Well, the good, the bad, and the ugly....

Took delivery of our new 2008 Terry 280FQS in Dec of last year, and spent the winter working it. After almost $3K in convenience mods that we determined were "must haves", we had it out to the local county park last weekend for a shakedown. Unit was flawless, we really love the floorplan, and all was well.

First road trip this past weekend to upstate NY, about 400 miles each way. Headed up to daughter's college for an open house weekend and got permission to boondock right on campus out by the athletic center.

Stopped for gas and a short break on the way up. Went into the TT and it looked like somebody had ransacked the place. First thing we noticed was the pots/pans drawer under the stove. The roll-catch was not sufficient to keep the drawer closed, and it blew out the drawer slides when it fully extended en route. Little ball bearings from the drawer slide rolling all over the floor. In the bathroom, every drawer was open, toiletries all over the place, and the catches on the two wall cabinets were bent as they repeatedly slammed open/closed. Every hanger was off the clothes rack in the wardrobe, and we even have the slotted metal hanger bar, not the typical closet pole. The vinyl strap that held one of the sliding doors to the front queen bedroom had broken and the wall was marked where the door slammed it repeatedly.

Got a late start on Friday, so it was almost 7:30 pm when we got up there and got set up. Turned the pump on, but alas, no water. Trouble shooting determined the pump was bad, so up early on Sat and over to the Camping World in Churchville, NY for a new pump. 10 mins to install the new pump, and we have water again! Fortunately CW opened at 8 am, so had time to get the pump and install it so we could shower before the 10:30 am start of the campus function.

Other issue we had was leveling the trailer....it seems the kitchen counter is on a different plane than the rest of the trailer. When the TT is level, the kitchen counter is not and the sinks don't drain properly. If you level the kitchen counter, everything else is off. And not just a little, it takes about a layer of 2x4's (about 1/1/2") on the curb side to level the kitchen).

On the trip home yesterday, I got ALL of my bungees and tied down eveything that could possibly move. The pots/pans drawer rode on the bed where it wouldn't slide around. Pit stop on the way back finds the silverware drawer had met a similar fate, and now more ball bearings rolling around the floor. Put the drawer on the couch so it wouldn't get banged up any more.

I also notice a gap of about 1/4" between the nightstand on the curbside of the bed and the outside wall. Hmmm... Just for grins, I un-bungee the sliding door, and notice that the door meets the wall at the top and bottom, but won't latch because the wall is about 1/4" away from the latch at the center of the door. Hard to tell with the naked eye, but indications are that the curbside wall in the front has bowed out abou 1/4". That would also explain why the entry door was binding a little.













Found more beat up roller catches in the bedroom from doors opening and slamming shut while enroute.

Now, granted, the roads going through NYC are no bargain for sure. BUT, we never had these kinds of issues with our '02 Sunnybrook. Only thing I can think of is that the Sunnybrook came from the factory withe shocks installed. The Terry has the Mor-Ryde Equa-Flex rubber equalizer, which they say is "just like having shocks". well, guess what, it ISN'T.

Soooo, ordered the Monroe TT shock kit from shock warehouse and will install next weekend. I also need to call the dealer when they open tomorrow and see what they say. I don't mind replacing the drawer slides and some catches, that's not a big deal, but the amount of bouncing that this TT does has me concerned, particularly about that front wall. I mean, I can live with 1/4" if that's all it is, but I'm not sure it's done moving yet...

Ironically, the trailer tows like a dream, much smoother and less bouncy than the Sunnybrook did, likely due to a slightly lighter tongue weight. Not sure if I should be worried about the slight warpage in the outside wall, or is it a sign of more trouble yet to come?

The good news is that with all of that bouncing, my generator rack is intact and solid as a rock, so looks like I got that installed right.

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2001 Suburban 8.1L/4.10 axle
CIPA extendable tow mirrors, custom PIAA lights and front hitch
Hensley Arrow
Honda EU 2000
2008 Terry 280 FQS