What were your deciding factors when you purchased your Escape?

[Lawrence A]

Originally Posted by Selkirk

Escape: 19, 21C, 21NE, 5.0, and 23 twin version. All come with a proper mattress.

Just to complete the list, the 17B Layout F3 also has a permanent mattress. I know because I have it.

[sofmerc]

as a first time camper and owner, I didn't have the experience of most of you. My search started as wanting a toy/distraction during covid.. I started looking at campers in $15 k range,lol... I really wanted to buy a used Retro camper ..Until I saw the horrible quality reviews.. I then deep dived into campers...and all quality posts wee about fiberglass units. I'm a boat guy, so very comfortable with FG.. And I wanted small and simple. No slide outs, no leaky roofs.... The resale value/ lack of serious depreciation was a very big factor as well... If I decided I didn't enjoy camping (never camped a day in my life!), I wanted to be able to sell it for minimal loss.. The truck I bought used prior to even thinking about campers was equipped with rails in the bed.. SOOOO when I saw the Escape line of campers, I kind of fell in love withe the 5.0... For so many reasons.. It would fit in my yard,no storage costs. simple systems that I was used to from small yachts. I can repair small fiberglass stuff and know contacts for larger repairs if needed.. Took a leap of faith, got on the wait list in December of 2020... Height of Covid list.. Was told 2 years but could move up.. I was moved up twice... And then a cancer diagnosis put a damper on the whole show.... I live alone, not much family close to me.. Really didn't want to deal with camper while in treatment... Then I kind of realized, I need something to look forward to.. Didn't cancel my build, but didn't take 3rd move up spot offered.. I was in radiation treatment... All worked out great! In remission, have been enjoying the camper for almost 2 years now....I couldn't imagine I would be happier with any other camper...

[Don Flamenco]

Originally Posted by Selkirk

Casita: Only on the Independence (twin bed) and Liberty models. The latter only is possible if the entire dinette area is converted to bed space....making it impractical to fit a permanent mattress.

Not sure why you say it's impractical. I have a permanent mattress in my Casita. It's a $600 custom mattress made by lovemycasita.com and it is the most comfortable mattress I have ever slept on. It beats my $4,000 Macy's mattress & box spring set, hands down.

I ordered the Escape trailer mattress for my 21NE F2; I hope it's as fantastic as the Casita mattress.

[GPS]

Well those are some very happy owners. Count me in. I come from it from a different perspective
We had a pop up for 8 or so years. It was great but wanted to avoid the wet take downs n dryouts that seemed regular. So we were looking for something small n comparable. Cozy was a must . Tow vehicle was not an issue. One look at a 17 n we settled on a 17a. Outdoorsy rafting family so toilet was not something we were needing. What is great n unique about the escape is there is something for everyone at a reasonable price point with solid quality. We are going on 4 years with ours and have not had one thing to address. Happy campers as they say.

[Mike G]

My 19 is small enough to fit into a lot of forest campground sites. Easy to maneuver. Easy to tow and a bit less strain on the drive train along with a bit better fuel economy since it's rounded, light weight, with a small frontal area. I had a Burro but it lacked some features I wanted so I sold it. I wanted an Escape but money was tight so for a bit more than half the price I bought a KZ; what a throwaway that was. Stuff was always rattling apart. Roof started leaking 3 years later. I sold it. Kept biding my time until I could get an Escape! Less leak points, well constructed, cozy feeling inside. I'm plumb tickled with it.

[Sean Murry]

For us the main reasons for purchasing an Escape
-Fibreglass molded construction, including the floor
-Width, we didn't want an 8' wide trailer. We have a GMC Canyon and the Escape 19 is narrow enough we don't need extended mirrors, and offers less wind resistance
-Interior material choices
-some customization
-Weight

[dcgrout]

I wanted to get into RVing when I recently retired just as Covid hit- just pack up and go with our mobile hotel room. My wife was reluctant until a friend of hers was telling her about a recent camping trip they had been on with their new Escape 21C. Wife was intrigued, went to look at it, and fell in love with it. I loved the concept of molded fiberglass construction, the layout, tandem axels on a relatively short trailer, was really impressed with the quality of the construction inside and out, and thought it was a really cute unit. We promptly put down a deposit, was told 2+ years to wait, but with two move forward events ended up taking delivery in 13 months. We have enjoyed two plus years of moderate camping, 30-45 days a year, but will be increasing our time in the Escape in the coming years. If doing it over, we might move up to the new 23, but I doubt we will ever make even that move as we absolutely love our 21C.

[YakRV]

Hi, BobbyP! Since I see you’ve already narrowed your options down to only molded fiberglass trailers, I’ll just say kudos to you for finding the right path on that. As for why we chose Escape, once we honed in on molded fiberglass we found Escape Trailers to be a “sweet spot” for their floor plans, sound construction, and price.

Olivers are obviously excellent trailers, but their cramped living space and top-end pricing just didn’t work for us. Although we won’t knock the Casitas, because we hear they are nice trailers too, we crossed them off our list rather quickly simply because we just didn’t want the carpet like walls and ceiling (collecting dust and other allergens was a concern for potential allergy issues).

It didn’t take us long to lock in on Escape, and when we got to see one in person that was it. We just needed to figure out which model was right for us. I don’t know your reasoning for looking at the 17-foot, but if it’s because you want to “start small” for getting into towing I can tell you from experience that it’s easier than you might think. We thought about going with the 19 because I had zero experience towing, but we took the “leap” with the 21C for its roomier interior space and we love this trailer! Go with what you feel comfortable with, but just know that these trailers tow very, very well.

One final thing I’ll mention about the Escape Trailers. The level of customization is truly mind-boggling! You’ll have your choice of interiors (oak, maple, or a white and silverish gray “Contemporary”), flooring, laminate for counter and tabletop, fabric for seat cushions and window valances, type of windows (and how many), type of awning, solar and battery options, air conditioner unit (or none at all), tank monitors, how many hatches, and more items I’m leaving out. If you decide to buy a new Escape Trailer be prepared for a fun and maybe dizzying rite of passage called The Build Sheet.

You can’t go wrong with any of the trailer brands you’re looking at, so we wish you well with your decision and hope you enjoy camping (and kayaking - hence our screen name of “YakRV” ) as much as we do. Happy camping!

[bborzell]

We thought that our Escape 21C would be our last trailer. And then Escape decided to back away from their long held plan for a 23 ft trailer with a dry bath.

The refocus on interior living space and a walk around Queen bed was all it took for us to buy the 23.

[Viajante]

Maybe people bought an Escape trailer because of the ETI website advertising over the years, including:

Attractively low dry weights that nobody has come close to replicating in the real world.
Fuel efficiency, with a loss of “only a few miles per gallon” compared to not towing.
Trailer lengths that are exaggerated by 15-20%. Ya think that’s a 19’ trailer?
Who could forget the “bumper to bumper” warranty?
And then there is the bear ad. Maybe that does it for some.

The point is, do your homework, review information on the forum, know what you are getting. The company is selling the dream, you are buying a trailer.

Personally, I bought an Escape because it was the only molded fiberglass trailer that offered a slide out at the time. It was fully customizable back in those days.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Viajante

....Personally, I bought an Escape because it was the only molded fiberglass trailer that offered a slide out at the time.....

Escape Trailer Industries of Chilliwack, BC, Canada ??

Would love to see a pic of that trailer!

[SageRpod]

Our deciding factors were:

• Full size queen bed with room on either side
• Rigid body for better durability
• small fifth wheel design (we purchased a 5.0)
• Build quality
• No slide
• Modern design

I'd also say tandem wheel but that exists in most other brands.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Centex

Escape Trailer Industries of Chilliwack, BC, Canada ??

Would love to see a pic of that trailer!

Me too.

In the early days, up to about 2014, ETI did an assortment of work on other brands etc., which is what you have to do with a start-up company to survive.

This is the first time that I've ever heard of an Escape with a slide.

Ron

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Viajante

Personally, I bought an Escape because it was the only molded fiberglass trailer that offered a slide out at the time. It was fully customizable back in those days.

Originally Posted by Centex

Escape Trailer Industries of Chilliwack, BC, Canada ??

Would love to see a pic of that trailer!

Maybe he is confusing a KZ Escape with an actual molded fiberglass Escape.

https://www.kz-rv.com/2022-products/escape-travel-trailers/

Or maybe he is from a Texas trailer manufacturer here to stir the pot.

[salmo7000]

Lifelong tent camper here. Prior to purchasing my Escape, I had never in my adult life spent even 1 night in any sort of a camper. At first, I thought I wanted a pickup camper. I was really taken with the fiberglass models made by Bigfoot and Northern Lite, until I saw the cost for a new one. Cost combined with the fact one really needs a 1-ton pickup to safely haul most truck campers were factors that convinced me I didn't really want a truck camper. At some point in my online searching, I came across Escape trailers. This was back in 2017, and I loved the idea of the company being owned and run by a small-time owner in Canada. I was sold on getting an Escape at that point. I then decided I wanted a 5.0 TA.

Since I didn't have a pickup at the time, I went shopping for one. Per recommendations here, I went straight to my nearest Ford dealer, intending to buy a F-150. To make a long story short, my attempts to communicate to the salesperson what I needed and why, resulted in a bad experience. I then went to my local Chevy dealer. I had seen some posts about folks towing their 5.0TA with a Chevy Colorado diesel, and I was intrigued with the idea, along with their reported fuel economy. My dealer happened to have one sitting on the lot, so I took it out for a test drive.

Three miles into the drive, I knew this was my truck. I bought it on the spot. Because I was planning to buy a 5.0TA, I was concerned about payload, which was 1,385 lbs for this particular truck. That was perhaps adequate but would be very close. After much thought, I changed my mind about the 5.0TA, deciding I'd prefer a bumper pull so I could put a canopy on the truck. So I ended up buying a 19. I have never regretted this decision... my beloved "Zen Purple" has been a perfect camper and treasured companion since the day I picked it up.

By the way, when I signed off on my build sheet, I had never actually seen an Escape in person. I bought my 19 sight unseen. But again, no regrets when I picked it up. I walked through all the models on the showroon, which included a 5.0TA, 21C, 19, and 17B. Fortunately, I loved everything about the 19. But for sure, if you can look at each model before making a decision, as well as the other brands you're considering, I would do so.

Everyone's journey is different. While folks here got to where they are following their own journey, most who ended up with an Escape have not regretted it. Yes Escape is now owned and run by a larger company, and while prices are certainly not what they were when I bought mine, I think the quality is the same, and from what I can tell, so is the customer service. Highly recommend.

Best of luck with your journey!!

[Ron in BC]

Actually the previous comment about ETI used to do more customization brought a smile when I remembered when:

-only slider windows
-one upholstery pattern
-no lithium
-no solar panels
-one type of fridge
-one type of table support
-one flooring pattern
-one arborite pattern
-one type of awning

Most customization occurred when the buyer shipped their upholstery etc. which for US buyers added a bit of work to the buying process.

Current buyers don't realize how lucky they are to have as many options as are now available. Of course same old, same old me would still order the original 3; I've always thought that the original colors, no doubt selected by Tammy, were inspired and I couldn't do better.

Ron

[bborzell]

Our Airstream Basecamp came with two slide-outs. Actually, I think we kinda rolled them out.

[DT6]

I'm going to mention a couple of ideas that I did not see posted previously here (if I missed one, my apologies):
You mention sea kayaking, hiking, etc. so it sounds like you may want to be off-road a lot? If so, you may want to consider how "boondock" you want to get.
1. Escape offers a lift kit which adds a few inches of clearance if you want to go off road.
2. You can also have a Casita modded to go to really tough to get spots (I'm assuming the same could be done to an Escape 17). Bill Hillmann describes what he did to his Casita here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkfaMf4JCUg

If you are not necessarily looking to go really "off-road" but dirt-roads, the other Escape models do well, especially with a lift kit installed.

Also, if you are not 100-percent sure you don't want anything larger than a 17, do yourselves a favor and take a look at an Escape 19 and 21 (even the 23, but not many around yet). We have met several owner (us included) who suffered from "2 footitis". We initially thought the Casita or Escape 17 would be great. Then we looked at a Casita and loved it until two hours later we saw an Escape 19 and loved that even more. So we started with the 19 and enjoyed it so much we upsized to a 21. Some have upgraded three times from a 17, to 19, to 21. So just in case, you may want to just look at one of the larger models.

[Viajante]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Actually the previous comment about ETI used to do more customization brought a smile when I remembered when:

-only slider windows
-one upholstery pattern
-no lithium
-no solar panels
-one type of fridge
-one type of table support
-one flooring pattern
-one arborite pattern
-one type of awning

Most customization occurred when the buyer shipped their upholstery etc. which for US buyers added a bit of work to the buying process.

Current buyers don't realize how lucky they are to have as many options as are now available. Of course same old, same old me would still order the original 3; I've always thought that the original colors, no doubt selected by Tammy, were inspired and I couldn't do better.

Ron

Ron, I’m glad you got a smile out of the reference to “fully customizable” because it was a joke (of sorts.) I was trying to highlight the difference between the Escape as advertised and the trailers in reality. You have a good list that shows the ridiculousness of the fully customizable advertising claim of past years. If the claim was true I would have a trailer with a slide out. But there were no solar panels, frameless windows and certainly no slide outs available.

[Jim Bennett]

Moulded fibreglass, relatively light, well built, look good and great layouts.

Originally Posted by Don Flamenco

Make sure you tour the new Oliver models in person; they are the brightest white fiberglass I've ever seen anywhere. After ~5 minutes my eyes were hurting and I had to step outside. It felt like the very beginning of a mild snow blindness.

While there is lots to like and appreciate about the Oliver trailers build, to me this pure white interior just seems too institutional and not warm and cozy. I have been in a few of the.

I looked into them when I was first looking in 2008, they only had the smaller one then, and asked if they would do a different colour interior and they said no. Shortly after Reace announced the plan to design and build a 19 and I was all over it. Heck, it was my layout plan that they finally went with.