We decided on the 21 today.

[John in Santa Cruz]

re awnings and shade when camping in hot exposed places.... I like to park with the hitch pointing due north, so the sun rises on the curb side (awning) and sets on the street side. this way the trailer itself provides late afternoon shade. if I'm going to be there more than a couple days, I'll also put a 10x10' popup awning directly against the trailer awning to extend the mid morning shade...

case in point...

(at a star party...)

[Eggscape]

People may want to think about future medical reasons in picking the window or awning styles. Which motion of operation will work best for you or your partner in 5 or 10 years down the road.
A few years ago my wife had a severe hit of arthritis. There is no way she could have ever worked a manual awning and I am not sure what style of window she could have opened.

[sailjoe]

Thank you to everyone that replied to my question. After lengthy discussions with my better half Carol, we decided to go with manual awning and frameless windows. We will actually visit ETI on December 5th.....we have some inexpensive Alaska airline tickets to Seattle. Rent a car and travel North. Nice short vacation. Cheep way to visit ETI and visit my son and his family in Spokane at the same time. Can never get enough time playing with our 3-1/2 year old grandson! He will love camping in the trailer with us next year.

I would like to ask about whether to get the spray on insulation. On one hand it would keep the floor warm in cold camping and keep all the bugs out especially in Eastern NC. But what about if you have to get to the tanks or wiring or anything else under the trailer? I guess you would have to cut away the foam to get to the problem area? Anyone out there have any issues that caused you to cut away the spray foam?

[Loren & Cathy]

The spray foam insulation might help prevent issues underneath. Sometimes we give up something good for something that may never happen. To bad we can’t compare with or without. Loren

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by sailjoe

I would like to ask about whether to get the spray on insulation. On one hand it would keep the floor warm in cold camping and keep all the bugs out especially in Eastern NC. But what about if you have to get to the tanks or wiring or anything else under the trailer? I guess you would have to cut away the foam to get to the problem area? Anyone out there have any issues that caused you to cut away the spray foam?

This might be a worthwhile read. From what I have seen the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1...ion-11684.html

[curru]

Some comments/thoughts on issues raised in this discussion:
I have a 2nd Gen 19 and pull it with a 2012 Tacoma. Since I full time in my trailer, I have a bit of stuff with me, both in the trailer and in the bed of the truck. There have been many times while going over mountain passes at 30 mph or less that I wished I had a bigger truck. So pulling a 21 might be a bit of a stretch. Also, I had to add a leaf to the rear springs to support the weight. Even with the weight distribution hitch installed at ETI, the truck squatted down considerably.
I have the frameless windows and am happy with them. No condensation on the frames in cold weather like I get on the front window. I was concerned with there not being enough airflow, especially in the rear of the trailer, so had ETI install a second escape window on the passenger side, and am mostly glad I did.
And then there's the awning: mine is electric (don't believe a manual one was an option in early '17). It made me really nervous to see it flap up and down in windy conditions, so I made two telescoping support poles out of PVC piping, with a cap on the top and a hex bolt sticking out of that which goes through a hole drilled into the bottom edge on each side of the awning and a wing nut attaching it to the edge. I then use a rope to stake the poles down. Of course I never leave the awning out when I go away, and if it does get too darn windy and the awning material starts flapping around too much, I retract it. So what's the point? I do feel better knowing that there is less stress put on the fiberglass where the awning is attached. Also, it's very easy to deploy the awning just a little bit, like when it's raining to have a dry spot by the door, and I can angle it a bit to drain off water. And of course I turn off the power switch while it is deployed with the poles attached.

[drmemory]

Great! Hope to see you two again. On the road!

[Vermilye]

I love my 21, but not the 3.5L Tacoma as a tow vehicle. I had a 2016 Tacoma Off Road that was a great truck towing my previous trailer (a 17B). I towed the 21 for a year with the Tacoma, then gave up. Poor mileage, lots of time with the engine running at 4000 RPM, etc. While I hated to give up the truck, I switched to a F 150, 3.5 Ecoboost. A huge improvement with better gas mileage, and more comfortable engine RPMs. With the optional 36 gallon tank, no more worries about where the next gas station is down the highway.

[Ksambor]

Thanks for the info. I have ordered the auto awning for my new 21’ and was wondering about using support poles, and partial opening. You answered the questions I had that were hard to find answers to. The manual does not say you can partially deploy the awning or that you can turn off the wind sensor.