Current Tear Drop Owner

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

My wife and I love our tear drop trailer. 42 nights so far in 2023. So many positives, easy to store, clean, tow, sleep great….but you are outside except for sleeping.

We are 90% convinced that a larger trailer is in our future, and if that’s the case why not do it now while in our early 60s and newly retired. Oh, and we’ve already eliminated all but Escape from what we’d purchase.

Joined the site to hear all of your experiences.

[Mike G]

The closest I've ever come to that was camping in the back of a Windstar minivan for a few days one summer. Yuck, what a pain. Yeah, I love being able to stand up for dressing & undressing, to find stored items without scrounging through bins, to cook food & wash dishes indoors when the weather is disadvantageous, having an actual bathroom and a shower, etc.

[HABBERDABBER]

It's not for me to shed a teardrop over your teardrop, but I'd advise, do move on and forward.

I've experienced the gamat of camping, from sleeping as a Boy Scout, in a winter campout, in a discarded refrigerator corrugated shipping box (warm & comfy, by the way) to many years of tenting, and then a 16' Casita with a 105 lb Golden Retriever who took up all the floor space and then on to my Escape.
The clock is ticking down for all of us, and coffins don't have pockets, so move quick, move definitively, and experience & enjoy all you can.
You are wise to go with a fiberglass trailer choice, whatever brand it may be. Some are better than others. All hold up and serve pretty well.

YMMV

[John in Santa Cruz]

being in our late 60s, having a flush toilet in the trailer is a must. and having our own clean hot shower inside is nearly as important. We liked our little Casita 16, but the bed was too small for both of us, the Escape 21C's almost queen bed is perfect. Everything else, like a fridge/freezer that actually works (the Casita fridge was ridiculously too small), and the gas oven are just icing. There has only been a few times we've had hookup power for the air conditioning when we really needed it, but boy were we glad to have it.

[Steven M]

Hello and welcome to the community. Find a seat and enjoy the information, the conversation and the people here.


The questions that you have to ask are; what will my tow vehicle pull? What do I want in and from my Escape? Answer those and you will be very happy with what you get.


We went with the 21C as we didn't want to buy a new tow vehicle and we wanted this, our first trailer, to be our last. No two foot-itis for us.

[BigOz]

Hello, like you, we are in our 60's and newly retired. We have been looking at getting a smaller travel trailer with two axles and came across the Escape trailers. About a year ago, we ended up buying a 2010 Escape 19 that was listed for sale in this forum, and are more than happy with the purchase. The 19 model has dual axles, a true queen bed, large fridge, very usable washroom, and a very large dinette that converts to a twin sized 2nd sleeping area. You won't find that in a tear drop sized trailer, as we are very familiar with the T@B 400, Little Guy Max, etc.. We love our 19, and will never consider purchasing another trailer that isn't molded fiberglass.

[Bobbie54]

I had a Trailswest Campster before my first Escape. It had a popup section in the middle where one could stand up straight (if over 5 feet tall) an the rest was shorter. Very light. So a step ahead of a teardrop unless you have the larger one you can stand up in. Going to an Escape 15 was a huge step up. Much more comfortable, more room, better built and insulated. Since you already know you like camping, just figure out what you are missing from the teardrop and decide how best to get it in an Escape. I have a 17b now which still fits in the garage (after I raised the door to 9 feet) and tows easily, but has lots of the comforts of home. But it isn't as spacious inside as a 19 or 21.

[Rossue]

Trust your instincts! A neighbor recently sold their teardrop and brought home a new 21 NE (F2).

[John in Santa Cruz]

We're going on a 4 month road trip next year. anything smaller than the 21 would end up pretty claustrophobic.

[brroberts]

We didn’t want 2 footitis either so jumped to the 19. It’s the biggest RV yet, and has plenty of room. We have spent as much as 5 months in smaller RV’s just fine. We never manage to really fill them up even in the winter. Just figure out what size you want and go make memories.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by brroberts

We didn’t want 2 footitis either so jumped to the 19. It’s the biggest RV yet, and has plenty of room. We have spent as much as 5 months in smaller RV’s just fine. We never manage to really fill them up even in the winter. Just figure out what size you want and go make memories.

the 19 was very attractive but we didn't want to have to climb over each other to get out of bed in the middle of the night, so a longitudinal bed was a must. Short of a Bigfoot 25 with the rear queen option, and its must-have of a superduty class tow truck, the Escape 21 fit our bill to a T.

[brroberts]

We looked at the 21C also, but didn’t like bigger, heavier, wider, trailer with a narrower bed. Except for our Bigfoot pickup camper, all of our RV’s have been crawl over. The few 54”, angled foot RV beds we have slept in, we didn’t like. A queen bed is pretty important to us, and so far, all of our RV’s but one, have had one. Everyone has different needs, so figure out what size you want and go make memories.

We almost bought a 17b. It was just a bit too small in every way at this point. Thirty years ago it would have been perfect. In fact, when we originally looked at ETI in 2011, the debate was between the 15b and the 17b.

We’ve even had great memories in a 18’ junk foam laminated Forest River, plus pickup campers, tents, and pickup camper shells. Buy an Escape; they strike a nice balance considering what’s available, and make a positive difference as you travel.

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

Short of a Bigfoot 25 with the rear queen option, and its must-have of a superduty class tow truck, the Escape 21 fit our bill to a T.

Perhaps you do, but not us. You don't have to have a "superduty class" truck to pull a 25RQ. The 25RQ is well within the specifications of our F150 Lariat, 6.5 box, 3.5 EB engine, and we have no problems either pulling or stopping.

Enjoy,

Perry

[iamunique127]

I'm hearing preferences for queen size beds but no mention yet of a 5.0TA. If you have, or don't mind acquiring, a pickup then a 5.0TA is an excellent choice.

We chose it to a large extent for the full-size, no-crawl-over queen bed but also for it's shorter overall wheelbase behind the truck which makes the follow behind towing and backup maneuvering easier. We like to get off the beaten track a bit though.

To each their own. There is an Escape to fit many different needs.

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

Originally Posted by Mike G

The closest I've ever come to that was camping in the back of a Windstar minivan for a few days one summer. Yuck, what a pain. Yeah, I love being able to stand up for dressing & undressing, to find stored items without scrounging through bins, to cook food & wash dishes indoors when the weather is disadvantageous, having an actual bathroom and a shower, etc.

We have absolutely loved or teardrop, and it got me into doing yoga so I could continue to change inside. With that said my wife would love an inside bathroom and being able to be dry all the time.

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

Originally Posted by HABBERDABBER

It's not for me to shed a teardrop over your teardrop, but I'd advise, do move on and forward.

I've experienced the gamat of camping, from sleeping as a Boy Scout, in a winter campout, in a discarded refrigerator corrugated shipping box (warm & comfy, by the way) to many years of tenting, and then a 16' Casita with a 105 lb Golden Retriever who took up all the floor space and then on to my Escape.
The clock is ticking down for all of us, and coffins don't have pockets, so move quick, move definitively, and experience & enjoy all you can.
You are wise to go with a fiberglass trailer choice, whatever brand it may be. Some are better than others. All hold up and serve pretty well.

YMMV

The teardrop has been such a huge improvement over camping, I’m imagining the same leap with a larger trailer. It’s exciting.

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

being in our late 60s, having a flush toilet in the trailer is a must. and having our own clean hot shower inside is nearly as important. We liked our little Casita 16, but the bed was too small for both of us, the Escape 21C's almost queen bed is perfect. Everything else, like a fridge/freezer that actually works (the Casita fridge was ridiculously too small), and the gas oven are just icing. There has only been a few times we've had hookup power for the air conditioning when we really needed it, but boy were we glad to have it.

Is it true that the person who uses the toilet the most is responsible to empty it?

I honestly worry that a bigger trailer will get used less. Our teardrop is just so easy in all aspects that it gets used.

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

Originally Posted by Steven M

Hello and welcome to the community. Find a seat and enjoy the information, the conversation and the people here.


The questions that you have to ask are; what will my tow vehicle pull? What do I want in and from my Escape? Answer those and you will be very happy with what you get.


We went with the 21C as we didn't want to buy a new tow vehicle and we wanted this, our first trailer, to be our last. No two foot-itis for us.

We replaced our 4Runner with a 2023 Tundra, so no issue towing.

What I expect we will get from an Escape 19 is the ability for longer trips, and a chance to bring our granddaughter camping. Both hugely beneficial.

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

Originally Posted by Rossue

Trust your instincts! A neighbor recently sold their teardrop and brought home a new 21 NE (F2).

My instincts? No way, my instincts say hunker down, don’t spend a dollar, you are retired, you have no income, arrrrrgh, worry, panic.

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

Originally Posted by brroberts

We didn’t want 2 footitis either so jumped to the 19. It’s the biggest RV yet, and has plenty of room. We have spent as much as 5 months in smaller RV’s just fine. We never manage to really fill them up even in the winter. Just figure out what size you want and go make memories.

The 19 seems the perfect option. It will feel huge to us, but small enough we won’t have other adults joining us. (That’s a joke. I just refuse to type lol). Also, it’s narrow enough to store in our driveway.