questions for older trailmanors

[dave59330]

Hello,

I'm fairly new here, but I'm a long time admirer of trailmanors. I am looking for the shortest (I know the ones that sleep more that four are longer, but I'm looking for the shortest longer one) trailmanor that sleeps 6. I think when you go back a couple years the sleeping capacity of a couple of these changed and kept the same model number (I never was any good with numbers though).

Basically I'm looking for a popup trailer with a bathroom/shower with as many places to sleep as possible that fits under the 3500lb tow limit of my van. What year/model should I be looking for?

:new_newbi
Dave

 

[Wavery]

Hello,

I'm fairly new here, but I'm a long time admirer of trailmanors. I am looking for the shortest (I know the ones that sleep more that four are longer, but I'm looking for the shortest longer one) trailmanor that sleeps 6. I think when you go back a couple years the sleeping capacity of a couple of these changed and kept the same model number (I never was any good with numbers though).

Basically I'm looking for a popup trailer with a bathroom/shower with as many places to sleep as possible that fits under the 3500lb tow limit of my van. What year/model should I be looking for?

:new_newbi
Dave

If you have a tow rating of 3500# on your van, you probably cannot (legally) tow any TrailManor ever made after putting passengers and cargo in the van.

What year and model is your van? I'll try to help you calculate what you might legally tow. Tow ratings mean nothing without knowing the GCVWR (and some other ratings) of your vehicle.

Please see this thread:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8117

 

[PopBeavers]

Hello,
Basically I'm looking for a popup trailer with a bathroom/shower with as many places to sleep as possible that fits under the 3500lb tow limit of my van. What year/model should I be looking for?

:new_newbi
Dave

I have a 2005 TM 2720. According to the current TM web site, the dry weight is 2742.

I once weighed my truck and trailer. I do not know what the tongue weight is, but the weight on the TM axle was 3380 pounds. The rated capacity is 4075. I am at that limit.

Make sure you take less stuff than I do. Just the 46 gallons of water that I carry is 400 pounds. Add a couple of cases of cold beverages, pots, pans, food, outdoor chairs, plates, air conditioner, microwave, generator. Stuff can be very heavy.

 

[Bill]

I may be wrong, but I'm under the impression that all TMs from Day 1 have had a rear slide-out bed, a front slide-out bed, and a dinette that can be converted into a bed. The advertising, anyway, says that this layout "sleeps 6". The exceptions are the slideout models such as 2720SL which have less sleeping space since the front bed has been replaced by a living room and couch.

So although the bed size varies from model to model, they all "sleep 6".

Please pay attention to the comments from the two Waynes regarding weight. A few of our members do tow with 3500-pound-rated vehicles. But you are in Montana, which suggests some mountain towing in your future.

Bill

 

[dave59330]

I have a '96 Mercury Villager. I couldn't find a GCVWR for specs, that's another reason I'm posting here. I can haul it dry for that matter, mainly to get my friends and I to seminars with a place to sleep and then for my wife and I to go on vacations with. If I need to, I can get a larger vehicle, I'm just figuring on what I can get by with until then.

 

[rtcassel]

I am looking for the shortest (I know the ones that sleep more that four are longer, but I'm looking for the shortest longer one) trailmanor that sleeps 6.

The shortest newer one would be the 2619 (19 feet). There are 2518's from the 1990's mentioned on the forum, and one can presume that they are 18 feet long.

 

[Wavery]

I have a '96 Mercury Villager. I couldn't find a GCVWR for specs, that's another reason I'm posting here. I can haul it dry for that matter, mainly to get my friends and I to seminars with a place to sleep and then for my wife and I to go on vacations with. If I need to, I can get a larger vehicle, I'm just figuring on what I can get by with until then.

Try calling your local Mercury or Ford dealer. They should be able to give you the GCWR and curb weight if you give them your V.I.N.

 

[dave59330]

ok, I'm figuring at most, we'll have 6-7 passengers (somebody's sleeping on the floor, no big deal, its not going to be me), 1200-1300 pounds, and I'm thinking about a 2720 for a trailmanor, sleeps six. What would be the best, cost effective tow vehicle with an adequate GCVWR that holds 7 people & supplies? My 1996 villager apparently won't cut it, I know I'm getting up there in weight, is all I have to look at something like a suburban sized vehicle? I'll be back in the morning, thanks in advance, Dave

 

[Bill]

Dave -

Seven adults? Plus camping supplies (food, clothes, bedding, dishes, some appliances, some tools, etc etc) to take care of seven people, plus the weight of the options on both the TM and the tow vehicle? And since you are going to meetings and seminars, add paper, books, computers, and so forth? As my Hispanic friends here in Arizona would say, Olay Cheet, Mon! Depending on WHERE you plan to tow, I'm not sure that even a 5000-pound-rated vehicle will do the job. Most folks in this situation plan to take a second vehicle, and carry at least half of the people and most of the cargo in it. Is that a possibility for you?

A Suburban-sized vehicle would be a good choice, unless you are limiting yourself to the table-flat parts of the country - and even then, 5000 pounds is going to be a stretch.

Review Harvey's posts. The tow rating of a vehicle is specified with NO CARGO and NO PASSENGERS. If you add 1200 pounds of people and 800 pounds of their stuff, you will most likely be very close to the Villager's ratings already, even before you hook up a trailer - even if the trailer is empty. Morph these calculations around into GCVWR, etc, and it won't change the answer.

I truly suggest that you not do this.

Bill

 

[Shrimpburrito]

As my Hispanic friends here in Arizona would say, Olay Cheet, Mon!

That is hilarious. Especially being posted by you, Bill!

If I were taking 7 people with our Toyota Sequoia, which, for comparison, seats 8 and is a 4.7L V8 with a 6,500 lb tow rating, I would be thinking alot about weight both in the TM and the TV. I certainly would be running the numbers, and not taking ANY extra stuff.

I personally don't see how you could haul that kind of load with anything less than a Suburban-type vehicle. I certainly would not consider it. You need power, a truck chassis, and truck-sized brakes/rotors.

Dave

 

[Wavery]

Bill is right. You're pretty well maxed out with passengers & cargo in that Mercury. A tent might be in order. Towing a trailer (of any size) could be putting all those people in danger. It would be very difficult for that TV to make an emergency stop.

I weighed my 2720 fully loaded and it was right at 3700# and there are just 2 of us. Carrying enough cargo for 7 people, you would be hard pressed to keep the trailer under 4000# (the GVWR on our 2720 is 3956).

You need a TV with a tow rating of about 6500#. You may be able to find one that has a tow rating of 5000# and a GCWR high enough to carry all those people and gear. A ford Expedition or Chevy Suburban might be worth looking into. The Nissan Armada has a tow rating of 9000#.

 

[dave59330]

Thanks Bill & Harvey, as Buddha says, "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."