GoldWing World    

Camping and HIKING have always been things that I knew I would "like" to do but had never really made time for ... so while fighting metastasized colon cancer that I was diagnosed with in 2004 I realized that many things I'd always wanted to do but not made the time or spent the money to do were passing me by and that it might already be too late.  Once I became well enough to drive more then an hour or two my best friend Scot Staggs and I bought a Starcraft pop-up tent trailer and started camping out now and again.  It was fun, but even with Scot doing most of the work at times I wore myself out just setting up.  We liked the lighter trailers and the fact that pop-ups didn't have the wind-drag of a full RV or trailer, and so discovered a true wonder in the 'hybrid' world: TrailManor.

Trailmanor, like a tent-camper not only pops up but OUT - getting larger as it springs up.  Unlike tent campers that require a lot of shuffling around, pulling, snapping and tugging the Trailmanor is relatively easy and since it has hard-sides like a regular travel-trailer you don't have to worry about ripping canvas or mold etc. all the time. We started looking, and I found a great deal on a 1999 3124KS (24 feet long closed, 31 feet long open) unit here in Texas so I wouldn't have to travel far to get it.  We brought it home, added an EZ-Tug so I could move it around even during chemo treatments, and started having fun with it!  Here are some pictures of our 'new' Trailmanor just after we received it, before we even took our first trip:

Flyers and Information on the 3024K and the EZ-Tug:

One thing I noticed right away was how the two-piece door was very "flighty" depending on how level the trailer was and how good the connection / alignment of the walls were.  Part of this problem is there was no firm attachment point to force correct alignment, and the safety 'latch' that is supposed to align and hold the wall doesn't lock into position.  I searched the FAQ's and things and saw that most people just lived with it, or added a 2nd lock to the top to try to at least keep the top door from popping open, but that wasn't good enough for me!  I looked around the parts bin and came up with an idea:  I replaced the worn and loose clip with some simple gate hardware modified to fit the bill, and wound up not only with a stronger connection point, but was able to help stabilize and lock in place the wall thus avoiding most of the door alignment problems:  See the image 1 below

Picture 1 slide latch,  Picture 1a Slide latch engaged 1b Different view

This pretty much fixed the door misaligning, and helped with stabilizing the position of the wall but I still wanted a better way to mate the upper and lower doors, and having a "dutch" door in my home I knew just what to look for.  Heading to the Ace Hardware I bought the Dutch Door hardware and mounted on the two panels.  The swing-latch I put up top, even though that meant cutting away some of the aluminum lip, so that it would naturally 'fall' into the locked position when needed thus ensuring the top door can't be opened if the bottom is locked.  See image 2 and 2a:

Image 2, Dutch Door Hardware      2a hardware with doors unattached

Unfortunately this stuck out too far and had to be changed for a less obtrusive style unit.  I just wish the door was 'solid' wood as the foam / metal shell design is not very strong for this kind of fix ... TrailManor you listening?  A LITTLE more weight would be OK I think (g) ...

I also added a 2nd battery on the forward frame to drive the EZ-Tug and connected it with fuses to the main battery and the charging system.  Images on that to come later ...

June 2006:

Just got back from a 2 week vacation where the TrailManor SHINED!  Got an average of 13 MPG out of my truck which normally gets 16-18 on the highway, and in this case I had a 700 lb motorcycle in the back disrupting airflow too!  Sadly I think I may end up trading in or selling my baby though as my parents are wanting to get out of their 'class A' but don't like trailers and I'm worried that with the Cancer I will get too weak to set up even the Trailmanor ... we're looking at the newer Class C high-mileage diesel units thinking if I sell the TM and pop sells his Class A we can just afford a used unit.  So long as it gets at least 12 MPG and sleeps 3 I'll be happy - but if I do go this route I know I'll miss this wonderful 'transformer' and all the awe it generates going down the road!  SOLD the TM to a great guy down near Houston and bought something that requires a little less set up see my "Kargaroo" page ....

Some great resources for locating 'beach campsites' and other groups are available, and I have an affiliate that helps support this web site from any purchases that are made as well so if you are interested please Click Here! Other links related to camping include:  Camping and HIKING hotlinks - don't worry there is no obligation to buy by clicking the link, but if you do it goes to helping keep this site up and me out of debt!