E2 Fastway Drop Bar Question

[MVA]

I recall when I installed a different shank drop, Fastway technical support told me the spec is 0"-1" nose down from level.

[WillyB]

Linda at Escape sent me this form from their "Resident Hitch Expert". I have since asked for much more detail because it's a completely useless document. First, it does not provide the dimension of the drop and secondly Fastway does not make "8 Hole" Drops. They are all 6 Hole with varying dimensions of drop.

I mean, what the heck! I am paying them much more money for the Fastway hitch by about $200. I am willing to do this because they set up the hitch for my truck. But now they are wanting $115 more and have yet to be able to tell me why.

I'm from "The Show Me State". So "Show Me" why I need to pay more money for something that is not sold by Fastway.

I know Escape reads this forum because they have reached out to me on other things before. Like the lack of bed support structure on the 21C. Fortunately my wife and I are small and I know how to use tools to repair this.

Such a simple request

[MVA]

Clearly ETI appears to be using a non-Fastway hitch shank; neither good or bad. As a complication to your considerations, F150's have soft springs. Hence depending on how you plan to load the bed, your unhitched hitch height may be lower from your current measurement.

2 cents

[MVA]

Bill - found this pic when we were on Natchez Trace this spring. Note that shank is low but not too low and trailer is slightly pitched down. E19 and E21 should have the same coupler height but hitch weight is higher with E21; hence adjustments will be different. Hope this helps in your decision process.

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by MVA

Clearly ETI appears to be using a non-Fastway hitch shank; neither good or bad. As a complication to your considerations, F150's have soft springs. Hence depending on how you plan to load the bed, your unhitched hitch height may be lower from your current measurement.

2 cents

My thought exactly. Contractually that's part of the reason why I want to know the details before signing a contract with Escape.

I am buying a hitch from Escape Trailer, who owns a F150 as a TV, and would expect clear documentation for the proper setup.

We are not planning on a lot of weight in the bed but you never know.

You can tell I'm quickly becoming disappointed in such a simple piece of our journey with Escape Trailer.

[Rossue]

WillyB- with respect it seems to me you are getting a bit hung up in the weeds. Or Buyer's Remorse. You don't need a WDH for an F-150 first of all for any Escape- and especially for a 21C. Plenty of tongue weight. The only reason I use it for my Expedition is to reduce some clanking on the ball & proposing. There is no safety concern however. So you could wait and get set up back home if that suits you.

And btw, I've only heard one, maybe two perfectionist types complain here about the bed framing. We've had ours almost 8 years now with zero issues and we're not midgets. Never hear it creak either.

One of the major downsides of having to wait so long is Advanced Cognitive Dissonance. It'll be great- focus on that!

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by Rossue

WillyB- with respect it seems to me you are getting a bit hung up in the weeds. Or Buyer's Remorse. You don't need a WDH for an F-150 first of all for any Escape- and especially for a 21C. Plenty of tongue weight. The only reason I use it for my Expedition is to reduce some clanking on the ball & proposing. There is no safety concern however. So you could wait and get set up back home if that suits you.

And btw, I've only heard one, maybe two perfectionist types complain here about the bed framing. We've had ours almost 8 years now with zero issues and we're not midgets. Never hear it creak either.

One of the major downsides of having to wait so long is Advanced Cognitive Dissonance. It'll be great- focus on that!

Yes, I am a bit of a perfectionist. Especially when I'm handing someone $42,000 of my hard earned cash. We are not wealthy by any stretch so it's a ton of money for us. Even more so since I've incurred sizable medical bills due to my cancer treatment over the last year and a half. On a positive note my Oncologist said I'm doing great.

We pulled the trigger on the deposit right after chemo and he said I was in remission. Life is short.

But that's really beside the point when I am signing a contract. Contracts have consequences if one does not confirm issues before hand. Escape should be able to answer my question about this without delay. I will not make assumptions on a contract.

As far as a WDH goes, I'm only getting it to prevent that clickity clack when not using one. To me, it's just annoying.

I'm sure I'll get the answer from Escape and it will be all fine. No buyer's remorse here.

[cpaharley2008]

It is amazing the number of Escape owners who went through chemotherapy, myself included, and that process changed their minds on life making decisions. We no longer put to off things to tomorrow as we know tomorrow is here today!

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

It is amazing the number of Escape owners who went through chemotherapy, myself included, and that process changed their minds on life making decisions. We no longer put to off things to tomorrow as we know tomorrow is here today!

This may sound strange, I wish I could have gone through this in my 20's because it ended up changing my perspective. But to me at least it has been a freeing experience. Somehow I now see and feel the things around me rather than feeling like I've been looking out of a window watching it all pass by.

I don't want to wish time away but...... "Come on October!", Papa needs his brand new Escape.

[WillyB]

Here is the famous Escape 8-Hole Drop Bar with dimensions.

[Northwest]

I have a 2019 F350 with 18” drop. This is the message I got from Escape.

Your build sheet has been updated with the E2 by Fastway Weight Distribution hitch and based on your hitch height the standard 6-hole drop bar will be sufficient. 😊

I’m picking up the trailer this Friday. I’ll update after towing home.

[dlakeman]

Opinions are like ***holes, everybody has one! I had a 2020 F-150. When I purchased my 2021 21E I relied on Escape to provide the E2 properly set up. I didn't look on any Forum for other people's opinions. Escape said I needed the different shank. Ok, Escape knows best. When my 21E was delivered, and I attached the E2 to my F-150, the setup was perfect.

[Radar1]

I can't give any insight to towing the 21C, but years ago I heard Reace mention that if you had a pickup or van with a hearty tongue weight capacity you could just try your camper without WDH and see how you like it.
We picked up our 19 almost 2 years ago with our Ford Ranger, it has a 750 lb tongue weight capacity and over 1700 lb payload capacity. Did not order a WDH and decided to try the return trip without one and then decide.
I was amazed how smoothly the rig rode without WDH and have decided our setup does not need one.

[Illinois Joe]

Originally Posted by WillyB

Hey Escape Wizards!

I have a Ford F150 with an 18 1/2" height to the bottom of my receiver on the truck for our upcoming 21C.

Linda at Escape Trailers is saying I need an E2 Fastway 8 Hole Drop Bar.

That seems awful long. Is that correct?

It looks like you've received a lot of advice already, but here's my take. I purchased the e2 hitch on my own and brought it with. Saved me a couple of hundred dollars. But I did have to set up the hitch by myself in Bob's Burgers parking lot in the full sun and 90F last summer in July. I'm not sure it was worth the money saved. I purchased the e2 round bar model (instead of the e2 trunnion model that Escape sells). I have eventually settled on a set up that places the top of the hitch ball at 21 1/2" before adding the trailer. After installing the trailer and hooking up weight distribution bars the ball height has dropped to 19 to 19 1/2" depending on the load in the back of the truck. I have a 2020 F150 XLT with the short bed and the Escape 21NE. Are you picking up the trailer at Escape or somewhere in US? If at Escape, and the set up is wrong then they could do something about it.

[YakRV]

My experience: I ordered the E2 by Fastway hitch Escape offers because, as someone with zero towing experience, I wanted the confidence that a wdh provides. Melisa asked me to measure the hitch on my 2021 F-150 with instructions on where to measure from. I sent back the measurement, and when we picked up our 21C in Sumas on the June 13th the hitch was ready go. Fits perfect.

Heading to Yellowstone (yes the Great Flood has wiped out four nights camping in the park) we’ve driven up and down steep grades through downpours, passed 18-wheelers on tight two lane roads, and been hit by a 50mph cross wind gust that scared the life out of us. The only time the truck and 21C moved abruptly was that 50mph gust. Otherwise they’ve been rock solid. I’m extremely happy we got the E2 by Fastway. YMMV

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by Illinois Joe

It looks like you've received a lot of advice already, but here's my take. I purchased the e2 hitch on my own and brought it with. Saved me a couple of hundred dollars. But I did have to set up the hitch by myself in Bob's Burgers parking lot in the full sun and 90F last summer in July. I'm not sure it was worth the money saved. I purchased the e2 round bar model (instead of the e2 trunnion model that Escape sells). I have eventually settled on a set up that places the top of the hitch ball at 21 1/2" before adding the trailer. After installing the trailer and hooking up weight distribution bars the ball height has dropped to 19 to 19 1/2" depending on the load in the back of the truck. I have a 2020 F150 XLT with the short bed and the Escape 21NE. Are you picking up the trailer at Escape or somewhere in US? If at Escape, and the set up is wrong then they could do something about it.

As of today we are planning to pick up in Sumas but there is a chance we might have it delivered to Bozeman.

We decided to buy the E2 from Escape mainly because of not wanting to set it up in a parking lot after a long journey. Our current completion date is in late October so snow in Bozeman is on the radar.

Thanks for sharing.

[WillyB]

YakRV,

Thanks for the vote of confidence on the E2. Too bad you had to miss out on Yellowstone.

[YakRV]

Originally Posted by WillyB

YakRV,

Thanks for the vote of confidence on the E2. Too bad you had to miss out on Yellowstone.

You’re welcome. It’s working out really well for this total newbie so far.

As for Yellowstone, yes, big time bummer but there’s always next year.

[Radar1]

Originally Posted by WillyB

As of today we are planning to pick up in Sumas but there is a chance we might have it delivered to Bozeman.

We decided to buy the E2 from Escape mainly because of not wanting to set it up in a parking lot after a long journey. Our current completion date is in late October so snow in Bozeman is on the radar.

Thanks for sharing.

We planned to pick up our 19 in Sumas Oct 26, 2020, but as the date got closer and the weather forecast changed, we were able to get it delivered to Missoula, MT, which saved us an extra 2 days of driving each way from GA. We had hoped to visit the Cascades on the way back but most of those campgrounds are closed starting in Oct.
Turned out the snowstorm started on our way out, in SD hills.
On the advice of someone, we asked that the Escape be winterized. When we picked it up in Missoula, it was the first time our tow vehicle registered a minus sign in front of the (F) temperature, so we were glad it was winterized.
Our first campsite was in Helena MT at a National Guard base that luckily didn't close until the day after we passed through. Took a few more days before it was warm enough to add water to the tank.

[cpaharley2008]

You are lucky to have it delivered to Missoula, enjoy!