Before the first TrailManor was shipped to a dealer, the design went through ten years of prototypes and testing. It was only after the innovative TrailManor design was thoroughly proven that it was made available to the public. TrailManor’s founder,  William J. Hulsey, has a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering and more than 25 years of experience in developing high technology materials and products. He transferred this knowledge into the TrailManor design to produce a trailer that’s light in weight, easy to tow, engineered to last, high in resale value, and fun to use from the moment you leave your driveway.

He built the FIRST TrailManor for his family because his wife was dissatisfied with the tent camper the family used. She wanted an upright travel trailer with hard walls and a bathroom. Bill didn’t want to tow a big travel trailer nor did he want to buy a large towing vehicle, so he used his technical experience and knowledge to create a travel trailer that was light in weight, easy to tow, had hard walls and a bathroom!

That first TrailManor was dubbed ‘Nokomis’ and it created so much attention at camp grounds that Hulsey began refining his creation and began production in an old church building in Lake City, TN in 1983. The business outgrew that building into a 60,000 square foot manufacturing facility.

Shortly after TrailManor’s celebration of 25 years in business, Bill encountered serious health issues and the sold the company.

In 2017 a Hutterite Colony in South Dakota purchased TrailManor. They incorporated under the name TM Industries, LLC, built a new manufacturing plant and moved the company there. Paul Wipf is the CEO for TM Industries, LLC. Wipf is seeking to bring life back to the most innovative travel trailer in the industry.

The OES Hutterite Colony that purchased TrailManor is in Parkston, SD.  OES stands forOld Elm Spring Colony. Paul Wipf was raised at the Hutterite Colony but left with his family when he was 15 years old. Paul’s brother, Joseph Wipf, is the head of the colony.