Ok we're in with a 2016 escape 19

[John David]

Just put down the deposit on a 19. After looking at the forum I'm kinda thinking that was the easy step. Now comes the build sheet.
My wife and I have done tent camping in small and big tents,with and without cots and gave that up. In getting ready for retirement we have spent the last few years trying different things out, a camperized van, and travel trailers. The camperized van turned us away from motorhomes, and one look at the price on a winterized camper (and a new vehicle) turned us away from that. For the last two years we have rented a travel trailer and found that we liked that a lot.

In looking for one to buy we felt we needed no wood in the frame,minimal chance of leakage in the roof and the ability to store the trailer outside not under cover. Also on the must have list was a bathroom and queen size bed. The escape trailet met all the requirements and the build quality was significantly better than others we saw. So, after looking at a 21 and a 19 in our area we r took the plunge.

Our expected usage will be a mix of forestry and back roads campsites and serviced campsites. We tend to go more on the forestry side and expect to be able to use the xterra to take the trailer to out of the way places. (Last year we trailered away from Quesnel lake one week before the mount Polley tailings Pond burst and flowed into the lake about 100 yards from our campsite.).

So we've joined your community of owners and after I searsesearch on this site for a bit will be asking for some commets on usefulness of options.

John D

[KarenB]

Congrats JohnD, that 11 months will fly by! Our wait was 10 months and it crept up pretty quickly....Keep checking the forum and you'll get a feel for options and ideas.....Karen

[Slickheadhunter]

Congrats John! The wait does go by fast!

[rbryan4]

Congratulations. Great choice. Wow, 11 months now on the build date? And I thought our 9 months was long! Its true though that it goes pretty quick. Can't believe we've had ours now for almost 3 months when it seems like last week we ordered.

[Bobbito]

Hi John,
Congrats on your purchase. We do almost all of our camping in Forest Service Campsites and out-of-the-way provincial B.C. Parks. Our 3 week old Escape 21 was a long time coming, but definitely worth waiting for. You may see us traveling by this July as we head to White Swan Lake.

Bob K

[John David]

Thanx Bob.
If you are passing by and need a break please stop in. We have a mostly serviced (Sani dump is 10 minutes away) 85 foot pad area (read driveway) surrounded by Douglas Fir trees in a 1/3 acre park-like setting. The park gardener will be happy to show you around the grounds and the Park chef can whip up delicious appetizers and main courses on the outside cooking area using fresh ingredients from the high density park garden. You will be well served by the Park Sommelier as he delves into the Park wine cellar to surface with chilled expressions of okanogan tastes expressed in white or red vintages. The park Golf pro can assist your swing at the Redstone Golf course , a 3 year old Les Thurber designed mountain course that is the talk of the Kootenays. If you are mountain bike enthusiasts the renown seven summits trailhead is 15 minutes by car away. This trail traverses the ridges of the Rossland range for a distance of 30 KM's where you will be at 6000 feet and see stunning views of the valleys.
White swan lake will be an approx 6 hrs plus one time zone drive the next day (not counting FSR conditions).

May we take your reservation for June or August? (the park is currently full during July)

Your hosts
John and Ursula

[Bobbito]

Sorry about the delay responding. I've been busy dealing with a whole hostt of problems, including responding to identity/credit card fraud. Thanks for the generous offer, John. We look forward to making many new friends in the Escape community over time. Looking in more detail at our travel plans, I see that we will have to travel the Roger's Pass to get to Summerland in time for a wedding. If we weren't strapped for time we could take the extra time and get to know you. Will PM a bit more later. We love the Kootenays and will likely explore it more in the future. I forgot that traveling from one end of this region to the other is like traveling across one or two countries in Europe.

Bob

[Loren & Cathy]

John, welcome to the forum and Escape family. We put down our deposit Last Sept. 5th and will pick up this Sept. 10th. The year will fly by, so get busy on that build sheet. Have fun. I think I better call Crystal about an orientation date. Loren

[Charlie & Lucy]

Originally Posted by Loren & Cathy

John, welcome to the forum and Escape family. We put down our deposit Last Sept. 5th and will pick up this Sept. 10th. The year will fly by, so get busy on that build sheet. Have fun. I think I better call Crystal about an orientation date. Loren

Yes.. Welcome John and Ursula! It gets very exciting as the months tick by and all of a sudden you realize there isn't much time until you can pick your trailer. We just found out the other day that although our hatch date is September 4th, we aren't able to make it on the 4th, which is Friday, (and that weekend is Labor Day, both in the U.S. and Canada), so we have to wait until until Tuesday, the 8th. Frustrating and exciting at the same time.... Who else is having Orientation on the 8th? It would be great to meet other new escape owners after Orientation!

[LDRay]

Looking at the long list of options is a bit overwhelming. Our build sheet is due July 31. We made a preliminary build sheet immediatly, for some reason that took away a bit of the stress. Of course we changed it several times. No changes in the last month so we must be getting close to the "perfect" build.

Larry and Caren

[Jim Bennett]

Congrats John, I sensed you had taken the bait, hook, line and sinker.

[John David]

Didn't know whether to post this in the mods folder or here so made a choice, administrators feel free to move. This post provides our experiences and mods made to date. Picked up our 19 on May 20th. Have made two trips with it so far but its report card season and one of us is very busy.

The good
- The mattress is excellent and that was one of our concerns. With this mattress you actually look forward to a good nights sleep.
-the size is just right for the two of us.
- the build finish is great.
-The towability using a nissan xterra is excellent. We hardly know its there. Gas mileage changed from 12.5 l/100k to 18.5 l/100k.

The bad
- electric hitch failed second night out - Used the TV jack to hitch/unhitch til we got home. It was the ground screw connection inside the hitch cover. There is a recess for the bolt head and ETI had added one lock washer in the recess to bring the ring terminal up and contact the bolt. Added a second lock washer to ensure connection.
-Water from the unit has a plastic taste. Anyway the coffee turned out bad the first morning. We've flushed the system since then and the jury's still out. Anyone got any thoughts?
-On June 17 the atlin water pump continues to run when faucets turned off. Called ETI and they sent out a fact sheet on how to fix. That worked. In talking to Tammy they had received a shipment of pumps that the supplier said was precalibrated for shut-off and bypass pressures. Since this is not the first call they have had on pumps she thinks that ETI may have to calibrate each pump anyway during a build.

Let me say that throughout all these "bads" ETI has been very helpful and supportive. THANKS TAMMY

The mods:
- Plastic edging around the bottom of the propane tank cover to prevent paint scratching/rub marks.
-Kamenstein paper towel holder installed.
-Pull-out metal basket tray in large cabinet between stovetop and sink.
-silicone feet on sink cover so it doesn't slide.
-move fire extinguisher from left side of door to left side of bathroom door. This leaves room for trash can to be installed under counter extension.
-make a prop for the bed to allow temporary full access to under bead storage(and water pump )
-Baskets,Baskets, Baskets
-A plastic file folder container (two) added to the lower compartment breaks up the space and allows one or two bottles to be placed there without toppling. (of course the other solution was to keep the space full of bottles).
-fixed table wiggle and marking of the underside of table from the screw knob. Added a plastic foot on top of the screw knob with non-skid tape under the table. Tightened the slider tracks .
-made cradle support for the Minn Kota electric motor in the Front box.

Future mods
-move switch for hot water electric to inside trailer a la Jim Bennett. Thanx Jim.
-overhead ledge/shelf over door.
-removable suction disc items in bathroom
-I WILL find a way to connect our coleman or woods stove to the LP side. Having searched this forum I see this as a challenge.
-Add anderson plug to BATT 2 connections on solar charger and bring thru ETI installed 3" plug hole on drivers side front to charge Elec motor battery from solar when days fishing is done.

I hope to have all future mods done (except the coleman LP one) before we leave for the first long trip starting July 2nd. (schooool's out for the summer).

John

[gbaglo]

Couple issues. The fire extinguisher is next to the entry so that you can escape the trailer and still reach it from outside.

None of the suction devices I have will stay attached for any extended period. Some have had success with Ikea suction devices.

[cpaharley2008]

It will take at least 3-4 tank fills to eliminate the plastic taste, use your home water not cg or factory water to insure you are getting proper taste. Some cg water I wouldn't give to my dogs. I always carry 5-10 gallons water in jugs for coffee and dogs, water from trailer is used for washing and flushing. You may want to boil the water if you have to to eliminate any plastic residue, other wise it will dissipate eventually.

[Bobbito]

Our suction cup attached soap dish, tooth brush and accessory tray from ETI have all held fine (except for their towel hooks). We empty them for travel though. For towels we use two suction cup hooks from Lee Valley Tools. Again, we don't have towels on them while traveling.

We also bring separate water for drinking and coffee. It eliminates the health risk from drinking RV water from tanks and plumbing that might have some growth in it after winter storage. We put a 5 gal container of purified water by the door with hand pump on top.

Bob K


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[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

Our suction cup attached soap dish, tooth brush and accessory tray from ETI have all held fine (except for their towel hooks). We empty them for travel though. For towels we use two suction cup hooks from Lee Valley Tools. Again, we don't have towels on them while traveling.

We also bring separate water for drinking and coffee. It eliminates the health risk from drinking RV water from tanks and plumbing that might have some growth in it after winter storage. We put a 5 gal container of purified water by the door with hand pump on top.

Bob K


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We also always bring seperate water for drinking and cooking . Have that pump on water also by door on flip up for drinking . On board water just for showers and Jon and boiled hot water for dishes . Pat

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by John David

-I WILL find a way to connect our coleman or woods stove to the LP side. Having searched this forum I see this as a challenge.

The best of luck to you John, many, many have tried before including myself, and I had pretty much determined that it couldn't be done. Carl to a really good stab at it to, and ultimately found out something that I had not realized, that the low pressure to the burners in a Coleman stove was not the same as the 11" water column that RV's use. Not sure what that pressure was, but Carl might chip in here.

I went with the Camp Chef Ranger II, which Carl brought me up from the US and gave to me at the rally. I have yet to use it, but man does it look like a nice solid built stove. You can use the regulator supplied, or just get connections to hook it straight to the LP of the trailer.

[John David]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

that the low pressure to the burners in a Coleman stove was not the same as the 11" water column that RV's use. Not sure what that pressure was, but Carl might chip in here.
.

Oooh, if true, that's a showstopper!

Carl??


Back to the drawing board. Thanks for the forewarning.

John

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by John David

Oooh, if true, that's a showstopper!



Carl??





Back to the drawing board. Thanks for the forewarning.



John

As Jim mentioned, the Coleman stoves don't seem to use the standard pressure. If you HAVE to use a Coleman stove, and you want to use your trailer's 20lb tanks, then probably the easiest way is to use a bulk tank adapter like this one, connected to a T at the tank - not the low pressure Quick Connect. Camp Chef 5 Foot Bulk Tank Hose Adapter for Use with Disposable Bottle Regula | eBay

The one pictured has a 5' hose, but of course there are longer ones.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

If you HAVE to use a Coleman stove, and you want to use your trailer's 20lb tanks, then probably the easiest way is to use a bulk tank adapter like this one, connected to a T at the tank - not the low pressure Quick Connect. Camp Chef 5 Foot Bulk Tank Hose Adapter for Use with Disposable Bottle Regula | eBay

The one pictured has a 5' hose, but of course there are longer ones.

I agree - that works for anything needing propane. Extension hoses are available, so you don't always need to use one long hose. The style of connector on the stove end (and on both ends of an extension) is the same as the top of the disposable (one pound) propane cylinder that small stoves are designed to use.