width on each side than I do. For me, the "standard" width would have been marginal.
- - -
Now for the 'etc': I agree with others than WDH is mandatory for your combination, and also wonder a bit about your battery plans. Nevada has very few "plug-in" RV parks, and Utah has only a few more. If you shift over to the 'electrical' technical area, you will see a lot of discussions about battery alternatives which might be good for Boondocking in such locations. For Late Spring and all of the Summertime, you might also take a look at the "Solar Power" technical area - TMO has a ton of Solar Installations documented and discussed down there.

- Rick (from Reno)

[Larryjb]

A few people here recommended I get the McKesh Mirrors. They are a little pricey, but well worth it.

Remember that in many states, by law, you must be able to see the same point 200 feet behind you from both mirrors at the same time. I'd say this is good advice even if it is not required by law.

[Bill]

I have McKesh as well. I haven't checked the 200-foot thing, but the important thing to me is that I can see everything on both sides of the trailer, and see if anything is going wrong. Is the entry door swinging open (a problem I had with both of my previous TMs)? Did I forget to fasten any of the corner latches? Is a tire looking visibly soft? Is the awning looking a bit unfurled? Are the steps out? Are all the running lights on when they should be? I haven't had most of these problems, but I sure like being able to check them.

Beyond that, I can see behind my trailer, and all the way back down the adjacent lanes. No blind spot.

Bill

[S&C-Nevada]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your helpful responses. A short note.

I apologize for my tardy response. Last week a small tile contractor called us about a cancelled job, allowing us to move forward this week on a home improvement project. So, we've been redecorating our master bedroom; new tile, baseboard, paint, closet doors, and window treatments. We completed all the work ourselves except the tile.

The travel trailer project is on hold for the moment. A short update: I've been to DMV and have a temporary movement permit. I've contacted a local RV dealership who sells Trailmanor travel trailers and inquired about scheduling a systems check. I've purchased towing mirrors for the 4Runner. I selected the McKesh mirrors. I've rewired the electric brakes. (I checked the brakes at time of purchase, but, later on the way home, noticed two electrical lines dragging behind the trailer.) I've ordered and received a deep cycle battery. I've checked the electrical systems and the AC and DC systems appear to work: inverter, all lights, fans, AC, and refrigerator on 12 V DC and 120 V AC. I've had the propane tanks recertified and filled. The stove burners work. I haven't checked the oven. The refrigerator lights and runs but the temperature dropped into the 50s F. Perhaps I need to be more patient. My next project is the plumbing systems. The city water inlet and a section of hose is missing, so I need to replumb this before testing the water pump and hot water heater. And I've not checked the toilet.

Thanks again everyone. I'll try to respond individually later.

Steve

[gl.bickford]

We own our second Trailmanor 2720 - 2006 now 2013.
Women are appreciative of the solid walls in our bath.
That is why we did not buy "Hi-Lo"

Ask her