Factory visit on 5/20/16 - new 17 & 19 trailers

[cpaharley2008]

Thank you Laura or Dirk, whomever is posting for this information, time and effort, pictures, posting. Did you happen to see the interior of the 19 and if there is a stripper pole? Rumor has it that the 19 will have the same pole the 21 has, for structural as well as ease of egress from the trailer. I asked to have one installed in Prairie Schooner and was told it may be standard? Will have to wait and see.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Amusing colour coincidence. The interesting part to me is that green is the colour code for a QCC connector with a flow-limiting device which allows more flow than the standard black knob... not usually needed for a trailer without a large furnace, but I prefer to have this higher-flow version.

Now this is why I took a ton of photos as I would never notice stuff like that. I just saw green knobs in the photos and realized it matched the graphics. I know that wasn't on purpose, but I noticed it. But never knew the knobs had different colors and why. Now I know! Will I remember that, though? Quiz me later and we'll find out.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Thank you Laura or Dirk, whomever is posting for this information, time and effort, pictures, posting. Did you happen to see the interior of the 19 and if there is a stripper pole? Rumor has it that the 19 will have the same pole the 21 has, for structural as well as ease of egress from the trailer. I asked to have one installed in Prairie Schooner and was told it may be standard? Will have to wait and see.

Me (Laura), myself and I do all these posts. Dirk just looks at the photos and makes comments. Like how much he really likes the new door as he feels it's a much sturdier door than before. I seriously doubt he'll ever post on this forum as it's not his thing to do.

Photos of the demo 19 will be coming later this morning, so I'll let you pour over those photos and find out for yourself.

Also, since the 17B and 19 are new molds, I was told there will be some tweaks done to them later down the line. One of which is regarding the medicine cabinet. And probably new flooring, countertop and fabric, as previous posts have said they might get changed. So, if there isn't a stripper pole in the demo model (and I'm not saying one way or the other mainly cuz I don't remember off the top of my head ), it might very well be there later on.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

The cylinders are from Worthington, one of the two big propane cylinder manufacturers in the U.S. Costco usually has a similar stack during grilling season, coincidentally of the same brand. Worthington offers the option of a level gauge on the cylinder; did any one notice if Escape is getting those? It's really not a big deal either way.

The 17' is the only Escape model left in production which is narrow enough that it does not need clearance lights on the corners or the wide vehicle identification lamps (the group of three in the middle).

I did take some close up photos of the tanks, so you'll see those when I post them to their threads later this morning. Again, something I would never know about or notice, so can't answer ya right now. Hopefully the photos will supply your answer.

Thanks for the info on the lights. I had wondered about that. To me it would make sense to have them on the upper area, but didn't realize it was due to the width. I can see why folks would add them to their build sheet.

I also forgot to mention that I picked up one each of their new brochures yesterday. Unfortunately, they have photos of their old style trailers (and yeah, I understand why), but they are pretty spiffy looking. I'll snap some photos of them and will upload them later. Breakfast is calling first!

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by techfan

Has there been a clarification on the "new" insulation that is being used or did I miss that discussion somewhere. I was thinking it might be Thermozite.

I didn't ask about this as they were utterly swamped with work. Sarah popped out briefly with me when I got there but told me she probably wouldn't have any time to discuss them as they had customers coming and and lots to do. That's fine. When the 21 is completed I plan to schedule an appointment time with her so we can go over in detail the new features and anything else we might need for it. I'm thinking we need some more electrical outlets. Dirk says we're fine. We'll see. We also need to get more info on wiring and such for when he installs the Purple Line Mover.

[stephen99]

Laura, thanks for all the info you provide. Nice to have someone on the forum close enough to the factory to be able to pop in from time to time and see what's up.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by stephen99

Laura, thanks for all the info you provide. Nice to have someone on the forum close enough to the factory to be able to pop in from time to time and see what's up.

You're welcome Stephen! I greatly enjoy seeing what's what with them and learning stuff along the way. As long as they keep putting up with me popping in, I'll continue doing so. And I have the routine figured out pretty well by now. Get up hours earlier than I'm used to to avoid some of the traffic through Seattle in the AM. Take a nap at the rest stop about an hour or so (depending on traffic) out of town. I can get some sleep in the backseat of the FJ, I've discovered, after putting up the sunshade and blankets around the sides - yeah, got that routine down good!

This time around I told the State Trooper I had just pulled in and was going to take about an hour long nap. He was there kicking out folks that had been there for many, many hours as they have signs posted all over the place stating you can only stay an hour. He said I'd be fine if I stayed a bit longer as he was kicking out those that were really violating the rule. Good thing, as I was there about 1.5 hours.

Then, completely refreshed, I pull into ETI less than 2 hours later (depending on border crossing time - I really need to get a Nexus card!).

[Steven M]

Originally Posted by NW Cat Owner

We also need to get more info on wiring and such for when he installs the Purple Line Mover.

Laura,
When you say he you mean Dirk?? Will ETI wire to where necessary for installation or is this the question you have to ask? I have looked at this for myself and I don't think of myself as handy enough to install the Purple Line Mover.
Thanks,

[stephen99]

Originally Posted by NW Cat Owner

Get up hours earlier than I'm used to to avoid some of the traffic through Seattle in the AM.

I've only had to drive through Seattle a couple times in my life and I've already had enough. In fact I started planning some time ago how to avoid Seattle when we pick up the trailer and hit the road.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by Steven M

Laura,
When you say he you mean Dirk?? Will ETI wire to where necessary for installation or is this the question you have to ask? I have looked at this for myself and I don't think of myself as handy enough to install the Purple Line Mover.
Thanks,

Yeah, Dirk is gonna install it as ETI won't. There is a place up there in Chilliwack that you could order it through and they'll install it, but it won't be cheap. At the Purple Line site there's an article from Trailer Life on how one was installed which was greatly beneficial to Dirk.

We do plan to sit down with that article (with ETI) and ask for detailed photos as to what's in the areas that he'll need to drill in to for installing it. And see if any wiring can be moved around if it'll be in the way.

For those wondering about this device - we'll be parking the trailer in a gravel area that's not large enough to drive forward in to and we want the trailer with the hitch away from the street for security reasons. I've talked to a guy at Purple Line and he says it'll work for the compacted gravel area we put in for the trailer.

When he installs it I'll be sure to take lots of photos (without audio as I'm sure nobody needs to hear the swear words I'm sure both of us will be using) and will post here. But, that's months away.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by stephen99

I've only had to drive through Seattle a couple times in my life and I've already had enough. In fact I started planning some time ago how to avoid Seattle when we pick up the trailer and hit the road.

Smart man! I just brought some tunes and rocked out while I was in the parking lot that I5 was on the way home.

[cpaharley2008]

Have you checked with the retailers in Washington that this Purple Line system will work with US trailers and the Dexter axle set up? Seems to me you will need some reinforcement blocks in the body for attachment, something that may not be possible with the Escape?

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Have you checked with the retailers in Washington that this Purple Line system will work with US trailers and the Dexter axle set up? Seems to me you will need some reinforcement blocks in the body for attachment, something that may not be possible with the Escape?

I talked to a guy at Purple Line and sent him a bunch of photos of the trailer. He says they've been installed on an Escape before and I verified it's the correct (fiberglass) Escape trailer in case he was thinking of another brand. There aren't any retailers in WA unfortunately. And I'm not too keen to drive to CA for it so they'll ship it here and Dirk can install.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Have you checked with the retailers in Washington that this Purple Line system will work with US trailers and the Dexter axle set up? Seems to me you will need some reinforcement blocks in the body for attachment, something that may not be possible with the Escape?

The movers are attached to the frame, not the body - there would be too much force on the body, with any style of trailer construction.