Taking our TM Cross Country

I have been wanting to buy a trailmanor for 17 years now but could never convince my wife, and also it seems like there were so many other more important things to do.

Last march, my dream finally came through.  We, along with out best friends, purchase brand new 2002 2619's.  I had spinal surgery a few months prior and could only raise my left arm slightly.

I have had no problems what so ever opening up the trailmanor with the use of one arm.  It takes only a few minutes to be enjoying the great outdoors.

Last June, we all took a cross country trip from here in West Palm Beach, Florida out west. (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and everything in between).  It was the most incredible trip I have ever take.  We were gone for3.5 weeks and the trailmanors worked wonderfully.  I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee V8, and our friends have a new Chevy Tahoe.  I could not get over as to how well these trailers towed.  There were several times where I forgot that I was towing a vehicle.

AS the days past, our understanding of the do's and dont's of trailering became more evident.  My wife and had our jobs, and set up and break down were a breeze.  During the day, we used an Igloo cooler plugged into the 12 volt plug of the Jeep, and when we would stop for Breakfast or Lunch, we pulled what we needed from them and had a great meal in the rest areas.  Of course we did find some places with no facilities, so we opened up the TM, and formed a line.....between the 2 families and 2 TM's we were 7. When we needed extra refrig space, we plugged in the Igloo to the power plug next to the refrig, and placed the Igloo on top.

During our visit to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, it was extremely windy and the sand just covered our TM, but inside it was as solid as a full size trailer.  I never felt that the TM would take off with the wind.

I can not tell you how thrilled we were with our units.  To have something that fits in the garage, and yet be able to live in it for such a long trip and not feel cramped.  What amazed me in our travels was that people who were owners of $100-200,000 Motorhomes,would come over to us to see our TM's and asked how they opened and closed.  The brochures we got with our owners manual were gone by our 3 stop.

Unfortuntely, to no fault of our TM's or myself, my trailmanor was destroyed in an accident.  It was totalled, but today Im happy to say, we just got our New 2003 2619 and just cant wait to use it next weekend.

Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

George,

A great testimonial to Trailmanor.  I'm glad you hung in there for 17 years to get one so you can enjoy it!

i can relate. took three long extended trips this year and not once did the "manor" let us down. hot, windy weather at the grand canyon, cold to cool weather at cape cod and sunny but cold weather in new mexico, the "manor" did it's thing.

i have (last week) traded in my 2001, 2720 trailmanor for a 2003, 29 foot hi-lo but will always appreciate the wonderful camping we did with our trailmanor.  

[Civil_War_Buff]

I too want to thank you so much for that great testimonial!! We purchased our TM in August for the expressed intent of pulling it from N. California to Gettysburg next July.  I was wondering how it was going to fare, and with your report along with Paul_R's I feel confident that we will do just fine! In the 4 times we have had ours out this year, I have already gone through the brochures in mine too, how do I get more, will TM send me some, or do I need to get them from the dealership?
One thing that you mentioned has me intrigued, we have a Coleman thermo-electric cooler (early extreme I guess), and I was wondering if you left it plugged into the Television receptacle and let it run while towing?  We have a small electric cooler that we keep in the tow vehicle, but I was curious if it gets too hot and not enough air circulation in the TM to keep things cool while in the closed down TM?

Wishing you many happy years with your new TM.

Larry

[Bill]

We have a Coleman thermo-electric cooler, and I was wondering if you left it plugged into the Television receptacle and let it run while towing? I was curious if it gets too hot and not enough air circulation in the TM to keep things cool while in the closed down TM?
Larry

Larry -

There is actually a fair amount of air circulation in the closed TM.  We often leave our Coleman on the kitchen floor of the TM during towing, and it cools just fine. Of course, you would do this only if you don't expect to need access to it during the day. As Wade points out, if you are going to stop at the grocery store, then it might be better to have it in the tow vehicle. Otherwise, have no fear, it does just fine in the TM.

Bill

One thing that you mentioned has me intrigued, we have a Coleman thermo-electric cooler (early extreme I guess), and I was wondering if you left it plugged into the Television receptacle and let it run while towing?

I left a thermo-electric cooler plugged into the television receptical and it destroyed the television recepticle.

[Civil_War_Buff]

One thing that you mentioned has me intrigued, we have a Coleman thermo-electric cooler (early extreme I guess), and I was wondering if you left it plugged into the Television receptacle and let it run while towing?

I left a thermo-electric cooler plugged into the television receptical and it destroyed the television recepticle.

Eugene,

How did it do that?  Do you mean the bed damaged it when it was slid in or something else?

Thanks,

Larry

The amps of the thermal electric was too much for the 12 volt receptacle and of melted the 12 volt contact in the TV receptacle. I had to buy a new combination 12 volt and TV receptacle to replace it.
Eugene

[Bill]

Eugene -

I know it doesn't help for me to say this, but that shouldn't have happened.  The T-E cooler (mine, anyway) draws about 5 amps.  The TV socket is good for 8 amps, according to the Winegard web site.  At any rate, I think (though I can't swear) that the socket is fused, so if the current draw had been excessive, the fuse should have blown.  I am assuming you don't have access to an ammeter to measure the current, right?

The most probable conclusion is that there was a high-resistance connection in there somewhere.  It could have been that the 12-volt feed wire wasn't properly attached to the TV socket (screw terminal not screwed down tightly).  But more likely, there was a little dirt or grease, either on the inside of the socket, or on the end of the plug.

Have you tried the T-E cooler in your car's cigarette lighter?  (Higher current available there.)  Does it cool correctly?  Does the little fan run?

If all looks good there, have you tried the T-E cooler in the new TV socket?  If it is going to overheat, I would think you could feel it with your fingers before any damage is done.  Especially if you remove the socket assembly from the wall so you can get your fingers right on the socket.  Don't worry, you can't get a shock from 12-volts.

Bill

Bill,

The wall mount power supply with the 12 volt DC receptacle was not a Winegard brand, but was "AntennaTek" whose 12 volt DC receptacle got destroyed with my cooler. I checked my cooler and it says that it draws three amps. Frankly, I do not know anything about amps. I called AntennaTek and told them what happened. AntennaTek told me that the 12 volt DC receptacle was not designed for such appliance. I now replaced it with a Winegard. It seems that the Winegard is a better quality product. I have used the cooler in my tow vehicle with no problem, but I am reluctant to use it in the TM 12 volt receptacle.

Eugene