Escape alternatives

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

Don’t forget the new fiberglass trailer coming out by the respected company Northern Lite right here in my home town of Kelowna BC and sold throughout North America.
I am not sure of the exact arrangement but Northern Lite and Escape have some sort of business affiliation.
Take a spin to see the 4 season unit.
https://youtu.be/prMvDiizJ7M
More info on the Northern Lite web page.

Really nicely executed trailer . Something to give some serious thought to over the Winter .

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

I am not sure of the exact arrangement but Northern Lite and Escape have some sort of business affiliation.

Northern Lite and Escape Trailer Industries are both owned by KV Private Equity, a hedge fund. Northern Lite was purchased a year or so before ETI was purchased.

[yangstyle]

Originally Posted by TahoeJoe

Have they released any hints about pricing for this beauty? It's a bit too long for me, but still curious...

In Eggscapes you tube link, in the comment section they say "in the 60K range, not yet finalized". There's more info on their website, it looks quite nice and is a 4 season trailer but that's too much money for me.

[Eggscape]

Originally Posted by EdColorado

All the RV’s we have been looking at recently are made in Canada!

Escape, Bigfoot and Leisure Travel Van. And now Northern Lite.

Canada rocks when it comes to building quality RV’s.

To be more exact...the province of BC in Canada rocks, as Escape, Bigfoot, Northern Lite and Armadillo are all within 4 hours of each other.

On the other end of the size spectrum and 1 hour drive from Northern Lite is the Armadillo group that makes two sizes of fiberglass trailers that resemble ones that started it all.

Really nicely done thought out from their modern interiors to an available under body sliding aluminum storage tray. However they are pricey...if you put all the features into it that an Escape 17 has...they work out to be ruffly the same price. You really must want or need a small trailer to pay that much.

Here is a little video on their smallest unit.
https://youtu.be/zoRpeqDXkp4

https://www.armadillotrailers.net/

[gbaglo]

Armadillo also has almost no windows.

[crnelson]

Those are nice trailers, heavy

[Ops]

We had been looking at Bigfoot, Oliver and Escape over the last 3-4 years after moving to BC. We'd had a 1971 Boler that we were in the process of renovating when the process stalled due to family needs.

We subsequently gave it to a daughter/son-in-law as a wedding present and started to look for a brand new "egg".

Pricing and value for dollar rapidly changed as the Canadian dollar lost value against the Oliver trailers, Bigfoot was leaping up in price and the only one that remained in reach was Escape.

All 3 were and are quality built units, and after recognizing the value of a "fiberglass egg" we stayed the course and finally ordered and bought our 21NE. Thankfully we got into the game before the "virus" hit and changed everything, from travel plans to order fulfillment schedules.

We're very happy with our choice, and towing it with our Tundra is not even close to being a challenge.

[cpaharley2008]

I find it ironic that the owners of both Escape and Northern Lite, known as brother and sister corporations due to their shared ownership interests, will be releasing 2 different competing 23' models? Similar to Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee competition by Chrysler/Fiat.

[steve dunham]

It seems when anyone comes out with a new fiberglass trailer line that the only thing new is the form , while the function portion stays the same .
To me it’s like moving the deck chairs around on a sinking Titanic in an effort to save the ship
I don’t object to the price level if the reliability / quality matches or exceeds the price , if not then I might as well stick with what I have .
At my age I am more concerned with cost of ownership , reliability ,good engineering , etc ( IE : I’d rather spend my time camping )
Spending my time repairing defects/ failures has lost its appeal and I am looking for a true alternative .

[TahoeJoe]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I find it ironic that the owners of both Escape and Northern Lite, known as brother and sister corporations due to their shared ownership interests, will be releasing 2 different competing 23' models? Similar to Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee competition by Chrysler/Fiat.

The Boreal is quite a bit bigger...total length is 27'6"

[Bobbito]

Our 2002 Nash trailer had 2 very slow leaks that weren’t evident until 5 years on. Fixing cost me $6800. Thereafter I was super diligent, in fact if you look at the Google street view of our home it still shows me recaulking the trailer. Following that photo we had another leak (discovered in 2014) that wasn’t apparent until it was too late. The estimate for the repair was at least $5000. We sold the trailer for peanuts and looked for a Bigfoot before discovering our beautiful Escape 21. While at the RV dealer’s service centre I saw them repairing leak damage on a new Arctic Fox that had sat on their lot in the rain. I also encountered other Northwood trailer owners who had leaks.
When we got our Escape I was so impressed with the better quality. Our hot water heater in the Nash blew out from any strong winds, never mind trying to tow while lit. Our stove’s elements were harder to light and its ignition parts often came off driving the same roads we take with our Escape. Oh, and despite the floor insulation we find the floor on our Escape warmer in cold weather. I was surprised that the Escape’s spray on foam was as effective as that.
Oh, and our Nash came with a break issue. One of the wheels had an internal, invisible break in a wire to its brake.

Then there was the explosion in the new Nash that was being prepped for us for pickup in 2002. Not a trailer quality issue, but a dealer service one. Some service dept mechanic scavenged a part from the new trailer’s fridge for another trailer and was fired for some other reason. This was discovered during dealer prep for our Nash. They turned the fridge on and walked away. Later they heard a boom and the side of the trailer had a blast hole. Trailer was a write off. So BCRV Sales offered us a deal on a slightly more deluxe trailer. I wish we had walked away and found an Escape, but they weren’t in business yet.

Enough said.

Bob K

[Micheal K]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Armadillo also has almost no windows.

True for the smaller model but not true for the new larger “Backpack” model.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Micheal K

True for the smaller model but not true for the new larger “Backpack” model.

Curious. What's that awning supposed to accomplish. Awning on my 17B is almost the length of the trailer and still, the sun manages to get around it.

[Micheal K]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Curious. What's that awning supposed to accomplish. Awning on my 17B is almost the length of the trailer and still, the sun manages to get around it.

Their website has a picture of it deployed. It extends to the sides as well as straight out. No vertical supports. Seems a bit sketchy. Overall though, I think the trailer looks really good.

Edit: Awning is a https://www.shadyboy.com/the-awning/ and it can be set up with vertical supports.

[emers382]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Spending my time repairing defects/ failures has lost its appeal and I am looking for a true alternative .

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that there seems to be more complaints about new Escapes (usually minor issues) these days both on the forum and on the Escape facebook group? Is it because the quality has gone down or because there are so many more new owners?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by emers382

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that there seems to be more complaints about new Escapes (usually minor issues) these days both on the forum and on the Escape facebook group? Is it because the quality has gone down or because there are so many more new owners?

I think it's both. Every year adds hundreds of trailers and thus hundreds of opportunities for an occasional problem to crop up, the existence of more forums (including Facebook groups) provides more opportunities for problems to become apparent, and there has been one real issue that has only recently appeared and is getting significant attention (the grey waste tank fitting failures).

[azjack]

After reading a few problems on different trailers including the 17 I went out and looked. Then I cut piece of the 1 1/2 pipe out and replaced it with a rubber coupling and additional support with additional plumbers tape. Now I feel as though I could take off if I decide to a safe place.
AZjack

[Dcboyd]

Originally Posted by azjack

After reading a few problems on different trailers including the 17 I went out and looked. Then I cut piece of the 1 1/2 pipe out and replaced it with a rubber coupling and additional support with additional plumbers tape. Now I feel as though I could take off if I decide to a safe place.
AZjack

My 21C will arrive in Mid Dec. I have already purchased 4 flexible coupling and proper pipe hanger brackets. Also trying to get Escape to add and additional tank hanger (not straps) at midpoint on both grey and fresh water tanks.

[WillyB]

Hopefully the private equity group doesn’t turn these companies into Low Quality, High Production producers that generate high profits for the private equity group.

Like all private equity groups that I’ve been involved with they reduce costs by 25% (labor and material) and demand higher production.

Good for “the business” but bad for the consumer.

[JeffreyG]

Coming from stick built, I knew I wanted a fiberglass hull camper. The only one I'd ever heard of was Casita. Looked at those, and Scamp, and just didn't find what we wanted (nothing against those trailers, just did not find quite what we were looking for).

Then I expanded the search and found Oliver and Escape.

My initial rejection of Oliver was simply due to cost. They look fabulous but they are pricey.

Found Escape, the 19' is literally perfect for our needs. Now my big problem is the wait list is too long. I really would prefer to have a trailer for at least some of the 2021 season, but that does not look plausible.

I circled back to Oliver for just that reason (the lead time), but as I study them they again just are not quite hitting the mark for us specifically. The Elite is just a bit too small (52" bed) and the Elite II is just a bit too big (4900# dry weight locks me into a 7000lb+ tow vehicle forever).

Other observations on the Elite II that have nothing to do with the very nice build features:
1) Storage is seemingly favored over cooking. The stove and fridge selections are pretty small for a 23' trailer as compared to even the Escape 21'
2) Not a lot of windows. I know that's a deal breaker for my wife.

These thoughts are kind of specific to us, and I am really still tempted by an Oliver simply because I think I could get my hands on one by spring. And I do like a lot of the features. But the high cost + not exactly the right design for us means it's a 'no'.