WANTED - 15' B with FULL bath and A/C

[walloe]

I am in the market for a 15 B Escape. Must have FULL bath. A/C would be great, but I can get a window A/C installed if need be. I live in UT, and am willing to travel if within the western states.

Thanks,
Alice

[gbaglo]

It's not a 15B ( not that many 15s around ) but worth checking out:

17' Escape - Fiberglass trailer - British Columbia Travel Trailers, Campers For Sale - Kijiji British Columbia Canada.

It's a 17B and just up the hill from you.

baglo

[walloe]

Hi,
It certainly is a possibility for the 17'. I see that you tow with a rav4. I just got a 2012. Do you have a sway bar also? I would have to get my passport renewed to get into Canada. Also would have to contact escape to see if a window type a/c could be installed above the fridge.
Thank for the tip.

[gbaglo]

Is your RAV4 a V6 with tow package? In the U.S. you might have to add a transmission cooler ( comes standard in Canada, along with heavy duty alternator ).
I don't have sway bar. I use a weight distribution hitch.

[Vermilye]

I also tow a 17B with a RAV4, a 2010 with V6 & Tow Package. In the US, the tow package does not include wiring for trailer lights, brakes, charge line or a hitch, so you will have to add them. If you are planing to use a weight distribution hitch (and I suggest you do with the 17B) be sure it is a Class III & has a 2" receiver, necessary for the WDH. The one Toyota was going to install on mine was a Class II with a 1 1/2" receiver, which wouldn't have worked...

Tow ratings for the RAV4 are 1500 lbs for the 4, 2000 lbs for the V6 & 3500 lbs for the V6 with tow package.

With lots of options, I weigh in at 3010 lbs loaded for a trip & have towed around 33,000 miles so far.

[gbaglo]

Make sure you save that post Jon. Most concise and thorough description of RAV4 towing that I've ever seen.

baglo

[float5]

Welcome, Alice.

Besides renewing your passport, you might also consider getting a passport card which is good for certain land crossings (not air) including Canada. The card is much more convenient for carrying, just like a driver's license, so you could leave the passport home.

If you have Escape install a weight distributing hitch, which is highly recommended for stability, it will have a sway component.

You will be so glad to have that full bath.

[walloe]

Yes, the Rav came with the tow package. I had U-Haul install a class III hitch with 2" receiver. They also installed the 7pin plug. The only down side is that the Rav did not have the shut off when I turn the car off I have to unplug from the camper. My Subie was able to be wired where when I turned the car off, it also stopped the camper from drawing from my battery. My 13' Scamp/bath towed like a dream behind the Forester. I'm hoping it will be just as well behaved behind the Rav. I am primarily in the market for a 15' Escape, but if the right deal comes along, a 17' Escape would be nice. Do you think a15' Escape would need a WDH?

Re:Passport. Yes, I would also get the card along with the renewed passport. I'm originally from Niagara Falls, NY, and it is convenient for crossing the bridge.

It is quite a drive for me to get up to Canada from S. Utah. But we'll worry about that down the line. Heck, look at Jon, he's taken two trips x-country with his Escape.

[Jubal]

Thank you for your interest in the Escape Trailer.

We have had a couple of people ask for a sway bar however, it is not something that people request very often. The key to preventing sway is loading the trailer properly; maintaining a 15% hitch weight. In the 19’ Escape we offer a permanent queen bed in the back of the trailer with storage underneath this storage space is easily accessible and is often filled before any of the storage compartments in the front of the trailer are used.

The equalizer hitch we offer does not include a sway control feature however it does distribute the weight evenly throughout the frame of the tow vehicle and trailer maintaining a positive hitch weight.

[dave macrae]

As with any trailer, the manufacturer can only do so much to build the trailer to have a good balance of tongue weight, it mostly falls on the user to understand how to load the unit in order to archive a sensible balance .

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by walloe

Yes, the Rav came with the tow package. I had U-Haul install a class III hitch with 2" receiver. They also installed the 7pin plug. The only down side is that the Rav did not have the shut off when I turn the car off I have to unplug from the camper. My Subie was able to be wired where when I turned the car off, it also stopped the camper from drawing from my battery. My 13' Scamp/bath towed like a dream behind the Forester. I'm hoping it will be just as well behaved behind the Rav. I am primarily in the market for a 15' Escape, but if the right deal comes along, a 17' Escape would be nice. Do you think a15' Escape would need a WDH?

Re:Passport. Yes, I would also get the card along with the renewed passport. I'm originally from Niagara Falls, NY, and it is convenient for crossing the bridge.

It is quite a drive for me to get up to Canada from S. Utah. But we'll worry about that down the line. Heck, look at Jon, he's taken two trips x-country with his Escape.

Well I won't be one of those that says "Can't even tell the trailer is behind me" but for the way I travel it is a great solution. A very stable tow, but I have to admit long hills do slow me down.

By the way, I installed a Stinger 80 amp isolator relay in the charge line. It is located in the driver's side jack storage area and the sense wire connected to the 12V power jack located in the rear panel. If UHaul ran your charge line along the same path when they ran the trailer lighting & brake wiring, maybe you can find the charge line and add an isolation relay. Very handy if you have a 3 way refrigerator & make long lunch stops!

[cpaharley2008]

Do I sense a dead battery in one of your lunch hour stops there Jon? Do you not have solar and do you not drive on propane just 12v? I got the same refer in my 19' you have and I'm still experimenting.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Do I sense a dead battery in one of your lunch hour stops there Jon? Do you not have solar and do you not drive on propane just 12v? I got the same refer in my 19' you have and I'm still experimenting.

Hasn't happened to me - I have a 2 way refer, but I sure read about the problem on forums!

[cpaharley2008]

Sorry, I thought you had the 3 way with 12v option.

[float5]

Originally Posted by Jubal

Thank you for your interest in the Escape Trailer.

We have had a couple of people ask for a sway bar however, it is not something that people request very often. The key to preventing sway is loading the trailer properly; maintaining a 15% hitch weight. In the 19’ Escape we offer a permanent queen bed in the back of the trailer with storage underneath this storage space is easily accessible and is often filled before any of the storage compartments in the front of the trailer are used.

The equalizer hitch we offer does not include a sway control feature however it does distribute the weight evenly throughout the frame of the tow vehicle and trailer maintaining a positive hitch weight.

Jubal, thank you for posting this. I stand corrected. I thought I had read time and again that the WDH has a sway control. Obviously not. Now I will have to look for what I thought I kept seeing.
So Alice, scratch that.

A WDH, however, will give you much greater stability. I go by Thomson of RV Lifestyle who has tested this on a track and looked at its use for years. He highly recommends use of a WDH to anyone with smaller trailers including right down to pop-ups, and who tows with the smaller passenger-type vehicles often used for fiberglass trailers.

[gbaglo]

As I read the explanation and from my experience, the WDH effectively is sway control.

[cpaharley2008]

Weight distribution is not sway control nor does it add stability. It is what it's name says, redistribution of weight from the rear of the tow vehicle to the front of the tow vehicle and to the rear of the trailer. As a result of this weight shift, you may think it is more stable while in reality it is the way it should have been because without the w/d your set up was unstable.
Similarly, a more stable set up is less apt to sway, similarly a less stable set up without w/d is more apt to sway. So if you need weight distribution use it and receive other benefits.
If you do not need weight distribution, you may still need sway control if your trailer is not properly balanced, i.e. light tongue weight. Adding sway control can add stability even if you do not need a w/d set up.

[gbaglo]

So, could you also not say that the sway bar makes your set-up appear more stable, when in reality it is the way it should have been?

[cpaharley2008]

I always get lost when the negative is being expressed as a positive, but I guess so.

[float5]

Thomson says that there is a "dramatic" improvement in stability for small trailers of our size and smaller with a WDH and very highly recommends them. He has numerous articles on every aspect of towing but they are only partial unless you are a subscriber.
He has spent a great deal of time on the subject and I have no doubt that he took loading into consideration and would have had proper loading in his tests as a given. He knows all about that, too. He has found people with very improper loading but that is not to deny the benefits of a WDH when properly loaded.

The whole purpose of a WDH is stability. It helps keep the vehicle's nose down so you don't go out of control in certain situations. The greatest value of a WDH may be in those occasional emergency-type instances. Our WDH transfers weight up front as well as back to the trailer. I certainly would not want that 300 lbs sitting on the rear of the vehicle lessening the contact with the road that the front of our vehicle gains with the WDH.