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Old 09-09-2012, 11:53 AM   #21
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Hi: DonM...I certainly have simpathy for your plight, but the worst thing a fiberglass builder can do is go "Overboard"!!!
We have a S/S backsplash in our 5.0. I'd rather have had a window over the sink. Much easier to keep clean and a better view too!!! We have the 3burner stove top and really never use all 3 at once. The extra counter space with the 2 burner we could always use!!! Alf
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Old 09-09-2012, 06:48 PM   #22
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

On the TV issue, if you are mostly boondocking in BC you will likely have no television reception. I have dragged a TV with us on multiple trips and only hooked up once to cable. The result was we watched TV instead of playing Scrabble or reading / listening to the radio. Might as well have stayed home.
We do enjoy our Sirius satellite radio when we're in the bush. We listen to CBC and to Radio Classics ( The Shadow, War of the Worlds, Our Miss Brooks etc. ).

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Old 09-10-2012, 12:59 AM   #23
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

We ordered a tv mount for our trailer and after our trip home decided we are not going to use it and will just use our laptop to watch movies as we will have it with us anyways, just seemed silly to fork our money for a tv to watch movies on when we will have the laptop anyways. Just one less thing to lug around. We didn't get the tv antenna or conections as we almost never camp where there would be signal or cable access. the movie thing is for if the weather is unpleasant.
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Old 09-11-2012, 05:09 PM   #24
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Hi, DonM!

We have a pull-out spray faucet at the kitchen sink and I know you don't have enough options yet....

Happy planning!
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Old 09-14-2012, 08:38 AM   #25
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Copying somebody else's idea on this forum, we had Tammy's upholsterer make a zippered mattress cover (Sunbrella fabric) for the queen bed. We use sleeping bags on top and stow them under the bed during the day. Thus, there's no bed to make and it always looks tidy. See my blog for pics. --Liz
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Old 09-14-2012, 04:17 PM   #26
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

The duel batteries last well for 4 - 5 days of dry camping, so I don't find solar panels to be a necessity. We have foam on top of the bed pad, but imagine that the new mattresses used would make the sleeping superb. The space under the bed works great for food tote and chair storage. I think we get more use out of lounging on the bed than we would as a dinette. There is plenty of storage, so I wouldn't want to add shelves over the bed or door that would clutter up the space. The front box gives me an emense amount of piece of mind because I can put the detachable electrical chord there, and not have to worry about whether it got too close to the stinky hose. I fear smells would migrate into the trailer if I had to stuff the chord under the bed. My wife's sense of smell is much better than mine, so I wouldn't realize what I did until it was too late. One last plug, we have enjoyed using the oven a fair amount for dinners or cookies. Enjoy your new Trailer.
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Old 09-14-2012, 06:33 PM   #27
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Quote:
Originally Posted by rvomaha
Somewhere in this forum I recall seeing someone who did his own custom cabinets and they were absolutely gorgeous. I can't find it now, but maybe somebody else could point it out. DonM might like to see that, and it would be a nice way to spend some extra money.
Chris R and wife have a fantastic 17' with custom cabinets that they proudly showed off to me earlier this summer. Is this the one?

http://escapeforum.org/index.php?topic=1289

http://escapeforum.org/index.php?topic=780.0 <--- this one
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Old 09-14-2012, 08:10 PM   #28
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......


With regard to options.

Have a 5/8 plywood backing glassed in where the table touches the wall, so a proper table can be installed that will stay in place whilr traveling and while eating.

Have 4000 lb axles installed if you plan on boondocking as I do.
Most of my camping is off main roads, more properly described as 4x4 roads.
Also required if you have to bring your moose home as I did.

If any one out there has traveled the Kispiox Valley road you will know what I mean.

The outside access to the syorage under the bed is a waste of space, do not have it put in.

The drawer suppoorts under the stove are just stapled to gether and fall apart, have them properly installed.

The hinges on the cupboard doors ar of poor quality and break easily.

Have an LED dome light installed in the center of the ceiling. near the mirror.

The sreen on the emergency window on our 19 will not fit and is useless, as is the double glazing on the window, does not come close to matching the window.

Have an interior light swich put on the out side light.

have a proper door pull put on the screen door.

have proper sized scissors jacks installed instead of the useless one currently used. I installed my own and do not need to carry any planks for leveling, just put down the jacks.
Actualy when servicing the axles I just lifted the trailer on the jacks and took the wheels off, worked well

The only vent you need in the roof is the Maxi fan. no other.

Have a TV cable connection installed to the outside. for when camping with a portable dish.

Our dometic fridge has not worked on electricity since day on and is still under warrenty as far as I am concerned, ( Escape knows this ) How ever we have had good service with it just on propane, we leave it on while traveling and had no trouble so far.


Those are just a few of my suggestions, we now have a little over 30,000 K on our 19 footer.

Doug
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Old 09-15-2012, 02:52 AM   #29
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Doug, so sorry to hear you dislike your trailer as much as its appears you do, as to me from this post and others it seems you are unhappy with what Escape offers. Our experience has been just the opposite. We have enjoyed our trailer a lot, and the features built in to it. Is it perfect, no, but it sure is close and I am more than willing to make a few personal changes myself. To me it would seem that you should have another type of trailer, something not in the lightweight fiberglass family. Not everyone wants to use a truck with capacity to haul a much heavier trailer. Maybe a Bigfoot might suit your needs better. A great trailer, but at an higher cost(new) and a fair bit heavier.

Not certain what you are talking about regarding the table, but we consider ours a proper table that serves us well while eating and traveling.

We primarily boondock, probably 90% of the time to date, though in the future do hope to do extended travels where we will be in campgrounds a bit more. We have never had an issue with our axles, or clearance. I don't see any need to add more weight or capacity to the trailer. Pretty certain most Escape owners are not hauling moose in their trailer too.

One of the best features I find, is the storage hatch to access under the bed storage, in fact I even enlarged ours, as others have done too. This is invaluable for access the things like chocks, blocks, gas hoses, chairs, tables, bocce balls, electrical cords, Frisbees, etc. For us, one of the most valuable assets the trailer possesses.

Even through all the bouncing we have given the trailer, we have not had an issue with the drawer slides. If you are referring to the thin plywood gable that is a separator, we had the one to the left in the bottom cabinet shake loose. A quick fix with some screws. The staples used are definitely not the best thing to use, but is what is commonly used by all manufacturers. Again, I did shake the living crap out of the trailer when it happened, travelling quite a ways on an uphill road full of ruts and washboard, and I tend to drive a bit aggressively too.

In almost four years, we have never had a hinges fail. If you really want, it is a cheap fix to replace them.

A ceiling light would be nice, I see that they are now offering that.

Really unsure again what you are referring to about the screen not fitting the emergency exit window. Ours seems to fit fine, and seeing it it the one at our heads while we sleep, it is the most commonly used one in the trailer.

We have the original stabilizers installed, and find them more than adequate for their intended use. I feel the heavy, over sized scissor jacks would be huge overkill. Way beyond the realm of a lightweight trailer. So far in almost four years of use, I have only had to service the axles a times, to do maintenance on the bearings once, and to adjust the brakes 3 times. A scissor jack from our tow vehicle worked great for this use, and I didn't have to lug around oversized jacks permanently mounted to the trailer.

I do like the Max Fan too.

We have the coax cable connection on the trailer, and have only used it once, but options like this are more based on how you camp, and we just don't seem to ever want to watch TV.

We too had an issue with the fridge on AC, but an easy thermostat replacement has had it working flawlessly since. Keeps the beer and ice cream at a nice temp.

We are loving our Escape 19. Yes, there are changes we would make, but overall it is one great unit.

I do realize that we all have different needs and expectations for our trailering needs, but the Escape 19 seems to suit ours really well.
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Old 09-15-2012, 08:50 AM   #30
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

My apologies to the OP (Don) for all my blather on his thread. I just felt the need to express my opinion on some negativitey towards the Escape trailer. I guess it is kinda like my kids.
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Old 09-15-2012, 09:22 AM   #31
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett
Doug, so sorry to hear you dislike your trailer as much as its appears you do, as to me from this post and others it seems you are unhappy with what Escape offers. Our experience has been just the opposite. We have enjoyed our trailer a lot, and the features built in to it. Is it perfect, no, but it sure is close and I am more than willing to make a few personal changes myself. To me it would seem that you should have another type of trailer, something not in the lightweight fiberglass family. Not everyone wants to use a truck with capacity to haul a much heavier trailer. Maybe a Bigfoot might suit your needs better. A great trailer, but at an higher cost(new) and a fair bit heavier.

Not certain what you are talking about regarding the table, but we consider ours a proper table that serves us well while eating and traveling.

We primarily boondock, probably 90% of the time to date, though in the future do hope to do extended travels where we will be in campgrounds a bit more. We have never had an issue with our axles, or clearance. I don't see any need to add more weight or capacity to the trailer. Pretty certain most Escape owners are not hauling moose in their trailer too.

One of the best features I find, is the storage hatch to access under the bed storage, in fact I even enlarged ours, as others have done too. This is invaluable for access the things like chocks, blocks, gas hoses, chairs, tables, bocce balls, electrical cords, Frisbees, etc. For us, one of the most valuable assets the trailer possesses.

Even through all the bouncing we have given the trailer, we have not had an issue with the drawer slides. If you are referring to the thin plywood gable that is a separator, we had the one to the left in the bottom cabinet shake loose. A quick fix with some screws. The staples used are definitely not the best thing to use, but is what is commonly used by all manufacturers. Again, I did shake the living crap out of the trailer when it happened, travelling quite a ways on an uphill road full of ruts and washboard, and I tend to drive a bit aggressively too.

In almost four years, we have never had a hinges fail. If you really want, it is a cheap fix to replace them.

A ceiling light would be nice, I see that they are now offering that.

Really unsure again what you are referring to about the screen not fitting the emergency exit window. Ours seems to fit fine, and seeing it it the one at our heads while we sleep, it is the most commonly used one in the trailer.

We have the original stabilizers installed, and find them more than adequate for their intended use. I feel the heavy, over sized scissor jacks would be huge overkill. Way beyond the realm of a lightweight trailer. So far in almost four years of use, I have only had to service the axles a times, to do maintenance on the bearings once, and to adjust the brakes 3 times. A scissor jack from our tow vehicle worked great for this use, and I didn't have to lug around oversized jacks permanently mounted to the trailer.

I do like the Max Fan too.

We have the coax cable connection on the trailer, and have only used it once, but options like this are more based on how you camp, and we just don't seem to ever want to watch TV.

We too had an issue with the fridge on AC, but an easy thermostat replacement has had it working flawlessly since. Keeps the beer and ice cream at a nice temp.

We are loving our Escape 19. Yes, there are changes we would make, but overall it is one great unit.

I do realize that we all have different needs and expectations for our trailering needs, but the Escape 19 seems to suit ours really well.

Jim I couldn't agree with you more. We love our 19, have had a few problems, made a few repairs and modifications (these are considered fun by most of us) and would buy another Escape in a heart beat. Enough said on my part.
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Old 09-15-2012, 01:09 PM   #32
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Not to hijack this post subject, Yukon Escape stuck a nerve with me also.

In my opinion I like what Escape builds also Jim. They put alot effort and thought into their trailers. They are improving and developing through our ideas, suggestions, and desires. One has to remember that they are lightweight travel trailers and not built to run down jeep trails hauling dead moose. I do not think any trailer built can hold up to that. As most of you know by experience, molded fiberglass trailers in general hold up to the use they were designed and intended for much better than stick builts. Resale is much better. Any RV can have issues with componets that fail because most manufactures use the same stuff. I think Escape Industries has a time proven record to resolve issues it's customers have. And remember... when you change things or do your own mods, your are in danger of voiding your warranty. Repair shops see it all the time.

Best Regards,
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Old 09-15-2012, 01:10 PM   #33
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

I must agree with Jim,. Although we have only had our trailer a short while I assure you all that I have been over it with a fine tooth comb. There have only been a couple of very small little items that were over looked or not caught in the quality control area of our trailer. I am a extremely fussy person and not to be to cocky I don't miss much. All of our previous trailers it has taken me months if not years to correct the things that were not up to my standards.
Other than a few minor "modifications" our trailer is up to snuff already. My wife often tells me that the things that bother me, most people wouldn't even have noticed or cared.
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Old 09-15-2012, 02:19 PM   #34
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Sorry you folks misunderstood.
The original post asked, what would you change in your trailer.
Now that I have put 30,000 k on the trailer in the two years I have had it, I noted some of the things I would change, End of story.

I and my wife do love the Escape, there is no question of that.
In fact there are now quite a few Escapes here in the Yukon, partly do to the fact we have been showing our 19 to any and all, here in the Yukon, Alaska and to one fellow from Florida, who wants to down size from a large motorhome.

I was in construction, and mining for many years, insuring quality was in the completed product.
I have read many posts in this forum on what to do to fix the table, and a few other things, we do have some of the same problems.

I find it easier to get into the storage area under the bed than through the small door on the outside, I use this storage for large items, the door is to small for.
I also intend to modify the framing under the bed to make this access easier as well.

I have had the slinky stinky tube fall off while driving in Fairbanks Alaska, on a busy street in the rain. Why ? because the installation was faulty.
I have had the bottom drawer under the stove, fall down because the drawer glide was stapled in improperly, and can only assume this is the way the cabinets are made for all units ( I fixed it)
I am now in the process from our last trip of replacing hinges on doors.

I installed scissors jacks so I would not have to carry a stack of boards to level the trailer when camping or parking.
You say you have only had to service your axles once in four years of use, great.
I very seldom camp where it is level, here in the bush, you camp where you can, the jacks make that so much easier.

The axles on the trailer are designed to carry the weight of the trailer plus a few pounds of added equipment, on a smooth highway.
It is nice insurance if driving on rough roads, through occasional washouts from beaver dams, roads that are mot maintained, to have axles that will carry the trailer plus, the bumps and jarring.

I purchased the Escape 19 because it is the only trailer on the market that can handle rough roads and you might say treatment, I have seen to many and repaired to many that have come apart from some of the roads up here, including seams that have opened up and let water in, thus rotting the frame and floor.

The design and construction of the Escape 19, plus the fact the steel frame is overkill for a trailer of this size and weight, is what attracted me to the Escape 19.

I did not say I do not like the Escape, to the contrary my wife and I love it.
The question was what would you change on your escape, or ask for, I answered that.

It is my belief the trailer can be modified to suit my requirments.
I have no intention of changing my requirments to suit the trailer.

Doug
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Old 09-15-2012, 03:36 PM   #35
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett
One of the best features I find, is the storage hatch to access under the bed storage, in fact I even enlarged ours, as others have done too. This is invaluable for access the things like chocks, blocks, gas hoses, chairs, tables, bocce balls, electrical cords, Frisbees, etc. For us, one of the most valuable assets the trailer possesses.
Hi Jim,

Since the storage hatch is standard on the 19, our new unit will have one, but we were concerned that it might be a bit small to fit things like chairs & tables. You say you enlarged yours - how did you do this?

Waiting - 2 1/2 weeks to go & counting,
Rosemary & Glenn
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Old 09-15-2012, 05:16 PM   #36
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Tables and chairs will not fit through the storage hatch opening.
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Old 09-15-2012, 07:29 PM   #37
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Our table and chairs do fit through the hatch but it is a tight fit, a larger opening would be nice. I know some have put a larger door in but it looks to me that the ridge above the opening and the fact that the bottom of the trailer tappers in would make putting a larger door in tough. Does any one who has put the larger door in have pics?
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Old 09-15-2012, 07:41 PM   #38
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dmac
Does any one who has put the larger door in have pics?
Is this what you&#39;re looking for? http://escapeforum.org/index.php?topic=1806.0
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Old 09-15-2012, 07:59 PM   #39
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

Thank you Donna
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Old 09-16-2012, 09:56 AM   #40
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Re: If You Could Design My new Trailer and Pick My Options......

cpaharley,

one of your posts you were unsure if the polar cub was big enough. Were you able to test it out enough this hot summer and see if the polar cub was adequate or if you now wish for the 11,500 Dometic? Thanks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 (jim)
The Coleman 9200 Polar Cub will operate off a 2000 watt Yamaha, the bigger 11,500 Dometic can operate off the 2000 watt generator but you will need a "soft start" system installed, Reace can advise.
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