# Trailemanor and HiLo trailers



## Corky (Jul 20, 2005)

Hello everyone.......this is my first time using this forum, or any other one for that manner.  I would like to hear from any of you that has owned a Trailmanor or HiLo brand trailer.  Please tell me both what you did or did not like about them.  I have a Ford Explorer XLT with the 4.0 engine and can tow a maximum of 10,000lbs of combined vehicle and trailer weight.
My dream is to travel the entire U.S. but my most favorite places are in the mountains so I don not want to pull a "regular" trailer.
Also I will be traveling by myself and with my dog.  Thank you all, I will be looking forward to reading your replies.

Corky


----------



## jkill2001 (Jul 21, 2005)

Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

well u'r definately on the right track with trailmanor's. they are excellent built trailers and are very easy to tow and light. very well design. the hi lo's can tend to be heavy and somewhat of a pain to put up. remember with trail manor's you don't have to use alot of muscle to put the trailer up and down. i work at a rv dealer that sells trailmanor and they are easy to put up and down. your explorer would have no problem pulling even the largest trail manor. i really can't say anything bad about trail manor since i've never heard of someone bad mouthing them. well if you need anymore help just ask


----------



## RV-VOL (Jul 22, 2005)

Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

I am not sure what you mean that a Hi Lo Is hard to set up? You press a button and up it goes.


----------



## jkill2001 (Jul 22, 2005)

Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

well as i've been told i haven't done one myself yet. so not sure about that. i do know they outweigh the trail manors by alot. you get a better built and lighter built trailer with trail manor's


----------



## C Nash (Jul 22, 2005)

Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

Hi Corky, Welcome to the forum. Either one should be no problem to set up if they are newer models.  Have not owned either but, had some friends that have owned two HiLos and been well pleased with both.  Would guess that you would need to stay around 3500 dry weight on the trailer so as to not exceed the gcvw but that is just a guess. generally like to add about a 1000 lbs per person for the junk we carry along.


----------



## RV-VOL (Jul 23, 2005)

Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

We have sold both the Trail Manor and The Hi Lo units. The reason I will not trade for a Trail Manor or sell any more of them is.....
For many years the RV Industry has been trying to figure out how to stop a RV from leaking with a once piece roof... and to come up with a two piece..... hmmmm The trail manor is made 40 miles from my dealership and are over priced for what you get.


----------



## Will Daniels (Jul 24, 2005)

Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

Hi,Corky: Both of these units are not cheap to buy,so I looked at a couple Trailmanors in FL and they both showed signs of leaks. Even used ones are no bargain. Hi-Lo is very well made and pricey and heavy because of the hydraulics and used ones are hard to find. I finally setteled for a conventional TT (Sunline) 20' long,but this may be too small for you.I tow with a f-150 with the small 4.6 V8 and it really cannot handle anything much bigger (approx.4000# loaded)safely.


----------



## Annhough (Jul 28, 2005)

Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

We have a Towlite/ Hi-Lo that is 24" long and will sleep 4-5 comfortably.  It is a 2000 model.  It tows very well with  a weight of 3500#.  We are trying to sell it now for $9500 because we are getting ready to retire soon and plan to do workcamper things in the summers and need a larger unit for this.  these hi-los go up with a push of a button and go back down the same way.  Our milage is excellent when towing it due to the lack of wind resistance and from what I have read, a Explorer should be able to tow it very well.  We got it because of previous mentioned benefits plus the roof doesn't have any reason to leak like the trail manors that we saw and you don't have to put together anything when you raise it up and it has a really decent size refrigerator too.  Also it has dual axels and if you are traveling a lot and have ever dealt with flats on a single axel trailer, I really don't have to explain how much safer the dual axel is!  If we don't sell the Hi-Lo we plan to have it available for our off-spring to use in years to come for their family adventures.  We have had many happy camping hours with it and I think you would be a happy camper in a hi-lo too.


----------



## jle7001 (Aug 2, 2005)

Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

Hello All - i just bought a used trailmanor, a 3124 KB, that means it tows at 24 feet and opens to 31, with a kingbed in the back and a full sized bed in front. I am towing with a Toyota V-6, and have had NO problems. we bought it a month ago in colorado and came over the rockies and sierras in 5 days and didn't even begin to stress the engine (not to say we didn't go slow....  It travels great and is quite doable for a single person and furry companions; with a second adult (and two large furry companions) it's a bit tight on walking space. I have put it up (and down)over and over by myself. One must is that for it to go either up or down easily it should be leveled. The first time we put it up we tried to level it after it was up. oops, much more difficult! When leveled it easily goes up and down. 

I researched the hi-lo and trailmanor extensively before buying and decided to go with the trailmanor both for reviews I got and weight. Trailmanors are lighter for the space and i didn't need to go up to a V-8, something i didn't want to do. 

funny, and painful, is that my partner is already wanting to do the RV upgrade because of living in the unit at least 2 days a week (work). when i'm there with the dogs, it's a lot more crowded, maybe too crowded....

hope the info helps. jle


----------



## akelm (Nov 9, 2007)

RE: Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

We are on our second Hi Lo and belong to the Gulf Coast Hi Lo club
It is so simple to put up or down
Open the door and PUSH A BUTTON for about 10  seconds and start camping
They tow so easy, are easy on gas, and do not sway when a big truck passes
We have a 4.6 litre gas F150 and have no problems


----------



## Sabina (Jul 18, 2009)

RE: Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

I know this was written a few years back by Corky, but I hope he still comes on here.  I would love to know if he bought either the HiLo or the Trailmanor and, if so, which one.  I'm trying to find out if either can be towed by my Nisson Xterra.  It has a 5,400 lb. tow rating, but I don't know a thing about towing.  If anyone is out there reading this and can inform me, I'd appreciate their help.  Does anyone tow much with an Xterra?


----------



## brodavid (Jul 20, 2009)

Re: Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

Check with Ken at GTS and let him show you what he has also, and welcome to the forum


----------



## NealandBev (Feb 28, 2010)

RE: Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

You could learn more about them at their forums. Both are good trailers,  it's going to come down to your preference and lifestyle.

Hi-Lo Trailer Forum at  www.HiLoTrailerForum.com

Trailmanor has a forum at www.trailmanorowners.com

Neal


----------



## sayhonkmon (Aug 20, 2010)

Re: Trailemanor and HiLo trailers

HiLo is out of business; we HiLo owners have been left high and dry with no parts or technical support!!    
The Hilo is a great unit, but now I wonder what happens when I'm on the road and a cable breaks or the control panel shorts out!  I guess I'll pack a good old trustworthy TENT in my trunk! It's hard to mess up a tent.


----------



## btgorman (Apr 25, 2012)

Hi, I own a Hi-Lo, 15' that is 40 years old. Also have a brand new Hi-Lo, 2311H. A Pickup camper. And 50 plus years of backpacking and tenting under my belt. There is a reason why the Trailmanor costs less than a Hi-Lo. A two/three piece roof leaks. And light weight is not always so good. Set up in the Trailmanor is a pain in the rear. Every Trailmanor owner I have talked to was disgusted with the high volume roof leaks after owning the unit for some time, like after they  (paid-off) the loan. Both Hi-Lo trailers I own have never had a roof seal issue. I am not saying Hi-Lo does not have some quality issues. The dutch door design is amateurish at best. The line workers did a poor job on holding back with the staple gun, and the "new" Lexan front windshield is a poor design and poorly executed. However it is a trailer you will be able to give to your kids or grand kids. Overall after owning different TT, and renting many other types of units. A Hi-Lo in the size and configuration of your choosing will last a long long time.


----------



## Wolfpack Fan (May 21, 2012)

I don't own either, but my best friend has a Hi-Lo and we camp together several times a year, so I have helped him with it many times and been in and out of it a lot.  I think his is around 32' fully extended. 

We think it sets up pretty easy.  It's not a newer model so there's really no automation to it, but it's simple enough.  Dislikes would be; smallish water and black/gray capacity; Single battery with only maybe a 1000 watt invertor, tops; have to plug in air conditioner to use and only if hooked up or on generator.  Likes include; easy to tow considering its open size to weight ratio; It shortens to around half it's extended size.  Friend tows his with a Tahoe small block with no trouble.  Seems to me it's got pretty robust build quality and materials.  We made a few mistakes setting it up the first few times, but nothing broke.

If I'd seen one, or knew about them years ago, it may have been a nice upgrade from tent camping we did for 11 years.  So I'd have to say "Yes" if someone asked me if I'd own one.  We took the plunge though and got a class A, 34' gasser for our first upgrade from tent.  Good luck with whatever choice you make.  I hope it works out well to your advantage.


----------



## H2H1 (May 22, 2012)

WELL THE ORGINAL POST WAS BACK IN 2005, SO I sure he has made his decision bt now.


----------

