Couple of Questions...new to the concept

[ShrimpBurrito]

Originally Posted by Al-n-Sue

Kevan - sounds like you may be military. First, thank you for your service! And we pray you get home soon.

Good point. And if that's indeed the case, I too thank you! Your base at home may also rent pop-ups at MWR for very cheap, and although it won't be a TM, you can get an idea of how much space you are comfortable with. Most pop-ups, in fact, have a similar floor plan to a 2720.

Dave

Sue and Dave

I am in the military..Active Duty Air Force going on 6 years now...the time flies by...I can tell you that.

Thank you for your prayers. I can tell you that the we all really do appreciate the thanks we receive from so many; we all are proud to serve our great country.

Thank you again,

Kevan

Originally Posted by AirKevan

...I'm considering the 2720/3023/3124KB. It's my wife and I and our two kids...currently ages 3.5 and 2.

My three questions:

1. Which trailer would you choose and why (looking at my family size)

If you can handle a 3124 I would go with that one. The extra room will certainly help, especially with kids. The extra storage under the king bed will probably help a lot.

2. How do you keep someone from breaking into your trailer while you are out and about? Hooking up and driving off with it? I'm new...but it just seems like you are very much on the 'honor' system.

If they want they can get it. The more trouble you can make it the less likely they will take it. If you are parking with other campers they tend to watch out for you too.

Besides a hitch lock, I have a big cable lock I loop through the wheels and frame. Even if you were to hitch up you aren't going to get very far before that cable pulls taught. The trailer coulb be dragged after that, but it ain't going to roll.

3. How do you go about finding destinations to go to? Obviously there is the internet...but do you have an giant RV guide that you use to find good areas and then find the good parks from there or what?

RV.NET is a good place to start as is this site. It is certainly well worth the money to join this site for the first year of ownership.

The other places to check are at state lines where the tourist information bureaus are located.

I like AAA's mapping service because it seems up-to-date and has more information than other RV organizations. What is really neat is that you can build custom maps and store them on the website (password protected) and you can print them out anytime. It is also very easy to use and includes fuel prices too.

And THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE TOO...

[jquarles]

Whichever TM you get I think you will enjoy. I will throw my two cents in, and I am a newbie too. I took my just purchased used TM 3326 out for the first time 2 weeks ago and loved it. This might be a bit overkill for most, but I'll tell you my opinion of what I thought was great as more food for your thought.

Our family. Me, wife 3.5 y.o boy and 1.5 y.o. girl. Similar ages to yours. We also took in-laws and may take my mom. So, anywhere from the four of us in the nuclear family to 5 adults and 2 kids.

The pros of owning a big trailer.
+ while we were out the other week it rained on us a lot of the time. Snow and hail too. With the two little ones it was easy to keep them entertained inside as there is a lot of floor space. As you know, kids that size don't have the attention span to sit idle too long. The space was a life saver with all of us couped up in it for long periods.
+ the ability to take as many friends and family as we want. We figure there will be a lot of times that we will take the kids friends out too.

downsides
-space to store it. but surprisingly we fit it in a two 1/2 car garage. one side is longer so it fits. And it goes under the garage door. cool.
-need a bigger tow vehicle
- may be a little limited on places where you can go, but so far we have found many places.

anyway....things to ponder

Thank you for your service Kevan. Being just up the road from you, sort of, in Griffin GA you would be more than welcome to come up and take a good, long, hard, slow, look at our 2720SL when you return home. Learn how everything works, opens, closes, etc. . . in the backyard away from the sales folks if you want. Just give a holler.

1. I would go for the larger TM if I had to do this all over again. Seems like more room is always better. Especially on rainy days.

2. If someone wants to steal something they will. No matter what. Been camping a long time in one form or another and so far no one has taken anything from any campsite I have been in. Take the prudent precautions of course.

3. This forum is a good place to bounce ideas around and too learn about future campsites. In addition to all the ideas shared earlier. I usually use the internet to research new places, routes, etc. . .

Good luck to you and yours. Come home safe sir.

As for destinations, you might pick up a Woodall's Campground Directory. They are available at many RV stores, larger bookstores and through Camping World. It is the most comprehensive guide we've found. Most state DNRs publish a camping guide with reference to state camping facilities and some campground companies, such as KOA, publish a guide as to their facilities. - camp2canoe

I am in the "shorter is better" crowd.

Many of the places we go I would not be able to take any trailer that is longer than 24 feet. Not because the sites are short. Many of the public campgrounds in California are old, some going back to before the 40s. The built the access roads around the trees. There are a lot of curves in the roads that access the camp sites. Too long and you will not make it around some of the trees.

My brother has a 32 foot fifth wheel. He can not go where I can go. I do not like to go where he can go.

Just understand where you think you will want to go and use that as a guide for your maximum length.

Some of the places that I used to go I can no longer go to because a 20 foot truck with the 2720 is too long.

AirKevan, if you are still checking this thread, I may be able to help with some places to camp in central Georgia. I am a resident there also.

Just do some searching on the web. There are lots of sites like the link below. You can then always ask for inputs from this site.

http://www.eugenecarsey.com/camp/default.htm