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01-21-2015, 05:34 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Trailer: 2015 Escape 21
Posts: 15
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19 or 21 ft, pls provide your input
Hello, I am having a hard time deciding between purchasing a 19 or 21 ft Escape. My tow vehicle is rated for 5k lbs. We have no former experience RV'ing, just tent camping. Have towing experience with many different boats. Most camping will be long weekends including boondocking with my wife and I in National Forests. We both work, no long excursions for now. We are fine with the bed size of both, cost difference is irrelevant.
My general assessment is I would prefer the space and options of the 21 IF towing is not more difficult. Hope to place an order this week, please provide your input/feedback you believe may be helpful in making this decision.
Thanks, Craig
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01-21-2015, 05:41 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 2013 19' & 2013 15B
Posts: 2,636
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Welcome to the forum. What is your planned tow vehicle?
__________________
2013 19' \ 2013 15B, 2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Offroad
"It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it." - 1907, Maurice Switzer
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01-21-2015, 05:50 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Santa Cruz, California
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19
Posts: 755
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We went up to the 19 from a 17. Might have considered a 21, but we preferred the centered front window of the 19, and just aren't wild about the 21's bed configuration, although others certainly like it. For two adults and a medium sized dog, the 19 seems perfect. I can tow it with either my Tacoma or Tundra, but we use the Tundra.
__________________
2019 Tundra CrewMax Limited TRD 4WD
2014 Escape 19
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01-21-2015, 06:02 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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I had an Escape 19 for about 9 months and towed maybe 5k miles with both a Dodge Ram and a Toyota FJ cruiser which was rated 5000/500 lbs. The 19' Escape loaded was about 3500 lbs with a max of 4,000, so it was okay with the FJ. I upgraded to a 21' Escape and it is about 3800 lbs with a max of 4500lbs. I never tried with the FJ as I traded it in but the Ram tows it great for last 10,000 miles. Both trailers towed fine with the Andersen hitch setup.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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01-21-2015, 07:31 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Olathe, Kansas
Trailer: 2015 21ft Escape "Spirit of the Plains", 2014 GMC Sierra with max tow package
Posts: 1,100
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We thought we were going to order a 19 but wanted to be sure, so we took a nice little drive of 2100 miles to Chilliwack and made our decision there. With a 19 and a 21 parked side by side, we ran back and forth comparing features. We felt the 21 would work best for us but had to be sure as this is the first and more likely the last trailer that we will ever buy. Seeing and being in the trailers shows you things that no brochure can do justice to. Cpaharley could tell you about some rally out east where you could compare Escape trailers. Good luck in your search and have fun. Loren
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01-21-2015, 07:43 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Janesville, WI, Wisconsin
Trailer: Escape 19 (sold) Escape 21 2014
Posts: 1,884
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Having owned both trailers I think you cannot go wrong with either. Good comments so far about bed arrangement. My personal choice was not having one or the other having to crawl over the other to exit the bed. The 21 wins that hands down, we never missed the 10 inches less of mattress. The 21 is roomier, as one might expect. More room to pass, larger bathroom makes showering an easier task. I like the bed where it is on the 21 as it becomes a convenient place for a brief sit down.
Storage, outside access, backing up, feeling under tow, ceiling height, are all equal. The counter space is nearly doubled in the 21 with the night stand, that is nice. The cubbies are great to keep things off those counters.
Like Jim, we upgraded our tow vehicle from a 4Runner to a Sequoia. After driving 5,000 miles I am not sure I had to do that. With a WDH hitch the 4Runner and its V8 would have done fine.
__________________
Paul and Janet Braun
2003 Toyota 4Runner V8 now 2012 Toyota Sequoia V8
Escape 19' 2010 now 2014 Escape 21'
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01-21-2015, 08:15 PM
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#7
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Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Trailer: 2017 Escape 21
Posts: 80
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We upgraded from a 17 foot Casita. It got too small for us. We looked at a 19 and my wife did not feel we were seeing enough extra to make the change. then we looked at a 21 and knew right off it was right for us. We love the extra width. I think the extra width will be the most important element for us now and for the years to come. On the other hand if you really value better gas mileage and the ease of driving something like a Tacoma or 4Runner, then the 19 would be better and it really is a very practical camper. It has all the stuff you need but not a lot of extra.
John
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01-21-2015, 08:19 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Olathe, Kansas
Trailer: 2015 21ft Escape "Spirit of the Plains", 2014 GMC Sierra with max tow package
Posts: 1,100
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fudge brownie, It is always good to get a confirmation on something that you have also chosen. The great thing about this forum is all of the help that we get with making decisions on options and add ons. I think Cap4hire should take a little more time and research things out. It is cheaper to marry the right person the first time than get a divorce. Loren
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01-21-2015, 08:42 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Ventura County, California
Trailer: 2015 Escape 17A
Posts: 2,347
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Another consideration is storage location. For us, because we definitely wanted our Escape stored on our property, we had a length limit.
Just another factor in the process.
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01-21-2015, 08:52 PM
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#10
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Commercial Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 - "Felicity"
Posts: 2,945
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We chose the 21 for the no-crawl-over bed after having had a Casita 17. We prefer the view out the rear window while at the dinette and don't want a front window. Spent a long time shopping/configuring as this IS the last trailer we intend to buy; has enough room for 2-3 young grandkids AND 3 smallish dogs!
Tow behavior is much better than the Casita behind our Taco v6 4x4 (6400 lb rating) and we've never had an issue in the mountains.
__________________
Charlie Y
Need custom storage to your design? Don't drill holes!
www.RVWidgetWorks.com
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01-21-2015, 09:08 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Jeromesville, Ohio
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21' pulled with 2014 Silverado Crewcab
Posts: 854
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Right on the money!
Quote:
Originally Posted by tractors1
We chose the 21 for the no-crawl-over bed after having had a Casita 17. We prefer the view out the rear window while at the dinette and don't want a front window. Spent a long time shopping/configuring as this IS the last trailer we intend to buy; has enough room for 2-3 young grandkids AND 3 smallish dogs!
Tow behavior is much better than the Casita behind our Taco v6 4x4 (6400 lb rating) and we've never had an issue in the mountains.
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I agree with Charley for same reasons. We had a Casita too. We stopped to see Cpaharley's 21'. Five minutes and I was sold.
__________________
Carl,
"Isn't it amazing how much stuff we get done the day before vacation?"
Zig Ziglar
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01-21-2015, 09:09 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Yellow Springs, Ohio
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
Posts: 709
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For the two of us, we feel like the 19 hits a real sweet spot. It's large enough to store everything we need in the camper rather than having to run to the car for things the way we did with our Casita. It tows easily behind our Highlander, and I can still make the occasional U-turn with it. When we park in grocery store lots, the car and Escape fit perfectly in two spaces. No doubt the 21 is a wonderful model and has several advantages over the 19 to some. Like Charlie, we intend for this to the last trailer WE intend to buy, it's just that our needs are slightly more modest.
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01-21-2015, 09:27 PM
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#13
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Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker
For the two of us, we feel like the 19 hits a real sweet spot. It's large enough to store everything we need in the camper rather than having to run to the car for things the way we did with our Casita. It tows easily behind our Highlander, and I can still make the occasional U-turn with it. When we park in grocery store lots, the car and Escape fit perfectly in two spaces. No doubt the 21 is a wonderful model and has several advantages over the 19 to some. Like Charlie, we intend for this to the last trailer WE intend to buy, it's just that our needs are slightly more modest.
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I would agree with this wholeheartedly. We were absolutely certain we wanted a 17, mainly because we had been going back and forth on a Casita SD17 and what was clearly a better built unit, the Escape. The smallness and ease of towing have made the tinier fiberglass trailers hugely popular in South Texas. Our needs were not great, but a little extra comfort is always appealing. Having seen Steve and Cynthia's 19 here in the San Antonio area, we realized that it was still compact, still easily towable with a v6, and had everything we wanted and one thing more -- a queen bed. That was it.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
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01-21-2015, 09:45 PM
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#14
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Site Team
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 11,051
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Oh just give it up and buy a 5.0TA, you get everything from the other builds and more
__________________
Donna D.
Ten Forward
2014 Escape 5.0TA
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01-21-2015, 09:58 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Allendale, New Jersey
Trailer: 19' towed by a 4Runner
Posts: 251
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Get the one that has the storage that you need. I have a 19' on order and never stepped into a 21'. Plan to tow with a V6 4Runner, roughly 5,000lbs. Interior height is probably the only reason I didn't order a 17'.
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01-21-2015, 10:06 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Windham, CT, Connecticut
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21
Posts: 188
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We went with the 21. We liked the bed set up better, and the little bit of extra space is nice with the dogs on the floor. We towed it home 4400 miles from Chilliwack with a Ridgeline with a 5000 lb tow limit without any difficulty. I was surprised how well it towed. We also have an Andersen hitch, which I think was well worth the money.
__________________
Bill and Ann-Marie
Most injuries injuries in old men occur because they think they are young men!
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01-21-2015, 10:51 PM
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#17
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Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Powell River, British Columbia
Trailer: Escape 19- May 2015 /2013 Pathfinder
Posts: 12
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Have you asked escape industries what they think? I am planning on towing with a Nissan pathfinder with a 5000 tow rating.
When we were viewing the 19 vs. 21, the guy who does the hitch up gave me the impression that the 21 was too big for me.
I know what you are going through, I have zero tow experience and don't want to make any expensive mistakes.
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01-21-2015, 11:32 PM
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#18
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Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Texadabc
Have you asked escape industries what they think? I am planning on towing with a Nissan pathfinder with a 5000 tow rating.
When we were viewing the 19 vs. 21, the guy who does the hitch up gave me the impression that the 21 was too big for me.
I know what you are going through, I have zero tow experience and don't want to make any expensive mistakes.
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My only caveat to this would be to make sure your choice is based primarily on the trailer and to a lesser extent the tow vehicle. Its easier to upgrade your tow than upsize your trailer. I will probably go through several tow vehicles during the time I own my Escape.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
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01-21-2015, 11:41 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cap4hire
My tow vehicle is rated for 5k lbs.
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Good start... but how much towing capacity is available when the tow vehicle is loaded with passengers and cargo the way it will be when you're towing the Escape? Depending on the vehicle that might still be 5000 pounds, but if only 3500 pounds of capacity are left for the trailer then an Escape 21' will be too much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cap4hire
My general assessment is I would prefer the space and options of the 21 IF towing is not more difficult.
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The 21' is 4" wider than the 19' (which everything a little more difficult) and of course a couple feet longer (which only matters in tight places... like some campsites). Fortunately, both are not very large compared to most travel trailers. How big are the boats you've towed, Craig?
Once you're on the highway, the width won't matter much (as long as you have wide enough mirrors to see around it), and the length doesn't matter at all.
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01-21-2015, 11:51 PM
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#20
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Site Team
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 11,051
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rbryan4
My only caveat to this would be to make sure your choice is based primarily on the trailer and to a lesser extent the tow vehicle. Its easier to upgrade your tow than upsize your trailer. I will probably go through several tow vehicles during the time I own my Escape.
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I'm 100% with Robert on this one. You may only have ONE custom built trailer, but you may have multiple tow rigs. I've found myself in this situation... Tugs may come and they may go... but the perfect towable only happens once. YMMV
__________________
Donna D.
Ten Forward
2014 Escape 5.0TA
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