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08-06-2007, 12:22 PM
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#1
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Site Sponsor
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 17
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New owners of an older 3023!!! Now what?
"Now what?" is the question. We purchases our 1994 3023 last Tuesday and left it at the local TM dealership to have it inventoried and gone through. We're going crazy reading the archives and wanting to do things to our new TM, but it isn't here in our driveway yet.
The previous owners told us that all the appliances were in good working order when they last closed it up and that the trialer had no leaks or problems when it was in use. The four burner cooktop and oven looked brand new. The fridge needed cleaning, but no more than the one at my folks cabin when we open it up. One of the vents was broken when we opened the TM, and a little water must have dripped down and pooled where the front or top and back or bottom sections meet. There is a rotted piece of oak trim on the top of the front section that covers the seam between the ceiling and wall. I did notice a bit of black down the wall from the rotting trim piece but the wall and ceiling both felt solid. It also felt solid around the vent. We plan to replace the broken vent with a fantastic fan - should we replace the other one with a fantastic fan too? Do these have light fixtures in them or are they just fans? We should be hearing back from the TM service center sometime today or tomorrow. I am so geeked up about our new purchase I can't begin to tell you.
We have a list of over 50 questions to ask the service guy when he calls, but will wait to ask most of them until we are there to pick up the unit - LOL. I have heard tell of some folks that video their walkthrough - I think we will be taking video camera too - so they can go back and review things they aren't sure about on their walkthrough. My main concerns are that the appliances are in working condition - would rather spend money on mods (can't wait to start working on our new toy) than replacing appliances. I am handy, but know nothing about all these new fangled appliances for camping - running water, hot water that isn't boiled, a real refigerator, and a toilet to boot!!! Another concern we have is the velcro'd vinyl seals around the inside and the vinyl bubble seal underneath them (the seam or seal betwen the shells when the unit is closed). The wood trim piece (under the vinyl flap) holding these two vinyl seals is rotted in a few places as well as the vinyl bubble seal around part of the bottom of the upper and lower sections. Other than the appliances working and the seal in a few spots, the unit seems to be in good condition. It needs a good cleaning, but structually it seemed sound. I will post pics when I get the unit home. Can't wait to start fixing up and traveling in our new TM!!! Looking forward to meeting some of you down the road. Thanks for a great site.
Our family and TM history
Our, new to us, TM 3023 has sat for the last 7 years in the first and only owner's driveway - they bought it new in 94. They started tent camping in 1954 as a family, later moved up to popups, and finally up to the TM in 94 as a retired couple with grown children who occassionally camped with them. When they were no longer able to use the camper and their children lost interest, they parked the TM in their driveway. Our family has been a tent family since my wife and I first met and stopped a few years ago. We were coaxed into camping with some friends last summer for the first time since our youngest son was born. We decided to rent a pop up (its only a place to sleep right) because our family had grown and the family we were camping with had one with a slide out. We quickly remembered why we enjoyed tent camping so much - fresh air, nature, hiking, seeing and being in the great outdoors - when our stay began. We really liked the look of our friends popup compared to the one we rented. It then rained, no poured, for two straight days. We had to bring in a bunch of our gear. All of us and our gear together in that tiny 10 foot popup for two straight days was insanity - we couldn't turn around without bumping into each other! Our friends had it better, but not by a great deal. We quickly realized why tent or pop up camping in something this size would be out of the question now - Wife, 2-boys (10 & 3), myself, and a 1 y/o puppy. We started looking for a large pop up with a slide out. We saw a few and were thinking about making an offer on one when we went to view a TM. After seeing the TM, we realized we needed more space. We have been looking for a TM for about two months and found this 3023 and think it will suit our size needs well. Our family is going to try to continue the previous owner's family camping tradition with their old trailer. We are going to keep in touch so they can live vicariously through our travels with their trailer.
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08-06-2007, 02:05 PM
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#2
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Guest
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Just curious...
is your local Trailmanor Dealer M & M Camping in Trenton? If so we might live close to you.
Cathy
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08-06-2007, 02:23 PM
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#3
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Site Sponsor
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 17
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local dealer
Yes, M & M is the local dealer. We left ours at Art's RV in Chicago, the area TM dealer and service center where we bought our TM. Have you taken your TM to M & M? How is their service? We went and looked at a few new TM's to get an idea of size before we settled on our 3023. I see that you also have a 3023. Any insights you would care to share? LOL Thanks,
S & L
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08-06-2007, 05:03 PM
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#4
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Guest
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Well, we originally bought a Coleman Mesa from M&M, but we saw the Trailmanors then and fell in love with them. The problem was the price. We asked them to watch for used ones for us, but they said they rarely saw used ones around here. Well, last year I stumbled upon this message board and saw there was a Trailmanor for sale in Toledo. It was in the right area and for the right price. We drove down looked at it and bought it. We've only used it 2 times so far. So we are kind of new at it too. We did have a brake issue and my DH called M&M and they insisted we should take it in to have it checked out and if they needed to be replaced it would be somewhere around $500. Well, the DH is quite the handyman, and he pulled the wheels and discovered some stuff had broke and fallen off the brakes (I'm not good at technical stuff, so I'm not sure exactly what fell apart). Anyway, he went to General Trailer in Brownstown and bought new brakes and rotors for about $140 and put them on and they work great now. We never had to deal with M&M with the Mesa so I'm not sure how reliable they are. I know the price for the brakes seem ridiculous.
Usually if we buy anything we go to Camper's World in Belleville or to General Trailer in Brownstown.
As for camping, we have a 9 (almost 10) year old boy. We homeschool so we generally camp in spring and fall. (Although we went to Kentucky last week.) We are heading for the UP of Michigan for 2 weeks in September when the kids are back to school. We like the state parks here in Michigan. Our 2 favorites are Ft. Custer Recreation Area in Battle Creek and Hartwick Pines State Park in Grayling. With small kids Ft. Custer is nice cuz Binder Zoo, the Kellogg's Factory and the Air Zoo are all close by.
As for tips, I would use this message board to find out anything you want, so I would make sure you become a site member.
Who knows maybe we'll see you camping someday.
Cathy
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08-06-2007, 05:08 PM
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#5
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Guest
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Oh, and another thing...we were towing with a Kia Sedona and although it towed o.k., you could tell you were towing something and we were worried about burning up the trans. So I'm not sure you want to tow with a minivan. For shorter distances it may be o.k. If we had taken it to Kentucky last week it probably would have been a disaster because of the steep hills and the heat.
Cathy
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08-06-2007, 05:41 PM
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#6
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Site Sponsor
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 17
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Re: Local Dealer
Wife and I went to M & M to view the new units and to see if they had anything used for sale. When we were going to look at an older unit to perhaps buy and told them about the percieved damage to the older unit, I was not entirely impressed with their view of the used market. It didn't seem that they wanted to work on the used units. I left mine in Chicago to have them look it over before I bring it back here to work on myself. We also have a 10 y/o and a 3 y/o and this is their camper...LOL I am having Art's do the brakes and repack the bearings this time around, but think I will do it each year after this. I just want to have all the systems checked, get new rubber all the way around, have the brakes done right (for the first time I drive with electric brakes), and the bearings repacked before taking the TM over the road. I just saw the Campers World on my way back home down 94. I thought I was in trouble when I found the website... Anyway, glad to know there are other TM owners in the area. Have you done any modifications? Any that need to be done immediately? Thanks,
Lance
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08-06-2007, 06:09 PM
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#7
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Guest
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We really don't really need to do any mod's because of who we bought our trailer from...he did a ton of them. You'll probably see lots of posts in this forum by Ripp1202. Well, we bought his Trailmanor. So anything we need to do will be cosmetic.
Cathy
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08-07-2007, 11:18 AM
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#8
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Guest
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Hi Lance!
Welcome to the TM family. We have a '05 3023 that we bought new at M&M. We live in Wixom so at least there is another TM owner here in beautiful Detroit. This is the third summer for us and we love our TM. I have found the folks at M&M to be friendly and straight forward to deal with us. We had a few minor warranty items that they took care of us without any problem. They did a great job when we took delivery of our TM and I bet the delivery/walkthrough lasted close to 3 hours or so.
Over the past three years, we have logged close to 7,500 miles give or take. We have been to the Smoky Mountains twice ( both two week adventures including getting there and side trips) and we just got back from a two week adventure to Cape Cod. The TM held up well with the exception of a water leak around one of the vents on top. The chalking came loose so I cleaned off all the old chalk, cleaned with mineral spirits and rechalked.
We love our TM and have camped at various campgrounds in MI. We found a great family campground in Stockbridge called Heartland Woods that we really liked. We have also camped at Waterloo Recreation area, Holly Recreation area, Proud Lake ( 3 miles from our house!). We are heading up to Aloha State Park for a long Labor Day weekend adventure with three other families. We have also camped at Green Acres which is near Waterloo but did not care for it. It is a place with potential but there are over 700 seasonals there and a lot of those trailers have seen better days.
In terms of modifications, we added a microwave shelf above our stove which clears up valuable counter space. We have the extra silverware drawer that helps as well. The best piece of advise that I have is to get a system in place for storage of items during travel. Here is a list of storage things that we do.
1. We have Rubbermaid pull out drawers in all the cabinets where they fit.
2. We have a Rubbermaid pullout drawer that we keep to the right of the sink that we put a plug in Coleman cooler that serves as a second fridge when we're gone for more than 2 or three nights.
3. We have 2-18 gallon and 2-14 gallon Rubbermaid tubs that we store a lot of our miscellaneous items in such as lights, extra propane tanks for the portable grill, extension cords etc. We have found that we can put a 14 gallon and an 18 gallon container side by side between the couches. We then stake a 14-gallon container on top of the 18-gallon container and a 18-gallon on top of the 14 gallon. In short this allows use to stack the container two high and side by side. We then use a 60 gallon container for all the fishing gear, baseball gloves etc for the kids. By having everything in extension containers, it makes for an easy set-up and take down at the site. Once set up, we push the containers under the TM so that they are out of the way. With sealed lids, we've never had a leak problem nor has anything walked off the campsite.
Hopefully you'll find some of this information useful. If you ever have any questions, this site is a great place to throw them out for answers. The search tool is invaluable. Feel free to send a private message if you decide to join this group. The price of admission is cheap when you consider the amount of information you'll receive from the members.
Enjoy!
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08-07-2007, 11:20 AM
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#9
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Guest
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S_&_L_Family_Camping
We left ours at Art's RV in Chicago
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S & L,
Art's will do a good job for you. I live just a little piece down the road from them and have done business with them in the past.
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08-07-2007, 08:35 PM
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#10
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Site Sponsor
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 17
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Service
I don't know anything about M & M's service. I was there one evening and told them about a used unit I was looking into and they didn't seem thrilled with the idea of working on it. I hope that they are a good service center as I want to have a local place to take my TM to. I think Art's will serve us well. Mike, the Service Manager, helped guide me through a few questions I had during the sale and loaned me a few things to tow the unit to his place. We are thrilled to be new members of the TM family. We can't wait to get our TM home so we can go to work on it! I think I have talked the wife into doing the laminate floor mod and want to get started. I was worried about the matresses but think we might use the areobed solution I saw somewhere here. After Art's is done making sure all the appliances are in working order and I have a few days to get the floor done, I thiink we will be road ready for camping. We are going up north of Alpena for Labor Day so I want to have the unit road ready by then. I am hoping to take it out on its maiden voyage before we go to Alpena to work out any bugs we might have. Looking forward to seeing y'all down the road,
S & L
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