Ready to Commit!

Steve R · 06-10-2015, 09:44 AM

I'm ready to order a 17' Escape. I'm going to give myself one week for intensive research and as a cool-down period.

Are these trailers really the best of the best if one simply wants a light weight high quality trailer?

Appreciate any last minute comments from those who have gone before me.

Thanks.

kstock11 · 06-10-2015, 11:18 AM

You are going to get a biased opinion here. Not only have most of us voted with our wallets, but many are on their second Escape. (Adjustments for size; aka 2 foot itis) Many Escape owners have had other RV's and moved to an Escape. My wife and I moved from tent to Escape and love it.

M.W.Deters · 06-10-2015, 11:34 AM

I did a huge amount of research before placing my deposit last month on a 21'. Unlike virtually every other TT, Escapes just don't appear to have many quality issues. Owners seem genuinely satisfied with their purchases as you'll see. Another bonus is the U.S. dollar vs. Cad Dollar exchange rate. It is extremely favorable...best in years.

gocamp · 06-10-2015, 11:45 AM

Have you looked at the 18' Oliver? Non wood composite floor. Dual shell insulation. Hard to beat Escape since you don't have to deal with a salesperson.

Loren & Cathy · 06-10-2015, 11:51 AM

I think there is night and day difference between a lot of trailers and the Escape. We have been looking at various trailers for over 3 years. Deciding against a stick built I briefly looked at the Scamp trailers and then discovered Casita. We went to the Casita factory in Rice, Texas and pretty much made up our mind that it was going to be the Casita. Then I discovered Escape trailers on the internet and showed Cathy the 19, and that was it. We then went to the factory in Chilliwack and after seeing the 19 and the 21, we chose the 21. Another huge factor was personalized service. Tammy waited on us and showed us the trailers, answering all of our questions and took our order. And the next morning which was Saturday, Reace personally gave Cathy and I a tour of the plant, explaining all of the various phases of construction. And then we have all read how they jump in to take care of problems that arise. Doing business with ETI is a no brainer. Loren

sallemann · 06-10-2015, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gocamp

Have you looked at the 18' Oliver? Non wood composite floor. Dual shell insulation. Hard to beat Escape since you don't have to deal with a salesperson.

When we decided to switch to a trailer with a bigger bed, we were definitely leaning toward staying with Escape and going to a 19 footer... but we thought we should do our due diligence and have a look around. The Olivers are VERY interesting trailers... so I did some research on them and called the factory, leaving a voice message. This was 3 weeks ago. I'm STILL waiting for a call back. If that's their response for a sales call, I can only imagine their response for a service issue.

We bought our 17B in 2005 and are very, very happy with it and with the support ETI provides. We're going with the ETI 19. Better layout than the Olivers (for our purposes), and definitely more bang for the buck.

NW Cat Owner · 06-10-2015, 12:26 PM

Hey Steve, while we haven't purchased one (yet), we will be when our finances are a bit better. For close to a year we've been looking at the stick built trailers and motor homes, without finding anything that really appealed to us. The icky brown furniture, interiors and not-full-length beds weren't very appealing. In April I rented a 32' motor home for a month and took it from Seattle to Sacramento and back up 101. It was quite the experience, but it made me realize I don't need anything that big. While on the trip I went through some R-Pods and talked to their owners. Seeing that trailer made me realize I could go much smaller and still be happy.

After I got home my dad suggested Scamp as he's toured their factory. That lead me within a few days of the other brands and in particular the Escapes. During this year of looking I'd joined and/or read the forums for various companies. It was real easy to find people complaining about their RVs, one way or the other. It was acceptable to them to have problems with the rig, the dealers and/or service. Well, it wasn't acceptable to me!

I had to dig really deep in this forum to find any complaints. I went back through several years worth of posts. Only complaint I could find was the trailer wasn't strong enough to haul this guy's dead moose in. Yeah, there were a few others, but the company addressed them and they were taken care of. The recent thread on the solar panel falling off is a good example.

Every time I've emailed the company they've gotten back to me right away. We plan to tour the factory at some point. We've toured 4 different trailers (19, 21 twice and 5.0TA) locally and have liked what we've seen. I really like how you can customize your trailer various different ways. I've spent hours looking at fabric and countertop samples/web sites. Haven't even attempted flooring yet! We want to get it all figured out before we order so we know how much it'll cost and how much we need to save. Which is why I'm doing it in the reverse of how most others are ordering.

In other words, we don't own one (yet), but once we do I know I'll be quite happy with it, after all the research I've done. Plus, the queen bed is full length! Major selling point there.

And if you do decide the Escape isn't for you (after owning one), the few that come up for sale sell very quickly, from my little bit of research in that area.

Steve R · 06-10-2015, 01:00 PM

I just now looked at the Oliver. It looks beautiful! I wonder if it is comparable in quality to the Escape. The 18' Oliver is a bit heavier than the 17' Escape.

Steve R · 06-10-2015, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kstock11

You are going to get a biased opinion here. Not only have most of us voted with our wallets, but many are on their second Escape. (Adjustments for size; aka 2 foot itis) Many Escape owners have had other RV's and moved to an Escape. My wife and I moved from tent to Escape and love it.

Your 2' itis is an important reminder to me to get the right size first. ��

sallemann · 06-10-2015, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve R

I just now looked at the Oliver. It looks beautiful! I wonder if it is comparable in quality to the Escape. The 18' Oliver is a bit heavier than the 17' Escape.

I know... there's a lot to like about the Oliver. Take a look around their forum: Fiberglass RV - Oliver Trailers

You should be able to learn a lot out there.

Steve R · 06-10-2015, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gocamp

Have you looked at the 18' Oliver? Non wood composite floor. Dual shell insulation. Hard to beat Escape since you don't have to deal with a salesperson.

Oliver looks beautiful? Any idea whether is is equal in quality to the Escape?

Steve R · 06-10-2015, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loren & Cathy

I think there is night and day difference between a lot of trailers and the Escape. We have been looking at various trailers for over 3 years. Deciding against a stick built I briefly looked at the Scamp trailers and then discovered Casita. We went to the Casita factory in Rice, Texas and pretty much made up our mind that it was going to be the Casita. Then I discovered Escape trailers on the internet and showed Cathy the 19, and that was it. We then went to the factory in Chilliwack and after seeing the 19 and the 21, we chose the 21. Another huge factor was personalized service. Tammy waited on us and showed us the trailers, answering all of our questions and took our order. And the next morning which was Saturday, Reace personally gave Cathy and I a tour of the plant, explaining all of the various phases of construction. And then we have all read how they jump in to take care of problems that arise. Doing business with ETI is a no brainer. Loren

I notice a lot of people compare the Bigfoot to the Escape...did you consider a Bigfoot?

Steve R · 06-10-2015, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW Cat Owner

Hey Steve, while we haven't purchased one (yet), we will be when our finances are a bit better. For close to a year we've been looking at the stick built trailers and motor homes, without finding anything that really appealed to us. The icky brown furniture, interiors and not-full-length beds weren't very appealing. In April I rented a 32' motor home for a month and took it from Seattle to Sacramento and back up 101. It was quite the experience, but it made me realize I don't need anything that big. While on the trip I went through some R-Pods and talked to their owners. Seeing that trailer made me realize I could go much smaller and still be happy.

After I got home my dad suggested Scamp as he's toured their factory. That lead me within a few days of the other brands and in particular the Escapes. During this year of looking I'd joined and/or read the forums for various companies. It was real easy to find people complaining about their RVs, one way or the other. It was acceptable to them to have problems with the rig, the dealers and/or service. Well, it wasn't acceptable to me!

I had to dig really deep in this forum to find any complaints. I went back through several years worth of posts. Only complaint I could find was the trailer wasn't strong enough to haul this guy's dead moose in. Yeah, there were a few others, but the company addressed them and they were taken care of. The recent thread on the solar panel falling off is a good example.

Every time I've emailed the company they've gotten back to me right away. We plan to tour the factory at some point. We've toured 4 different trailers (19, 21 twice and 5.0TA) locally and have liked what we've seen. I really like how you can customize your trailer various different ways. I've spent hours looking at fabric and countertop samples/web sites. Haven't even attempted flooring yet! We want to get it all figured out before we order so we know how much it'll cost and how much we need to save. Which is why I'm doing it in the reverse of how most others are ordering.

In other words, we don't own one (yet), but once we do I know I'll be quite happy with it, after all the research I've done. Plus, the queen bed is full length! Major selling point there.

And if you do decide the Escape isn't for you (after owning one), the few that come up for sale sell very quickly, from my little bit of research in that area.

NW Cat Owner: thank you for your comments, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the Escape, but I have more homework to do. 😎

cpaharley2008 · 06-10-2015, 01:32 PM

I have been inside most Oliver models as they attend a rally in Tennessee I also attend. Very nice trailers and well made. They are somewhat heavier than the Escape but you do get double hull construction similar to Bigfoot. They also cost somewhat more than the Escape, but not quite as much as a comparable sized Airstream. The have the single axle model and a tandem model. They are narrower than the Escape and have a telescoping hitch that allows one to shift the tongue weight without using a w/d set up. All aluminum frames vs steel in the Escape and standard double pane windows.

Loren & Cathy · 06-10-2015, 01:46 PM

ETI openly posts their prices on their web sight. A lot of other companies do not. I know Air Streams are priced up their pretty good and Oliver is up there in price too. Escape seems like a lot of value for the money and when you add in the exchange rate, I think you are doing pretty good. Factor in ETI's resale value and demand and I don't think you can get hurt to bad. Loren

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