security and gauges questions

I was at a dealer last week and happily discovered I could set up and take down the Trailmanor by myself! So now I am looking for one. However, as a single female, I have a couple of questions: (yes I am probably a paranoid city girl!)

1. When the trailer is open, is there a way to secure the slideouts from the inside? I realized that when you closed the trailer, all I did was step under the slideout and pushed in. What is to prevent people from doing this while the trailer is set up and you are away from it?
2. Are there gauges to keep track of the water, propane, tanks, etc. and if so, where are they located?

Thanks for your help. I have learned a lot from this forum.

Yes, you can lock the slide outs when opened. Inside there are latches that you lock when the beds are pushed out. So from outside the camper you cannot push the beds back in. As far as gauges I'm not sure. My TM is an older one and doesn't have the "New Stuff" in it. But if you are camping at a campground you should use the direct water hookup and most campgrounds can refill your propane tanks when needed.

Hope this helps.

[Mr. Adventure]

These are great questions.

1. There are toggle bolts that secure the beds so that they can't be moved once the trailer is set up.

2. Fresh water and gray water tank gauges are on the front of the sink cabinet, the toilet capacity gauge is at the back of the toilet, and the propane tanks are outside. I use a very old fashioned mechanism to check them: take a cup full of warm water, and dump it down the side of the tank. Then as you move your hand down the vertical stripe where the water ran down, the place where it suddenly feels cooler is the propane level in the tank.

You gotta love these trailers for being easy to use and reliable over the years.

Originally Posted by Mr. Adventure

1. There are toggle bolts that secure the beds so that they can't be moved once the trailer is set up.

Besides that, the rear bed can not slide if the closet is up and the bathroom walls are up. If the front interior flaps are folded down to close off the opening then I very much doubt that anyone would be able to slide the front bed, even if the two locking bolts were unlocked. Some TM models do not have a front bed like mine.

The propane tanks have an automatic switch-over. One goes empty and it uses the other. There is a visual thingie (not a technical term!) which tells you this has happened, so you can fill the empty tank and have it ready to automatically switch back. Propane lasts a very long time, except when using the propane heater. We mostly use a electric floor heater, which is quieter and takes the chill off without the noise of the main heater.

I've forgotten to put up just one of the velcro flaps and couldn't push the couch section in. These are the kinds of reminders you get from the TM that you "missed" something when you go to close up ;-)

Phil

Originally Posted by nvpdub

...1. When the trailer is open, is there a way to secure the slideouts from the inside? I realized that when you closed the trailer, all I did was step under the slideout and pushed in. What is to prevent people from doing this while the trailer is set up and you are away from it?

It would be very difficult to close up the unit once it is setup. You have interior locks, cabinets, and walls that would make it difficult to fold up.

2. Are there gauges to keep track of the water, propane, tanks, etc. and if so, where are they located?

Like many trailers there os an interior instrument panel that shows remain water and battery life as well as how much of the gray water tank capacity you have consumed.

Propane is different matter. These tanks are mounted on the exterior of the TM. There are two styles that are used: vertical and horizontal.

TM that have slideout beds on both ends (like the 2619, 2720, 3023, 3124KB) use vertical tanks. These are the ones that most people are familiar with. They are much easier to remove and refill than the horizontal tanks.

The horizontal tanks are used on models with living rooms (2720SL, 2720SD, 3124KS, and 3326King). Due to space requirements these tanks are under the LR floor. The gauges on these have sections: one that can be read in the vertical position; one that can be read in horizontal position.

Each orientation has its advantages and disadvantages. One nice thing about the TMs is that system automatically swaps from an empty bottle to a full one. Also, you can remove the empty bottle without interrupting the gas flow.

The sliding beds also serve as emergency exits and tilt up. They also serve as ejection seats out the bottom of the trailer if you don't latch the beds.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by larsdennert

The sliding beds also serve as emergency exits and tilt up.

Yup.

They also serve as ejection seats out the bottom of the trailer if you don't latch the beds.

Nope. I'm pretty sure this is urban legend. I certainly can't find any way to make this happen in my TM, and I removed the latches years ago.

Bill

Guaranteed that on my '05 2619 you will fall if the berths aren't latched - ask me how I know! - camp2canoe