Beds Hot and Cold weather

Hello everyone. 1st post. I used to own an Apache solid state back in the day.
I'd like some info please about the beds in the Trailmanors during hot & cold weather.

In the Apache, the bottom of the bed that the matress sat on was just a piece of plywood. No insulation. During the cold months, the matress was always cold to sleep on since there was only plywood. How are the trailmanors in this respect? Is there any insulation under the matress? If not, is it possible to insulate under the bed perhaps on the outside?

I had a 10,000 btu a/c installed for the summer months but no matter how long it ran, I would loose too much a/c again due to no insulation. The camper always felt hot during the day. Had to always look for a shaded site.

How good is the a/c in the trailmanor. Does it reach the bed past the bathroom and closet? Does it cool the rest of the trailer well on hot days or does it "just get by"?

Looking to purchase a 3124 in the future.

Thanks in advance for yoour help.

[ThePair]

I can't speak to cold weather camping, but in the hot summer months of the midwest, the AC on the TM (Carrier V model) was more than enough to keep the interior nice and chilly. Max setting was too much, even in 95 degree heat and 95% humidity -- we kept the unit on normal cool, with the dial at 50-75% cool. The only time there was any (minor) issue was if I closed the privacy curtain to the rear of the TM, since that restricts airflow down the hallway. A clip on fan on the bathroom wall and leaving the curtain a little bit open solved that issue completely.

So, if you keep the curtain open, the back part gets sufficient airflow. At least in a 2720

[B_and_D]

Hello everyone. 1st post. I used to own an Apache solid state back in the day.

We took out our A/C about a year after we bought it (we don't usually camp where it's hot), but it's nice to hear from a former Apache owner. I've always admired those trailers and it's amazing how many of them are still around. If we hadn't found out about the TM's before we bought ours, we would have tried to find an Apache. The only thing lacking, for us, is the bathroom!

[SCBillandJane]

We have a double sleeping bag that we use during cold weather. For us, that means down to the low 30's. We camp in electric sites and use a small electric space heater. We are comfortable, but when we get up in the morning, we will turn on the TM propane heater for a few minutes. Generally, the insulation is sufficient for us. In summer we can arrive at a campground with the temperature in the 90's and be cool minutes after setting up. The front of the TM will be cooler than the back due to the restricted air flow caused by the bathroom walls and the placement of the air conditioner. As already stated, we have found that a small fan can solve that problem. I don't think you will have a problem with temperature as long as you are in an electric site.

[Virginia Deacon]

Our sleeping bag keeps us warm, in the cooler temperatures of Fall. We did have a draft all around our bed though, so exposed body parts got pretty cold. Then, I remembered the swim noodles I bought to seal the bed from drafts. Nice a cozy, after they were installed. See http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...t=swim+noodles for other ideas.

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by spam4us

Hello everyone. 1st post. I used to own an Apache solid state back in the day.
I'd like some info please about the beds in the Trailmanors during hot & cold weather.

In the Apache, the bottom of the bed that the matress sat on was just a piece of plywood. No insulation. During the cold months, the matress was always cold to sleep on since there was only plywood. How are the trailmanors in this respect? Is there any insulation under the matress? If not, is it possible to insulate under the bed perhaps on the outside?

I had a 10,000 btu a/c installed for the summer months but no matter how long it ran, I would loose too much a/c again due to no insulation. The camper always felt hot during the day. Had to always look for a shaded site.

How good is the a/c in the trailmanor. Does it reach the bed past the bathroom and closet? Does it cool the rest of the trailer well on hot days or does it "just get by"?

Looking to purchase a 3124 in the future.

Thanks in advance for yoour help.

As far as insulation is concerned, I think that any trailer with a bed platform that is exposed to the cold underneath is going to have an issue.

We found some 1" thick, closed cell foam exercise pads at Walmart ($5 each). They are 20" wide and 72" long. We put three of them under our mattress and it seems to cut the heat loss substantially. We use an air mattress with a 3" memory foam topper. Heat loss was a real problem with the air mattress. Not any more.

You don't mention in your post what year you have. I am assuming that you have the earlier model with the A/C unit in the side. As you know, that A/C blows either one direction or the other. Our 10,000BTU A/C (on our '98 2720) does a great job of cooling, if one places a small fan behind the air flow to encourage the cold air to travel either fore or aft. It doesn't cool the entire camper well on very hot days like the roof mounted A/C.

Last summer, we camped in 117 degree weather. The camper was very comfortable in the forward part and we took a nap with a blanket on in the forward bunk (75 degrees inside). It was too hot to lay in the aft bunk during the day without allowing the living area to get hot.........it's either fore or aft, we can't have both.

We have not had a problem with cold coming through the mattress. But we rarely camp below the upper 30's.

I use the pool noodles and I modified the upper rear shell to lower shell latch on the curb side to block the cold air flowing in past the seal behind the wardrobe.

In cold weather I set the furnace at the lowest setting, about 55F.

If I have to, I would take along my Eddy Bauer sleeping bags, (back in the 70s when he was an Expedition Outfitter instead of a clothing store) that are rated for 20 below, but I have never used them below 10 above.

I camp a lot when it's in the 30's, I use a thermarest style (actually a REI Camp pad) on top of the TM mattress. Makes it very comfortable and warm. Stick your hand beteen the TM mattress and thermarest and you'll see how much cold really comes thru! It's very cold in there. The swim noodles help a lot...as stated above.

[mcgyver210]

We have camped more than once in Full Sun with no problems keeping inside nice & cold but we have had to have the air on High at the coldest setting since we like it cold.

Winter we use:
1. Extra insulation that has been talked about here over & over.
2. We also have two Full Electric Blankets.
3. We find the built in LP heaters usage to be acceptable with the upgraded Digital Thermostat in place. also the thermostat is going on 2.5 yrs with same batteries.
4. We also have a rotating ceramic heater to conserve on LP.
5. We also have Travasaks which are very comfortable year around

We have camped like this with snow on trailer & it has actually gotten too hot for me.

Cooling has never been a problem. We have the 3326 with the air above the bed. I'm surprised at how well it works. I'm sure that varies from unit to unit. To keep warm when it's cold we have an electric mattress pad with dual controls. We turn it on about an hour before we go to bed and the bed is nice and warm.