Hello from Oregon

[jst606]

Just put in a deposit on a 17B. My grandparents had a travel trailer when I was in high school but that’s my only experience with RVing. I was hoping to be able to pull it with my Highlander hybrid, but I think it will be too heavy. We do have a Tacoma V6 with a towing package, which should work. I’m hoping I can put it in my carport. Any opinions on what accessories are most important?

[cpaharley2008]

You will need a water hose (white for potable water) some plastic stabilizer pads for the trailer's stabilizer pads. Normal cooking/silverware options, soap and other personal hygiene items. This should get you home......have fun.

[pgorman]

Welcome. There are a few 17Bs in Corvallis.

We also have a 2011 Tacoma (double cab) and it pulls our fully loaded 2021 17B with with ease. Send a PM if you want to take a look at it, see the options we picked or get measurements.

[DT6]

Welcome! There is a ton of stuff you COULD get. But if it were me, I would wait and take more of the minimum as Jim suggested until you use the trailer a few times as everyone's needs are a bit different.

At some point soon you will want to replace the sewer hose Escape provides with a better quality one (don't skimp here). I keep the original just in case we ever need the extra length, but I've never had to so far.

In about six months I'd order a spare sail-switch for your furnace and keep it around. I would also download all of the Escape videos regarding maintenance and trailer features like your electrical system. I had to clean our sail switch last winter when we were down near Canon Beach and the video was a lifesaver.

For cooking, most of our evening meals are stored in "sous vide" bags, so 30 min in a pot of boiling water heats it up well, and leaves no cooking mess.

Since you are here in Oregon, I've had good experience having Bish's RV just north of Eugene for maintenance work. I drive our 19 down there from Salem rather than take it anywhere local here.

Camping World down in Eugene has a good selection of accessory stuff if you want to see things before you buy.

[jst606]

Thanks

[jst606]

DT6
Thanks for the great advice. Good to know that Bish’s will service an Escape trailer! Not sure what a sail switch is, but I guess I’ll find out.

[jst606]

Pgorman
Not sure what a PM is. I would be interested in seeing your 17B. Thanks.

[WillyB]

Hello Oregon!

As we're approaching our October completion date, finally, I'm sure this forum will provide you with all of the resources you never thought you would need.

The time goes faster than you think.

Enjoy the journey!

[pgorman]

Originally Posted by jst606

Pgorman
Not sure what a PM is. I would be interested in seeing your 17B. Thanks.

PM is a forum private message. I'll send one to you with my contact info. Cheers.

[cpaharley2008]

Junior members can not send p/m, with links you need to become a senior, by posting at least 10 times....

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Junior members can not send p/m, with links you need to become a senior, by posting at least 10 times....

Keep in mind that everybody on the forum gets these 10 posts, even if you have nothing to say.

[John in Santa Cruz]

A Tacoma v6 is a much better tow vehicle than a Highlander, especially if said Tacoma has the 2" reciever and 7-blade RV connector already in place. You'll need an electric brake controller (I like the better Tekonsha models like the prodigy P3, and they have adapter cables that plug and play for most every major brand of tow vehicle, including Toyota). I'm 6' tall and found that I had to trim the Tekonsha brake controller mount down some to mount the controller as close to the bottom of the dash as I could so my knees didn't bang it. YOu want this controller mounted where you can reach it with one hand in an emergency to engage the trailer brakes manually. I've only had to do this once, and it was a life saver. With a Tacoma 4x4, you'll want a 2" tow bar ('ball mount') with a 2" drop and a 2" ball rated for a 7500 lb trailer to have nice safe margins. I like getting the slightly longer than normal Curt 45260 ball mount as it ensures the tailgate *will* clear the trailer's jack. If your Tacoma is NOT a 4x4 (or Prerunner), it may not be adequately tow rated.

for water and sanitation, I would have TWO hoses, one white drinking water approved hose, and one generic green/brown/whatever hose for hooking up at dumpsites that don't already have a hose, and I would have a pair of heavy duty rubber gloves for dealing with Mr Sewer.

IF you have an oven, I would have a nice heavy gauge aluminum quarter sheet pan for baking, and a roll of aluminum foil for covering it to make cleanup easy. bare minimum of cooking pots, just enough silverware, non breakable plates, glasses for you and your travel companion(s).

mattress pad and fitted sheet sized to the supplied mattress ('Full XL' for a Classic 21, thats an odd size but you can find them), and a quilt stuffed into a duvet cover a size larger than the bed (queen for the 21 Classic). 2 pillows w/ cases in your preferred style/size.

Whatever it is you use to make coffee without electricity. In my case, thats a small kettle for boiling water, a Melitta #4 'one cup' filter holder and filters, ground coffee or a manual grinder and whole beans, and a couple mugs. If you don't drink coffee, well, ignore this.

I would suggest a small folding table, and 2 comfortable folding chairs, suitable for hanging around outside your camp when you're just chilling.

[Professor YaYa]

Hello from another newbie. We just picked up our 17B in June. We’ve done a few short trips with another couple set up in august. We are calling this the “get to know our trailer” summer. So far we are loving it. Had a tent trailer when the kids were little, but now it’s just us. Pulling it with a KIA Teluride which has been working great.

Each trip we take I make notes on my phone of questions we have and things we want to buy. The after sales guy at escape has been great at answering questions big and small.

We opted for the solar panel set up. Our next trip is a boondocking one, so we’ll see how that goes!

[jst606]

Thank you for the information. Sounds like good advice. When did you need the manual brakes? Do you think I'd need that on a 17B?

[John in Santa Cruz]

you use the trailer brake controller's manual override in an emergency... maybe the trailer is swaying badly, maybe something is funky with the hitch, by applying the trailer brakes you bring it back under control, and can modulate those along with the vehicle brakes to come to a complete and safe stop. in 5-6 years of towing FG trailers, and many many 1000s of miles, I've had one instance where the brake override saved us from a likely very serious crash and turned it into a 1 hour unscheduled stop with roadside repair, and we continued on our way with no damage except some dishes.

[DK in AK]

Originally Posted by jst606

Just put in a deposit on a 17B. My grandparents had a travel trailer when I was in high school but that’s my only experience with RVing. I was hoping to be able to pull it with my Highlander hybrid, but I think it will be too heavy. We do have a Tacoma V6 with a towing package, which should work. I’m hoping I can put it in my carport. Any opinions on what accessories are most important?

Welcome to the forum !

[jst606]

I purchased a used E19 and am no longer in the queue for a 17b. My first project will be to replace the external door latch or whatever it is called, which requires drilling out rivets and putting in new ones with the new latch. I have not done either. I’m worried about doing it. I did see it discussed on the forum and plan to give it a try. I have the tools and the replacement latch and rivets. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Reid Larsen]

I live just outside Philomath and have lots of experience working on trailers having restored two older Trilliums. Feel free to contact me anytime if you have problems or questions.

[jst606]

Originally Posted by Reid Larsen

I live just outside Philomath and have lots of experience working on trailers having restored two older Trilliums. Feel free to contact me anytime if you have problems or questions.

Thank you for offering your experience!

[KarenPDX]

After realizing the 23 was still Vaporware, we decided to put a deposit on a 21C to be delivered next November. But as fate would have it, a 21C with everything we would want included, and maybe a couple things we may not have sprung for, came up for sale near us. We are now very happy owners of a 2021 21C, and are looking forward to upping our Boondocking game to a new level.

We are making a list of todo’s, including a few mod’s now and other’s in the future. Our first To do, which my husband did on Thanksgiving day, was pull the Composting Toilet out, since we decided after a few videos this wasn’t for us. We have a new (never used) AirHead Composing toilet for sale if anyone is interested. We live in Beaverton, OR, but can mail it anywhere. PM if you are interested.

We are hoping to attend the Rally in the Spring, and meet many of you who we have been following on the Forum. We have already gotten a ton of ideas from this forum. It is a wealth of information and “opinions”. We look forward to adding our own.