Just bought our first Escape

[Bob and Linda]

Friday, Sept. 13 we picked up our new Escape 5.0. Pretty excited to start using it....next year. Planning on attending the rally in June, 2014.

[SpokanEscape]

Nice! We were at the factory on Friday too! Just having a look. We hope to be at the rally too!

[Bob and Linda]

Awesome

[Scuba55]

Looks like a get combo. Congratulations!

[Donna D.]

Cool beans! Doing the happy dance for you!!

[ykcamom]

Is your Dodge Ram a short bed? We are looking at Rams and wondering if they will pull the fifth wheel. The dealership says that the short box won't work for most. Just curious!

[Bob and Linda]

Yes, ours is a short box......we had no problems with the Escape 5th wheel....the only thing you might want to mention if you order an Escape is that you have a full size truck....they will raise the escape a couple of inches to give more clearance. We didn't have this done and it is still just fine but if you know ahead of time mention it when ordering.

[Scuba55]

I believe one of the advantages of the new 5.0 duel axle is they are easily adjustable up or down. Also, you can get a slider hitch, if needed for clearance, most likely will not need it with the RAM short bed.

[Vicki A.]

Very nice!

[Sandra L]

Originally Posted by Vicki A.

Very nice!

Ditto and congratulations.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by ykcamom

We are looking at Rams and wondering if they will pull the fifth wheel. The dealership says that the short box won't work for most. Just curious!

"Most" fifth-wheel trailers are eight feet or more wide, with pin weights high enough that the hitch must be at or ahead of the rear axle on a Ram 1500 or similar truck... thus a 5 to 6 foot box ("short" doesn't mean much anymore) leaving only two or three feet to the axle is inadequate.

An Escape 5.0 is narrower (even the wider new 5.0 won't be 8 ft) and lighter, opening up lots of options for trucks.

Originally Posted by Scuba55

I believe one of the advantages of the new 5.0 duel axle is they are easily adjustable up or down.

As I understand Reace's notes on this, the new 5.0 will use a traditional setup of beam axles and leaf springs. The height change would presumably be achieved by switching the beams from over the springs (lower setup) to above the springs (higher setup) making a difference of about four inches. If the axles are provided with dual spring perches then this can be done with just wrenches (and a new set of U-bolts and nuts each time), but it is a configuration change, not a quick adjustment.

Reace - if you're reading this, can you confirm or correct this description?

Originally Posted by Scuba55

Also, you can get a slider hitch, if needed for clearance, most likely will not need it with the RAM short bed.

That depends on how sharply you want to turn. If you can settle for a limited angle you can fix the hitch in place, but to enable 90-degree truck-to-trailer angle and yet not overload the truck axle on the road, a slider hitch is typically needed with a "short" box.