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Old 06-07-2015, 11:51 AM   #1
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Personalizing Escapen

At the rally a number of fellow Escape owners who know me asked when the modifications will begin, I honestly answered that I have no plans to modify our Escape (the complete opposite to our Boler), but that does not mean I cannot "personalize" it

Since we got home from the rally we have added:
  • Folding Coat Hooks (they are straight, the picture makes them look wonky)
  • Towel Rack
  • Spice Rack
  • Bed Hatch Support
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Old 06-07-2015, 12:18 PM   #2
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Love the spice rack!
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Old 06-07-2015, 02:04 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by akoaoka View Post
Love the spice rack!

Me too, but I'd be worried that the jars would clank against each other, bang against the wall or maybe fall off when we're towing.
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Old 06-07-2015, 02:16 PM   #4
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Me too, but I'd be worried that the jars would clank against each other, bang against the wall or maybe fall off when we're towing.
No problem with any of these issues, I installed small clear bumpers on the wall to protect the wall. The hooked lids grip the bar, it takes some force to remove the spice jars and/or move them sideways. I have this rack in my Boler which bounces considerably more than the Escape and never had a problem.
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Old 06-07-2015, 02:40 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Ian G View Post
No problem with any of these issues, I installed small clear bumpers on the wall to protect the wall. The hooked lids grip the bar, it takes some force to remove the spice jars and/or move them sideways. I have this rack in my Boler which bounces considerably more than the Escape and never had a problem.

Duh. I should have figured that you'd already considered these things.
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Old 06-07-2015, 04:13 PM   #6
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Cool spice rack. Where did u get it?
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Old 06-07-2015, 05:06 PM   #7
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Cool spice rack. Where did u get it?
One of my favourite stores, Lee Valley
This is part of a complete system
Lee Valley Tools
The folding coat hooks and towel bar are also from them
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Old 06-07-2015, 06:20 PM   #8
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Sweet! Cool idea to make the jar lids such that they fit on a round bar. Thanks.
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Old 06-08-2015, 08:15 PM   #9
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LOVE Lee Valley!! Thanks for the information.
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Old 08-01-2015, 05:37 PM   #10
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Stereo System

This weekend I was busy again. I didn't like the look of the round car speakers ETI installed so here is my stereo system. Using the factory Jensen deck I added 4 small Pyle marine speaker that produce excellent mids and highs. To fill in the bass I installed a powered sub under the bed. I initially wired everything with the factory wires (28ga) but had extremely bad distortion at low volume so I pulled and fished all new 14ga pure copper speaker wires throughout the trailer, used just shy of 100' of wire for the 5 speakers.

I am very pleased with how inconspicuous the speakers are, they blend right in. The sound is very clean, even volume throughout the trailer and the sub nicely fill in the bottom end.
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Old 08-01-2015, 05:55 PM   #11
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Part two of the upgrades was to address the inability to open my tailgate with the trailer installed. Based on some reviewed on this site I installed a Jack-E-Up which allows the jack to be easily removed with a simple 1/3 turn. Adding the Jack-E-Up also required the jack to be rewired since the original installation uses the jack body for a ground, a separate ground circuit needed to be added. I installed a 2 prong 10ga trolling motor plug to the front of the tongue box and wired it directly to the batteries through a circuit breaker. This allows the jack to be unplugged and totally removed. I also wired my portable solar panel with the same plug so it connects directly to the outlet on the box.

I bought the Jack-E-Up with the optional jack holder, not sure if I will use it for the jack but I am building a pole mount for the solar panel with uses this bracket for support.
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Old 08-02-2015, 02:30 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian G View Post
Using the factory Jensen deck I added 4 small Pyle marine speaker that produce excellent mids and highs. To fill in the bass I installed a powered sub under the bed.

I am very pleased with how inconspicuous the speakers are, they blend right in. The sound is very clean, even volume throughout the trailer and the sub nicely fill in the bottom end.
Ian: I'm now trying to select components for an Escape 19 sound system. The speakers you have look good. Could you expand on the process you used to select them? Any other candidates you considered? Do they match the Jensen well?

I'm hoping to use an auto stereo (to be obtained) with similar speakers. No video capabilities so likely not the same Jensen. Also hope to get away with only two speakers and no subwoofer.

Any thoughts or experience would be appreciated.

Thanks.
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Old 08-02-2015, 03:24 PM   #13
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Hugh: Unfortunately there is not a lot of choice in small enclosed speakers because you have 2 limitations, the main limitation is these decks are rated at 4 ohm impedance for speakers which narrows the selection considerably as most small speakers are 8 ohms.

The second limitation is weight, there are some excellent small 4 ohm speakers but they are very heavy (average was 7+++ lbs).
The remaining selection is really what is available and what sounds good to you. I chose the Pyle speakers after listening to several, these produce very clean sound to my ears but there is a total lack of bottom end hence the need for a sub woofer ... not maga base "thump, thump, thump" but something to provide full frequency sound.

For the sub I wanted powered sub that was durable, small and with a low power demand. The Bazooka 100w 8" sub fits this need. I located it in the very back left corner under the bed, it fits nicely between the wall and the hot water tank.

You will need a 12V drop under the bed in case you decide to add a sub later along with speaker wire drops there. Use 14-16ga speaker wire, You will have to remove the cabinet corner partitions inside the upper cabinets to gain access to that area to feed the wires.
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Old 08-03-2015, 04:14 PM   #14
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Ian:

Thank you for the input. It supports what I've been finding and added some additional information.

Great idea putting a woofer in the rear left. Does it work well buried in the corner? You may have talked me into doing this also.

Power and speaker wire drops shouldn't be a problem. The water pump is down there for 12v, though I may run a new fused 12v circuit since I'll be pulling wires all over the place.

Thanks again for your help.
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Old 08-03-2015, 05:24 PM   #15
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Ian,
Did you try hitching with the electric jack without the Jack E-Up? My clearance issue was the jack handle, perhaps you will clear now without using the Jack-E-Up?
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Old 08-03-2015, 06:04 PM   #16
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Ian,
Did you try hitching with the electric jack without the Jack E-Up? My clearance issue was the jack handle, perhaps you will clear now without using the Jack-E-Up?
We ordered the 19' with the electric jack, first time we hooked it up (at the rally in Osoyoos) we left the tailgate open, my observant wife asked if the tailgate would close (after we had hooked up) and of course it wouldn't. The tailgate hits the top of the motor housing, hence the need for the Jack-E-Up. We unhooked, closed the tailgate and practiced hooking up again
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Old 08-03-2015, 06:11 PM   #17
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Ian:

Thank you for the input. It supports what I've been finding and added some additional information.

Great idea putting a woofer in the rear left. Does it work well buried in the corner? You may have talked me into doing this also.

Power and speaker wire drops shouldn't be a problem. The water pump is down there for 12v, though I may run a new fused 12v circuit since I'll be pulling wires all over the place.

Thanks again for your help.
The sub works excellent, Low tones are not directional (consider most of the thumping car stereo subs are in an enclosed trunk), there is actually very little difference in the amount of bass with the under-bed cupboard doors open vs closed. It uses the under bed area as a sound chamber. The sub is positioned facing the rear wall about 8" away, this position enhances the bass. I wish there was a way to record the the sound to show how good it is but I know any attempt would be a waste of time.

Today I installed the flat screen TV and tested the sound system with a DVD move .... Top Gun of course .... sounds incredible, our tiny music theatre I am very happy.
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Old 09-02-2015, 06:58 PM   #18
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Ian:

I stole, I mean depended upon your great expertise in installing a stereo system in our 19. I used the same Pyle speakers in the four corners and a Bazoka subwoofer in the rear corner under the bed. From your experience, and not wanting to pull wires twice, I used 14 gage speaker wires. I did run 12v power from the electrical panel to the stereo and the subwoofer to put them all on one new fuse. I liked the Pyle speakers as they mounted under the cabinets, not eating up any storage space.


I used a Pioneer car stereo head, mounted under the cabinet. The top most is a SiriusXM receiver that feeds into the AUX port. The round plug between is an AUX and USB port to connect mp3 player or USB drive with mp3 files.


It seems to work well so far. I'm no audiophile but it sounds good to me.

Thanks for the information and help.
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Old 09-02-2015, 08:30 PM   #19
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Looks great Hugh and I am glad you like the sound. Do play with the sub, try the phase switch in both settings to see if there is any difference, when mine was out of phase it sounded very "muddy" whereas when in phase it is very "clean". Also adjust the sub volume to balance the bass to the Pyle speakers. The system in our 19 ROCKS
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Old 08-16-2022, 02:46 PM   #20
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It has been a while since I updated this thread and thought it was about time to show my latest addition.
My latest modification is plumbing in a separate drinking water faucet with remote reservoir where you can also fill the fresh water tank without street water or a hose.

We have never used the onboard fresh water tank for drinking water, it has always tasted like plastic. We use refillable jugs of filtered drinking water that we dispense as needed. We have used these containers for several years and even at temperatures above 35C for multiple days the water tastes great, no plastic taste and they can be cleaned, sterilized and easily replaced. The problem is the regular lifting and refilling of these jugs is a PITA. Another unrelated issue is when boondocking for an extended period of time refilling the fresh water tank where you have to move the trailer to a common campground faucet or worst use the campground pump to fill jugs or buckets and then try to pour the water into the tank fill opening on the side of the trailer is almost impossible. Here is my solution to both.

Below the right taillight I installed a male garden hose fitting made from stainless steel for marine applications. Under the bed I installed a Shurflo water pump that feeds the drinking water faucet mounted by the sink. A Tee is installed between the pump and the faucet (pressure side of the drinking water pump) that then Tee's into the inlet line to the main water pump, a valve installed in this line to stop water flow to the fresh water tank.
In operation the filtered water jug is connected to the external garden hose fitting. The valve in the tee'ed line to the original pump inlet is closed so when the drinking water pump is turned on water feeds directly to the drinking water faucet. To fill the fresh water tank just open the valve and water is fed into the fresh water tank. Remember to open the fresh water fill cap to allow air to vent.

For the electrical I wired both pumps to the original water pump switch. Under the bed I added separate switches to control each pump independently so I can turn either pump on or off as needed. BTW the far left switch controls the tank heaters
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