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Old 05-21-2006, 11:51 PM   #1
USAFCOP
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Default New owner of '94 3023

Well, I just signed the papers for a 1994 3023 on Saturday, will know more as far as pickup date on Monday, as they are cleaning and checking it out for me since it is a consignment deal.

I will be towing it behind a 2002 Jeep Liberty with a 3" lift and tow package of course. Should I buy a weight distrbuting hitch? How much is the actual tongue weight? What is the actual ride hieght of the trailer? I have seen mention of lift kits for some of the newer 2700 series TM's, are there lift kits for the older 3023's, or does someone make a drop WDH? With my old pop up trailer, I had to have a 5" drop hitch for it to be level. I did not take a tape with me, nor was the ground the trailer was on level. With 15" wheels, it should at least be an inch or two higher than my old one on 12.5" wheels.

Sorry for all the questions, but I found this site after I bought the trailer. I saw a minivan tow another TM with a standard ball hitch, today, so it got me to thinking about this and some of the stuff on this board. A lot of good info, and kinda reaffirms that I got a good deal.
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Old 05-22-2006, 04:52 AM   #2
Bill & Lisa
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USAFCOP - congradulations. Finding someone who can quote weights on a 94 will be tough but this is one of the best places to look. The other will be in your own back yard in a little over a month. Trailmanor holds a jubilee every 3 years and this year is will be held at the garden of the gods campground. There will be factory reps on site as well as more than 100 TMs and their owners, some of which are sure to be "older units" (the TMs NOT the owners!). It may be too late to secure a spot but you can try and a last minute cancelation will work very nicely in your case. The web site is

http://www.jubilee2006.com/. There is a contact email address to try and sign up after the registration deadline.

In the meantime, the weight limits listed on www.trailmanor.com for the 3023 will be in the ball park. While they have added features (which adds weight) over the years I believe that material changes (no more wood) have helped keep the weight pretty much the same over the years.

The trailmanor site also has a towing guide which can address some of your questions on the Jeep liberty. Others here will chime in as well.

I started towing my 3023 without a WDH and it did tow fine. The biggest question is, how much does it 'unload' the front wheels of your vehicle. My Chevy Trailblazer squatted noticably when the TM was coupled. Reading this forum convinced me that while it towed the tm fine, I would/could be in harms way should I have a tire blow out and try some emergency manuevers with the front end unloaded. When I weighed the investment in my TM not to mention my TV and the health and welfare of my wife and I against the price tag of a WDH, while still hard on the pocket book made the WDH look like a life insurance policy I couldn't be without.

By the way, I had never towed anything larger than a tiny pop up before and so while I thought the TM towed easily and had no problems it towed even better with the WDH. I stongly recommend you get a WDH. There are several brands available. I like what I have but it is all I know. Most people only try one brand and are positive about it, no matter what brand. It will be hard to find someone who can accurately compare and contrast the choices out there. Use the search function above to search for WDH and you will get alot of info.

Bill
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Old 05-22-2006, 09:02 PM   #3
USAFCOP
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Thank you for the info, Texas Camper, I sent you a bonehead PM, I did not read your post prior to replying to the PM you sent, sorry.

As for the tires, they look good, and the lot I bought it off of had it on consignment, and they are going through all of the systems to ensure it is what it is billed to be and in full working order prior to delivery. I will have to ask them tomorrow if they sell WDH there, just get it all at once if they have the brake controller I want.

Now Bill brought up something... "The lack of wood on newer trailers to keep the weight down"

Does my '94 have a wood frame? I thought it was built the same as the newer ones with the aluminum and steel sheets over the glued styrofoam like stuff. That is what I see when I look inside the nose cabinet above the bed anyway.

The reason I ask is now I am concerned with rot... one of the brackets for the support brace for the front window outside cover (hard one to prevent rocks from hitting window) has a screw that has stripped out. Looks like the wind grabbed it and pulled. Is there wood behind there that could be rotten, or is it just the screw goes into the outer metal wall?
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