Seriously Considering - Your floorplan opinions please

Hi All,
I am new to the forum and very happy to have found this site. I have been reading through many of the threads and it's nice that this site exists! Seems to be a lot of nice folks here, and some terrific information!
I am seeking your advice/opinions on a floor plan.
Here is some background info (and I will try not to be a windbag...)
Hubby & I have decided on a TM - what a great concept and quality. What we cannot decide on is a floorplan. We are a family of 2 adults, 2 teenagers and 2 labrador retrievers. We have narrowed it down to either a 3124KB or a 3124KS. Here is the thinking:
A 3124KB provides the extra double bed that one of the kids will use. The other kiddo will use the couch/bed. The dogs will be in the King bed with us. (yes, they are spoiled to death!). The pro of this floorplan is obviously the extra double bed. The con is the seating arrangement. Not a whole lot of room with the 2 couches. It's ok, but not great.
A 3124KS would provide a couch & a chair (actually, 2 - we talked to the dealer today and she said they can remove the 3 drawer cabinet and add an extra chair.) I much prefer this arrangement,( a couch & 2 chairs) as it feels like a more useable living space. But, then the bedding arrangement becomes a slight issue. One kiddo would have the couch/bed and we were thinking that the other could use a twin size air mattress. Is this feasable? If you have a 3124KS, would there be enough room to move the chairs out of the way to inflate a twin size air mattress, or should I let this line of thinking go?

Your advice and experiences are much appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi Labs,

Here is my 2 cents worth. We have the 3124KS and are very happy with it but it's just the two of us and our two dogs. We have plenty of space for sleeping and with the sofa and chair, it sort of feels like home. We also crate our dogs at night and have enough room to stack two crates right at the end of the kitchen counter. Not a whole lot of room, but enough that it's workable. Occasionally, a friend goes along with her small dog and she sleeps on the sofa. But it makes things kinda tight. With two more people in the camper on a regular basis and two bigger dogs that what I've got, I'd opt for the 3124KB with the extra bed.

And if the teens aren't with you, you'll have some place to pile all your extra stuff.

[RockyMtnRay]

I have the 2720SL (the 3124KS's little brother) which has exactly the same front slide area that the 3124KS has. Those TM living room type overstuffed chairs are quite comfy but they take a lot of room. The front slide bed is definitely too small for more than one adult or teenager and with two chairs in the area (and all the other paraphernalia that gets loaded for a trip), I seriously doubt you could squeeze in an air mattress for your other teen. At least without either a blocked aisle to the back or a high chance of being stepped on.

And then there's the issue of dining...the two foldout tables in the slide are awfully small to handle dining for four. Yes, you can put the center panel in but that basically locks in whoever's sitting on the couch.

IMHO, all of the front slide models are basically two person quasi-luxury travel trailers with the ability to occasionally accomodate one overnight adult/teenage guest (or maybe two preteen kids). If you want reasonably comfortable sleeping/eating capabilities for a family of 4 (especially when the kids are in their teens), you'd be much better off with one of the front bed models and the 3124KB is the roomiest of those.

[mjlaupp]

Have you considered the 3326? It sleeps 5 per TM specs. Has a rear king bed, the couch converts to a double bed and the side dinette converts to a twin bed.
MJL

I realize that you are not in the slightest way, interested in a smaller trailer. But, the dinette in our 2720SD makes into a very comfortable bed. We used it during a one-week travel. It is very comfortable and I don't have to use a ladder to get into bed. As I understand the SL is about 8 inches shorter than the bed in the SD. This is due to the arm rests at each end. This is not good for someone that is tall. Also, the bed on the dinette in the SD is suppesdly wider by several inches. We had plenty of room, both in the width and in the length of this bed.

Hal

Hi there...

Although it's just my husband, myself, our 9 yr old son (and usually a friend) plus a 75 lb black lab...we find the 3124KB to be a nice fit!

A little more "living room space" would be nice but we usually go on weekend trips where we are mostly outside playing anyway. We definitely enjoy the comfortable sleeping options this unit provides!

As my husband and I get older...we're not willing to sacrifice a good night's sleep anymore!

Well anyway...good-luck with your choice of units! You've already chosen TrailManor so the it's all down hill from here!

Tami

We also have two daughters and a cat with a 3124KS. The way we work this is all girls on the King bed and I will take the sofa bed. If you can live with this arrangement, there is a lot more living room area and counter space in the KS. Sleeping bags on the floor is difficult to get around in the middle of the night -- except for the cat..
This decision will also depend on how you will use the TM in the near future --- with or without the kids.
decisions -- decisions...

[B_and_D]

I've thought about your questions and related to our experiences while camping with our 13 and 16 year olds.

The things that I like about our 2720 (regular model) is that there is a permanent bed above in the front that my daughter (16) can hang out in. She's the type of kid who likes to read, draw, and listen to music with her headphones, etc. It's a good spot for her to have her own space.

The things that I don't like about it is that (1) we have to take the dinette bed in and out every night for my son's bed and (2) there isn't any place to sit that doesn't block the door with the dinette bed made up. I think a 3023 would be better for us, but we chose the 2720 for it's short length; our driveway is hard to get into and we also like to camp in places that have smaller sites.

We use a fold-up chair sitting in front of the door when we're all inside watching TV at night, my husband sits there, I usually share one of the beds with the kids while the TV is on. When we're camping in the summer, we usually stay outside most of the time so it doesn't matter.

I would lean towards an arrangement where you don't have to do a lot of moving things around, blowing up beds, etc. I think it would be wonderful to have the forward bed, a fold-down couch, and an area where you could put a couple of fold-up chairs (I'd probably get rid of the stock chairs). That way you could all sit comfortably together in the front and have a lot of room to move around if you folded up the chairs.

And I agree with the advice that you should go and look at both models in person before you make up your mind. Bring your blow-up bed and put it on the floor and see how it works.

When we found the TM's on the internet and were thinking about buying one, I found two people on the board that offered to show me their 2720's within 45 miles of our home. Perhaps if there isn't a dealer near your home there might be some TM owners in the area that you could visit, just ask.

Best of luck to you in your search for your TM.

Thank you all very much for your opinions & advice. I want you to know that collectively you have all weighed in on helping us to make an infomed decision. We actually did consider a 3326 King, but hubby feels it is coming too close for comfort on the tow capicity of our vehicle ( an Astro). So, that's out for sure.
I did call the dealer and they don't have a 3124 KS for us to see and we were really debating about the whole blow up bed thing, anyway. Believe me, with 2 labs, & 2 kids, there is a pretty good chance of somebody getting stepped/pounced on.
So, after much deliberation and taking serious note of your comments, we have decided on the 3124 KB. Thank you all very, very much. We're excited!! We will be going to order it next week. My next question is regarding the interior colors, but I will post that question in a seperate thread.


Thanks!!
Trish

[BOB_STRONG]

Trish,

If you haven't visited the TrailManor website, check it out to see what the interior colors look like on the various models.They have some really nice pictures of the 2005 models. The site is www.trailmanor.com

Once you are into the site, click on SNEAK PREVIEWS. You will see the various models with either the blue or tan.

Another spot in the website, is the green tab SHOWROOM and then select the subtitle FLOORPLANS You will see the various models pictured. The 3124KB has the tan interior. It really looks rich. The new 2005 TrailManor brochures also have a nice picture of the 3124KB with the tan interior. The lighter color makes it look so much brighter & richer than the blue scheme. But each to his own. You have to make that decision for yourself. That's why TrailManor is offering the 2 color schemes. Also, with the tan color scheme, the counter tops are of a nice light color which makes the trailer seem larger inside. That's just my opinion.

So check out the site, and then you can see for yourself.

Bob Strong