Purchasing New TM

Hi - I'm very close to purchasing a 2619 TM but I'm concerned about what I'm hearing regarding putting up and taking down the TM - that sometimes the torsion bars do not work well. Can someone enlighten me?

Carol

The torsion bars are guranteed for life. I think the problems are rare, but some folks have had to get them adjusted. I would suggest you become as familiar as possible with how a properly adjusted TM opens, then open & close the prospective unit a couple of times to see if it behaves normally.

Basically, the torsion bars open the TM a couple of inches as soon as the latches are released, so when closing, you have to push against that spring action to close them. A "bounce" can help here. Press down with your foot in the stirrup, let it recover up, then press down hard to get it to lock. That also gives you an idea if anything is in the way inside before any possible damage.

That reminds me of another good idea: stick your head in each end of the TM before letting a shell down. You might find something like "Whoops, I forgot to take down the hanging cabinet". Don't ask why I suggest that.

Another issue is to not open it on a slope. The TM should be level to open or close it. The torsion bars are adjusted for level conditions. If not level, you can have side-to-side friction or if front to back, one will open real easily and the other takes a lot of grunt.

Thanks Bob for the tips. I just picture myself out camping and not able to get the top up or down. What a way to ruin a camping trip. I figure with any trailer the first thing you're going to do is level it. From then everything should work as expected - just trying to reassure myself. I just sold my Scamp 16 foot last night and am just a little stressed about going into something that needs setting up. The campers on the Scamp website are giving me a hard time.

Carol

Carol. Don't worry. My wife can set it up with ease. We did have to get some slight adjustments on the front shell as it was a little difficult for her to do alone. Tim, our dealer adjusted the bars until she was comfortable with it. The only thing now is we have to be prepared to manually brake the shell once it gets past the halfway point because it opens the rest of the way all on it's own! So the only advice is make sure you are comfortable with it before you leave the dealer (especially if it is not close to your home!)

Read the post below about interior set up to get an idea of how much "extra work" is involved in setting up a TM - not much at all above what you already are used to doing.
Bill

Hi and Thanks.

At the Scamp website a couple of people said there could possibly be trouble with setting up TM because if trailer isn't level shells won't go up or down into place. Well - like I said before with any trailer you should be sure it's level before you do anything else. I just wanted to be assured that no one was experiencing major problems with them. I just don't want to be in the middle of no where and not be able to set up. I love the space in the TM and really like hearing others' experiences with their TM. I'll probably be picking up my TM (after 2 hours of instructions) the end of November.

Carol

Thanks. My camping buddy and my brother are going with me to pick it up. We'll defintely take notes and put our heads together. Thanks so much for the encouragement. I plan to be a regular here getting all the info I can and sharing my experiences. Can't wait 'til Spring. Thanks all and Happy Thanksgiving.
Carol

I agree, why wait! I couldn't when we pick up ours less than 2 months ago. We have been out three times already. If you go where there is electric hook up a $20 ceramic heater from Walmart (many shapes, sizes and colors) along with the insulation afforded by the tm wall can do most of the work heat wise. It got down to 39F at night this last trip and I did have the gas furnace thermostat set to kick in if the electric couldn't handle the load. It did kick in once or twice during the night but for the most part we heated with campground electricity vice our propane tanks That said, electric blanket on the bed was nice too, although we kept havinb to turn it down because it was toasty in our TM!

Bottom line, you can camp in most weather in a TM. If you live or camp where there is a chance of snow from what I read in this forum make sure you have a broom handy incase you need to brush the snow off the lower shell as you close everything up!

Bill

[Leslie & Nick]

Carol.

We bought a used 2619 about 6 months ago. We've been out with it about 5 times thus far on 3 and 4 day trips, and we really like it. We had been tent campers for many years, and there is no comparison. We had previously rented several RV including Class A's, C's, and folding pop-ups. The TrailManor seemed like the best choice for us since we must store it in a garage due to HOA covenants. I know some people store their trailers at storage lots, but I like having mine close at hand an indoors. We live in a temperate climate so we can pick up and go most any time of the year.

Anyway, to allay some of your concerns, we have found the TrailManor quite easy to set up and take down. In fact my wife an I recently timed ourselves setting it up - we kind of make a game out of it. I think we opened and locked it, and set up the interior walls in something like 5-6 minutes. You will, of course, get better at setting up the more you do it. We've never tried it, but I think one person could set up the TM pretty easily. As others mentioned, we've found it takes more time to level the trailer than actually set it up. The torsion bars have thus far not been a problem for us.

Here's an idea you might consider. If you have a video camera, take it with you when you pickup your TM. As the dealer, or current owner demonstrates the set up/take down procedures use your camera to film the process. If you don't have a video camera, use a still camera to record the various steps. You'll only have to refer back to these for a short while, but the video/pix might help.

Hope you enjoy your TrailManor as much as we have. As you no doubt realize by now, this board is an excellent source of information- well worth the minimal annual fee.

Nick

Yes - there are a few more good weekends 'til really cold weather sets in but so much to do at home.

I did decide to purchase the 2619 and plan to pick it up this weekend (12/3). I'm excited! I'll have to think of something original to name her.

Thanks for everyone's input. You've been a great help.

Carol

[Speckul8r]

Took the TM to DC the weekend of Thanksgiving so we could take the grandkids to the Smithsonian. The oldest is 8 and loves dinosaurs. 29 degrees the first night and 27 the second. Was a bit of a weenie worried about the heat for a 9 month old so I topped off the propane and took along the 1500 watt oil filled electric radiant heater. Snaked a 12 gauge extension cord thru the pnemonia hole at the door joint, placed the heater in the "Hallway" and went to sleep. With the 2 kids, there Mom and the 2 of us, the furnace came on a max of 4 times on the cold night. Go camping.