New 17B ordered

[JereBarbNH]

We will be new owners of a 17B in late October. Downsizing from a 23 foot "square" trailer after 10 years. Looking forward to a well built rig that will hopefully be mouse-proof. Also hoping for better gas mileage than with the 23' square rig @ 10 mpg. We have ordered a permanent bed/mattress where the rear dinette was. Just 2 of us, so the small front dinette will be fine. Has anyone else ordered that configuration?

[Eggscape]

Welcome...and I am sure you will love having a small trailer you can zip around the country in.

[yardsale]

Originally Posted by JereBarbNH

We will be new owners of a 17B in late October. Downsizing from a 23 foot "square" trailer after 10 years. Looking forward to a well built rig that will hopefully be mouse-proof. Also hoping for better gas mileage than with the 23' square rig @ 10 mpg. We have ordered a permanent bed/mattress where the rear dinette was. Just 2 of us, so the small front dinette will be fine. Has anyone else ordered that configuration?

Welcome fellow New England 17 B owner! We never switch away from using our rear bed so the permanent version would have made sense for us. Suggest you get two of those pillows with the arms that sell for 20 bucks or so at B B and Beyond, or Walmart. You put them in the corners of the bed to change the space into a comfortable lounge area with great views out the expansive windows. Depending on your tow vehicle and speed you can expect 12 - 14 mpg. You have AC and/or solar? There are mileage penalty for those options.

[JereBarbNH]

Hello Yardsale - we don't have solar, but will have A/C - last minute decision as we rarely used A/C on the previous trailer. We will be towing with a Dodge Durango with the 5.7 Hemi V8. Gets 20 mpg non-towing, eager to see mpg towing the Escape 17B. Hoping for 15 mpg, but will be happy with a little less.

[Up2speed4]

I towed a 21' "box" trailer with a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee with hemi V8 and 8 speed auto and consistently got 13 mpg. Deciding between 17b (with permanent bed) or a 19, so I am very interested in hearing what your mpg results are. Hoping they are great. Happy trails!





i V8

[cpaharley2008]

Weight and wind resistance will impact you. The larger the trailer the more weight and resistance. What are the spec's on your GC re: hitch weight and capacity?

[yardsale]

Originally Posted by JereBarbNH

Hello Yardsale - we don't have solar, but will have A/C - last minute decision as we rarely used A/C on the previous trailer. We will be towing with a Dodge Durango with the 5.7 Hemi V8. Gets 20 mpg non-towing, eager to see mpg towing the Escape 17B. Hoping for 15 mpg, but will be happy with a little less.

Jeesum, with that beast you should get a hoist and just dump it in the back!

[SteveM]

We too are picking up in fall...early Nov. We didn't get a permanent bed but will probably figure out something sorta permanent to save the cushion some wear and tear. In our older Scamp we had switched to some fairly dense 4" foam. What do Escapees do about the bed? regular sheets, etc or sleeping bag type set up? The 44 inch Scamp bed was a challenge & always a hassle if the under bed storage needed to be accessed. I expect that won't change much.

[gbaglo]

We use two large sleeping bags zipped together to make a huge double. Have another large sleeping bag under that as a spare and as cushion. Under that is a two-inch topper and then the seat cushions.

[JereBarbNH]

We bought the "beast" Dodge Durango with 5.7 Hemi to tow the earlier 5,000 lb (loaded) trailer, and it was a very good combo. Since the Durango still has some life in it (@145,000 mi, but still going strong), we'll keep it to tow the Escape 17B and maybe trade smaller (V6 pickup?) in a year or two. The Hemi Durango will really pull.

[disneydoc]

We are just two of us in the Escape 17B.

We have a Bed made permanently of the rear dinette, if you opt for it before hand & ask Escape for Mattress instead of the cushions, they will do just that as they did for us

Good Luck !!

[azjack]

We tow with a Dodge Durango 5.7 and had been towing with a Jeep GC. When the Jeep reached 90xxx miles I traded for the Durango, both 2 wd. The weight limits for both were very good for the 21' and really good for the 17". We just pulled a number of steep, high mountains and loved the combinations as the only ones that could pass us were motorcycles as the Sturgis Rally was about to start. We also got better mpg then we did with a lighter trailer and a Honda V-6 some time ago. You will love this set up and that includes the trailer.
pzjack

[yardsale]

Originally Posted by JereBarbNH

We bought the "beast" Dodge Durango with 5.7 Hemi to tow the earlier 5,000 lb (loaded) trailer, and it was a very good combo. Since the Durango still has some life in it (@145,000 mi, but still going strong), we'll keep it to tow the Escape 17B and maybe trade smaller (V6 pickup?) in a year or two. The Hemi Durango will really pull.

Sounds like a plan. There is an interesting dialogue in RV land about the towing mileage of a v8 tug like you have vs a smaller truck like ours. Another poster with a v8 mentioned they got 13 mpg towing this rig which is what we get with our in line 5.

[JereBarbNH]

Disneydoc - You are correct and that is exactly what we ordered. Started out asking if the 17A mattress could be installed in the 17B and heard back that it is a no cost option. For extra $, the area under the mattress could be closed in to make a cabinet, but we opted to leave it open for easy bin storage.