Trailmanor Pop-up Trailer

Pop It Out!

That's right - a pop-up trailer. But this isn't your father's Coleman tent trailer (which we have nothing against). But we have decided that a few creature comforts - A/C in the Summer, heating in the cooler months, a soft bed, the refrigerator, and the DVD player, to name a few - are not too much to ask for.

How it works

TrailManor was founded in 1983, by William J. Hulsey, who has a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering and more than 25 years of experience in developing high technology materials and products. The story we heard is that he was complaining about the pop-up trailer he and his wife were using, when she replied, "Why don't you design something better?" :)

Apparently, he did just that and came up with a trailer that's light in weight, easy to tow, engineered to last, and high in resale value.

And there was a nice niche to fill. Light and inexpensive pop-ups are fine, but don't come loaded like a large trailer. On the other hand, a large rigid trailer takes a V-8 or larger to tow, and doesn't store easily in most garages.

The animation above shows a Trailmanor opening and closing. When closed, the smaller models are designed to fit inside your garage. And without the height, they're easier to tow with smaller vehicles.

Does it work?

Yes. The trailer is built so that the top half collapses down onto the bottom half. This means that not only is the folded trailer half as high, but also several feet shorter, as well. The model number references both the full length and the folded length (i.e. the 3023 is 30 feet long, but collapses to 23 feet).

The first two pictures above show the view fore, looking towards the double bed (with the foldable table up), and aft, looking through the kitchen/bathroom area to the queen bed. The next 2 pictures show the same view, but the bathroom enclosure (on the right) and the wardrobe/cabinet (left) have folded down.

"Hey, you said this was easy!" Yes, folding those down took all of 15 seconds. Remember that the designer has a Ph.D. in Engineering, and designed everything to work, and work easily. Both units were hinged, and were a snap to fold.

Once that's done, you go outside, release the safety latches and supports, and the two ends fold on top of each other. Heavy? Not that you would notice. The entire folding mechanism is supported by a torsion rod, which helps support the top ends as they're folding. I've seen folding chairs that are more difficult.

Does it work well?

Everything seemed well made - but you need to understand that this trailer is built to be light. Don't expect hardwood furnishings on the interior.

Exterior. The Trailmanor is made of aluminum surrounding a foam core - extremely light. The roof is pitched so that water will flow out and down. If it folds - what about the seams? Where the two roof sections overlap, Trailmanor has fashioned a double seal. Weather stripping and water channels keep the water out from the first seal, but should it get in, the second seal keeps it from coming into the trailer. The seals seemed tight.

The wheels and tires are not typical trailer tires - they're bigger. They're also set back further, which eliminates sway during travel.

The models we looked at came with awnings. Like everything else, they were engineered for ease of use and durability. The self-contained unit sqeegeed out the water, and supported itself in every position.

Interior. The models come with a stove, but a microwave option is available. Air conditioning is an option. The bathroom is not noise-tight, but is private.

We happened to be looking when it started to rain. The aluminum exterior is sturdy, but sounded like a muffled tin roof. I haven't decided if that was a pleasing sound or not, but since I could fix a cup of hot chocolate without getting soaked, and put my feet up for a night of videos, I'm not complaining one bit.

Internet searches show the Trailmanors start in the low $20k. Not cheap, but considering you might already own the tow vehicle, definitely worth a look

Very nice - 4 Duckies™

http://www.trailmanor.com/

And check out the forums too!