We're movin on up - into the dark side!!!

[Popupnut]

Hi folks, we haven't been around here much lately - life has gotten too busy to mention - although now with the holiday's over we can breathe a bit and start thinking about camping again.
I hope you all had a great holiday/holidays - Happy New Year to everyone!  Let's hope the new year brings many new friends and lot's and lot's of camping!!!

DH and I decided that we really do need to move it on up - we are looking at a trailer with quad bunks - although 2 will do - and a private bedroom area for us as well as plenty of wardrobe storage and a bathroom, shower, stove,oven and microwave to beat all.....Not asking too much are we?  We went to the RV show in Hartford last weekend with a bunch of our crazy camping friends and had a blast - it helped to see whats out there so we can figure out what we get for the $$$$ .
I will remain Popupnut - forever - because my heart lies here and with my very first camper and my very first- not to mention the best website ever!!  PUT!!!!!

Wish us luck!

[CampNfan]

Beth, that sounds great! I think I may have to follow in your footsteps....Seems a few others have done the same. We will be going to the show in a couple weeks as well. Better keep the DW home....LOL! Good luck! and Glad to hear you will still be around!

[2manytoyz]

Not that I plan on switching anytime soon, but I sure like the design of the TrailManor rigs: http://www.trailmanor.com/

Most of the time my camper will be parked, which is why I won't be buying a motorhome for some time.  Trailers hold up well when sitting for long periods of time, motorhomes don't.  I like the idea of having a low profile towing rig, and smaller profile yard fixture.

[NightOwl]

Beth, it is great to see you on the board again!!  I hope you find the "home on wheels" of your dreams!  And you can tell from past history  that we still love to cyber-camp with members who have moved to The Dark side, and will always  welcome them here.  I think of this as a place where we all originally came together as popup campers and that what holds us together now is our love of camping of any kind and our affection for each other.

Since you have kids, I think the kind of RV you described will be perfect for your needs.  We love our  TM3023, it offers quite palatial space for just the two of us, but it might have been a different matter if we had had kids.

PS--Hey, Robert, as much as we really love our TM after 2 and a half years, you might want to think seriously about the logistics of trying to camp with 2 boys in one.   Of course, its advantages might make the sacrifice of space and privacy worthwhile to you, but  Chris Tretta (the owner of the fantastic  TM website) got rid of his beloved  TM3023 because it was getting too cramped for them and their growing kids.   (But since you are in Florida, you could probably stretch your living space  with a screenroom sufficiently to go for  a trailer of that size.  And of course, camping in a mild climate means you'd be outside most of the time anyhow.)  

Our chief  reasons  for going with the TM in the first place  are those you mentioned--low profile and  ease of towing along with the security of the hardsides (and a full hardsided bathroom) .  When it was 2 weeks old, I towed it from north  Georgia to  Michigan and back ALL BY MYSELF  behind my Aerostar with no difficulty whatsoever and felt totally safe staying  in it alone for 3 weeks because of its hardsides.

[Camperroo]

don't think of it as the dark side!  We bought a TT two years ago but still love to be on this forum because we have such fond memories of camping in our popup.

[aldebnj]

Hi Nightowl,

I didn't know (or forgot) that you have a TM 3023 too.  We just got ours over Columbus Day weekend and have started planning many trips, including Ft Wilderness, for this coming camping season.  We love our TrailManor too and our decision came after years of searching.
 
Happy Camping from the Twilight Zone (not quite the dark side but getting close),
 
Al

[2manytoyz]

PS--Hey, Robert, as much as we really love our TM after 2 and a half years, you might want to think seriously about the logistics of trying to camp with 2 boys in one.   Of course, its advantages might make the sacrifice of space and privacy worthwhile to you, but  Chris Tretta (the owner of the fantastic  TM website) got rid of his beloved  TM3023 because it was getting too cramped for them and their growing kids.   (But since you are in Florida, you could probably stretch your living space  with a screenroom sufficiently to go for  a trailer of that size.  And of course, camping in a mild climate means you'd be outside most of the time anyhow.)  

Our chief  reasons  for going with the TM in the first place  are those you mentioned--low profile and  ease of towing along with the security of the hardsides (and a full hardsided bathroom) .  When it was 2 weeks old, I towed it from north  Georgia to  Michigan and back ALL BY MYSELF  behind my Aerostar with no difficulty whatsoever and felt totally safe staying  in it alone for 3 weeks because of its hardsides.

I've pretty much given up on the idea of privacy when we go camping.  I consider it a family event, and deal with it as such.  Many times before we adopted the two boys, we'd take my in-laws.  As you mentioned, the weather is usually so nice here during the day that we spend most of it outside.  About the only time we watch TV is when the weather turns bad, or last thing in the evening.  We're usually beat at that point.  We do a lot of bike riding, kayaking or canoeing, and swimming.

The most we've had in our small camper (10' box) is 4 adults, and 3 kids.  No privacy, but lots of fun.  Kind of like a sleep-over.  We try to take my relatives from Scotland each 2 week period during Summer they spend with us.

I love/hate screen rooms.  If someone sets it up, they are wonderful.  If I have to set it up, I hate it.  They are very bulky to transport.  The only reason I have one is it came as a package deal with our camper.

When we made our long trek across the US, we found it too time consuming to setup the camper while on the road.  We'd arrive at a campsite near dark, and take off again about daylight.  That was just too much effort for the brief stay.  I'm hoping the TM will setup as easy as the demo I saw on TV.

[NightOwl]

I've pretty much given up on the idea of privacy when we go camping.  I consider it a family event, and deal with it as such.  

The most we've had in our small camper (10' box) is 4 adults, and 3 kids.  No privacy, but lots of fun.  Kind of like a sleep-over.  We try to take my relatives from Scotland each 2 week period during Summer they spend with us.

    I'm hoping the TM will setup as easy as the demo I saw on TV.

Ha, ha--Robert, sounds like you have the same feeling we did about camping with our kids --kind of like the old Southern or Midwestern  family thing of everybody coming to Grammaw's and  stuffing all the "chillern" into a bed or a pallet on the floor and everyone is having such a good time that no one cares about privacy or how crowded it is.  I am proud to say, we NEVER took a vacation without our kids  (we didnt need to get away from them--they were were very easy to have around, a lot of  fun, and great company.)  So all our vacations included them, and  we miss those days very much.

One summer in our old popup, we took our 2 teenagers and two of their friends on a 5 week trip from MIchigan  to  Colorado, Utah, and northern Arizona.  Most nights, we  did stop and camp  during the "going out" part of the trip.  It helped that the kids were all old enough to pitch in getting camp set up.  Coming back, we mostly stopped at motels just for the ease and time-saving.  (And we had just finished a 1 week backpack trip up across the Continental
Divide so  we were all pretty tired!)

Of course, the TM is not QUITE as easy and quick to set up as they'd like you to believe in their promos, but it comes close.  I have no trouble setting it up alone although naturally it does take more time than with a team.  Also, when closing it alone, I usually end up on the roof to get the rear section to drop down completely  and latch  closed.  After traveling with ours, I'd say WE would not be stopping at campgrounds with ourTM and opening it.  It does take time  and at the end of a long day of travel, we are no longer enthusiastic about getting into the "home construction business."

Like all camping road trips, using the TM as a place to stop en route is all a matter of how much time you have, how much ground you need to cover in a day, and  how old your kids are or if you have other adults who can lend a hand and help get camp set up quickly .

Like you, I LOVE gadgets, and closely followed the development of TrailManor for 15 years (almost since it first opened) before we bought ours.  In the early days, I stopped at the original factory and got a tour and demonstration from Bill Hulsey the "inventor" and president of the TM.  I was mightily impressed with him and his product (which has only improved with the passage of time.)   TrailManors were pretty much handmade then, and still are, and a lot of thought has been given to using lightweight components and new technology.

[2manytoyz]

Thanks for the insight.  Always nice to talk to someone who actually owns one and uses it.

We have pretty much decided that all future trips from FL to CO or Yellowstone will involve hotel camping on the way out and back.  We'll stay in the camper once we arrive.  Just too much work at the end of a long day to setup even a basic campsite.  With a laptop computer, and Street Atlas 2004 (highly recommended), we have names/numbers to just about everything of interest, including hotels.  The wife can get on the cell phone when we start to fizzle, and make arrangements for the next town.

Next month, and my love of gadgets, I will be buying an iQue 3600.  A coworker has one, AMAZING!  On a single 512MB SD memory card, he can easily get the entire SE loaded into this little PDA.  That's highly detailed maps down to residential street level, and all the points of interest.  I shouldn't have any problem loading maps from here to Yellowstone as it will be a narrow swath of many States.  Only need a larger map of the State(s) we are planning to expore.  Got more goodies to sell on Ebay first to pay for it...

Maybe someday we'll move up to a TM.  Working on getting out of debt and buying a new house in a couple of years... so we'll be in debt again.   :rolleyes:

[aldebnj]

We have found our TrailManor much easier to set than our pop up.  Takes just a few minutes with no cranking or shepard poles.  Everything just lifts and latches.  Our awning and stabilizer jacks just crank out.  Everything is in drawers or cabinets so we don't have to stow things in the truck and then move them to the trailer.  Much easier way to go.
 
Al

[Popupnut]

HI everyone - thank you for your input and your support - this place will always be home to me.
We went to the camper place lastnight to review some models - the salesman tried to talk my DH into a 5th wheel - but he is not interested in modifying the bed of the truck as he uses it every day for work...
It will probably be a "Keystone" Springdale trailer - 28-30 feet long with 2 bunks and a queen bed - pull out couch and drop down table for extra bed space.  The issue with these is space and storage - there is one model with a walk around bed and another model that you cannot walk around the bed - I'm not crazy about the latter - I know enough to scope out the amount of storage there will be for the daily items we use - I can't stand the clutter that comes with camping stuff and the junk the kids bring.  
We loved the new outback camper with the slide out bed (like the Coleman Caravan) but the bed  has no privacy and we are looking for a separate room instead of having an exposed bed.  Although there were 4 bunks with lots of wardrobe storage for the kdis - very little on the queen bed end though.  A game of weighing the plusses and minuses of these campers.  
With 2 kids and a teenager with a guest that may need to come in from her tent if it's raining, we need as much space as possible....
We are going back next tuesday for another loo-see.
Anyone out there with a nice set up similar - chime in - I'm ready to explore new options.  Although we are not interested in a really big trailer - nothing more than 30 feet - hopefully less than that.
Thanks guys!

[Y-Guy]

Not sure where you are at in your hunt, but we've been looking at a Outback 28RSS and have expanded our look to the Frontier line by KZ, Fleetwood Caravan, and the Grand Surveyor by Forest River is another to check out too.  

Happy Lookin'

[garym053]

Good luck in your quest for "the Dark Side"! I've gone back and forth on this issue over the last year. Do I stick with a pop-up? Do I go with a Trail Manor? Or how about a TT? With gas prices climbing, and I'm certain that they will continue to do so! At some point in MY lifetime I'm sure we WILL see $2.50 to $3.00 per gallon prices, towing anything that causes gas to be guzzled isn't a good thing! So I keep coming back to pop ups, both traditional and Trail Manor type.
One that I hadn't considered before, but will since seeing the article in the new Pop Up Times, is Aliner. I had always considered them to be too small, but it appears that they have some large models coming out!

[Gone-Camping]

Beth... I was curious where you've been! Glad to see you posting here again.

As for moving up the TT, you're not alone. After all I went through getting a new PU 2 years ago, I'm now one year into a Hybrid TT myself! It was a great move. I don't consider it the Dark Side like some others think, just a natural progression or evolution that 'most' campers follow. I too made my mark here on the Pop-up boards, and they'll have to beat me away with a stick to get rid of me (or send me a renewal bill.... )
 
You might talk to your DH about rethinking the 5th wheel. Those Keystone Springdale 5ers are extremely light weight, and the fiver is much simpler to hook-up and to pull. The rig that goes into the back of the truck basically snaps into place, and when it's removed the whole truck bed is still usable just like it used to be! A large TT is a much more frightening pull, but with adequate WDH and anti-sway controls it's not too bad.
 
Good luck, and post a picture of your 'new sign' after ya get the new trailer!!!

[B-flat]

Have you thought about a Hi-Lo?  Those are hardsided and the roof lowers to the travel position when popped down.  It would easily fit into a garage.