Pickup at Sumas experience

[felix2]

Just thought I'd outline my recent experience picking my 21NE up in Sumas, Wa.


We spent Sunday night at a nice place in Lynden, WA, just 20 mins from Sumas - Inn at Lynden - cute town but almost all restaurants closed on Sunday! We had a 12:30pm Sumas pick up appt. and I was concerned whether we'd make it home (Vancouver, WA) before dark - the border crossing is an unknown for time.



In the morning we arrived in Sumas at 11:50am, and stopped to get gas at the Chevron station next to Bob's Burgers, and while pumping gas, saw my trailer drive by - 20 minutes early! I pulled up next to the nice man who was unhitching, and after signing receipt of the trailer and accepting an envelope from him with customs docs etc, he handed me the keys and drove away. I told him I had watched the Escape video on connecting the E2 Fastway weight distribution hitch, and it just took me a few minutes to connect up. Of course we had to look inside for a few minutes, but we were on our way within 25 minutes. I drove across the road into the residential area to adjust the brake controller, then we were on the road. I stopped to check the lugnut torque as recommended - a 10 minute stop every 60-ish miles until 180 miles was reached, using conveniently placed rest stops to do it. We made it home just at dark.


The trailer towed like a dream - no sway, no lurching, and I got about 1.5 MPG less than when towing my old 13' Burro!



The day after getting home, I drove to the DMV (Dept of Licensing in WA), showed my ID, the customs form, the manuf declaration of origin, and my bill of Sale (all of which is was conveniently in the envelope handed to me at pickup), paid the tax and licensing fees, received my plates and tags, and was on my way. One note: if you're financing, be sure to have the lienholder's info, as it isn't shown on the Bill of Sale - fortunately I had an email with all the info on my phone.


So, a painless experience that didn't take long at all.

[Ops]

Congrats on your 21NE.
Your stated towing experience with the E2 Fastway was identical to ours.
Sounds like a positive experience from the get-go. I'm sure there's going to be plenty more.

[TahoeJoe]

Nice, and congrats!!!

Regarding the financing: how exactly did that work, as far as getting the bank whatever they needed to pay Escape, so that they would release the trailer? Did Escape send you paperwork beforehand that worked for that purpose? I've been having this discussion in another forum, it's like a chicken and egg problem: Escape says they need payment before giving you the trailer, but the banks say they need you to receive the trailer before they pay...

[felix2]

Originally Posted by TahoeJoe

Nice, and congrats!!!

Regarding the financing: how exactly did that work, as far as getting the bank whatever they needed to pay Escape, so that they would release the trailer? Did Escape send you paperwork beforehand that worked for that purpose? I've been having this discussion in another forum, it's like a chicken and egg problem: Escape says they need payment before giving you the trailer, but the banks say they need you to receive the trailer before they pay...

I used Newcoast Financial, recommended by Escape - they sent the funds to Escape as soon as I sent them a scan of the customs document given to me when I picked up. Basically you qualify for the loan as per normal bank loans for vehicles, and they arrange it all with Escape so you can take possession without having to xfr the funds yourself. Newcoast is used to doing the 'international' transactions because they do a lot of boats too I guess. Go thru the Escape website for US financing contact info/application. The rate is good cheaper than my bank), $499 fee built into the loan, and a pretty painless process overall.


We used the financing to tide us over until I retire in the spring, when we'll pay it off (no penalty for paying it off early).

[steve dunham]

How does Escape do the proper setup on the Fastway E2 WDH for each individual vehicle
when the trailer is in Canada and the vehicle is in the USA ?
I recently had my E2 set up for my Escape 21 and the mechanic said in order to do it properly he needed both my trailer and my vehicle
Just curious or is the trailer owner supposed to do the final setup?

[TahoeJoe]

Originally Posted by felix2

I used Newcoast Financial, recommended by Escape - they sent the funds to Escape as soon as I sent them a scan of the customs document given to me when I picked up. Basically you qualify for the loan as per normal bank loans for vehicles, and they arrange it all with Escape so you can take possession without having to xfr the funds yourself. Newcoast is used to doing the 'international' transactions because they do a lot of boats too I guess. Go thru the Escape website for US financing contact info/application. The rate is good cheaper than my bank), $499 fee built into the loan, and a pretty painless process overall.


We used the financing to tide us over until I retire in the spring, when we'll pay it off (no penalty for paying it off early).

Ah that clears it up, thanks! Did Newcoast give you a good rate? Interest rates should be pretty low right now...

[felix2]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

How does Escape do the proper setup on the Fastway E2 WDH for each individual vehicle
when the trailer is in Canada and the vehicle is in the USA ?
I recently had my E2 set up for my Escape 21 and the mechanic said in order to do it properly he needed both my trailer and my vehicle
Just curious or is the trailer owner supposed to do the final setup?

You have to send ETI the measurement from the ground to the bottom lip of your receiver, and they set the hitch components up for you. Mine fit perfectly.

[felix2]

Originally Posted by TahoeJoe

Ah that clears it up, thanks! Did Newcoast give you a good rate? Interest rates should be pretty low right now...

5.74% APR...as I said, we're paying it off in a few months so i really didn't care about the rate. You might or might not find a lower rate thru your bank...RV loans aren't like home loans or crediit card loans, they tend to have higher rates and especially can limit loan length...probably due to the reputation for the rapid value decline of stick-builts.

[TahoeJoe]

Originally Posted by felix2

5.74% APR...as I said, we're paying it off in a few months so i really didn't care about the rate. You might or might not find a lower rate thru your bank...RV loans aren't like home loans or crediit card loans, they tend to have higher rates and especially can limit loan length...probably due to the reputation for the rapid value decline of stick-builts.

That's a good plan...yeah my Credit Union offers a lower rate, but they may not be able to navigate the international nature of the deal as well as Newcoast does.

[sherminator]

Originally Posted by felix2

We spent Sunday night at a nice place in Lynden, WA, just 20 mins from Sumas - Inn at Lynden - cute town but almost all restaurants closed on Sunday!

There was a time when dancing was outlawed in Lynden, and residents bragged about having more churches than bars, so I don't find it hard to believe it was hard to find an open restaurant on Sunday, especially in these times of Covid. It is a nice place.

I hope you get to use your 21NE soon. Mine is supposed to arrive on Monday, and we plan to spend a week out at Nehalem SP two weeks later.

[cityofdestiny]

Originally Posted by TahoeJoe

That's a good plan...yeah my Credit Union offers a lower rate, but they may not be able to navigate the international nature of the deal as well as Newcoast does.

We tried to finance through our credit union. All was well until they found it was an international transaction.

[TahoeJoe]

Originally Posted by cityofdestiny

We tried to finance through our credit union. All was well until they found it was an international transaction.

Yep I called mine, and they said they can't finance any vehicle coming from Canada (even though they are a big national credit union). So Newcoast it is!

[cityofdestiny]

Newcoast was generally good to deal with. The only challenge was sales tax. They insisted on rolling that into the loan. They wouldn't release funds until they had the customs entry form. We ended up having to pay sales tax out of pocket, then wait for Newcoast to reimburse. Washington tax came to almost $4,000, so that was not a trivial expense.

[TahoeJoe]

Originally Posted by cityofdestiny

Newcoast was generally good to deal with. The only challenge was sales tax. They insisted on rolling that into the loan. They wouldn't release funds until they had the customs entry form. We ended up having to pay sales tax out of pocket, then wait for Newcoast to reimburse. Washington tax came to almost $4,000, so that was not a trivial expense.

What did they do, ask you which state you were registering in and then calculating a tax estimate beforehand and adding it to the loan?

[cityofdestiny]

Yes, that's right.

[Mudhiker]

Originally Posted by cityofdestiny

Newcoast was generally good to deal with. The only challenge was sales tax. They insisted on rolling that into the loan. They wouldn't release funds until they had the customs entry form. We ended up having to pay sales tax out of pocket, then wait for Newcoast to reimburse. Washington tax came to almost $4,000, so that was not a trivial expense.

Usually when sales tax is rolled into a loan... they send it off to the state and provide a receipt. Newcoast doesn't do that? What a mickey-mouse situation.