look what followed me home

[Mike G]

I picked up a tail. The best kind of tail, of course.



The long wait (more than a decade) is over. Thanks to Chuck and Signe in Idaho for taking good care of this 19 for me all these years (of course they didn't know they were taking care of it for me... they thought they were doing it for them...well, maybe it was a bit of both). I am appreciating some of the little upgrades they've done over the years.

My journey homeward included a stop at Arches NP. I camped for 3 nights at Sand Flats on the edge of Moab and hiked & took pictures in the park, before continuing through UT and NM to finally reach home in OK.






Here I am at Tower Arch, a relatively remote arch along a less-traveled trail (3.4 miles round trip).



The nights were in the mid-20s in Moab, so the furnace was put to good use. It dragged the two 6V batteries down to 2/3 by each morning, but the 95W solar panel charged them to full within a couple hours each day. I did plow through an entire tank of LP in 3.5 nights, though; with the thermostat set at 70*F the furnace ran almost nonstop.

BTW, can anyone tell me why there are two low point drains by the fresh water tank? I have the underside foam so I can't tell what the 2nd valve is supposed to drain. TIA.

[Donna D.]

You should actually be able to view red and blue pex, but don't trust them for winterizing. Or use them as the only thing for winterizing. Reace quit installing them after the 2013 builds because those that didn't properly winterize and broke toilet supply valves.

[YakRV]

Wow, that’s a 2012 model? It’s in incredible shape, Mike_G. Beautiful! Congratulations!

Proves how the Escapes really hold up (and what great care original owners Chuck and Signe took of their - and now your - baby)! Happy camping!

[Iowa Dave]

The low point drains are “nice” for draining the water out of most of the system before you seriously winterize.
You still have to get antifreeze through the toilet flush valve,
drain perched water in the water pump, drain water from the back flow prevent device on the city water connection, drain the shower hose, get antifreeze in the traps, etc. The low point drains don’t do it all.
Iowa Dave

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

You should actually be able to view red and blue pex, but don't trust them for winterizing. Or use them as the only thing for winterizing. Reace quit installing them after the 2013 builds because those that didn't properly winterize and broke toilet supply valves.

I won't do that, I promise. Although I am going back and forth in my mind about using air versus using the pink stuff.

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

The low point drains are “nice” for draining the water out of most of the system before you seriously winterize.
You still have to get antifreeze through the toilet flush valve,
drain perched water in the water pump, drain water from the back flow prevent device on the city water connection, drain the shower hose, get antifreeze in the traps, etc. The low point drains don’t do it all.
Iowa Dave

How does one drain water from the pump? If I pump rv antifreeze through it, will that take care of it? And how does one drain the backflow prevention device? That's a new one to me.

[George Johnson]

Congratulations, Mike. As the second owner of an '09 first generation 19, I am also thrilled by the quality of these trailers.


However, I also know the chill of cold weather camping if your trailer is not prepared for it. As a 2012 model, you probably have two big causes of heat loss that you can address: an uninsulated door and single pane windows. Both issues are pretty easily dealt with.



I addressed the uninsulated door by filling the door with styrofoam bean bag beads purchased from Walmart. To do this, first remove the door latch assembly and seal the gap between the inner and outer panels with wood scraps and calking, then reinstall the latch assembly. If you don't do this, you will really have a mess when the bean bag beans start spilling out of your door latch! Next, use a circle bit to drill a pair of holes near the very top of your door above the window. I drilled 1 1/4" holes. You will use one hole to pour the beads into the door through a funnel, the other hole will provide an escape for the air being displaced by the beads. The holes should be spaced apart about the width of the door window. When the door cavity is filled, you can snap in place chrome plated caps available at the hardware store, and you now have an insulated door.


As for the windows, I used a product called Bed Rug (www.bedrug.com) and made insulating panels to fit each window that just pop into place for each window. This doesn't work for the screened sections of the windows, but it does insulate the majority of the window space and helps a great deal. For the emergency exit window, you can make a panel to fit between the window and the screen, but you have to install the panel from the outside of the trailer, and it works just fine. I've seen some people use a product called Reflectex, which is available at most hardware and big box lumber stores for the same purpose, and it also seems to work quite well.


I also put a layer of Bed Rug on the floor which insulates the floor and makes a nice soft and warm floor for those midnight walks to the bathroom. Since you have the foam insulation from the factory, you may not need that, but runner rugs on the floor would help, and they are cheap.


Happy camping!

[Mike G]

Thanks, George, for the interesting ideas. Never heard of the door insulation trick before.



BTW, the reason for my "low drain" question was simply because Chuck pointed them out to me during his walk-around-and-through tour of the trailer, but he didn't know why there were two drains. Not that I need to use them until next fall, but I was curious.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Mike G

I did plow through an entire tank of LP in 3.5 nights, though; with the thermostat set at 70*F the furnace ran almost nonstop.

Lots of different likes and dislikes by members on this forum. We differ in the heat department on the thermostat setting. Even when sitting around in the evening we barely have it set for 70*F. Over night we have a very warm comforter and are quite happy with the thermostat set for 60*F. Our propane use is much lower.

The front window is single glazed. It's very easy to install an 1/8" plexiglas inside storm window. Really makes the area warmer.

Ron

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by Mike G

How does one drain water from the pump? If I pump rv antifreeze through it, will that take care of it? And how does one drain the backflow prevention device? That's a new one to me.

If you run antifreeze through the pump with the winterizing T valve, the pump is free of any perched water. Otherwise I’ve found it best to take the cap and filter screen out get the water out of the inlet side of the pump.
Where the city water is, next to the fresh tank opening you will see a little filter screen where you water hose hooks on. If you push in on that screen or use the blowout plug and your compressor, the water will be released and air will replace the water. You’ll make logical list of all the places water is dispersed to in your camper during the season and blow,
Drain or antifreeze them one by one and check them off.
That’s what I’ve done on the 19 and now the 21.
Iowa Dave

[Chasing Trials]

I have an Classic & didn't know about putting the Styrofoam beads in the door either. I did put up a curtain, which helps in keeping heat in dashing outside, as it drops somewhat into place fast. Info on the Classics, is found more in the history now. But, I found where to get the foam backed vinyl liner that's on the walls. Which is only 3/8" & above the bench /bed areas on the Classic. It comes in 1/2" & even 5/8". Which I wish ETI would use. IF you want to try to glue some underneath. https://www.greatlakesskipper.com/fo...be147bfcec46fa As for single pane windows. I had to spend the winter in Up state NY in stick built trailer (modular house was 8 weeks late!). I did spend the time to put that hair dryer shrink clear plastic, hard but it helped. I also covered my whole floor with the 1/2" interlocking foam tiles, helps too.

[WillyB]

Congratulations! Enjoy your adventure.

[Mike G]

Thanks, Dave, for explaining.


I have a couple of additional questions for anybody.

1. On the standard table which slides side-to-side, is there any harm in traveling without tightening it to prevent the sliding? Doesn't seem like it would move much by itself, even on a hard turn.

2. How many watts of output will the 12V sockets handle? I assume they are fused somewhere, and I would rather not blow a fuse by trying to run too large an inverter/appliance combo. Right now I have a 400W inverter, but am curious if a larger inverter could use the 12V receptacle to power, for example, a 600W or 700W microwave.

[Rossue]

Congrats on the trailer; good things come to those who wait!

You definitely should not leave that standard dinette table up while travleing locked or not. Lot of mass there and ours ended up in a dinette due to roadwork on I-40 near Kingman when we had our 17B. Best to keep in down- a Springfield pedestal could be a great first mod to make this super easy & not even need those cheapo plastic slides.

Will let the engineers chime in about the larger inverter into the DC plug, yet doubt it is doable.

[SteveSgt]

Originally Posted by Mike G

2. How many watts of output will the 12V sockets handle? I assume they are fused somewhere, and I would rather not blow a fuse by trying to run too large an inverter/appliance combo. Right now I have a 400W inverter, but am curious if a larger inverter could use the 12V receptacle to power, for example, a 600W or 700W microwave.

Certain high-quality combinations of a cigarette lighter plug and corresponding socket can carry 20 amps without overheating. So sometimes you will see a 20 amp fuse in cars for that accessory socket. That corresponds to 240 watts.

However, other cars and many devices designed to use those sockets have 12A or even 10A fuses, which amounts to 144 wats or 120 watts respectively.

A 600W inverter will likely draw at least 60 amps, and would require a far more robust cable (4 ga. for 6 ft, 2 ga. for 10 ft) and suitable high-amperage connector.

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Rossue

You definitely should not leave that standard dinette table up while travleing locked or not. Lot of mass there and ours ended up in a dinette due to roadwork on I-40 near Kingman when we had our 17B. Best to keep in down- a Springfield pedestal could be a great first mod to make this super easy & not even need those cheapo plastic slides.

Wow! The previous owner, when giving me the tour, commented that the dinette had never once been put down to bed height (in 11 years)! But I noted that he liked to tighten the dickens out of the bottom set screw, in fact he was tightening it so hard it has been drilling holes into the table bottom. That's what prompted me to wonder about leaving that screw loose.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Mike G

But I noted that he liked to tighten the dickens out of the bottom set screw, in fact he was tightening it so hard it has been drilling holes into the table bottom. That's what prompted me to wonder about leaving that screw loose.

On our 19 I made an improved table lock. Only problem was that we very quickly started not using it. Traveled far and wide with that trailer with the table unlocked. No problem at all.

On the 21 it never even crossed my mind to look for the table lock. Springfield pedestal, unlocked table and zero problems because of it.

Ron

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

On our 19 I made an improved table lock. Only problem was that we very quickly started not using it. Traveled far and wide with that trailer with the table unlocked. No problem at all.

On the 21 it never even crossed my mind to look for the table lock. Springfield pedestal, unlocked table and zero problems because of it.

Ron

A problem that is no problem... that's the best kind of problem to have! Thanks for that.

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by SteveSgt

Certain high-quality combinations of a cigarette lighter plug and corresponding socket can carry 20 amps without overheating. So sometimes you will see a 20 amp fuse in cars for that accessory socket. That corresponds to 240 watts.

However, other cars and many devices designed to use those sockets have 12A or even 10A fuses, which amounts to 144 wats or 120 watts respectively.

A 600W inverter will likely draw at least 60 amps, and would require a far more robust cable (4 ga. for 6 ft, 2 ga. for 10 ft) and suitable high-amperage connector.

Thanks. Yeah, I'd better not get too crazy with those sockets.

[Wig]

Hi Mike,
Congratulations on the Escape 19. I know it’s been a long time coming.
ENJOY!