2017 vs classic 19

[rbryan4]

I'm kind of thinking the same thing. To me the only compelling reason to go for the 2017 model (provided you're comparing to and can FIND a used one that's suitable for you) would be the better fridge due to the wider door. Perhaps the power awning, but not as important to me as to some others.

To the OP, I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with either one, but as Glenn points out, the used ones go fast.

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[float5]

I did a very rough look at our 21' and conclude that one can save a bundle on the bottom line by buying used. Even our recent 2015 model with the same options would apparently be about another $3,500 Canadian if ordered now in the new version. Most earlier year Escapes that are the ones up for re-sale would often have an even bigger savings because of additional price increases in earlier years. Even with the dollar more in Americans' favor, that is a considerable difference. Not to mention that many people prefer the classics anyway.

That is before one gets to the fact that the big pick-up trip for most people is likely a bundle, and may or may not have been a vacation that one would have taken if not going to Chilliwack.

It looks to me as if a seller can sell at not much below what was paid or even at that and the buyer can still get a good deal. And I really don't think most sellers ask or get what they paid. We certainly did not.

Of course, this all depends upon what options one wants and where one lives and more.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Kountrykamper

Major changes I can think of are.
...
Sides on new model are flat, old model has a mold line down the side...

The new style body still has the same beltline feature, for the same reasons. The difference is that the new sides are vertical (until the curved transition to the roof and at the bottom), while in the "classic" design the slides slope inward as you move away from the beltline.

[cpaharley2008]

As in real estate, location, location, location. Finding an Escape this side of the Mississippi
5 years ago was slim, but now there are many owners. Both of my Escapes went to owners within 6 hours of my location.
Both were sold within hours of posting another issue. With such a high demand for their product, 12 months wait can mean the difference of several thousand dollars to some.
So both time and location are 2 issues to consider in buying used versus new.

[Kountrykamper]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

The new style body still has the same beltline feature, for the same reasons. The difference is that the new sides are vertical (until the curved transition to the roof and at the bottom), while in the "classic" design the slides slope inward as you move away from the beltline.

Im not talking about the belt line. The classics has a molded offset line that runs down the entire side of the trailer that the new version does not have due to the flat sides.

[Kountrykamper]

Jims 2nd Gen

[Marry]

A bigger access door (hatch).
(Your pictures reminded me Tom)

[dfandrews]

Since the frame is 4 inches wider, I would expect that the trailer is about 4 inches longer in overall length, because the angle (50°) of the frame members to the coupler remains the same.

[NW Cat Owner]

We ordered a 21' last December and when the new, 2nd Gen style was announced, I went back and forth on if we would switch or stay. Fortunately, with The Trailer not due until this December, we had plenty of time to decide.

We decided to switch over to the 2nd Gen style for multiple reasons:

1. A better fitting door. If you've read through the old posts, you'll see that some folks had problems with the door fitting properly. Some had to take it back to ETI for adjustment. Some had to put extra foam along the bottom so there wasn't a gap. One person even had to take his door off the hinges due to not being able to open it from the outside. (I was majorly freaked by that post!)

However, many others haven't had any problems, but knowing my luck .... Hubby wasn't too keen on the old style door and much prefers the new style.

2. Different frig, that many have said would work better than the older style. I've read so many posts from folks trying to get their frig to work properly, that I was starting to really wonder what sort of problems I would have. Yes, not everyone has problems with their frig, but .....

Yeah, I'm a worrywart, so these things were keeping me awake at night with worry over whether it would happen to us and how I would deal with it. I don't do well with stressful situations.

3. Better (for me!) screen door. I knew the older style would get yanked around by me and probably would come off the track fairly quickly. That's me and Dirk probably would have been fine with it.

4. Straighter walls along the sides. We're going to add Bali-style cellular shades and we hope the straighter walls will work better than the older, curved walls. (Although we still have the back, curved wall to work with; at least it's not 3 walls.)

5. The slightly larger tank(s?? can't remember) were not a deal breaker, but it's nice to have 'em a bit larger.

6. The medicine cabinet wasn't a deal breaker, but it's a nice touch and one that I figure I'll use quite a bit.

7. The new, pull-out faucet is nice and of course we had already purchased one to use by the time it was announced they were switching over. But, we still stayed with it as it'll match our purchased sink lots better than their stock one will. I probably would have purchased it even if I knew about the new one as we're not keen on stainless appliances.

8. The "wood" finish on the new, bigger frig wasn't a deal breaker either as I was thinking of getting a photo printed to put there like someone else did (blanking on the name now - ack! sorry!).

9. The electric awning. I really like that it's electric as I'm lazy and if it makes my life easier - yay! I really, really like the fact that it doesn't have any side arms as I know I would have run into them multiple times. Yep, that's me and not everyone isn't as aware of their surroundings like I am.

But, I have to tell ya, this year wait has been a killer on me! driving me nuts. Not quite to drink, but it came pretty darn close at times. But, even with all that wait ahead of us, a used one was never in the picture as we wanted a brand new one that had never been used before. We wanted custom countertop, flooring and fabric. Last year CPAHarley did offer to sell BlackJack to us, but we declined due to wanting a new one and the custom features (we got more than just what I listed above). But it was tempting to skip the wait.

So, good luck to the OP in their decision making!

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Kountrykamper

Im not talking about the belt line. The classics has a molded offset line that runs down the entire side of the trailer that the new version does not have due to the flat sides.

Ah, the step in the lower section - now I get which feature you were describing

That line is still in the ends (just above the tail lights), but as Tom said, no longer in the sides.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

Since the frame is 4 inches wider, I would expect that the trailer is about 4 inches longer in overall length, because the angle (50°) of the frame members to the coupler remains the same.

There's no need to change the tongue length, although it might have changed anyway. The 25-degree turn inward of the frame doesn't need to stay in the same location relative to the front wall of the body - it's already rearward of the front wall, so move it further back and you can have the same tongue length (from body to coupler). Of course if you move the joint too far back the front corners of the body are not well supported, but some European trailers use a "V" or triangular frame in which the two frame rails run straight from the coupler to the ends of the axle.

There are three widths of Escape:

• classic narrow (80") - 13', 15', 17', 5.0
• 84" - 19'
• 88" - 21', 5.0TA

Although the wider models seem to have longer tongues, I haven't measured it or checked the location of the bend relative to the body, so I don't know if the length is proportional to the frame rail spacing.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

There's no need to change the tongue length, although it might have changed anyway. The 25-degree turn inward of the frame doesn't need to stay in the same location relative to the front wall of the body -......

Brian,
You are correct, again. I was doing some prep for our next trip, and got under the trailer and just studied it a bit. They make the bottom of the body flat where frame is contacted, but also the area around as well. My 17 extends over the point at which the angle starts. The determinant for where the body attaches is most governed by the water tank location next to a cross member.
The critical dimensions of tongue length seem to be determined by the space required for the propane base, clear of the tongue jack, clear space behind the propane base for attachment of brackets for a weight distrib. hitch, and then the storage box, including room for the box lid to open. There's still space (length) besides.