Looking at 2005 TM 2619 and would appreciate opinions

[rlawton]

I found a Trailmanor locally for a $6900. It's very dirty which doesn't concern me. I have put it down and up a couple of times and things in that regard seem OK. The dealer says all systems work and can show me most of them at time of sale. I took a lot of pictures and since I've never owned a trailer before would appreciate comments. I put all the pictures on this website:

http://rahnlawton.com/2005TM/

 

[Scottie Dogs]

This is very interesting, welcome to TM. I looked at the pictures and I think it would be a good deal as long you don’t mind to clean things up, I love doing that stuff. Makes you appreciate the unit more.

We have had trailers and motorhomes all our life's, now I am 66 and got my first TM May 13th this year (2006). We fell out of camping for 15 years after we moved to AZ. To busy, now in January we are retiring and doing lots of traveling we can travel year round living here with no snow problems then in the hot summer we go to the mountains to cool off.

You found the right forum to get involved in, this is the best and once you join you will get so much information to help you out to fix things, I have learned so much in the past 5 months I just can’t get off the site Amazing!!!! I had my eye on a TM for 7 years but the timing was not just right till this year it has everything I need 27’ open and slips right in my garage closed you can’t ask for more then that, no $100.00 a month for a full size trailer to store someplace, and motor homes are out of the question so much maintenance which I don’t need.

Well, good luck and don’t be afraid of a new adventure. This site has a nice search bar to use for your problems and it works GREAT!!

Hope this helps,

Dave

 

[b&pcamping]

Grab it!!!

We've got the same trailer one year newer. It looks to be equipped the same as ours but with the added hanging cabinet. We paid 13,500 a year and 1/2 ago and felt it was a good price. Now ours needed very little cleaning, inside or out, but as long as everything works I think you've got a great deal on your hands. Can the dealer prove all is working? Water heater, A/C, water pump, fans, microwave, toilet, shower, all that stuff.... Tires may need replacing but that's no big deal. We've owned tent trailers before the TM and would never go back to that style camper again. We're about to go on a trip to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe for a week, and we'll be as comfortable as those in the lodge!!

 

[Scottie Dogs]

We've got the same trailer one year newer. It looks to be equipped the same as ours but with the added hanging cabinet. We paid 13,500 a year and 1/2 ago and felt it was a good price. Now ours needed very little cleaning, inside or out, but as long as everything works I think you've got a great deal on your hands. Can the dealer prove all is working? Water heater, A/C, water pump, fans, microwave, toilet, shower, all that stuff.... Tires may need replacing but that's no big deal. We've owned tent trailers before the TM and would never go back to that style camper again. We're about to go on a trip to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe for a week, and we'll be as comfortable as those in the lodge!!

I agree with b&p camping it is a good deal for sure. I paid the same price as b&p. Go for it... and have fun! But have things checked out for sure!

 

[rlawton]

According to the dealer, everything works

and she will show me most of the systems (air, refrigerator, microwave) but not the water systems, which she said worked when she bought it.

The problem that concerns me most is someone put moth balls in it and it has a smell. I don't think the mattress or the cushions smell but I do plan to wash the cushion fabric and curtains and replace the foam if I have to. My wife is very sensitive to smells so I have to get rid of the smell or I'll be camping alone.

 

[ng2951]

Its hard to tell from the pictures. I would look around any roof penetrations for signs of leaks, pull the anode rod, make sure the toilet is functional. Crawl underneath and check the lift system and gas lines. Check for gas leaks, etc.

If it checks out and you don't mind cleaning it up it looks like a keeper...

 

[Binnster]

If you need any more convincing, I just signed papers on the exact same model from a dealer for $9500. Granted, that is on the high side, but this place specializes in TM and will spend half a day showing me the ins and outs. Plus, I really wanted to get this on the road before the end of our Colorado camping season!

If I saw one for $6900, I'd buy it, hose it off, and resell it for $8500. From my experience hunting for TM this summer, you could do that in about 48 hours.

 

[b&pcamping]

and she will show me most of the systems (air, refrigerator, microwave) but not the water systems, which she said worked when she bought it.

The problem that concerns me most is someone put moth balls in it and it has a smell. I don't think the mattress or the cushions smell but I do plan to wash the cushion fabric and curtains and replace the foam if I have to. My wife is very sensitive to smells so I have to get rid of the smell or I'll be camping alone.

One of the things I like the most about the TM is the aluminum walls which are very easy to clean. If someone put moth balls in the trailer I'm guessing it's because it was going to be stored for a long period and perhaps someplace were bugs were a concern, but cleaning most surfaces should be easy. I bought some cedar closet liners at Home Depot and lined the wardrobe closet and drawers plus the floor of the storage under the dinette. Since we keep our linens and blankets stored in the TM year round it's a more pleasant aroma than moth balls Do you know if the previous owner had pets? The carpet looks to be in good shape from the photos but you might want to replace that, or the smell could also be from the toilet. There are many posts on this site talking about the recirculating toilet and ways to avoid its smells. Why won’t they show you the water system? I’d ask if you could bring along some water to put into the tank so you can see if the system works. At the very least you’ll know what you’re up against with potential added costs related to that. What you’ve got going in your favor is the going in cost.

I have to agree with Binnster for $6,900 a little elbow grease and no out of pocket $ you could resell it and make a few hundred I'm guessing that the RV lot doesn't know much about TM; is that right?

Good Luck with your research. I hope you'll be joining the ranks of TM owners soon.

 

[Redhawk]

Looks like a screamin deal, obvious some repairs were done around the vents. I'm like the others and enjoy learning about the TM while working on it. Best of luck and hope to see ya on here soon.

 

[rlawton]

Thanks for the encouragement.

I have always wanted a TM and plan to go and buy it tomorrow. I own a Honda Ridgeline rated for 5000 pounds so this should be perfect. Getting my wife on board will be the hard part so I hope I can get rid of the smell.

This lot has a lot of old campers, some of them in pretty rough shape. I believe the owner goes to auctions, buys them and sells them as is. She doesn't advertise and I'm pretty sure she doesn't know Trailmanor trailers.

She told me that she winterized the trailer last year when she got it and thus knows that the water systems work. Frankly, I am new to travel trailers and wouldn't know what to do anyway.

I am hoping to find something my wife and I can do together since we are now "empty nestors" with both our children at Syracuse University. I am an avid sailor and my wife will not cruise on my boat.

This is a picture of my boat anchored out in Lake Huron in Canada where my son and I cruise every summer for a couple weeks. The cabin is quite small so the TM seems palatial in comparison. I also enjoy kayaking so my plan is to bring the kayaks and use the TM as a base station.

 

[Shrimpburrito]

This lot has a lot of old campers, some of them in pretty rough shape. I believe the owner goes to auctions, buys them and sells them as is.

Be sure you find out if it has a salvage title, as that's often the sort of vehicles sold at auctions. If it does, you know it sustained damage at some point, and the cost to repair the damage exceeded its value. That happens alot with hail damage, and such TM's are still generally a good buy because the damage is often just cosmetic, shown as lots of dimples in the metal roof. But your pics don't show hail damage, so if it has a salvage title, something else bad happened to it -- maybe it was in a flood.

If it has a clean title and everything works, sounds like a very good deal!

Cool boat!

Dave

 

[camp2canoe]

As the owner of an '05 2619 purchased new, I'm jealous of that price! From the photos I didn't see anything that wasn't cosmetic. Remember if you store outside to leave the tounge a little high so that water drains off the back. Even with the crowned roof I don't like the thought of water pooling by the seal.

Just curious about your boat - what is it? I've been a trailer sailor for 38 years aboard an O'Day 20, Compac 16 and Catalina 22. If you can cruise on a small sailboat, camping in a TM will be luxurious in comparison. - camp2canoe

 

[rlawton]

Off Topic: My boat is a Com-pac Horizon Cat. Here are some pictures.

The best thing with this boat is the mast raising system which keeps everything rigged so all that's needed is pushing the hinged mast up and securing it. I can rig and be sailing in about 10 minutes.

I also own 2 Hobie Adventure Islands which is how I envision using the TM. This is a picture of my Horizon Cat and one of the Adventure Islands anchored out in Eagle Island which is in the northern part of Lake Huron called the North Channel:

Towing my Hobie inflatable:

My Ridgeline with the Hobies on the roof:

This is the Horizon Cat on the trailer: