Escape vs. Airstream

[Leo Smith]

My wife and I are planning to make a trek to Chilliwack this winter to look at Escape trailers. Last weekend we visited the local Airstream dealer. I'm curious if any of the Escape owners in this group considered an Airstream trailer as an option prior to purchasing an Escape trailer. If so, what were the factors that led to choosing an Escape?
Thanks,
Leo

[gbaglo]

Jeff Z ( the guy who started this site ) owned a 17B Escape and wanted more space. The 19 wasn't available at the time. He got an Airstream Bambi at an incredible price reduction. He kept it for a year or two before moving to a small motorhome. My recollection is that the Airstream spent a lot of time going back to the shop to have rivets replaced.
You might search members on this site and see if he's still here. Send him a PM.

[techfan]

Yes, but cost, weight, and lack of customization quickly made us look elsewhere. Did I mention cost?

[gbaglo]

JeffZ is still in the members list.

[FMLNM]

Weight, price and lack of a 5th wheel Airstream.....

[Jim Bennett]

I did look at some Airstreams. Really, the only thing I liked better at all was the fit and finish. They spend a lot more money on fixtures, and hardware. Oh yeah, they do kinda look cool too.

Other than that, they are heavier, WAY more expensive, and the layouts are terrible for the size, especially as far as beds go.

If I was to ever consider another manufacturer, it would only be a moulded fiberglass one. The years have proven them to be superior for longevity and lack of problems. Bigfoot makes a good trailer, but at added cost and weight too. Oliver makes a quality unit, but it is very sterile looking inside, and not to sleek outside, though they do use good finishing. Oliver weight is not too bad, but price is WAY up there. The other possibility would be the new Nest Caravan, lots of good thought going in to it, and looks to be a great unit. They only have a 17' in the plans though.

BUT, my Escape 19 is doing us just great, we are enjoying it immensely. It will likely be continuing to do so for at least another 4-5 years, when I will be making a couple decisions vehicle and trailer wise for major travelling plans. I am kinda eyeing up the new 5.0T, but we'll see.

[gbaglo]

Nest is knocking themselves out of contention by only offering an electric fridge, and a small one at that.

[cpaharley2008]

I looked at the Airstream here on the East coast, Colonial AirStream in NJ. First off, forget about any changes to the stock model, no input on outlets nor can you make any changes, for $60K you get what some stranger deciding what you want. They have some options like solar but that is about it. Escape Trailers will keep you up at night pouring over the forum here, getting ideas on customizing your trailer the way you want. For 1/2 the cost you get twice the input.
The other item is, there are close to 3000 rivets in an Airstream, each one a potential leak.
You decide….

[padlin]

We went and looked at the Airstreams a couple years ago. Started looking at the 23'er but liked the 25'er when we saw it, then the 27 and lastly the 28. So to get what we would have been happy with we would have had a huge, to us, trailer with it's extra weight. It was on the short list but I was worried about complaints of workmanship going down, small queen beds, and the exterior aluminum corrosion issue they have. Still we liked them, figuring we'd take another look as we got closer to retirement.
Since then we've decided we just don't want anything bigger then what we have and looked at Class B's Sprinters and Northern Lite truck campers, staying undecided. Unexpectedly retired this past summer about the same time I learned about the new Escape 5th wheel and 21. We had previously looked at a 19 but deemed it too narrow and a bit too small for us, the new models being as wide as what we have now and 4 or 5' longer fit the bill pretty much to a T. Airstreams were not revisited, they just don't fit our requirements for a small camper as well as the Escape, the Class B's, or the truck campers. The Escape is the most cost effective route for us.

[Cypherian]

Hey,

As has been said above by Jim and CpaHarley you will have to consider price, weight can you TV handle it dry a 19 foot Bambi weighs 4500Lbs compared to 3000 lbs +/- of an escape. The materials for the air stream some are better and yes they look cooler but for that cool effect you get a lot more maintenance and up keep. Repairing an air stream skin is problematic unless your skilled with metal and have the tools to do so. Even then the corner caps can not be done by hand with out a lot of equip and time. Resale is percentage wise on par with a full fiberglass trailer ( CPAHarely Check Me on That :} ) Metal corrodes and shrinks and expands causing leaks, rivets will shear or heads will pop so you will have to inspect and become adept at changing / replacing. Buffing an all metal trailer is time consuming requires a fair amount of skill and equipment. Where as waxing an all fiberglass is nothing but rags wax etc yes you can do if faster with a buffing wheel with little risk to the surface metal will require a buffing wheel and skill so as to not over heat and distort the metal. Air stream will not be accommodating on changes you wish nor will they use different materials inside ie laminates, upholstery etc.

I too considered the Air Stream for almost 2 years even went to the factory , as someone who spent 23 years fixing Aircraft structure and corrosion control for the USAF. The tour pushed my decision against an air stream the underlying structure and such lends it self requiring more care and up keep.

Cypher


http://www.airstream.com/files/library/773650773fa37461.pdf
http://escapetrailer.com/Products/19FootEscape.aspx

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Nest is knocking themselves out of contention by only offering an electric fridge, and a small one at that.

I don't think so at all. I know of 3 people who are interested, one being my brother who is very serious, but is just waiting to actually see one in person. Those fridges draw very little power to operate, 2.2 amps on 12V. You would need the solar to go for more than a few days I would imagine. The size is just a factor of the trailer size more than anything. Nova Cool has fridges up to 5.6 cf in single door units, and up to 9.1 cf in a double door. But you can't fit them under a counter, and over the wheelwell.

Nova Kool, refrigerators, freezers, Marine, RV, Truck

[walloe]

I don't own an Escape (yet), but have been looking at different trailers. Things I want are:
Quality
Good Customer Service
Size/Weight considerations
Comfort
Price/Bang for the buck.

As of today, I feel the better quality is in molded fiberglass not stick built. So, that narrows every thing else out.
I have a 13' Scamp and it suits my needs well at this time. I consider Casita to be in the same class. Other FG rigs aren't a flexible in manufacturing. I want the ability to use propane and electric. Also want a regular toilet, not a cassette and shower. I think the layouts are better with the door in the back, rather than on the side. But, that isn't a deal breaker. From what I can see, an Escape 15B with A/C would suit me fine. I can get into a used one for about the same price as a new Scamp or Casita. But, I consider Scamp/Casita to be a Ford/Chevy brand, but Escape to be a Lexus. A step above, but yet affordable. I have yet to read of anyone having a problem with an Escape and not being addressed. There have been rumblings about Scamp, Casita, Parkliner that I can recall off hand. Bang for the buck is where it's at and from where I sit, Escape does it well.

[gharper]

We considered an Airstream Bambi and looked at new and used. Decided against for similar reasons as previously stated. 1. much heavier which for us would have meant a new tow vehicle, 2. preferred new and would have been another 30k, 3. no local dealer which for us is important when laying down that amount of money.

[CADreamin]

We spent nearly a year and a half looking for trailers since we didn't want to give up our tow vehicle (2004 Toyota Tundra, double cab, 4WD with a full back window that retracts ... and a tow rating that sucks). The sticks were okay but most interiors looked cheaply made. We were leaning toward the Airstream Bambi or Scout but weight and price were a consideration. After viewing an Escape in person and talking to a couple owners, we went ahead and ordered our Escape 19'. While I still like the look of the Airstream, it just didn't fit our lifestyle.

[padlin]

Leo
Now you need to go over to the Airstream forum and ask the same question.

[Donna D.]

Anybody that's thinking about buying a towable probably thinks about an Airstream... One of my bud's is Roger H (those on FiberglassRV may remember him as a moderator). Roger has owned at least six Airstreams. In fact, he joined FiberglassRV when Mike Sanders owned the site and came over as a moderator from the Airstream Forum. I value his opinion.

Roger has owned at least six Airstreams. The last was a MOHO... one of those van things with the top that looked like a flying saucer landed on it. Roger has always sold his rigs and made money. He once owned a tri-axle Airstream that was as long as a freight train... that sucker was long!

With his background and knowing ownership, one of the other moderators was looking to "upsize" and his opinion was to NOT buy an Airstream post-1976. After that date and the last sell of the company, the quality started to tank. The aluminum skin actually became half the weight of pre-1976 versions and the interior items became "cheap" too. Airstream is still successfull based on their prior "reputation." But that's starting to take a hit due to social media... folks talk!

I'm buying a new 5.0TA. I can own TWO for the price of one Eddie Bauer Edition Airstream. If I owned the EB Airstream would I have more fun or make more memories? NOT. For me, it's about choosing a quality produce (Escape) and keeping money in my pocket, rather than buying something on an old reputation. YMMV

[LeonardS]

I started out looking at Airstreams first, specifically the Basecamp, because I was looking for something lightweight to tow. The TV I had in mind was our Forester. It didn't take long to figure out that nothing made by Airstream was going to be light enough. Somehow I found the FGRV site....and eventually found this forum.

Now that we also have a Frontier to tow with, and it can certainly tug around an Airstream, I've looked them over and come to the same conclusion as others...not as much bang for the buck, new or used. Possibly more maintenance issues. Definitely SMALL beds...that alone is kind of a deal killer. They do look nice, and I think I might actually be able to shine aluminum easier than I could wax fiberglass, but maybe not. I'm probably wrong on that, just my impression.

We haven't pulled the trigger yet on a purchase, but we've been to the Escape factory and really liked what we saw there. There was just so much that made sense. Not that we know enough to be able to even remotely begin to worry about all the options and customizations, but it is nice to know that if we have an idea about something, the Escape folks will listen. Like others have said, Airstream offers only standard products...and at a premium that just doesn't seem worth it.

Look at resale value. Airstreams over a couple years old lose a LOT of value. There have been folks here selling their 19's for not a whole less than their purchase price when the 21 became available.

[Leo Smith]

Thanks everyone for your perspectives. I have been involved with the Airstream forums, and have heard some of the same issues (corrosion & maintaining the finish) being discussed by loyal Airstream owners. Having owned fiberglass and riveted aluminum boats, I think there are some inherent benefits to a molded fiberglass shell over a riveted aluminum shell. I'm looking forward to visiting the Escape factory and seeing the various models.
Best regards,
Leo

[Ruthe]

We bought a 31' 1971 Airstream in 1987 -- pulled it with a Suburban all over the country until 1995 when we planted it on some land and lived in it in the summers until 2002 when we turned it into an office for a few years. We recently gave it away. There was never a problem with leaks, popped rivets, etc., but we were friendly with another airstream owner who had a newer airstream and he did have problems. Towing it was smooth, but of course we've never towed anything else. We always assumed we'd get another airstream, but we wanted something small and the smallest airstream we could get with a queen bed was either 23' or 24'. If we didn't care about the bed we probably would have gotten a used Bambi and never looked further. It's funny because we kind of had a loyalty to airstream -- But I'm really glad that we're getting a smaller, lighter trailer -- which means we didn't have to get a truck -- we're towing with a Toyota Highlander. There are a couple things I know about already that were nicer in the Airstream -- but I don't know if that was a function of it being an airstream or size -- for example, the power cord arrangement was completely different. Also there were outside storage hatches that the Escape doesn't have. However I think that the outside storage box on the Escape will more than make up for that. We're not picking up the trailer until late May or early June -- at that time we'll obviously have a real understanding of the differences.

[Trees]

The 19' Escape has tandem axles. Major safety issue for us.
After decades of sailing and trailering, the ability to customize and/or add things was big deal for us.
Husband particular about clean, shiny vehicles. Think the Airstream would eventually have driven him bonkers!