'06 2720sl

[Padgett]

New to Trailmanor but not new to camping or trailers (pulled a 'vette race car on a tandem trailer all over the Midwest in my yout).

Put a deposit down on an '06 2720SL after a lot of study & pending a detailed inspection this coming Friday. Looks very clean inside & no yellowing of plastic or any sign of leaks (and we have had a bit of rain recently). Have been studying this site but would appreciate opinions on what to look for, it is on clearance at a very large dealer that normally handles much larger RVs and plan to ask for power & water to be available for inspection.

Has the sofa slide (have seen units advertised as SL with front bed) but missing the chair. Has the swing-away hitch. Can see some arching scratches on the side and assume it from raising and lowering.

Frame seems very clean but see some mild corrosion on bolts on rods to left of door and the rods that go under the coach from there seem scaly (I spent some years in Michigan and am very sensitive to rust). No sign of leaks or odors in interior.

Has a cabinet that goes over the sink & can see a mount on the side of the wardrobe but no cabinet.

Is there is anything specific I should look for (now know to check the tanks for epoxy) ? Tires are 2010 and very good. Battery is from the mart at the wall and fuse holder is a bit discolored (may be a replacement, doubt the factory would use a red twist on wire splice ) but plan to add 2 GC2 cart batteries and a 1200 watt inverter so will need to go through wiring anyway.

Also I have a Honda EU2000 generator, anyone know if it will run the roof AC by itself if the circuit is isolated from other things ?

Finally, is the interior accessible with the coach folded into travelling mode (realize it would be a crawl space at best) ? Also how tall can an item in the aisle be when travelling (how tall is the optional chair )?

Thank you. I plan to tow with my '12 Jeep GC having the factory towing package & 290 hp DOHC V6. It gets 24-25 mpg on the Interstate & rated at 500 lb TW/5000 lb trailer. Will be interesting to see what effect the TM has though the rig should be pretty slippery and I "drive gentle".

ps will fix the gif in my sig after the purchase takes place since is contingent on inspection.

pps the RV is a Vixen that fits in my garage, just for my current lifestyle a tow car/trailer makes more sense.

 

[LoveToCamp-TMO]

Padgett, you have lots of questions (no problem with that), so I will try to address them in order:

Scratches on the sides are likely just from opening and closing. Not a big deal.

Corrosion on the bolts is common. Do they look like they have serious rust? If not, they can be sanded and painted with Rustoleum. Even in Colorado, the lift hardware on my 2 year-old TM showed rust. Not bad, but discolored.

The mount on the side of the wardrobe is not a normal TM fixture. PO may have had a shelf, a caddy, or something else hanging there. Part of the fun of a unit like this is to figure out what you may put there, to make it appear like you planned it.

Tires are due to be replaced, simply from age, according to very large numbers of trailer owners. They age, even without use. I guess that applies to tires, and trailer owners!

A 2kw genny won't run the stock AC. You will likely need a second 2kw generator. BUT, I have read about people putting a hard-start capacitor on their AC, which negates the need for a second genny. But, I have not done it, nor I have I researched it, so I can't make any promises.

No, you can't access the interior while the unit is closed. But, it is simple to open, and you don't have to "assemble" it to get in to put stuff in the 'fridge, etc.

Your second "also" - I believe my sides are 3' tall. It is snowing now, so I am not going to go measure it. So, your chair could be about 3' tall. Someone else will have to give a precise measurement.

Finally, about your TV. I have owned Jeeps since '86. I had an '04 GC with the 4.7 v-8, and DW had an '06 GC with the 5.7L Hemi v-8. I just got a 2417, which is about 1000 lbs less than a 2720, loaded for camping. As soon as I towed the 2417 home (65 miles) with the '04, I started looking into replacing it. While it towed ok, I like to get where I am going, so I can enjoy the destination. Used the Hemi on the next trip, up into the mountains, and it did okay. Replaced the '04 with an '07 diesel GC (yes, they made them for two years), and it tows much better than even the Hemi. Fuel economy is better, too. All this to say, don't be in a hurry to get over a hill with the 6-cylinder. You say you take your time, but be forewarned that, in my opinion, you may be disappointed in the way the Jeep tows any trailer in the 4,000 - 4,500 lb range. Just because it is rated at 5,000 lbs, doesn't mean it will do a stellar job of towing that weight.

Hope this helps. More will chime in, to be sure.

 

[Padgett]

Thank you. Tires are 2010 and look almost new, I would think 4 years would be OK.

As to Jeep, my 6300 lb RV has a 2.4 liter 115 hp six cyl turbo diesel & a five speed manual & have pulled a teardrop with it. In my yout I drove a 1600cc Westphalia across the Rockies and Cascades. Just a matter of being patient and driving on the temperature gauge (and I monitor engines very carefully, GC has coolant, oil, and trans temp readouts).

Below was when I brought a toy home from Joplin a few years ago, have been driving rigs for a while. Crossed Monteagle on a July afternoon and never broke 200F.

I suspect the GC will be fine for me. Sometime maybe we can discuss the difference between a modern engine with VVT I&E vs a pushrod V8 from the last century. From what I've seen, people pull TMs with a lot less. Must admit I am tempted by the 3.0 TD with 420 lb-ft of torque in the '14 Jeep but not the $10k extra one costs.

ps am familiar with the CRDs, just like the Motori better.

 

[Bill]

Padgett -

Love to Camp answered most of your questions very well, so I won't repeat.

The "rods that run under coach" are the torsion bars that help you lift the weight of the shells. I think they all look like they have a crappy paint job - it is because the bars are designed to twist (hence "torsion") as they perform their function. I don't know of any coating that will stick to a surface that twists. Don't be concerned about it.

The chair may be hard to replace, and I suggest you don't try until you own the camper and can play with it. It is built to be very lightweight, and has stubby legs in back that are designed to keep the height down. I can't give you a feet-and-inches measurement of the height because my TM is closed and in the garage, but I will tell you that the back can't be any taller than the kitchen counters. I will also tell you (and I blush to relate) that when you close the camper down, you shouldn't put the back of the chair up on the slideout portion of the floor. This lifts the back too far toward the ceiling.

BTW, every once in a while one of our members decides he doesn't like the chair, and offers to sell it in the Parts For Sale section of the forum. You might find one that way.

I'm losing the thread at "Has a cabinet that goes over the sink & can see a mount on the side of the wardrobe but no cabinet." Are you saying the wardrobe cabinet is missing? Or some other cabinet?

Re the discolored fuse holder. Yes, TM installed a fuse holder with a twist-on red wire. The original fuse holder was white nylon, and held a glass cartridge fuse. This holder had a bad habit of overheating, melting, and cutting off all 12-volt power to your TM. If this is what you have, you really need to replace it with an automotive blade-type fuseholder, especially since it is discolored. Cheap and easy, but do it! Check this picture in my Tech Album for some guidance.
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/album.php?albumid=8&pictureid=760

Welcome aboard. By the way, we used to have a long-time Sponsor on this board with username Padgett. I gather you are not he. But if you go rummaging through some old posts, you may see your name on a large number of posts. Don't be confused!

And by the way, we need to discuss the gauges in modern cars. But that is another day.

Bill (another owner of a 2006 2720SL!)

 

[Padgett]

Thank you. I find these forums incredibly useful. I have service manuals for all of my cars and any more prefer them on disk.

Since 1995 all cars have had ODB-II with makes having instruments available easily and cheaply possible. Saw an advt today for a 7" Android 4.1 tab for $60. Add a $12 dongle and a $5 app and you can have something like this:

Be glad to show how (can do the same with my smart phone but to be visible am limited to six parameters per screen and have multiple screens (also sat-nav and a copla thousand songs but that's for a different thread.

 

[rumbleweed]

What is the ODBII App? Also I will echo the comment about replacing the tires. Trailer tires almost never wear our. They deteriorate and fail. The general rule is 4-5 years max. The damage done by a blow out on the curb side is more expensive than a set of good trailer tires.

 

[Padgett]

Thank you. Think they will be ok for the trip home (about 65 miles). Looked closely with a light and looked new.

Any opinions on the tire/wheel combos from Northern Tool ? BTW I did not see a spare, is it hidden somewhere ?

The OBD-II app is Torque and runs on Android. Are others for Windows and iPad but are more expensive. All can use the same BT dongle. I just have one in each OBD car that I just leave there. They do not seem to use any material power while engine is off.

 

[moaboy]

As u know your way around forums u probably know how helpful searching on them for additional info can be. Lot of info here on inspecting used TM for purchase.
Normally a TM does not make "scratches" as it moves out and in. If it does, may be an adjustment issue.
While one can't inspect what the inside condition of a tire is wo dismounting the tire from the wheel, as long as the tires have been stored properly, you may have a bit more life in them.
Good luck!

 

[rvcycleguy]

Thank you. Think they will be ok for the trip home (about 65 miles). Looked closely with a light and looked new.

Any opinions on the tire/wheel combos from Northern Tool ? BTW I did not see a spare, is it hidden somewhere ?

The OBD-II app is Torque and runs on Android. Are others for Windows and iPad but are more expensive. All can use the same BT dongle. I just have one in each OBD car that I just leave there. They do not seem to use any material power while engine is off.

My experience with what I thought were decent tires is this... I bought a used TM and the tires looked well enough to be able to take the rig out on its first camping trip. Couple of hundred miles. All went well on the way there. As we slept on the first night. We were jostled awake with a loud bang. After scrambling outside to see what that was, I noticed the left side tire had exploded. Would have been lots more damage had we been been towing it at that moment. It's your choice but I don't leave home on someone else's used tires. Im presently using Carlisle "E" rated tires.

 

[rvcycleguy]

As u know your way around forums u probably know how helpful searching on them for additional info can be. Lot of info here on inspecting used TM for purchase.
Normally a TM does not make "scratches" as it moves out and in. If it does, may be an adjustment issue.
While one can't inspect what the inside condition of a tire is wo dismounting the tire from the wheel, as long as the tires have been stored properly, you may have a bit more life in them.
Good luck!

Agree regarding scratches. TM's require proper leveling before raising the roofs. There is minimal clearance between the walls so even a slight angle side to side may have the roofs slide against one side or the other. We all probably have swirl marks from the weatherstrip on the inside of the dutch door where this is evident. Not sure about scratches that are indented? May have been something not put away properly that caused that. That has happened to me on the inside wall.

 

[rumbleweed]

Thank you. Think they will be ok for the trip home (about 65 miles). Looked closely with a light and looked new.

Any opinions on the tire/wheel combos from Northern Tool ? BTW I did not see a spare, is it hidden somewhere ?

The OBD-II app is Torque and runs on Android. Are others for Windows and iPad but are more expensive. All can use the same BT dongle. I just have one in each OBD car that I just leave there. They do not seem to use any material power while engine is off.

If you go to the tire thread, and search, you will see lots of options. Depending on how much stuff ( junk) you carry in the TM, it is easy to exceed the rating of load range C tires. Many people have changed to 15" load range D tires for added margin. It means you will need new wheels and should have metal stems. The is a worthwhile upgrade and if you are buying new tires it is a good time to do it. You need to check to insure you have the drop axle which will provide the clearance or you will need to add a lift kit which is not a big deal.

There should be a spare located under the TM near the steps. It is mounted on a drop down slide rack.

 

[Bill]

My very-early-build '06 2720SL came from the factory with a lift kit in place. Perhaps this one has one as well. It is easy to look underneath, between the axle and the frame, to check.

Bill

 

[Padgett]

The 2720SL I've been looking at for a few weeks followed me home today. The label says it is an April 2006 build with 215x75C14 tires and there are two placards, the first with build date etc. says inflate to 50psi. Next to it is a second that says 55 psi. Anyone else have this ?

BTW there is no sign of a lift kit.

Any suggestions for a yard tug ? I need something to turn it around. Anyone use a lawn tractor/mower ? I need a new one.

 

[Bill]

Some members have tried using a riding mower as a tug. The TM's hitch weight in excess of 400 pounds was a problem in most cases. A larger lawn tractor might do the job, especially if you walk beside it. But as I recall, a problem that came up in one case was that the weight of the TM tongue came down so far aft of the mower's rear wheels that it levered the front wheels off the ground. Let us know if you decide to do this.

Bill

 

[KWire]

I put a hitch on the front of my Toro ZTR mower.

Take a look at my post # 6 of this thread.

I haven't been able to use the TM much lately so I haven't used it. As I recall the tongue weight was more of a load than I was figuring on, but it still worked OK.

Keith