1st 3 weeks-options- glad I got or not!

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I hear they all love chocolate in the office, maybe worth the surprise package that arrives and then you calling for a change, they may overlook those pesky change order fees sometimes.

Hi: cpaharley2008... Bribery will get you everywhere!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[santacruzer]

I've never showered with our outdoor shower, but it does come in handy for hosing off the dog when necessary, and I really like hosing out the stinky slinky with hot water after dumping the tanks.

[Viajante]

Give the solar display a little time. At first you are interested in when it charges, how much it charges, charge %, etc. Then you realize it's just up there on the roof doing it's job and you can forget about it.

[sumac.rhus]

Always good to hear people generally happy with choices made! May sound lazy, but am thinking if something too high or low to read, I will reach with my cell phone and take a snapshot. As good as a periscope

[sumac.rhus]

Am looking forward to outdoor shower especially in muddy times.
Also had the experience of learning later than sooner that a friend was very sensitive to poison ivy.... Hadn't realized it would be the prime season. Stupid on my part, I guess - Most people ARE sensitive - I've been maybe lucky so far. Anyhow....hiking in Hells Canyon with my dog and dear friend, through impressive poison ivy areas. Had to wash dog down well before my friend dared pat her - worked wonders - especially since that was back in my tenting days.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by santacruzer

I've never showered with our outdoor shower, but it does come in handy for hosing off the dog when necessary, and I really like hosing out the stinky slinky with hot water after dumping the tanks.

On the front side it also works great for use with cooking, and a great outdoor wash station.

[rbryan4]

An excellent write up of your impressions after several weeks, Nancy. We pretty much agree with most of them.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[gbaglo]

Buy the optional all-weather mats for your tow vehicle and you can use them to stand on while showering outside. Keeps mud from splattering up on your legs.

[Ljswany]

Thank you so much, Quilting Lady, for your post. We're quickly approaching the due date for our 19 footer Build Sheet and getting your input helps calm the nerves a little bit. Like everybody here, we want our decisions to be "perfect" for us but live with that nagging feeling that we will have regrets but you help me know that the little regrets will be dwarfed by all the great decisions we find we made!

[The Quilting Lady]

Originally Posted by Ljswany

Thank you so much, Quilting Lady, for your post. We're quickly approaching the due date for our 19 footer Build Sheet and getting your input helps calm the nerves a little bit. Like everybody here, we want our decisions to be "perfect" for us but live with that nagging feeling that we will have regrets but you help me know that the little regrets will be dwarfed by all the great decisions we find we made!

I definitely know the feeling. I asked questions ad nauseum on the forum. Not just for the build sheet either. After we turned that in I started asking about all the other things that I needed to bring that we would need down to the paper
towel holder. I got excellent advice and really felt we were prepared for our west coast traveling.
I got tickled at the rally when folks were surprised that we had only just picked up the trailer 9 days before, because we had done several things for it or to it and that included my decorating. As mentioned before. The only way that I can enjoy living in such small quarters is to make it pretty. Thankfully my husband is okay with that. My response to those who were surprised was... "Well we had a year to get ready for it." By the time we had packed our car so high to go to Chilliwack we looked like we were a couple of horders.
We planned to stay in Chilliwack 2 nights after picking up our trailer to make sure things were working right. We stayed at a little rv park across the highway from ETI.
I knew it was going to be a job unpacking and setting up for our long adventurous journey home so I had everything grouped in boxes with labels of what was inside. I told my husband the first night we were only unpacking bathroom and bedstuff, just survival stuff. After going back and forth through customs back into Chilliwack that was enough for the first night and for our marriage! Didn't want to stress ourselves doing something new. We went out for dinner with a couple of other new Escapees we were camping close to across the highway from ETI and did a small grocery run before going to bed. The next day we set up our kitchen, hung up some stuff and moved the rest of the stuff in the trailer before leaving the next day on our adventures towards the rally.

It ended up being a great plan. Things went relatively smoothly. What I would do next time is pack in carboard boxes so I could get rid of them afterwards. The clear plastic ones were handy to see things through and a few were small enough to store things under the bed.

It was nice being with the other couple Art and Ginger. We found out about them on the forum and that they were picking theirs up the day before us and had similar plans.

Going to the rally was also very helpful. We met several others who gave us a lot of advice that helped so much!

Good Luck and God Bless.
Gotta go put some bug screens on our vents... we live in Texas with all those nasty muddabers!

[Ginger]

We picked our trailer up the day before Nancy and Walter, Quilting Lady. We learned a lot on our trip home, too. Nancy's colors are beautiful! However, she did spend quite a bit of time at the hardware store at Osoyoos shopping for a mop ( Just had to share ). We went with the standard flooring and are really pleased. It is light , but still has enough color that will not show dirt, even with the dogs.
We did not get the front window,but there were several times when I wished I could see what was going on out front. We opted for the shelf which we found out is very narrow. It will not hold my husband's CPAP as planned. It also prevents sitting up in bed. I was warned, but thought I could make it work.
The remote on the Maxx fan is a luxury that I sometimes wish I had gotten.
We did not get the microwave,but bought a convection oven instead. That works really well and fits under the stove top. That gave me my favorite thing in the trailer. A very large cabinet where Micro was suppose to go. I can put large bags, my purse, computer, jackets, books, maps and other things that normally just get laid around.
We liked our little excerise step below regular step, but bought the adjustable step from amazon. The trailor step is a little narrow for me and the adjustable one can be set even with the step to make a larger landing.
Art added the sand pads after we picked trailer up. He loves the power jack and front storage.
We added the extra door under the bed and it has become the dog area. So far we have not needed the storage space. Just latch the outside door if you use it this way or it becomes an escape hatch for the dogs.
We may miss the outdoor shower when we are the beach with grandkids, but probably not otherwise.
We have the regular bench dinette. We love the large table. Getting in and out and stretching out is still a work in progress. We are looking at the removable base that Iowa Dave has.
I spent days reading eveything that was shared on the forum while planning our Escape. Hopefully, this will help others. Thanks for starting this, Nancy.

[Nrgtic4]

Nancy,
Your trailer sounds beautiful! :-) Would love to see your colors (if you have any pictures) My husband, Pete, is an artist and surrounding ourselves with color and decorating our trailer (that "cute factor" you mentioned ) is as important to us as the options we picked. We get to pick up ours in 8 weeks.

[Bobbie54]

Ginger, which step did you buy?

I just made a very short one (for Jack, not me) to take on a trip starting tomorrow, but would like to buy one for long term use. I had a great plastic step for the Campster but it was too tall to work here. I made one about 2" tall but really 4" would be better.

[advenas]

Picked up my 17B in March. Did buy tan carpet runners at Lowes for the floor. Figured it would help with being able to keep dirt off the floor, easy to shake out and kept the dog nails from scratching up the linoleum. Used the trailer for nine days over the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend. Worked great. Need a few mods for organizing things but otherwise really very happy with my purchase.

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by advenas

Picked up my 17B in March. Did buy tan carpet runners at Lowes for the floor. Figured it would help with being able to keep dirt off the floor, easy to shake out and kept the dog nails from scratching up the linoleum. Used the trailer for nine days over the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend. Worked great. Need a few mods for organizing things but otherwise really very happy with my purchase.

I ended up buying another soggy dog mat for mine- used one I had at home for the first long trip and it was great but wanted one dedicated for the trailer. Doesn't show dirt and hair much and machine washable, and just fits the aisle in the 15. Second smaller mat for doorway.

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

Ginger, which step did you buy?

I just made a very short one (for Jack, not me) to take on a trip starting tomorrow, but would like to buy one for long term use. I had a great plastic step for the Campster but it was too tall to work here. I made one about 2" tall but really 4" would be better.

Camco 43676 adjustable height aluminum platform step. I think it was about $56.

[Bobbie54]

Thanks. That might be perfect for what we need.

[The Quilting Lady]

Originally Posted by Ginger

We picked our trailer up the day before Nancy and Walter, Quilting Lady. We learned a lot on our trip home, too. Nancy's colors are beautiful! However, she did spend quite a bit of time at the hardware store at Osoyoos shopping for a mop ( Just had to share ). We went with the standard flooring and are really pleased. It is light , but still has enough color that will not show dirt, even with the dogs.
We did not get the front window,but there were several times when I wished I could see what was going on out front. We opted for the shelf which we found out is very narrow. It will not hold my husband's CPAP as planned. It also prevents sitting up in bed. I was warned, but thought I could make it work.
The remote on the Maxx fan is a luxury that I sometimes wish I had gotten.
We did not get the microwave,but bought a convection oven instead. That works really well and fits under the stove top. That gave me my favorite thing in the trailer. A very large cabinet where Micro was suppose to go. I can put large bags, my purse, computer, jackets, books, maps and other things that normally just get laid around.
We liked our little excerise step below regular step, but bought the adjustable step from amazon. The trailor step is a little narrow for me and the adjustable one can be set even with the step to make a larger landing.
Art added the sand pads after we picked trailer up. He loves the power jack and front storage.
We added the extra door under the bed and it has become the dog area. So far we have not needed the storage space. Just latch the outside door if you use it this way or it becomes an escape hatch for the dogs.
We may miss the outdoor shower when we are the beach with grandkids, but probably not otherwise.
We have the regular bench dinette. We love the large table. Getting in and out and stretching out is still a work in progress. We are looking at the removable base that Iowa Dave has.
I spent days reading eveything that was shared on the forum while planning our Escape. Hopefully, this will help others. Thanks for starting this, Nancy.

Yes, Ginger, Walter agrees with Art on the power jack as we get older we need all the power we can get. And Walter also loves the storage box up front. I forgot to mention that.
And the remote fan, it is a nice luxury. Either Walter is hot and wants it on or I am freezing and want it off... or then again maybe it is the hot flash thing. I velcroed the remote on my side of the bed and love it. Walter wasn't all that excited about adding it to our build sheet, but I remembered getting out of bed quite a bit in our Casita to turn it on or off... It was a girl thing! Comprimise: You can have the power jack if I can have the remote fan.

And if your dog sleeps under the bed, I agree with Ginger, make sure the underbed door is locked. I wondered why Dexter was outside barking at 4 in the morning.
Yeah, Ginger, I finally found the quick easy mop, just took a few trials and it was a great excuse to go back to that fun store.

Ginger, Walt and I are hoping to see you again soon!

[Cslcs25]

Nancy, we would love to see some pics of the interior!

[The Quilting Lady]

HI Jim, a couple of thoughts on the Dicor, Springfield table. We worked on it yesterday again and found:

We had tilting or leaning for two reasons.
1. the plate from the Springfield was put on upside down because when we had someone cut it to size and redrill the holes they did it on the wrong side. In other words the screw holes that went down into the pedestal was not beveled as they should be and it caused the screws to loosen and eventually wobble really bad. So those beveled screw holes makes it much more tighter and stable, so we flipped that plate over and used the beveled holes.

2. You are correct about being tight, but if it is too tight then the pedestal will not go up and down. but being as tight as it can helps, plus I found that if I grip the pedestal and pull it back towards me as I tighten the cams it really helps to keep it straight.
I hope this helps. It may still be leaning a little bit when it is extended fully. We will see how it does on our next trip.
Nancy

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Good thoughts on what worked for you, or not, Nancy.

We have never had a microwave in a trailer, and really do not miss it. At home it heats leftovers, something we try not to have while camping. If you ever wish, it would be easy to remove and add a door for storage.

We did not get the inverter either, but now wish we had. Lisa wants it more than I do, but I still think it will be beneficial in the long run. A $950 option, and the parts to do the same setup cost me $750, plus I expect it to take a few hours to install. Hindsight, eh?

I am having the same issue with the Springfield pedestal and Dicor slide. I checked this out very closely. The issue is not with the slide at all, but with the pedestal, which tilts away from the cam latches, especially if the weight is mostly away from them. I did tighten the nuts on the cam locks which are still easy to latch, and this helped quite a bit, but still left the table top listing. I have not had time to do anything further, but will tighten the nuts on the cam lock to the point they are as tight as I can handle latching to see what that will do.