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Old 11-06-2018, 07:55 AM   #1
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Purchase Process

Is this the purchase process in a nutshell?

1. Pick a production date and put down deposit ($2500).
2. Build sheet due (not sure when?).
3. You have the 'option' of paying balance remainder before orientation when CDN rate favorable.
4. Got to factory for orientation. Pay remainder of trailer balance.
5. Drive to Sumas for trailer pickup.

* I’m guessing Escape notifies you if trailer is ahead or behind schedule for pickup. I understand they can store trailer for up to 3 months if trailer is ready in the middle of winter.

*Is there a 'best time' of year for pickup (weather) if coming from Texas?

thanks
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Old 11-06-2018, 08:22 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jumboscott View Post
Is this the purchase process in a nutshell?

1. Pick a production date and put down deposit ($2500).
2. Build sheet due (not sure when?).
3. You have the 'option' of paying balance remainder before orientation when CDN rate favorable.
4. Got to factory for orientation. Pay remainder of trailer balance.
5. Drive to Sumas for trailer pickup.

* I’m guessing Escape notifies you if trailer is ahead or behind schedule for pickup. I understand they can store trailer for up to 3 months if trailer is ready in the middle of winter.

*Is there a 'best time' of year for pickup (weather) if coming from Texas?

thanks
Your production date is set by Escape, based on availability. The first step is an order/deposit. Escape will notify you when your build sheet is due. Ours was due 30 days prior to the START of production. If your production date were in the middle of winter, Escape will hold the finished trailer for a few months if you prefer to pick it up in Spring. They held ours for about 6 weeks.

You always have the option to pay all up front or wait until pickup, or a mixture of both.

If you want an orientation, that's at the factory, but it's done the day you pick up the trailer. The process for American buyers is to go to the factory on pickup day, get oriented on your new trailer, take care of any outstanding financial matters, then leave and go to Sumas WA. Escape exports the trailer and their driver meets you in Sumas with the trailer.

There's also the option to have the trailer delivered, but delivery is pricey, and you'd miss out on visiting beautiful BC, the orientation, and meeting the folks at the factory.

As for the best times for pickup, we did it in March, which is a tad early but worked out fine. I would say April is ideal if you're headed right back to Texas. Nice cool mornings and moderate temps in the afternoon as you camp along the way.
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Old 11-06-2018, 10:12 AM   #3
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Purchase process

As to timing for when the build sheet is due, in our case our E21 is scheduled for completion on December 7th and our Build Sheet was due in early September. Don't recall the exact date but seems like its due 3 months before completion. ETI wanted us to order and have shipped any custom fabric or flooring or any other things like a Zamp solar port to them by the Build Sheet sign off date. We are planning to pick up the trailer on January 14th so the interior will have a chance to off-gas for a month before we start using it for our 2 month trip to the Southwest.
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Old 11-06-2018, 10:44 AM   #4
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My husband and I are shopping for an E21, and I'm curious about the Zamp solar port you mentioned. Why was that an important option for you?
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Old 11-06-2018, 11:06 AM   #5
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Prime time for pickup is the week before the Escape Rally in May. Coming from far away you may never make it to the area again and it is a great way to meet many fellow Escape owners. Last year there were just under 150 Escape trailers and usually some great weather.
Here is a link to the event.
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f1...lly-14174.html
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Old 11-06-2018, 12:04 PM   #6
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Zamp port

Ellen Harper, we wanted to put a Zamp port in so that would could easily add an additional solar panel to our ETI installed 170w. panel on the roof. A portable panel is adaptable to various conditons like sun angle, shade on the trailer where it is parked and so forth. We live in the Southwest and in the Summer, it sure would be nice to have the trailer parked in the shade and have the portable solar panel sitting in the sun. That was our thinking, anyway.
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Old 11-06-2018, 08:24 PM   #7
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I ordered mine in the summer of '16. The production date was the middle of July '17. Later in the spring of '17, they offered me a sooner date, but I had made specific plans for August of '17. Namely the eclipse. I also sent them a check every few weeks for several thousand dollars by regular mail. Never had a check lost or stolen. One never knows on how the exchange rate will fare over time. I think I owed ETI around a hundred dollars and paid it when I picked it up. Make a good vacation out of your trip.
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Old 11-06-2018, 11:13 PM   #8
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Thanks for the information Chama. All good thoughts about solar, I'll have to check into that!
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Old 11-07-2018, 12:04 AM   #9
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Check out GoPower by Carmanah. They have an 80 and 120 portable solar kit that are very good quality and user friendly. They also sell an 7 pin trailer adapter that allows you to connect the solar unit directly into the trailer or battery. They also sell an extension cord as well. We've been very happy with ours and its an older model, can imagine the newer models are even better. gpelectric.com
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Old 11-07-2018, 10:10 AM   #10
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to the original poster--

here's my understanding (which I think is current). As you said, paying a deposit secures a production date. Unlike Casita, which expects a customer to place an order for a model, with specified options (subject, of course, to revision), Escape simply initiates the process with the deposit and the slot in the production schedule. This puts you in the position of committing to buy without know the exact price, but between their estimating tool and conversations with the sales people, you can have a very good idea. FWIW, my impression is that an Escape typically optioned out runs about 15% over the base price and with the Casita (which is a little more basic) that increase is likely to be more than 20%. I don't know about the other fiberglass manufacturers, and, anyway, YMMV.

I am told the build sheet is due 90 days prior to the production delivery date. So, a March 15 production date would require the build sheet finalization by December 15. I have the impression that they will 'work with you' on that, but after that point you are, technically, in the change order stage.

I believe that final payment is due at at the earlier of 30 days after the production date or at pickup. I.e., you can't drive away waving 'the check is in the mail', but they aren't going to wait three months to get paid because you want good weather for your vacation.

You are right about how they handle importing into the U.S. You cross the border to go the factory for an orientation, then you return empty handed to the states, while they transport the trailer across the border and hand it over to you stateside.

Other nits. The company will store your trailer for as long as you want--the first 90 days is complimentary, after that $100 cdn/month. Unlike, say Oliver, which expects a progress payment when they start production of the unit, Escape's payment requirements are, a deposit to start the process and payment in full at the end. But they are happy to accept early payments from US customers who want, in effect, to dollar cost average their exchange rate exposure. I get the sense that for Canadian manufacturers, managing exchange rate exposure to the U.S. dollar is one of life's little unpleasantries, so they are pretty sympathetic to customers trying to deal with exchange rates and cross border transfers of funds. They'll accommodate you, as long as it doesn't cost them or put them at risk.
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Old 11-07-2018, 12:44 PM   #11
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to the original poster--

here's my understanding (which I think is current). As you said, paying a deposit secures a production date. Unlike Casita, which expects a customer to place an order for a model, with specified options (subject, of course, to revision), Escape simply initiates the process with the deposit and the slot in the production schedule. This puts you in the position of committing to buy without know the exact price, but between their estimating tool and conversations with the sales people, you can have a very good idea. FWIW, my impression is that an Escape typically optioned out runs about 15% over the base price and with the Casita (which is a little more basic) that increase is likely to be more than 20%. I don't know about the other fiberglass manufacturers, and, anyway, YMMV.

I am told the build sheet is due 90 days prior to the production delivery date. So, a March 15 production date would require the build sheet finalization by December 15. I have the impression that they will 'work with you' on that, but after that point you are, technically, in the change order stage.

I believe that final payment is due at at the earlier of 30 days after the production date or at pickup. I.e., you can't drive away waving 'the check is in the mail', but they aren't going to wait three months to get paid because you want good weather for your vacation.

You are right about how they handle importing into the U.S. You cross the border to go the factory for an orientation, then you return empty handed to the states, while they transport the trailer across the border and hand it over to you stateside.

Other nits. The company will store your trailer for as long as you want--the first 90 days is complimentary, after that $100 cdn/month. Unlike, say Oliver, which expects a progress payment when they start production of the unit, Escape's payment requirements are, a deposit to start the process and payment in full at the end. But they are happy to accept early payments from US customers who want, in effect, to dollar cost average their exchange rate exposure. I get the sense that for Canadian manufacturers, managing exchange rate exposure to the U.S. dollar is one of life's little unpleasantries, so they are pretty sympathetic to customers trying to deal with exchange rates and cross border transfers of funds. They'll accommodate you, as long as it doesn't cost them or put them at risk.
Seneca, you are pretty well bang on with your summary, although not sure about your summary of the price including options being 15% over the base. For our 17, we had more than 20 and we didn't choose all the options by any means, but we added quite a few that not all wanted. But then we also left quite a few on the table too. WE met one couple at the 2017 Escape Rally who when describing their 21 said it was more a case of what options they didn't get vs what they did.

Most customers, once they have secured their production date and paid their deposit, were happy to spend some considerable time asking questions and doing research before finalizing their options so that one they got to the 3 month cut-off date for build sheet finalization they were about as final as they can be. Although actual production doesn't start until a bit later in the process, it does allow Escape to optimize their inventory and production sourcing cycle so they minimize inventory carry and also the cost of delivery of components. These guys really are a small family owned manufacturing business working out of a small facility about one hour east of Vancouver, Canada, and you cannot blame them for mitigating their risks. Apart from the $2,500 deposit, they don't ask for progress payments and in my mind what they are asking is not unreasonable at all. So asking for a last minute change order may seem pricey, it does upset their apple cart, so asking to be compensated for the extra effort of special ordering parts isn't unreasonable. The other thing, they keep to their production date promises. I don't think I have ever read of anyone complaining about a missed completion date.

These guys are worth dealing with.
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Old 11-07-2018, 06:25 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by Chama View Post
Ellen Harper, we wanted to put a Zamp port in so that would could easily add an additional solar panel to our ETI installed 170w. panel on the roof. A portable panel is adaptable to various conditons like sun angle, shade on the trailer where it is parked and so forth. We live in the Southwest and in the Summer, it sure would be nice to have the trailer parked in the shade and have the portable solar panel sitting in the sun. That was our thinking, anyway.
Angle of the panel can make an enormous difference. I have a portable 85w panel that provided DOUBLE the input that my flat mounted 150w panel was providing! That really helped on a few cold and cloudy days!
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Old 11-07-2018, 07:45 PM   #13
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Angle of the panel can make an enormous difference. I have a portable 85w panel that provided DOUBLE the input that my flat mounted 150w panel was providing! That really helped on a few cold and cloudy days!
Thanks Anne, that is really good information. We have not taken the plunge to purchase our first RV, but I absolutely love reading all the expertise on this site.
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Old 11-08-2018, 09:23 AM   #14
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Thanks Anne, that is really good information. We have not taken the plunge to purchase our first RV, but I absolutely love reading all the expertise on this site.
Have to say that 99% of the time, my flat mounted panel is perfectly adequate.
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Old 11-08-2018, 09:43 AM   #15
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Have to say that 99% of the time, my flat mounted panel is perfectly adequate.
We feel that we want to minimize effort in our camping and have a relatively low power demand too, we don’t do instapot camping nor have a microwave etc. The standard roof top panel works just fine. Sure it’s not necessarily always working at its most efficient but it doesn’t have to be moved and it won’t get stolen.
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