Do I give up my much loved Casita?

Lisa M. · 03-27-2018, 06:50 PM

I have owned my 1998 Casita Spirit Deluxe for 11 years (I am the 3rd owner). Over the years I have enjoyed many great adventures traveling a number of states by myself, with a friend or one of my grown kids, and since I married five years ago, with my husband. However, I have been suffering from trailer lust recently, mainly for a 21' Escape, for several reasons. First of all, my husband is 6'2" and the bed is a bit short for him. In addition, at least one of us generally has to get up during the night, which means BOTH of us has to get up during the night. The shower is also difficult with his height. When we camp with friends or family and encounter weather (like last weekend), cramming four of us plus two dogs into the trailer to play games is tricky. I wish I had a dinette that could seat four (our bed is in the permanent down position). As we get older and our backs give us more trouble, tasks like getting those rear jacks down, pulling out the shower drain, and crouching down to light the hot water heater become more difficult.
One of the things we enjoy about the smaller trailer is traveling off the beaten path and being able to get into tight spots. The 21" seems so BIG!!! And of course, there is the extra cost, even after selling the Casita. To those of you with 21 footers, would our problems be solved with the upgrading? My husband is so attached to the Casita, but I might be able to talk him into an Escape. When we go to the rally again this spring I'm going to look at the Escapes again. Finding a used one in the western states would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but if it's meant to be, it will happen. And if it doesn't, we love our Casita!

advenas · 03-27-2018, 07:05 PM

Perhaps you can keep the Casita...and buy the Escape when you find one. Try them both out and sell the one you like best. Both units hold their value so I don't think you have much risk.

I bought a new Escape 17B last March and kept my truck camper. At the moment I'm using both. But I can see selling the truck camper in the future. It doesn't have the amenities the Escape has and my dog and I aren't getting any younger for climbing into it. Best of luck!

tdf-texas · 03-27-2018, 08:03 PM

I sold my 2013 Casita last year right after I picked up my 2017 21' Escape. I had the same issues: the crawl-over for the bathroom, my legs cramped due to too short a bed (SD), strained headroom, and couldn't pass each other in the trailer without someone setting down first.

The Escape quickly felt like home. I installed Hepvo valves for the shower and galley sink and did a fast gray mod on the drain valves - stuff I had also done to the Casita to get it where I wanted it. But the differences! 80" long full size bed.

No more $%#&%^ from hitting the vent handle with my head in the bathroom. I can walk by the sweety while she is in the kitchen without having to squeeze by. And storage! We transferred everything we had in the Casita over to the Escape and still had half the cabinets empty. The Casita had shocks installed to help keep stuff in the cabinets - the Escape with tandems is a smooth ride and everything stays where we put it. Did I mention - no MDF! Wood cabinets that are made of wood.

We loved our Casita but there is no way we would go back!

ps. with the CAN to US dollar exchange rate so much in our favor, we didn't even bother to look for used and bought a new one with the interior and options that we wanted.

thiggins · 03-27-2018, 08:12 PM

We've also had our 2004 17' Casita Spirit Deluxe for 10 years...and she's going bye-bye... It is our second home, and has the best bed of all, but we've just outgrown it. Getting in and out of it is too tricky, plus the trips to the tiny bathroom at 2am... We totally understand. We're picking up our 21' Escape in June ! Yay !

**rbryan4** · 03-27-2018, 08:15 PM

The 21 is still a relatively small trailer Lisa. You'd be surprised at how many spots you can still access with it.

The Casita is a fine trailer for what it is, but take an Escape to a Casita Rally and you can expect a few sales. I've received 3 referral checks as a result of showing our 19 at the Bluebonnet.

steve dunham · 03-27-2018, 09:06 PM

We bought a new 17 ft Casita in 2013 . We are very happy with our purchase .We have looked at larger trailers for the last 2 years but none of them motivated us enough to pull the trigger..
Two or four feet more would be nice but our trailer is an expensive hobby and not a necessity. For right now our money will sit in the bank , maybe someday we will splurge.
I am too old to have money burn a hole in my pocket.
Your financial situation may be different.

1Oldman · 03-28-2018, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by advenas

Perhaps you can keep the Casita...and buy the Escape when you find one. Try them both out and sell the one you like best. Both units hold their value so I don't think you have much risk.

This is great advice for Lisa if they can make it work. Martha and I both loved our Casita 17SD. Mine sold in 1 week and because of that we have been unable to camp since October waiting for our 21' to hatch in May.

Like Lisa we really needed just a little more space and wanted to avoid the crawl over. Good Luck Lisa.

C&G in FL · 03-28-2018, 06:40 AM

Unfortunately, other people can state their opinions and provide advice, but in the end you have to make the decision for yourself, because it will be you who may be happier with the added space and additional features, but it will also be you who has to tow a larger trailer (albeit not that much larger) and also any additional financial burden that switching entails. So really the question comes down to analyzing the situation based upon your circumstances and making the decision based on your priorities.

skiman · 03-28-2018, 08:15 AM

We had a 2013 Casita for a year. I'm 6'4". Crawl over, ceiling height, bed length, narrow aisle. We went and saw CPAHarley's and I was sold in 5 minutes. Have not regretted one bit. Your Casita has great resale. Ours sold in 2 days.

The 21' is bigger but still fits in all the National Parks.

steve dunham · 03-28-2018, 08:31 AM

One other thing to consider is whether your present tow vehicle is adequate for towing an Escape 21. Our present tow vehicle is at its' limits towing our Casita so we would need to upgrade for an Escape 21. The Escape is a nice trailer but there are other things to contemplate.

Rapha · 03-28-2018, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve dunham

One other thing to consider is whether your present tow vehicle is adequate for towing an Escape 21. Our present tow vehicle is at its' limits towing our Casita so we would need to upgrade for an Escape 21. The Escape is a nice trailer but there are other things to contemplate.

I couldn't agree more.

escape artist · 03-28-2018, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve dunham

One other thing to consider is whether your present tow vehicle is adequate for towing an Escape 21. Our present tow vehicle is at its' limits towing our Casita so we would need to upgrade for an Escape 21. The Escape is a nice trailer but there are other things to contemplate.

Hi: steve dunham... Your present tow vehicle must be very "Wimpy" to be at it's limits towing a Casita.
Photos taken this month on the way north.
BTW we will be towing west in May...but not through the Northwest Territories!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

steve dunham · 03-28-2018, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: steve dunham... Your present tow vehicle must be very "Wimpy" to be at it's limits towing a Casita.
Photos taken this month on the way north.
BTW we will be towing west in May...but not through the North West Territory!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Yes , in my opinion my tow vehicle is on the WIMPY side which indicates that I did not do the proper research before .purchase.
We will not be going anywhere soon .Our trailer is buried in snow and more snow is predicted for Easter. Spring is on its' way ? !!

Hope you have a safe trip home

thiggins · 03-28-2018, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: steve dunham... Your present tow vehicle must be very "Wimpy" to be at it's limits towing a Casita.
Photos taken this month on the way north.
BTW we will be towing west in May...but not through the Northwest Territories!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Because they are so cute, many people underestimate the Casita and what it takes to tow it. Many of the 17-footers are near or over 400 lbs tongue weight (quite heavy) and grossing well over 3000 pounds. They are small but not THAT light. I've seen so many people lose that glimmer when I tell them the requirement to tow it.

"No, I don't think your prius will tow it."...

NW Cat Owner · 03-28-2018, 01:00 PM

While I can't compare using the bathroom in my 21' to using one in your Casita, I will give you a warning for your taller-than-me husband. I'm 5'10" and I have to scrunch down a tad bit to use the shower head on my hair. I don't hit the ceiling normally, but do need more room to shove the thing over my head. Either he can do his deep knee bends while showering or he can just sit on the toilet when wetting/rinsing his hair. Now, if he's completely bald, that's a moot issue!

Lisa M. · 03-28-2018, 01:58 PM

Thank you all for your bits of advice and info. It is true, it is my decision in the end, but in life I have found that hearing the advice and opinions from folks often more knowledgable than me help me to make better decisions. I will have to sell my Casita to have enough money to buy an Escape, so financially it is a stretch. However, FGRV's are well made and I would expect it to last until after we are through trailering, so it would be our last. Tow vehicle is always a concern, but for us it is a non-issue as our F150 has a larger engine. Yes, squeezing past my sweetie is tricky and storage is one of my complaints, but we make do by changing out summer supplies for winter. It would be nice to have extra storage and be able to stock the trailer and leave it there! The joy of living in CA is being able to camp year-round! In addition, with me still choosing to teach and my husband retired, we have a little more time to enjoy it! Thank you again for your comments and I look forward to reading any others.

rubicon327 · 03-28-2018, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa M.

One of the things we enjoy about the smaller trailer is traveling off the beaten path and being able to get into tight spots. The 21" seems so BIG!!! And of course, there is the extra cost, even after selling the Casita.

I wouldn’t look at it as all or nothing. Maybe the bed issue still exists, but don’t rule out a 19. They come up for sale more often because there are more of them out there. They are also typically more affordable than the 21.

Fox hunt · 03-28-2018, 02:41 PM

Where are the northwest territories northern Canada?

Fox hunt · 03-28-2018, 02:44 PM

wow looking at the map that's very far north!

Fox hunt · 03-28-2018, 02:46 PM

it looks like there are only two highways 7 and 1?

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