Future Escape Owner doing due diligence

[Ronn]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

We also have both the microwave and the oven in our Escape and for the same reason
“ We wanted both”
Escape offers many options that are not absolutely necessary but they sure make camping / traveling much more enjoyable .
At my age convenience & comfort often win out over trying to keep the cost at a bare minimum

Once we started into our build sheet I ran across a post by someone wiser than me. It said something like "don't buy just for your needs and desires now, things change as you age" Thankfully that stuck with me and we decided to use the KISS approach toward our build sheet.

Sometimes doing that meant spending more $$ and I did have some internal battles over it. But, I have aged and I have slowed down and now with this virus who knows how much aging between now and my next trip.

So, my truck has a tailgate step and extended mirrors and lots of creature comforts. We have the electric awning, the inverter, solar with dual batteries, surge protector, removable power cord, air conditioning, back up camera, extra insulation and foam, Lagun, a split the rear seat, and we are doing modifications which should help us enjoy our trailer longer.

Hopefully it is not all in vain, we all hope the Coronavirus stays away and doesn't come back another day

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

working on these build sheets can be a lot of fun. But you can also overthink things, thats what I do anyways. At some point in the game i decided it was only money so i got some extra stuff. Try to think about how you camp . Try to think about the options that would be very hard to add latter if you decide to.



If you have not done so I would suggest a one on one tour with Samuel. He does a great Job at this. this is much better that the virtual tour on website.

https://escapetrailer.com/personal-v...e-9686625a9e09




Here is my must have as it be hard to add latter.
Front storage box
Bath window
solar with duel 6 volts
at least one extra USB outlet

the 21NE comes with a lot off stuff that are option on other units U shaped dinette, large fridge, kitchen window. I think maybe one front hatch


you have to decide what awning and windows you like.this might take a while as there is pro and cons to both. Another good resource is the search on the forum.

[Greg A]

Don't know if it's still an option, but we absolutely love the foot flush toilet.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by Greg A

Don't know if it's still an option, but we absolutely love the foot flush toilet.

Yes. If I ever have to replace my toilet I will get one of these. It should make it easier to hose out the black tank.

[lostskier]

Here are my adds/no deletions that I am glad I got for my 19.
Have ETI run the power for back up camera. Its wired so power is only supplied when you go into reverse in the tow vehicle. I had a Garmin navigation system so I just installed a camera.
Oven, yes. Microwave...no.
Extra shelves. Wish I'd had 2 or 3 installed instead of 1 in the closet.
I had two walls reinforced to hang shelves in the closet. Wish I'd had more walls reinforced to allow more options.
Solar...all the way with a external port to add a portable unit. When your parked under the trees, having a portable is nice to find the sweet spot to recharge. Also, the roof mounted cannot be angled to the sun so sometimes they just are not that efficient. I found that out in the fall when the sun was low on the horizon.
The batteries supplied by ETI are junk. I upgraded to Renogy AGM after using a few times. If I could do it over, I'd order without batteries or ship them the batteries I want.
LP quick connect, all the way. My first trip I had to buy and use 6 small green LP cans for the BBQ.
Lift, absolutely.
Power Jack on the front. I can't imagine cranking this up by hand, LOL. BTW...I turned my power jack 90 degrees so now my tailgate clears and extends all the way. It was a great modification posted on this forum.
I did not order a toilet and instead installed a composting toilet. Took a while to figure things out, but save a whole lot of water and allows for longer boondocking times.
Get lots of extra power drops. They are never where you want them.

[lostskier]

Oh...one more thing. I would not order a table in my 19 if I could do it again. Absolutely hated the double posts in the Dinette format. I replaced it with a swing away Lagun table and absolutely love it. Lots of threads in this forum about replacing the table.

[Langley Barb]

I would get the offroad, high clearance frame. National and State campgrounds are often located in areas that have poor quality roads, the campsites are usually not paved and now that we are experiencing the pandemic recession, money for maintenance of these public parks may be scarce.

For camping in these parks without hookups, the solar panel and dual 6 volt batteries are essential to maintaining power. Choosing the manual awning is one less thing that needs power when camping without power hookups. You will always be able to open and close it, even when the campsite is in deep shade and the weather is cloudy! (Spoken from one from the PNW who has camped in Redwood National Park).

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Langley Barb

I would get the offroad, high clearance frame. National and State campgrounds are often located in areas that have poor quality roads, the campsites are usually not paved and now that we are experiencing the pandemic recession, money for maintenance of these public parks may be scarce.

For camping in these parks without hookups, the solar panel and dual 6 volt batteries are essential to maintaining power. Choosing the manual awning is one less thing that needs power when camping without power hookups. You will always be able to open and close it, even when the campsite is in deep shade and the weather is cloudy! (Spoken from one from the PNW who has camped in Redwood National Park).

The lift option does not raise the frame, it remains the same height so you do not gain any clearance for the axle and frame, only the body is raised.

[Barb Hunt]

As many windows as possible. Same for outdoor lights and outlets. Third burner on stove. Winterize. Raised floor in dinette area so it's easier to see out windows. Get as many add-ons as possible because you never know when something will come in handy. But no microwave because there's no hurry in RV life and having an oven is better - roast veggies, heat leftovers, easy to make toast, broil grilled cheese, etc. I bought a pizza stone and it distributes the heat.

[gbaglo]

If I were to un-do anything, I'd not get the three burner stove again. I think in 12 years, we've used all three burners once. But, we cook mostly outside and use the stove inside to boil water for coffee.

[rmitch]

When we did our build, we decided to get most of the options available. The escape is built to last and I plan on keeping it for a long time. So I wanted it equipped with anything that might be useful in the future. We decided it was worth it to us, and splurged for our retirement. Look at your choices long term. It's only money you'll be happy later you got everything you wanted.

[SWCO]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

The lift option does not raise the frame, it remains the same height so you do not gain any clearance for the axle and frame, only the body is raised.

The body is bolted to the frame. The lift option raises both the body and the frame, giving additional clearance for both. Axle height is unchanged.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by SWCO

The body is bolted to the frame. The lift option raises both the body and the frame, giving additional clearance for both. Axle height is unchanged.

That is what I intended to point out, axle clearance off roads is not changed thus limiting where you can go. Just to clear up that option misconception.

[Cyclones forever]

We ordered our 19 in 2017 with a May 2018 pick up. Here was our must get.
Air conditioner-Must have in Iowa
Surge protector
Storage box
Winterizing T-Valve -May be standard now
Toilet shut off - May be standard now
Solar equipment
Bathroom window
Kitchen window
We deleted the following
Range hood-We figured the ceiling exhaust would work and it does.
We had other creature comfort options but they weren't must haves
We have no regrets everything works great.

[CPO66]

It’s been a few days since I came back to check (my timeframe for buying will be sometime after 7/1); so my apologies given all the activity and a delay in expressing my appreciation.

I’d like to thank you all for the wealth of input and experience. In some cases it reinforced some of what I thought would be a good approach and there were a number of things that I never would have even thought of. The added links that were provided will be taken advantage of as well.

I’ll be going through all of this and begin filling out my build sheet and will take advantage of the personal tour option ETI offers to clarify anything I need to have someone walk me through virtually.

To those of you who made the recommendation to make sure my wife has input and to ensure I’m picking the options that will make her life easiest, this is the best advice that I WILL BE FOLLOWING. It’s been fun talking to her on our neighborhood “pandemic walks” about “ok...where do you want to go first?”.

Thanks again and wish all of you health and safety along with the promise of open roads through these times

[Meandering Minstrel]

Originally Posted by CPO66

My wife and I are close to purchasing our second trailer we've owned after a gap of 15+ years.

I'm selecting an Escape, it's highly likely I'll purchase new from ETI directly, and I'm leaning hard towards the 21NE for the layout. (TV - 2018 Highlander XLE V6)

Our trips will be State and National Park based campgrounds with some commercial campgrounds bridging the travel gaps giving a mix of full hook-up and no hook-up. We'll bring bikes (I've seen swagman bike rack posts), but that's likely to be the only thing we'd be attaching to the back of the trailer for the trips.

We seek convenience and comfort, ease, and flexibility for the use of the trailer and adding the options to best assist with that. But I'm already seeing where I'd pass on discretionary options like the Stereo/DVD player / 4 speakers. I'd opt to pick-up some bluetooth / wireless speakers that would provide greater flexibility and likely better quality of sound.

I'd appreciate any perspectives on:

1. Top "must get" options

2. Top "must avoid" options

Any other major lessons learned that you wish you learned ahead of your order would be helpful as well.

Thanks much...Chris.

We have the 21NE. We're on our 2nd trip with it, both short, break-in trips.
Front toolbox - must have.
Extra access doors - should have had more.
Microwave - meh. Takes up a lot of space and I have to uninstall it in order to use it with the inverter. I love the idea of using an Instapot instead - going to investigate that further.
Power awning - still up in the air on that one.
21NE has 2 full-size queen beds; that's hard to beat in a small trailer.
LOVE the dining space in the NE. We thought we'd prefer the extra inches (over the 19) in the kitchen area but got the tilt-up counter space and love the large dining area.
Get the solar system - comes with an excellent control panel that you can control with your phone.
We got ours with then lift kit; not sure if we need that yet but we like to boondock.
Got 2 captain's lights. Meh.
Glad we got then Boss radio system. We hook our phones and Chromebook up to it (with Bluetooth) to listen to tunes and Prime video. Don't have a television yet.
We have the manual hitch jack. Sloooow. We had an electric jack on our Rpod. I don't think the electric jack option is worth the money but it should be considered (we're 66).
The frameless, insulated windows work very well with the Maxxfan. I think we'd get those again.
Good luck on your decision.
BTW, our Escape was an inventory Escape so we didn't go through the agony of options. But we did end up with most exactly what we want!

[harleyrk]

Is your microwave under the range or over the wardrobe. Do you secure it during travel? Thanks.

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

That is what I intended to point out, axle clearance off roads is not changed thus limiting where you can go. Just to clear up that option misconception.

with the stock axle the axle is not the lowest thing hanging down the water tank is. so going to a high lift will increase ground clearance at least up to the bottom of the axle about 2 more inches clearance.


It will raise frame and all tanks 2 5/8" higher. This may or may not be necessary depending on where you plan to camp.

[rja52]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

That is what I intended to point out, axle clearance off roads is not changed thus limiting where you can go. Just to clear up that option misconception.

Do you or anyone else know how many inches from the ground to the bottom of the hitch coupler when the lift option is installed (21NE)?