1st time owner - 2010 Elkmont Trailmanor

[ChessaPeak]

Hey all, I got my first travel trailer! It’s an Elkmont Trailmanor. I have lots of questions. I’ve never owned a travel trailer and am 100% green at this. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I know my lights run on the solar but how does the fridge run and stay cold? Electrical outlets don’t work either? It’s in GREAT shape. I’m excited to take it out but I need to learn more. I got a stabilizing tow hitch and will be pulling with a 2018 Toyota Tacoma. The trailers dry weight is 2900 and I don’t want to go over my tow capacity of 6,000 lbs. just rambling. So excited!
Thanks all!

[Bill]

Congratulations on your new trailer! You will love it! The Elkmont was a very special model. Trailmanor introduced it at a time of turmoil for the company, so not many were made before it was discontinued. Now that the company has re-organized and settled down, and the market situation has come back, I wouldn't be at all surprised (though I have no special knowledge) if they decide to resurrect the Elkmont. Paul - any comments?

As to your questions about the electrical systems...

First, all RVs have two electrical systems. One is based on 120 volts AC, like power in your house, and therefore referred to as "house power". RVs do not have their own source of house power (although one can be added), so you have to plug the trailer itself into an outside outlet to bring in house power, just like you would plug in a lamp or a coffee-maker in your home. How do you plug it in? Your Elkmont has a big black outside cord near the rear, with a special plug on the end that matches a special outlet in a campground. (Do not plug it into a dryer outlet or other 240 volt outlet!) With an adapter, you can also plug the black cord into a normal household outlet in your home or garage, though that has a somewhat lower power capacity.

The second RV electrical system is based on 12 volts DC, like the power system in your car or truck. Since the power source is a battery, it is often called "battery power". An RV always has its own built-in battery, and most (but not all) of the appliances and devices in the trailer operate from this battery. And just like any other battery, it must be re-charged as you use its power. It is helpful to think of all the 12 volt devices as powered by the battery - all the rest is just various ways of keeping the battery charged. For example, if your trailer has solar panels, they can provide recharge power. Also, the trailer has another big black cord up near the hitch, that plugs into your truck. When plugged in, this cord brings in 12 volt power from the truck to charge the trailer battery. Finally, the trailer has its own built-in battery charger, that is active when you plug the trailer into house power.

All this is automatic and transparent to you. More info in the next post.

Bill

[Bill]

Hello again ...

The only things that operate solely on house power are the air conditioner, the household-style outlets, and the built-in battery charger. Those won't work unless you plug your trailer into an external source of house power. Other than those, all of the TM lights, and most of the small appliances including fans, radio, water pump, and other small appliances, operate exclusively on the battery-power system. An exception is the furnace, which uses gas to create heat, and a 12 volt fan to blow it out into the room.

Some of the appliances have the option to operate from different energy sources - you get to choose which. These include the water heater (house power or gas), and the 3-way refrigerator found in collapsible TMs (gas, house power, or battery power). I think the Elkmont refrig, being bigger, is 2-way only (gas or house power, but not battery). A quick glance at its front panel will tell you for sure.

The Forum has diagrams that outline all this, including a summary diagram at

https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...pictureid=1969

To reflect the basic factory configuration, this diagram does not show the solar power system. If present, the solar charge controller connects directly to the + post of the battery through its own fuse. And for simplicity, certain battery power circuits such as the break-away switch, the propane/CO leak detector, and an electric tongue jack if you have one, are not shown.

Those are the basics. There is no need to memorize all this, as long as you are aware of the multiple systems. TM owners are a creative bunch, and have created lots of mods and upgrades to the electrical systems. These will appear in the Electrical sub-forum, and I will let you page through them at your leisure.

Again, welcome aboard! We look forward to hearing your experiences.

Bill

[Bill]

It has been suggested that I put this Electrical Systems information in either the Electrical subforum, or the Trail Manor Technical Library. The idea is to make it an easily found and permanent reference for new owners. I have done so, and the copy appears at

https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...ad.php?t=21952

I will leave the original posts here for a while, but since future owners are unlikely to find them here in the Member Introduction sub-forum, I will eventually make the move permanent. Hope you all agree.

Bill

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by ChessaPeak

Hey all, I got my first travel trailer! It’s an Elkmont Trailmanor. I have lots of questions. I’ve never owned a travel trailer and am 100% green at this. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I know my lights run on the solar but how does the fridge run and stay cold? Electrical outlets don’t work either? It’s in GREAT shape. I’m excited to take it out but I need to learn more. I got a stabilizing tow hitch and will be pulling with a 2018 Toyota Tacoma. The trailers dry weight is 2900 and I don’t want to go over my tow capacity of 6,000 lbs. just rambling. So excited!
Thanks all!

Welcome to the world of TrailManor Elkmont.

We have the exact same year/model trailer as yours. You may want to look at some of my posts for helpful hints in the Elkmont section.
https://www.trailmanorowners.com/for...splay.php?f=51

We love our Elkmont but they were pretty flimsily built (as most ultra-lights are). The good news is, they are pretty easily remedied if you are a fairly handy DIYer.

The first thing that I would recommend is checking the frame over, very carefully, for cracks. The common areas are where the tongue meets the main frame. Mine was cracked (both sides) right where the axle mounts are welded to the frame.

Second big issue is the black water tank mounting. See my posts for the way that I repaired/redesigned mine. My black tank was cracked in all 4 upper corners and at the discharge pipe. It leaked like a sieve. I also hated the double holding tank discharge outlets. I recently remedied that also. I didn't post anything about it because I thought there would be little interest. If you are interested, I'll post pictures. Having separate black water and grey water discharge outlets was required by law that year. They retracted that law in 2012. It was a really poorly thought out piece of legislation and a PITA for us owners.

If you have galley cabinet or bed frame issues, let me know. I have remedied that as well.

I installed a fairly sizable solar system, inverter and lithium battery as well. All of our 110V outlets work 24/7 (even while parked at home) for everything except the air conditioner. I also installed a mini-split A/C unit and intend to remove the roof A/C soon.