Advice needed on lite RVs for a family of 4!

[Onyrlef]

It’s not unusual to see 25-30 year old TM’s, which are built much the same as they are today. Flimsy isn’t exactly what I’d call them.

 

[Professor David]

Yep, I owned one for four years -- nice rigs, well balanced, light wind resistance because they are not very tall when ready to tow. A few folks even towed with a car. TrailManor

You might check out these videos I made on setting up and tearing down:

Amazing system. A lot of thought put into this rig. Hadn't seen one of these. "Rube Goldberg"-like engineering that works for certain needs.

 

[Larry N.]

"Rube Goldberg"-like engineering that works for certain needs.

I'd call it rather clever, not "Rube Goldberg," which implies helter skelter/makeshift engineering. And those torsion bars to aid in raising and lowering the two shell halves is genius- I once watched a lady in high heels and skirt set one up in short order, thanks to the easy up/easy down nature of he design.

 

[Onyrlef]

I'd call it rather clever, not "Rube Goldberg," which implies helter skelter/makeshift engineering. And those torsion bars to aid in raising and lowering the two shell halves is genius- I once watched a lady in high heels and skirt set one up in short order, thanks to the easy up/easy down nature of he design.

As I recall there was a 7/8" nut under each of the four torsion bars to keep them in tune. I think I only had to adjust the front set once. When they're right you can get the front and then back half started with just a bare minimum lift then the torsion bars take over the heavy lifting. They are truly engineering marvels. I think the plant in, I believe, S. Dakota is their third iteration in three different States. I had mine with kayak and bike rack on top and as well as a cargo rack up there. Never affected the handling one bit

 

[Professor David]

I'd call it rather clever, not "Rube Goldberg," which implies helter skelter/makeshift engineering. And those torsion bars to aid in raising and lowering the two shell halves is genius- I once watched a lady in high heels and skirt set one up in short order, thanks to the easy up/easy down nature of he design.

You are absolutely correct...I did try to temper unsuccessfully the use of "Rube Goldberg" by inserting "like"...since I found it humorous to watch the video with all the multiple steps...but amazing practical/real world engineering unlike the classic Rube Goldberg mouse trap.

 

[JudyJB]

I agree that with kids a popup is not always practical on the road. Even though you say you will be taking very short trips, you really might want the ability to take a longer trip sometime, and having easy access to a bathroom and kitchen might be something you will want in the future.

 

[Jkoht]

I think you're totally discounting the pop up. As a kid my family of 5, and often a friend or additional family member traveled all across the country and never had a problem. Sure you have to go to campgrounds or state parks that have facilities but it's not that bad. What I do think is ridiculous is the thought of a family of 4, plus baggage, coolers and other gear also trying to tow a load safely with a Pilot. Just because it rolls doesn't mean it stops, or more importantly is controllable. All it takes is a tail wagging the dog situation to roll you over into the ditch and ruin your weekend plans.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Getting the TM from road ready to completely unfolded is, with practice, less than 10 minutes, perhaps closer to 5 minutes (same the other way). Leveling is, of course, much the same as any other TT.


Curious- I didn't find it flimsy, compared to other TTs.

The main reason we changed was that our knees and back were getting less and less amenable to bending over/squatting to get at the lower cabinets, though we also took a big jump to a motorhome at that point, so dual reasons.

I did in fact watch you vids before erecting the trailer the first time. I'd still say 5 minutes is optimistic.

The other thing to point out (IMO) is that in the vid, the wardrobe is empty. I can't see doing the erecting and stowing of the wardrobe loaded with clothes. Same and more importantly with the galley cabinet.

Not trying to dis the TM and it is certainly a way to get a 27 foot TT in a light 20 foot town.

 

[Larry N.]

The other thing to point out (IMO) is that in the vid, the wardrobe is empty. I can't see doing the erecting and stowing of the wardrobe loaded with clothes. Same and more importantly with the galley cabinet.

Neither cabinet was loaded at that time, it's true. But we didn't keep stuff in the wardrobe cabinet during storage -- even in the motorhomes, we didn't keep very much in the wardrobes between trips -- after all, we're not full timers.

We did usually have some stuff in the galley cabinet, but it didn't usually have much in it between trips, since we took so much stuff back in the house between trips, unlike in the motorhomes where we only took some stuff to the house between trips. The lower cabinets generally held stuff all the time, however.

But during the trip we generally had stuff in both the wardrobe and the galley cabinet and, while that certainly added weight, installing and stowing both wasn't a problem at campsites.

Probably the two biggest drawbacks were the small fridge and the cassette toilet, but for our use at that time they were sufficient.

and it is certainly a way to get a 27 foot TT in a light 20 foot town.

Yep - ours had a max weight of 4200 lbs, but just as important for towing was the low profile, minimizing wind resistance and crosswind effects. It certainly attracted attention at rest areas, too.

I might add that, though it's not commonly done, one of our club members took their Trailmanor on a 3 month trip to Alaska. Our longest trip was Denver to Branson for just under a week.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

When my family was younger we owned one of the larger Fleetwood pop-ups, 18 ft overall (in travel mode) with soft-sides but a fiberglass roof. 24 ft when open, and it was equipped with stove/oven, small fridge, furnace, and cassette toilet. We thought we were living high on the hog! We traveled with either 1 or 2 young (5-8 yo) children and never felt cramped. Our typical trips were 200-300 mile weekends, but we did a couple that were several hundred miles and lasted 6-10 days. I might not choose that if we and the kids were 10 years older, but it was fine at the time.

 

[Professor David]

When my family was younger we owned one of the larger Fleetwood pop-ups, 18 ft overall (in travel mode) with soft-sides but a fiberglass roof. 24 ft when open, and it was equipped with stove/oven, small fridge, furnace, and cassette toilet. We thought we were living high on the hog! We traveled with either 1 or 2 young (5-8 yo) children and never felt cramped. Our typical trips were 200-300 mile weekends, but we did a couple that were several hundred miles and lasted 6-10 days. I might not choose that if we and the kids were 10 years older, but it was fine at the time.

We had the same experience with our young family with a slide in truck camper. Fond memories.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

The Trailmanor puts a whole new meaning to the word "setup" when arriving at a campground. Wow. I guess you can't leave it packed either to be ready for the next trip out. That is one reason why way back my wife and I determined we wanted a class A. We wanted to be able to leave as much stuff in the rig as possible. Today, I load my beer, my wife loads groceries and wine, the bourbon is always on the kitchen counter, grab a couple extra pair of boxers, and we're on the road.

 

[Professor David]

grab a couple extra pair of boxers

The older I get, the more pairs of boxers I need to pack.

 

[Ex-Calif]

The older I get, the more pairs of boxers I need to pack.

One word - Commando...

 

[Tulecreeper]

The OP hasn't been back since the first day, almost 2 weeks ago.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Can we say "Another One Bites the Dust"?