2005 3124 Perspective Buyer

**OscarF** · 03-26-2014, 05:28 PM

Hello TM Knowledge Base,
I am getting closer to finally becoming a Trailmanor owner. I have found what I think is a good deal on a 2005 3124KD.
Did this model year have the insulated floor? And how about 15" wheels?
Any gotchyas specific to the 3124 to look for?

Thanks in advance

rvcycleguy · 03-26-2014, 05:54 PM

Yes and yes to your questions. I've got a 3124KB and its a perfect size for me. Typically, it's only the wife and I and we have plenty of room. Occasionally, we invite my son, his wife, and their 2 small kids. We have the floorplan that has parallel sofas and the full size bed in the front. Now, when we have our guests, we will make sure we have full hookups so we can refresh the toilet every couple of days and restrict to nighttime use only.

hillbillyhotel · 03-26-2014, 07:31 PM

like wise here , 3124 ks , we have the slide sofa front, works well if a grandkid is along , lots of floor space for the four legged kids, and the large bed in the back is a nice plus, tows well ,

davlin · 03-27-2014, 06:13 AM

We have a 2007 3124KS and love it. It does have 15" wheels. I'm not sure about what the "insulated floor" is. Things I would look for when inspecting this trailer would be to see how well the upper shells fit together, and the ease (or difficulty) in putting them up and down. These are very large pieces, and need to be properly adjusted to work well. It's definitely not a "show stopper" if they need adjustment, though, since there is plenty of information on this forum for how to do it yourself.

Count on the "normally loaded" tongue weight on this trailer to be about 600 lbs. This means you will almost definitely need to have a weight distributing hitch (WDH) when you tow. Also count on the total loaded weight to be approaching 5,000 lbs, so make sure you have enough tow vehicle for it.

Good luck!

Dave

tentcamper · 03-27-2014, 09:10 AM

I have a 2003 - 2720 and it has a 3 inch foam aluminum laminated floor. So my guess is that is what the insulated floor is and they been putting them in since at least 2003.

**OscarF** · 03-27-2014, 05:58 PM

Thanks for all the knowledge filled responses.
I have an E150 with the factory tow package. The down side is it only has the 4.2 V6. It was a special order vehicle by the Yamaha Corporation. I guess they were only towing motorcycle trailers. The tow rating is 5000. I know I would have to travel light. The seller is including a Reese WD hitch, though. Not sure what model hitch. He told me he got 15mpg towing with a Chevy Astro. I looked up the towing specs and the Astro and my E150 are close in numbers. Not that that should justify me having enough towing capacity.

hillbillyhotel · 03-27-2014, 07:32 PM

with that set up , you should be good to go as long as you stay out of mountains and be smart about the amount of gear,
but if like a lot of us, one more thing gets added and then another, then we take all out to lighten the load and the cycle starts all over

or in my case it does,

Riwright · 03-28-2014, 12:20 AM

I have a 2003 3124KS. The floor is 3 inches of foam sandwiched between aluminum. It has 15" wheels. Dry weight is about 3100 lbs in the brochure but the actual scale weight fully loaded for camping is 4500 lbs.

If you tow with a Ford E150 I would think you should be OK. The engine seems a little light for that load but I think those vans have the same ladder frame that the pickups have so it should be pretty sturdy with a nice long wheelbase. Probably the suspension and brakes are good too.

davlin · 03-28-2014, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OscarF

Thanks for all the knowledge filled responses.
I have an E150 with the factory tow package. The down side is it only has the 4.2 V6. It was a special order vehicle by the Yamaha Corporation. I guess they were only towing motorcycle trailers. The tow rating is 5000. I know I would have to travel light. The seller is including a Reese WD hitch, though. Not sure what model hitch. He told me he got 15mpg towing with a Chevy Astro. I looked up the towing specs and the Astro and my E150 are close in numbers. Not that that should justify me having enough towing capacity.

At 5,000 tow capacity and a 3124KD, you should be safe, but you might not be happy.

You just have to tow with it a while to see. Be sure to check the owners manual for the capacity of your hitch while using a WD setup (it should also be somewhere on the hitch itself), and make sure you know how to properly adjust the WDH for your TV and trailer. I can't tell you how many times I've been sitting in a campground and a rig comes in with a WDH that has absolutely no distribution actually going on! Finally, if your E150 doesn't already have a brake controller, you'll need to buy and install one. I don't know what year your E150 is, but my 2004 F150 came with the factory tow package, but that did NOT include the brake controller. Just a connection under the dash where you could plug one in. Properly adjusted trailer brakes are an absolute must.

Dave

03-29-2014, 06:35 PM

I bought one and less than a day later I wanted to return it. Too many problems.