Hello from Vancouver

[JandJ]

We put a deposit down on a 17B back in September and would like to finalize our build sheet in the next couple of weeks (although not due until Feb. 1) Thanks to the wonderful people in this forum and at Escape Industries it has been fairly easy even though we are new to the world of trailers.

There are just a few last things we are curious about. We are ordering the permanent bed and wondered if anyone else has one. We haven't seen a photo of one yet in the 17B. Wondering how much actual usable storage is under the bed (and how easy it is to access it) as we are eliminating the wardrobe next to the 2 person dinette and having the bench seat go all the way to the door instead.

We are going to have the 2 burner cooktop turned sideways for more counter space. Wondering how that looks as well in this particular size trailer.

Julie and Jose

[tractors1]

Search through the It's Friday thread and you'll find pics of that model under construction. Great info for knowing the innards of your rig like wiring, plumbing, etc.

Actually, from Vancouver BC it's a short drive over to ETI to just look at one and measure it.....

[gbaglo]

We don't have a permanent bed, but there is a lot of space available under the dinette/bed and benches. I'd like to see how you plan to access it with a permanent bed.
I've got four plastic bins that fit perfectly under the table portion ( when set for a bed ). I have stuff that doesn't need to be at hand ( screen room, spare sleeping bag, extra butane stove ) in the passenger side bench. In the driver-side bench there is the water heater, shore power cord and water pump.
It's irksome to lift the cushions and the seat panel to winterize, but not as bad as it would be with a permanent bed. JMAC might pipe in here.

As for the wardrobe, we use that a lot. Some put drawers inside, but I prefer just using hangers. Shoes get tossed in the bottom ( and a tripod, and an electric heater ). The top of the wardrobe is used as a handy surface for the Sirius radio dock, for charging my laptop, for a box of Kleenex, for stuff you don't want on the table while eating dinner ( the salad bowl, etc ).
If you want to review your decision before committing, I'm in North Van.

If I wanted a permanent bed, I'd order a 19'.

[LarryandLiz]

We have a 17b with a permanent bed and the wardrobe with shelves.

I've looked through our build pics and have two that might help you. Unfortunately, I won't have time for the next week or so to reacquaint myself with the how to upload pictures onto the forum (tomorrow we are moving to M-Ridge). I've seen pics of someone who built storage drawers that could slide out from under the bed. It looked like a nice system.

We've used the trailer once this summer for an eleven night trip. We had lots of space for random items under the bed. Things tended to float around. And it is a bit difficult to lift the entire bed up or to lie on your stomach reaching for items. Since this was our first trip we weren't to super-organized. We will likely be buying some low profile, long plastic storage boxes for under the bed.

Liz pointed out that we lost a bit of kitchen counter space due to the permanent bed. The little counter top extension on hinges needs to be shorter to make room for the bed mattress on the permanent bed setup. We were told this when we visited ETI prior to placing our order, but forgot about the shorter counter.

Overall we are very happy with the permanent bed. It suits the way the two of us use the trailer. I agree with Glen that access to various components under the bed seem a bit cramped or finicky to get at. So far we've just had ETI winterize the trailer since we've left it stored at the factory.

I'm curious about why you've decided against the wardrobe. I can see how not having it will open up the trailer in terms of feel. And that seems quite attractive. I suppose the longer bench becomes a nice lounge area. I think we'd miss the wardrobe for easy acess storage space.

For sure I'd head out to Chilliwack before placing the order. Liz and I went to Chilliwack three times before we decided between the 17b versus the 19. That was the most foundational decision we made.

All the best in your excursion into the world of Escape trailering.

Larry

[JandJ]

Thanks everyone for your replies. We have been out twice to Escape Industries and will make one more in the next 2 weeks. There haven't been any 17Bs with permanent beds around when we were there or likely to be in the next while. Tested the bed in the 19 and tried to imagine a little smaller version in the 17. We forgot to pay attention to the storage. It is just so exciting being there it is hard to take it all in. There will be 2 doors underneath and that sounds like a good idea to use low profile plastic containers to slide in and out.

We will have to be very organized as we are certain about eliminating the wardrobe. Neither of us are tall and with the wardrobe hitting at chest height it felt more closed in both standing and seated at the dinette. And yes we really wanted another lounge area. This was one of the easiest decisions.

We were also reminded about the smaller counter extension with the permanent bed. We are asking them to supply the regular size piece and Jose says he will find a way to attach it so it can be completely removed and replaced again (not hinged) or he had thought to have the piece hinged in the middle of the counter extension.

We now have to decide on whether we want extra outlets and are trying to imagine which devices we think we will need. Having spent so many years in a tent this is quite different!

[gbaglo]

I have the counter extension and it's always in the up position. We sleep with our heads to the passenger side, so my feet end up under the counter extension. Advantage of sleeping like this is you can reach the thermostat while still under the covers.

[Fox hunt]

Leon put a shelf thing on the Lark so I can remove the counter extension - with the mattress pad you can't flip the counter extension it works great he can give you more info on what he did- I bought his 17 he has a 21 now..

[LeonW]

Originally Posted by Fox hunt

Leon put a shelf thing on the Lark so I can remove the counter extension - with the mattress pad you can't flip the counter extension it works great he can give you more info on what he did- I bought his 17 he has a 21 now..

I just got some shelf brackets and a couple of short pieces of the shelf track that fits on the wall. I had to use a couple of pieces of scrap to shim the counter extension, but it didn't take too long to do the work, even with my minimal wood working skills. You can see a photo of it here.

We didn't want to sleep with our heads towards the fridge (aka "The Baglo Solution") because we had the TV bracket on that side.

The downside to the shelf bracket is that you need to find a place to store it -- we just tucked it int the closet, or laid it on top of the mattress when we were moving.

[Donna D.]

Leon, I can't see it. It's asking me to sign-in to Google. I tried both IE and Firefox. Maybe those that have a gmail account and are logged in can see it...

Are you willing to just upload it here?

[Chapitre]

On our 17B we had the extension shortened to accommodate the cushions and 3" memory foam- I think the extension was 8".

[EDarby]

Glad I'm going to the Rally, so I can see what you are all talking about because I am completely lost!!!

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Leon, I can't see it. It's asking me to sign-in to Google. I tried both IE and Firefox. Maybe those that have a gmail account and are logged in can see it...

Are you willing to just upload it here?

Here you go Donna.

[LeonW]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Leon, I can't see it. It's asking me to sign-in to Google. I tried both IE and Firefox. Maybe those that have a gmail account and are logged in can see it...

Are you willing to just upload it here?

Sure. I will do it in the morning. I thought the Pinterest photos were public,but I guess not.

[LeonW]

Originally Posted by LeonW

Sure. I will do it in the morning. I thought the Pinterest photos were public,but I guess not.

Oops. Rbruan beat me to it. Thanks rbryan!

[JandJ]

Wow that is so helpful. Thanks to all. That was kind of what we had in mind and then to be able to see that someone else has done the same thing. For the few extra inches of counter space we will just have to find a place to put it when lifting the bed or making it etc. Love this forum!

[hillary]

I've often thought if we bought a new 17B we might leave out the wardrobe and just extend the bench, it'll be great to see pictures of yours! We bought our 2005 17B used, so the build choices like that weren't ours to make. My one suggestion if you do that is to put a cabinet door on the end of that bench, so it faces you at the doorway so you can quickly tuck things like shoes inside to keep the floor clear. A lot of people have done this with the front bench that's next to the doorway in the 19s and it seems be a well loved mod.

Since you'll have more under bench space, you'll really only be losing about half to 2/3rds of the wardrobe storage space, but I think you'll be fine without it. You are definitely making a good move rotating the stove because the counter space that you're losing on top of the wardrobe is actually the easiest counter to work on in our trailer (without the stove rotation).

[gbaglo]

So, are you going to flip a coin over who gets to sit on the side with the elongated bench?

[JandJ]

Thanks Hillary we were also thinking that it would be a great place to store shoes etc. We have included that bench door on our build sheet for that purpose. I am going to have to learn to not be such a messy cook with limited counter space. We are hoping to be mostly cooking outdoors as we have always done when tenting - but who knows as this is new to us.

Gbaglo - What an adorable dog! You have given me an idea. The person with the dog (which will be me) should have the lounging seat!