Hello I am new

MB · 11-03-2012, 04:22 PM

I am new to this forum.
We have a old Bigfoot 17ft (1989) that we love, but we are looking to up grade and for us the escape 19 ft would be great.
Read a lot about it but I have never seen one.
I was wandering did some of you order one with out seeing it before?

dave macrae · 11-03-2012, 04:41 PM

Hi Michele, we were fortunate enough to have a 19 ft in our area to view before we ordered, althougth I think we would have still ordered if we couldn't have. There is just so much info and pictures on this site. The fact that you already have a fiberglass trailer of a similar size you probably have a better idea than most what the Escape will be like. We were looking at 21 ft and 17 ft Bigfoot trailers when we found out about Escape, the second I saw the layout of the 19 Ft I instantly thought wow that is a smart layout. Did you call Escape to find out where the closest one is for you to look at?
Good Luck

escape artist · 11-03-2012, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michele

I am new to this forum.
We have a old Bigfoot 17ft (1989) that we love, but we are looking to up grade and for us the escape 19 ft would be great.
Read a lot about it but I have never seen one.
I was wandering did some of you order one with out seeing it before?

Hi: Michele... I know there's a 19'er in Deep River Ont. That could be the closest one to Montreal. A quick call to Tammy at Escape 604-703-1650 will verify this. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

float5 · 11-03-2012, 06:28 PM

Hi, Michele!

There are actually some people who have bought Escapes without seeing one. Some have seen another model from what they bought, but in some cases, people ordered sight unseen.

Hopefully, you can see the one Alf mentioned.

Bruce Wray · 11-03-2012, 10:01 PM

We bought our 19, sight unseen, in '09. I had seen a 17, and based on that plus what I saw on the forum, we were all in. One of the best decisions we ever made.

Bruce

Jim Bennett · 11-03-2012, 10:31 PM

Hi Michele, welcome.

I bought my 19 too without having ever seen one, or any other Escape other than the exterior of one parked. Hearing what others said about theirs, and talking with Tammy and Reace gave me enough confidence to go for it. I have absolutely now regrets about it after 4 summers of using it.

dave macrae · 11-03-2012, 10:32 PM

I have a question for those you have been around a while, Has anyone heard of someone buying a escape trailer and not being happy with it, I guess it goes with out saying that all of us on the forum are happy with our purchase, I guess I wonder if there have been any truly unhappy customers? This might be helpful for those who are contemplating the plunge. Its always nice to hear an oposing view.

Texscapees · 11-03-2012, 11:43 PM

We bought ours sight unseen too. We had not seen any model of Escape previously. The closest we came to that was watching a web video tour that JeffZ had posted when he was selling his 17B. We had never owned a trailer either. We read testimony of happy owners on the forum in its early days & communicated with Reace & Tammy as Jim did. Other than that, we looked at a couple of 17' Casitas to get a feel for the size as we were trying to decide btw a 17 or 19 Escape. You can count us as happy owners as well.

escape artist · 11-04-2012, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave macrae

I have a question for those you have been around a while, Has anyone heard of someone buying a escape trailer and not being happy with it, I guess it goes with out saying that all of us on the forum are happy with our purchase, I guess I wonder if there have been any truly unhappy customers? This might be helpful for those who are contemplating the plunge. Its always nice to hear an oposing view.

Hi: dave macrae... I haven't met one yet...but that doesn't mean they don't exist.
Reace and Tammy strive to make happy campers by building the best trailer they can. To that end they do a wonderful job!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

cpaharley2008 · 11-04-2012, 06:29 AM

I purchased my Escape sight unseen and I have bought vehicles on Ebay without inspection first. There is always some trepidation but I have not been disappointed. I think if there ever someone disappointed with their Escape, Tammy and Reace would work with them to correct it. I also think one should look at other fiberglass trailers like Casita,Scamp, and others. If you like those units you will love the Escape. I guess if you were ever displeased it would be because you are displeased with the molded fiberglass type trailer in general, not just with the Escape brand.

MB · 11-04-2012, 06:31 AM

Thank you for your imput, I will call tammy Monday to see if there is someone closer to me so I can see an Escape (Deep River 400 km drive).
If not I believe that I feel confident after what I have read to buy sight unseen.
Now, just have to justified spending the money for one.
My better half said that I usually do not have a lot of problem with that, finding justification and spending.

Sorry if I made mistake in writhing.

cpaharley2008 · 11-04-2012, 06:36 AM

No mistake, we love talking about our Escapes and we love pictures. Escape will send you production pictures throughout the process as your trailer is being built. It is really nice and do not forget that you can "customize" the interior. Color choices, tile, countertops, placement of outlets and are all available as well as the "option" list. Once done, it will be exactly as you want it to be. Keep us posted on your options, we all have different opinions on which ones are needed.ps- Welcome to the family.

escape artist · 11-04-2012, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michele

Thank you for your imput, I will call tammy Monday to see if there is someone closer to me so I can see an Escape (Deep River 400 km drive).
If not I believe that I feel confident after what I have read to buy sight unseen.
Now, just have to justified spending the money for one.
My better half said that I usually do not have a lot of problem with that, finding justification and spending.

Sorry if I made mistake in writhing.
Michele

Hi: Michele... Your writing is nothing to be sorry about.
Our Escape 5.0 ended up being the one we drove 3hrs. away to look at. The owners had serious life changes not long after buying it and we were lucky enough to have kept in touch with them. It became ours truck and all and we haven't looked back since.
My plan was to order a 5.0 when I retired. Still haven't got there yet... but we sure have had fun traveling with it these last 5yrs!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

dbailey · 11-04-2012, 09:28 AM

Michele,

I am also in the position of being interested in the 19'. I'm in Ottawa, so effectively no closer to the factory than you. But I was fortunate enough to have a spare day while visiting a friend in Vancouver, so my wife and I took a drive up to Chilliwack to have a look.

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I did take a short video of the inside of the 19. If you're interested, I'd be happy to share it.

dbailey · 11-04-2012, 07:22 PM

Here is the video I took:

Escape19Interior - YouTube

Michele also pointed out to me another video (here:

19' Escape Travel Trailer - YouTube

) which covers a lot more ground than mine.

cpaharley2008 · 11-04-2012, 07:56 PM

Michele,
Click on the owner's map at the top of this page and you will see some Escapes located not too far from you. Upper New York, Vermont, and west slop of Lake Erie. You have a 17/19/5th wheel. Tammy can put you in touch with these owners. Myself will be traveling up to near Rochester over Thanksgiving holiday. If you can come down there you are welcome to look at mine.
Let me know via a p/m if interested.

float5 · 11-04-2012, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave macrae

I have a question for those you have been around a while, Has anyone heard of someone buying a escape trailer and not being happy with it, I guess it goes with out saying that all of us on the forum are happy with our purchase, I guess I wonder if there have been any truly unhappy customers? This might be helpful for those who are contemplating the plunge. Its always nice to hear an oposing view.

Dave, only about 10 or 20 percent of Escape owners post on this forum which are almost all happy ones. We have seen an unhappy owner. I also know of a guy who sold his Escape to get a 4-season trailer. He has one with awful reviews so I wonder how he likes it.

Escape is the high end and some are not happy with some of the components because, by definition, if you make a trailer to be light, it is not likely to have many of the metal or heavier materials in it. An Airstream, for instance, may weigh a thousand pounds or more over an Escape of the same size. That means it requires a bigger tow vehicle than can be used for an Escape. That is a big consideration. How much durability --- for want of a better word --- do you want or want to pay for. It is a very individual thing. Some don't want to pay for an Escape but others are willing to pay more.

There are other owners just as thrilled with their Scamps or Bigfoots or Trilliums. As for the molded fiberglass ones, it is a family of trailers where no doubt many would like any in that group (and others do not want to be in that group at all.) They are more similar than dissimilar. The main features of Escape are lack of rivets and ability to customize and good service. It all depends on the buyer's camping style and expectations. Each company has advantages and disadvantages that another may not.

dave macrae · 11-04-2012, 09:30 PM

Cathy, those are good points. I know the airstreams are much heavier, but I have a Uncle with a older one and they still have their issues too. I guess the 10-20 % of Escape owners on the forum only represents the "enthuisiasts" who will by nature be biased. There is also the fact that you just can't please some people no matter what. I am quite confident with good maintenance ours will last pretty much as long as we want it too. I don't believe that any of the stick trailers I had would do the same.

cpaharley2008 · 11-04-2012, 10:11 PM

I'm not sure of the source of the 20% number being espoused here but with close to 1300 members registered, the majority of which are Escape owners that % maybe a lot higher. With 2005 being the first year of full production that I can find and @ 8 years @ an average 10/month according to my 5th grade math is around 1000 units. Granted some members are not owners and not all owners are registered, but based upon these numbers the per cent age is probably closer to 80%-90%. Remember some members have sold their Escapes to new owners while still maintaining their presence here.Other members have owned several Escapes. Either way, that per cent number is higher than 20%.

hotfishtacos · 11-04-2012, 10:31 PM

We contacted Escape and they told us who we could go visit locally to look at the 19' model that we bought. You will surely love the 19'. Escape pays trailer owners to show their trailers to perspective buyers and it generates a lot of business for them. We drove about 6 miles to see one. You should be able to find on in your neck of the woods. Give Tammy or Reese a call. Good luck!

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