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Old 01-08-2021, 02:03 PM   #1
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Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Delta, British Columbia
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young family of 4-5 thinking of buying escape 19 or 21

Talk me into or out of buying a Escape for my family of 4 .
About us.
We have a 40 pound dog, 3 and 6 year olds, thinking of buying an escape.family of 4 plus dog.


Not that it matters much but i have a newer tundra that can easily jump into other heavier trailers but the escape is so enticing.
I'm on the wet west coast of BC, Canada.

Price:

We will probably finance half or so. not sure what you all did but do you think you got or are currently getting the value of the escape, from the price you paid. I know it varies case by case but love to hear your experiences.good and bad. especially if you were in a cheaper more traditional travel trailer.
how many times/ days did you use it per year?
what were the resale value of these things pre covid?
Has the price been similar over the past 5 years?

durability:
Probably the largest determining factor.
the ability to last longer 10 years ( or 1) or so or longer ,is what makes me lean to fibreglass. I read so many forums about the rv/ trailer market. Leaking rodents and poor build quality just seem like a real pain in the ass ( on most tt) Is the durability and the customer service as good as it seems?
kids wear and tear- does it hold up well?


Im wondering of all the escape owners that have kids that travel with them in the escape any regrets?
any info is much appreciated.

thank you for your time. if i missed another post about this i apologize
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Old 01-08-2021, 03:00 PM   #2
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Join Date: May 2020
Location: Overbrook, Kansas
Trailer: 2021 E19 (Padawan)
Posts: 1,905
Just my thoughts - your needs will ultimately be what matters:

5 of us and a small dog traveled for 2 - 3 months once each year in 13’-19’ trailers from 1969-1978. Most of those trips were in a 19’ tin / stick Nomad travel trailer. We had a blast, and it always went well.

Some will say Escapes are too small for that, but the size worked well for us.

As far as fiberglass vs sick / laminated trailers. They all work, but fiberglass will have less maintenance, and last longer. Some of the better stick built (ORV, Arctic Fox) hold up better than most stuff like Forest River, but they are still not as long lived as fiberglass.

As far as single wall fiberglass (Escape, Scamp, Casita and others) vs double hull or fiberglass and foam (Bigfoot, Oliver, Northern Light for example), single wall is not 4 season, but has no coring to delaminate. Having owned Bigfoots, and several sailboats, you still need to stay on top of any water issues. Escape is the only builder that makes water damage as unlikely as possible.

In your house and RV, water damage is a killer. From that perspective, Escape makes a lot of sense, but there are other valid priorities as well.

I maintained a 35’ sailboat, and a Bigfoot pickup camper living in a rainforest. It can be done, but an Escape seems to me to be the lowest maintenance RV built (and possibly an Oliver would fit in there). Everything takes maintenance, but minimizing it; therefore, having more time to use it, is why we are on the 18 month waitlist and paying twice what a stickie would cost, while settling for only a 3 season trailer.

The Oliver design and cost do not work for us.

Hope that helps, but you need to think about your needs carefully. RVing cost money, I hope you find good value for your needs.
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1998 C 2500 (Cruncher) and 2021 Ranger (Yoda)
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Old 01-08-2021, 03:24 PM   #3
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Gravois Mills, Missouri
Trailer: 2015 Escape 21
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I think much of your decision should be based on how often you plan to use it and how it will be stored when not in use. We spent a good portion of every summer with 3 kids and a big dog in a 17’ 1977 Nomad and later a 24’ 1988 Prowler, both of which were more solid than any sticky I have seen in the past decade, Great memories, had as many as 5 kids in it sometimes. No issues. After the kids were grown, we downsized to a Casita and now a 21’ Escape so 2 grandkids can travel as well. Love the ease of maintenance in the Escape! We will have to start taking a tent when the kids get older and don’t want to share the dinette bed but that is fine with us. Love the layout and storage of the Escape, it feels solid and even stays cleaner inside. (Or maybe we are just not as messy...) Fiberglass resale is better. Our Casita sold in 2019 for what we paid for it 2014, and it was 10 years old. If you plan to keep it for many years I would go fiberglass,
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Old 01-08-2021, 04:53 PM   #4
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Thank you for the replies. The build seems great . the water prevention seems logical . The size might be a little small but sacrificing for a better build is an easy decision.

Again thank you
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Old 01-08-2021, 05:03 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Treblemaker View Post
I think much of your decision should be based on how often you plan to use it and how it will be stored when not in use. We spent a good portion of every summer with 3 kids and a big dog in a 17’ 1977 Nomad and later a 24’ 1988 Prowler, both of which were more solid than any sticky I have seen in the past decade, Great memories, had as many as 5 kids in it sometimes. No issues. After the kids were grown, we downsized to a Casita and now a 21’ Escape so 2 grandkids can travel as well. Love the ease of maintenance in the Escape! We will have to start taking a tent when the kids get older and don’t want to share the dinette bed but that is fine with us. Love the layout and storage of the Escape, it feels solid and even stays cleaner inside. (Or maybe we are just not as messy...) Fiberglass resale is better. Our Casita sold in 2019 for what we paid for it 2014, and it was 10 years old. If you plan to keep it for many years I would go fiberglass,

Thank you for your reply. I think I would be around 20-25 days a year. 2 week trips, and a couple 2-4 days. i think that is realistic. maybe a boys trip 4some to Bandon.
In terms of storage. Im thinking ill leave it under a cover but in my driveway in vancouver BC, Canada.
Is this a bad idea?

thanks again
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Old 01-08-2021, 07:29 PM   #6
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Location: Farmington Hills, Michigan
Trailer: 2021 Escape 19
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We have four kids, so a bit tougher back in the day when they were small in terms of making something like an Escape work. For us now, the oldest two are grown and gone and the younger two will be soon, so our on-order Escape-19 is really with an eye to the empty nest.

But here's what I can give in terms of an answer to your question:

We started in RV's with a used 1996 Coleman pop-up trailer bought in 2003 when we had just two little ones. Worked OK, but the reality of a pop-up is you still have a tiny fridge (or, really, a cooler) and you have to shift everything around and set everything up every single time you move camp.

Bought a new Rockwood Roo 183 in 2010. Functionally, this RV was exactly what we needed. Full size fridge, gear all stowed where it belongs. Only real setup is the bunks, which have to be deployed and set up every time you move. But really, not too bad. Downside is that around 2016 we had a hard rain overnight and woke to find all three bunks with some delamination for no obvious reason. That's basically the tale of stick-builts. Still used the RV for another four years and then sold it for a song mainly because the form factor just wasn't really what we need anymore.

Escape 19 appeals to us for empty nest because of the permanent bed. A trailer that can be set up via level and unhitch and not much else is really attractive. There's nothing small and fiberglass that will do so for four people unfortunately, which is where you are at.
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Old 01-08-2021, 10:02 PM   #7
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Trailer: 2017 Escape Trailer 21
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We have the 21C and my sister in law and husband come with us on a few trips. If I was buying a trailer with two children I would get the 21NE , the queen bed and almost a queen dinnet with cot . The dinnet in the 21C is only 48" and no cot. The children could sleep separately when older in the 21 NE. On a rainy night the children can go to bed in the queen bed and you can stay up at the dinnet. IMHO
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Old 01-08-2021, 10:10 PM   #8
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Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Tigard, Oregon
Trailer: 2020 21NE - dual dinettes
Posts: 398
Grandma & I camp with our two granddaughters, aged 9 & 5, and growing quickly. We camp year round in Western Oregon, which means a lot of rainy days, so having enough inside space for the four us was important to us. The girls love crafts, and having a large table was also important. Lastly, I knew that I would be crawling over to get out of bed, and the more space to do that, the better.

Those factors led us to order a 21NE with two dinettes - front & rear. The rear is a straight bench, and the front is the standard U. This gives us 60" benches in the rear, which is plenty of room for us to sit and play games and do crafts. The table is a bit shorter than I would like, and I wish I had asked to not have the corners cut diagonally, and instead just radiused a bit. This would give us more table space. I will probably make a new one. We really like having the view from the rear of the trailer, and not having a bed right next to your hip makes for more room when you're at the stove.

The front we have left made up as a bed. I asked about making a permanent bed, but Escape said no. I think because it would not take a 60" mattress - it is almost 59" deep. We figured that was OK, as having another seating space would be nice, but having the bed space is nice for reading. Since there is no wall next to the door, the open space on the side is about 60", instead of the 36" that the rear bed would have. This makes the crawl over to get out of bed easier. And since we did not get the post bases installed, the area under the front bed is easy to slide bins in & out. It might be a suitable place for a medium size dog to sleep. The cushions are a little firm for a great sleep, but the addition of a mattress topper helps a lot.

This setup has worked for the four of us, and we think it will continue as the girls get older and larger.
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Old 01-09-2021, 03:43 PM   #9
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Keeping it covered at home works for many owners! Protects the Fiberglass from the elements and everything cleaner. We did that with our Casita, no problems. Now we are in a storage shed near us mainly because it is convenient to do so. I believe Escape sells a nice cover.
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