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Thinking of getting a Trailmanor

J

JohnC

Veteran Member
Senior Member
It’s kind of a cool, oddball trailer. Kind of a hard side pop up. We’ve never owned an RV but would like to but aren’t committed enough to drop a ton of money. Has considered nice teardrop types but wanted more room.
Our wish list is:
Decent amount of room. Sleep at least 4, hopefully 1-2 more in a pinch if the girls want to bring a friend.

Don’t want to have to buy a new tow vehicle. The Trailmanor weighs about 3000. Our Honda Pilot is rated to tow 5k

Don’t want to have to pay to store it and want it to fit in a regular garage door.

Tent trailer interested me but not the wife. Trailmanor pops up or down in a few minutes.

There are not a lot of them around but a neighbor bought one 2 years ago then found a great deal on a lake property so don’t see the need for the Trailmanor trailer. I don’t think they’ve ever used the bathroom.

Any thought?
It has an electric tongue jack, 100 watt solar, 1 battery, 2 propane tanks.

Being in Idaho we want to camp but not wanting to sleep on the ground anymore.

 
Basically a Hi-Low.

When do you camp? If you are South like towards Bear Lake State Park it would be good in fall, might not be as good at elevation. In NC we can camp 4 seasons

I know ID has no National Parks but you live in a beautiful State with many options.
 
We almost bought one once. It's a hard sided popup and operates much like a regular tent popup. I instead opted to buy our first motorhome (that was in '90) and we traded in a 5th wheel.

If the price is right I'd snag it and keep it in the garage. That'll save wear on it and it'll last indefitely.
 
It’s somewhat like the Hi-Low as I understand it except that the beds pop out front and back to create a bigger foot print and as I read somewhere it’s quite a bit lighter than a Hi-Low.
I’d be interested in 3 season camping in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, California etc.

I think they suffer a bit from typical RV build quality that is unimpressive and people would say that for less $$ you can get a more traditional travel trailer. I’m willing to pay more in this case because it checks our boxes better than anything else we’ve seen. Because of the low profile when trailering, it’s supposed to affect mpg less than other options. I feel like we’d be getting an essentially new trailer with some add on options including several more years of extended warranty with someone else taking the initial depreciation.
Wife is understandably worried about how much garage space it’ll take up. I thought maybe I’d get a pair of Go-jacks so I can push it into a corner in the garage. She also wonders if we’ll use it enough to justify the cost. Understandable but I’d bet that the vast majority of happy RV owners would admit that it doesn’t make financial sense on paper.
 
JohnC said:
She also wonders if we’ll use it enough to justify the cost. Understandable but I’d bet that the vast majority of happy RV owners would admit that it doesn’t make financial sense on paper.
Click to expand...

Yep. It's the same as owning a boat. They (boats and RV's) are luxury items, and if you're determined to find out how much it costs to run, then you can't afford it. I look at it as you can't put a price on relaxation and family togetherness.

I like to think if you feel the need to justify having it, then maybe you're in it for the wrong reasons.
 
Any costly upkeep on one of these? It's pretty cool but how many miles do you get before you need to start tightening bolts? I hate things that Rattle
 
All RV's rattle be it from stowed away things like pots and pans or even silverware, but for the general camper as long as it's maintained regularly, there really aren't rattles so to speak.

We've had everything from slide in campers to motorhomes, but never had a popup or a high-low. I tend to stick with what's easiest to use. Right now we're living in our motorhome while I build our house and it brings new meaning to camping for us. Lisa doesn't want to camp anymore after we're done building. Living in a camper for over a year is not our idea of fun. The motorhome will be cleaned, spiffed up and sold after we move into the house.
 
How much are you going to use it? You have to schedule time to get out otherwise you have a piece of yard art. We enjoy our RV, it requires work and you have to be handy with tools. The Trailer puts stress on the tow vehicle and you. Trailers need tires, bearing repacks, winterization, de winterization, cleaning, sanitizing, flushing of systems in order to keep them in good condition.
 
How much we are going to use it is my wife’s major concern. Even in Idaho, state campgrounds get booked up in the summer so I’m researching other option like privately owned camp grounds etc. There is so much within 1-2 hours from us that I can see us using it on weekends during the school year etc.
 
JohnC said:
How much we are going to use it is my wife’s major concern. Even in Idaho, state campgrounds get booked up in the summer so I’m researching other option like privately owned camp grounds etc. There is so much within 1-2 hours from us that I can see us using it on weekends during the school year etc.
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That's what we did when the kids were young. Camping every weekend during the summer and fall until the campgrounds closed. We had lots of fun.
 
Update. We ended up buying the camper. I think it’ll be good. Fortunately we are in Idaho and very close to Montana and Washington so there’s a lot of camping to be had. Girls are at the age where we don’t want to take our time with them for granted. It’s not limitless and doing things as a family will hopefully give them good memories.
 
Make memories, that is what matters. Enjoy and if you have any questions fire away.

Word of advice, go over everything. Repack bearings, check or replace tires, lubricate, clean, check the roof, clean the A/C units. Campers are maintenance heavy.
 
Chevelle_Nut said:
Make memories, that is what matters. Enjoy and if you have any questions fire away.

Word of advice, go over everything. Repack bearings, check or replace tires, lubricate, clean, check the roof, clean the A/C units. Campers are maintenance heavy.
Click to expand...
Every time I turn around it's something different that needs to be addressed.
 
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