RE: Trail Manor Questions

[garym053]

 
As most of you have figured out, I m about 10 to 12 years away from retiring, I hope! I would like to purchase and pay off the rig I hope to travel this beautiful country (and the equally beautiful one to the North). So I ve been fishing for opinions through polls and such. But one option I ve neglected has been the Trail Manor line.
 
 Do you think it s possible to live in a Trail Manor for 3 to 4 months at a time, and not grow to hate it?
 Are they as bear resisitant as a regular hard sided trailer?
 Aside from the obvious plusses and minuses, are there any benefits or drawbacks that you can think of?
 
 I would really appreciate any and all opinions on this, whether you own or have owned a Trail Manor or not! Thanks for any input!

[SactoCampers]

 garym053
I think it s doable!
 
 The Trailmanors have some very large floorplans, including ones with front slides that really open up the space while keeping towing length nice and short. I would think that for two people, the 2720SL might be the ticket for you.
 
 Advantages: Their low towing profile makes towing much easier than a hard-side. Civil-War-Buff has a 2720 and he says it s very easy to set up and break down. I think all you have to do is unlatch, pull one side up and over, do the same for the other, set up the door, set up the bathroom walls and fold back the wardrobe.
 
 Disadvantages: I don t think you can access the trailer while it s popped down, so the sequence of things you do is still important. Other disadvantage is cost. Those suckers are expensive. But resale value is good. Awning placement is odd since it has to mount to one of the fold outs. Also kind of heavy (not really an issue with a JGC).
 
 I like the concept, but their floorplans don t work with our priorities. The smallest one doesn t have a queen bed and there s not quite as much floor space as I would like considering the investment.

[garym053]

 garym053
Thanks Sactocamper! That s the type of feedback I ve grown to love from this site! I was actually thinking of the 3023. It may be a little large for two people but I kind of like the floor plan, although I must admit I m going to have to go back and check out the 2720SL as I don t remember what it looked like!!! Again- Thanks!

[Civil_War_Buff]

 garym053
Gary,
 
 You should have no trouble with the 3023, that is a nice sized unit!  I cannot dispute anything that SactoCampers had said with one small exception, and that is regarding the weight.  My 2720 is actually approximately 600# lighter than my Coleman Niagara was, and fully loaded the TM is no heavier than my Niagara was loaded down.  I like the TrailManor and I like it more and more everytime I take it out.  If I were to do it all over again, I would have probably gotten the 2720SL over the 2720, mainly because there is just the 2 of us, and having a couch would be a little more like home.   We like the area that the front bed gives us for storage though, so there is a trade-off.  We spent over two weeks this past summer in the TM and never felt closed in or cramped...I think that we could do several weeks to months in the TM.
 
 If you have any TrailManor specific questions, you can always email me directly, or you can check out http://www.trailmanorowners.com and you will have more information than you can possibly use.
 
 Good luck with whatever you decide.

[aldebnj]

 garym053
My wife and I looked at the 3023 and have opted for the 3124 to get the King sized bed and a bit more storage.  We actually started looking at the 2720 but liked the extra space of the 3023/3124 with the front sofas and fold out table.
 
 Good luck.
 
 Al

[aldebnj]

 garym053
BTW  We will be ordering ours at one of the RV shows this Winter.
 
 Al

[Civil_War_Buff]

 garym053
Al,
 
 You will be very happy with the 3124KS, that is a big one, but the King sized bed does make it worth it...I like the optional floor cabinet that goes into that one as well, which options are you considering?
 
 All in all, I love my TrailManor, that is for sure.
 
 
 
 

[aldebnj]

 garym053
We re going for the KB with the front bunk.  We plan on having this one for a while and are going full out on the options: AC, Larger awning with screen room, hanging cabinet, screen door and I think that s it from the factory.  We will add for ourselves an AM/FM/CD car stereo and probably Solar Panels.  We like state parks but I have Sleep Apnea and need my Breathing Machine each night.  The machine will run on 12 v. but I hate to think what it would do to the battery after a night or two.  Generators are just messier than I want to deal with and we miss the solitude of a nice park.
 
 I kind of surprised my wife when we went looking at them during our vacation on Cape Cod.  I wasn t sure if she would be interested.  Well...after a few minutes of looking at them and having a saleslady of her own strength and size close it and us opening it... My wife was sold.  She told me " We don t need to look at any more trailers.  This one is perfect."   We re just waiting for the RV show season for the specials.
 
 We are very excited.
 
 Al
 
 PS. Saw your mods on your site.  We ll be doing a few of our own too.

[garym053]

 garym053
Hi Al! Thanks for the input! I have Sleep Apnea as well! AND I also prefer camping in State Parks where there is usually no electricity. What I do is take a Sealed Deep Cycle battery that is ONLY used for the CPAP and I modified a plug to hook into the TV Trailer plug and recharge the battery as we drive around and sight see. The Jeep has a high oput alternator which recharges it in no time. If we are going for a week or more, I take two batteries.
 I too plan on going Solar when we finally decide on what form of RV we will be getting! Doesn t seem practical right now with the pop up due to space limits. I wish the price of solar cells would come down, I d do my whole house!