Maneuverability question - Escape Trailer Owners Community
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Escape Trailer Owners Community > Escape Tech > Problem Solving | Owners helping each other
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 05-27-2015, 09:50 AM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Boise, Idaho
Trailer: 2016 Escape 19
Posts: 42
Maneuverability question

Next year I look forward to replacing my 17' Casita with the Escape 19. I store the TT under our carport - which is off a paved alley. When I back in the trailer, I unhook and manually manipulate the trailer to its designated resting spot. I have a flat, concrete pad, and "wrestling" the Casita is not a problem. The question I have is - can I expect the same with the 19' Escape? Are they relatively easy to "move around?" I appreciate your experienced response.
gudmut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 09:54 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Southwick, Massachusetts
Trailer: None, sold my 2014 5.0TA
Posts: 7,124
The 17' Casita is single axle right? the dual axle 19 will not turn on a dime like the single
__________________
Happy Motoring
Bob
padlin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 10:04 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Kountrykamper's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Middle, Tennessee
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19' #2
Posts: 1,441
We also moved up from a 17 Casita and the short answer is no. Although the weight is about the same the dual axle makes it a lot harder to push around by hand. You can move it a little side to side with a wheel on concert but your probably not going to push the trailer around. You will need to become a better backeruper. :-)
__________________
Tom
Kountrykamper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 10:12 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
azjack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tucson, AZ, Arizona
Trailer: gone, 19 and 21 & 17B with 5.0 now. gone
Posts: 790
moving a 19 by hand

I second that it is very difficult. I could push the 17 casita but not the 19.
Jack
azjack is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 10:33 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
Jim Bennett's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,532
On paved or hard packed surfaces, the 19 is not too hard to move. Real easy with two.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
Jim Bennett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 11:47 AM   #6
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Boise, Idaho
Trailer: 2016 Escape 19
Posts: 42
I will be going from a single axle to a dual axle - a new experience for me. I consider myself an "okay" backer upper but improvements can always be made. While I could get it "just right" while attached to the tv, it takes so much longer ... and I'm usually anxious to get the parking job completed. Perhaps I need to encourage my 70+ year old 98 lb spouse to increase the number of workout days at the Y.
gudmut is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 12:00 PM   #7
Site Team
 
rbryan4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
Been there, done that. Can't move it. Maybe two people.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
rbryan4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 12:05 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Kountrykamper's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Middle, Tennessee
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19' #2
Posts: 1,441
You will love the feel of the 19' behind you while towing compared to the Casita. Feels more stable and I also like backing it better then the Casita even though its bigger it does not do things quite as fast and seems easier.
__________________
Tom
Kountrykamper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 12:05 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Southwick, Massachusetts
Trailer: None, sold my 2014 5.0TA
Posts: 7,124
You could look into a trailer dolly, powered or not, store bought or home built.
__________________
Happy Motoring
Bob
padlin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 12:07 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Dave Walter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 2013 19' & 2013 15B
Posts: 2,634
If it is a question of pushing my 19' around by hand or with the tow vehicle, I would choose to save my back and use the tow vehicle. The 19' is just too big and heavy to manhandle when not absolutely necessary to do so.
__________________
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
Dave Walter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 12:16 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
BCnomad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: O town, British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 "Lightning"
Posts: 1,467
ETI uses a forklift, which might translate to a garden tractor.

Or front hitch receiver on truck for easy steering.
BCnomad is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 01:08 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
OneOleMan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Seattle, Washington
Trailer: 2015 17B Sold 5/2016
Posts: 343
I'd say a power dolly would be the way to go; save the back, save the frustration of getting it where you want it.
__________________
Pat
Life is Good
When "Escaping Reality" Sold 5/2016
2012 4Runner
OneOleMan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 01:31 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
Seef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, Alabama
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0 Classic
Posts: 279
We have a dual axle trailer (cargo) at home, rated for 2000KG.

Ik just crank up the nosewheel till the frontwheels come of the ground. In a fact, the trailer is leaning/tilting over on the back axle.

That way, moving around is fairly easy and it will turn on a di.. well maybe not on a dime but on a dollarcoin.
__________________
Escape 5.0 classic (ARRIVED in Holland)
TV - ISUZU D-Max
Favorite destination (Europe) - Tuscany
Seef is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 02:09 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Kountrykamper's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Middle, Tennessee
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19' #2
Posts: 1,441
I would be afraid the 19 would be light on the nose if you jacked it up that high and one wrong bump send it on its bumper. At least that's what would happen to me.
__________________
Tom
Kountrykamper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 02:51 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
Posts: 743
No, just the opposite. If you lift the nose enough to pick up the front wheels, then all the weight of the trailer is going to be on the rear wheels. Since the center of mass hasn't changed actual position, it is relatively (to the wheel base) further forward. Hence more weight on the hitch wheel.

I'd be concerned that the hitch wheel wouldn't be able to take the abuse if you hit a small bump with all that weight on it.
__________________
Doug

2013 Escape 19 ("The Dog House") , 2018 Ford F150
dbailey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 03:14 PM   #16
Commercial Member
 
tractors1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 - "Felicity"
Posts: 2,945
Quote:
Originally Posted by BCnomad View Post
ETI uses a forklift, which might translate to a garden tractor.

Or front hitch receiver on truck for easy steering.
Dunno about a garden tractor but it works good with a tractor that has a 3 point hitch; I put a ball on drawbar to haul around a 21.
__________________
Charlie Y

Need custom storage to your design? Don't drill holes!
www.RVWidgetWorks.com
tractors1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 03:28 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Alcoa, Tennessee
Trailer: 2015 5.0 TA
Posts: 419
I saw a tandom axle Gater a couple of years ago in a campground they were using to move trailers in and out of storage. It had a 5th wheel hitch mounted on the bed and a bumper hitch and they were moving some pretty big rigs.
__________________
2015 Escape 5 TA
2016 Ford F-150
captmath is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 09:25 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
On paved or hard packed surfaces, the 19 is not too hard to move. Real easy with two.
If the wheels are aligned, it should be reasonable to move... in a straight line. The problem for most people is turning, since the tires must scrub to do that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Seef View Post
We have a dual axle trailer (cargo) at home, rated for 2000KG.

Ik just crank up the nosewheel till the frontwheels come of the ground. In a fact, the trailer is leaning/tilting over on the back axle.
That works, and if you look closely at photos from the Escape factory, you'll see that they leave the wheels off of the leading (forward) axle so the trailer is riding on only the trailing (rearward) axle, presumably for maneuverability.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kountrykamper View Post
I would be afraid the 19 would be light on the nose if you jacked it up that high and one wrong bump send it on its bumper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dbailey View Post
No, just the opposite. If you lift the nose enough to pick up the front wheels, then all the weight of the trailer is going to be on the rear wheels. Since the center of mass hasn't changed actual position, it is relatively (to the wheel base) further forward. Hence more weight on the hitch wheel.

I'd be concerned that the hitch wheel wouldn't be able to take the abuse if you hit a small bump with all that weight on it.
I agree that tongue weight on a tandem goes up as you lift the tongue; lifting the leading tires right off the ground is very stable... although it puts too much load on the rear axle for actually towing.

Europeans seem to move the trailers on the front jack with a wheel much more than North Americans; I assume Seef's tongue jack and wheel are suited to this.

A related approach is to crank the tongue way down. If you can get the front low enough, there will be very little load on the trailing axle and tongue weight is very low. I have rented tandem cargo trailers that teeter nearly on the front axle with the tongue just off the ground... and no tongue jack at all (zero tongue weight). With the lightly loaded rear tires it's a bit easier to turn it, and there's no issue with excessive load on the tongue jack wheel.
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2015, 09:42 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
An Escape 19' usually has too much tongue weight for a lawn tractor (like mine), but a good-sized garden tractor should have no problem, and many people use this method.

A Gator is a John Deere utility vehicle. The tandem-rear-axle models are the traditional "quad" style, but the bigger models (and the military tandem) are side-by-sides. These vehicles are small compared to most cars, but they are made to work and I'm not surprised that they can handle many trailers well at low speed. If you have one of these - or even heavy-duty original quad - I think it makes sense to consider using it.

One of the slickest rigs I've seen working an RV lot is a telescopic material handler... but no one would buy one of those to move their trailer at home!
Brian B-P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2015, 01:01 PM   #20
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Boise, Idaho
Trailer: 2016 Escape 19
Posts: 42
I'm curious if anyone out there with the 19' Escape uses a trailer dolly? If so, any recommendations on a particular one you like?
gudmut is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off




» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Escape Trailer Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:47 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2023 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.