First Big TM Trip

[Beamrider]

My wife and I have been campers for about 40 years. We both enjoyed the outdoors, and with our small family, decided camping was a cost efficient way to travel and visit various places. Over the years we have had various tents, a small coleman pop-up and a 30ft travel trailer with 2 slideouts we purchased in 2012.

When I purchased the TT I had a 1/2 ton Silverado ("Yes sir. It's half ton towable!") for towing and after a trip or 2 decided that a 3/4 ton would be a wise decision. I traded in the truck for a 3/4 ton Silverado HD 4WD and, after THE sway incident, purchased a Pro Pride Trailer hitch (Costly but worth EVERY penny). Towing the trailer became MUCH easier and I never regretted the upgrade of the truck or the hitch. We used it for several trips every year in our homestate but my wife and I decided that it wasn't something we wanted to tow across the country.

In 2021 we made the decision to retire in early 2022 so we started looking for a trailer of some sort that we wouldn't mind towing. I discovered TrailManor from a Youtube video and wanted to see one but none were found our homestate. We decided we were gonna have to travel to SD just so we could see one when a friend told "I think I saw one for sale near here". We checked it out, and sure enough there was a 2007 3124KB in a front yard for sale. It had originally been purchsed by a farmer that had it set up in a barn for his granchildren to use. The current owners had it stored in a garage and had only used it 2 or 3 times before deciding camping wasn't for them. My wife and I were amazed at the simplicity of setup and the fantastic condition of the 2007 ( It looked brand new!) and the 3124KB had the room we wanted (One end for us, the other end for our 2 labs). We immediately purchased the TM and took it home.

We took the TM out twice in '21 and I made a few monifications (water fill when closed, battery kill switch..etc) and were happy with our purchase. We retired early in '22 and decided it was time for a BIG trip. We towed the TM behind the 3/4 ton, with no weight distribution or sway control (over 2500 miles roundtrip), with absolutely no problem (I forgot it was there most of the time). My wife and I, and our 2 labs, were perfectly comfortable for the 6 week trip. We decided we like the TM much better than the TT and will be selling the TT soon.

When we pull the TM into a campground, we always see people watching us set it up and always get 3 or 4 wanting to talk about it and check out the inside. I have lost count of the people I have talked to about the TM (dozens!). We are now official TM fanatics and have decided that if we ever need to replace this one it will be with a new TM.

We are currently planning another BIG trip in the opposite direction for later this summer...

[Larryjb]

Congratulations on your "new" 3124!

We have experienced the same sort of thing. I opened the trailer in a parking lot to use the bathroom once, and some guy was just amazed how quickly it set up!

I tow with a Tahoe which can certainly take the weight, but given the TM is tongue heavy, and my wife packed it with tons of canned foods and full of water, it actually was overweight on the rear axle! These are certainly very towable with smaller SUVs than our Tahoe, but you still have to keep in mind how you pack. Now, we don't prefill the water until we know we will need it (last water fill before we will need it), and we purchase our food after we arrive at our campsite, or just before we arrive. I do use a WDH to make sure the weight is evenly split between the front and rear wheels. While I feel this is important, others quite passionately defend not using a WDH. My reasoning is that (1) it takes some stress off of the rear wheel bearings and (2) equal weight distribution is safer if you encounter an unforeseen emergency situation. But certainly, under normal circumstances, you wouldn't even notice any difference.

A pickup truck (especially your 3/4T) is probably designed for heavy loads anyway, but it's probably not a bad idea to go onto a scale and see what the individual axle weights turn out to be.

We pulled it put the Grapevine leading into LA with our 4.6L Explorer, not a single problem. The newer 6, 8, and 10 speed automatics make towing MUCH easier, although I still prefer V8's and full frame vehicles for towing.

Have fun, and keep us posted!