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Old 05-05-2021, 09:17 PM   #1
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Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Trailer: 2020 Escape 19
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A new Escape and time on our hands...

We'd made our deposit and were waiting in line for our custom build when a pre-owned 2020 Escape 19 came up for sale in early March. Our earliest build date was March '22, so we went ahead and purchased the pre-owned thinking we'd learn from camping in it for a year and be better prepared for our custom build.

Hah! As inveterate rehabbers, we should have known we couldn't keep our hands off it for a year. Between Covid and Colorado winter, we had time on our hands and a potential new project in our driveway so we went for it. For us, having a place for everything is huge, so most of our attention went to storage and eliminating that "where is the.....?" question. Some ideas are repeats of things we'd previously done in our Casita that worked well for us.

Kitchen:
  • We added backsplash faux tiles and built vertical storage for dishes, spices, etc. across the entire wall. It's amazing what you can fit into 3.25"
  • The left side of the overhead cabinet was difficult to access so we partitioned it off and opened up the front for easy access to cups/glasses.
  • We're both tall, so cabinets below counter height is a challenge. Converted the cabinet space to the left of the oven into 2 large drawers.
  • On the lowest cabinets we moved the hinges so they open from the top and we can easily see/access what's inside.
  • Attached a trash bin to the door of the far left cabinet. Couldn't find one the right size so made one with Lincane Aluminum Sheet metal. Needed to first attach a block of wood to the door so the trash bin would clear the opening.
Attached Thumbnails
Kitchen rehab.jpg   Kitchen drawers.jpg   Kitchen Trash tip-out.jpg   Bottom cabinets.jpg  
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Old 05-05-2021, 09:22 PM   #2
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Continued...

Kitchen:
  • Have never used 3 stove burners, but value the extra work surface so purchased a bamboo cutting board that we cut in half and hinged. Attached 3 cabinet door clips to the bottom that clip over the metal rungs for the stove rack. When I'm cooking I usually fold it in half and cover the front burner to use as a surface to set hot pots, plates, utensils, etc. on. It could also rotate 180 and cover the back burners.
  • Removed the door from cabinet under the fridge to use as a cubby for our shoes, just as we'd done in our Casita.
Attached Thumbnails
Cutting board 1.jpg   Cutting board 2.jpg   Shoes.jpg  
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Old 05-05-2021, 09:24 PM   #3
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Continued...

Under Bed Storage:
  • THANK YOU to Eggscape for your post on doing drawers under the bed. We found slatted wood crates at Home Depot that we used. The space between the slats was perfect for sliding along wood tracks that we attached to the storage area floor. Three crates were screwed together to make one long drawer. I sewed canvas totes to fit inside each section that we can take into the house to pack our clothes into. They're folded down in the photo.
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Under bed drawers 1.jpg   Under bed drawers 2.jpg  
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Old 05-05-2021, 09:26 PM   #4
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Continued...

Back-stabbers:
  • Removed them all! Purchased the short ones, ran the cords through them and attached to the backs of the metal triangles. Used a wooden button on the front side instead of a washer.
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wooden button.jpg   back of spooly.jpg  
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Old 05-05-2021, 09:30 PM   #5
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Continued...

Dining:
  • Still a work in progress. Our table is a prototype to camp with for awhile before we do the final build. We'd crafted a very versatile table for our Casita that still allowed for a roomy lounge area, so we're working towards a similar use in the Escape.
  • The small bins just under the window were slid onto some Lincane that I bent to fit under the window ledge, then attached the whole assembly to the window frame with 5 of the screws already in the frame. Not pleased with the extension cord running up the wall, but needed easy access to power and this is what we came up with for now.
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Table folded.jpg   Table open 2.jpg   Dining window storage and power.jpg  
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Old 05-05-2021, 09:45 PM   #6
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Looking good.
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Old 05-05-2021, 09:55 PM   #7
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Very nice. I would love information on your table. Such as length of the table and width of the table and width of each leaf. Do these hinges not require a pull out bar to support the leaf? Thanks.
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Old 05-05-2021, 10:00 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carmel Clown View Post
Very nice. I would love information on your table. Such as length of the table and width of the table and width of each leaf. Do these hinges not require a pull out bar to support the leaf? Thanks.

My question too. I tried something similar in my tent trailer. Cut table to 1/3 and 2/3 with a piano hinge. It wasn't enough to support it, especially if someone had their elbows on the table.
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Old 05-05-2021, 10:09 PM   #9
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Table is 30" long so we can still use it to help support a bed conversion when needed. Total width is 26": center section is 13", each fold-up section is 6.5". Might make next one 28" wide, we'll see.

It does have support slides on the bottom, two for each side. Could only find slides in one size which was too long, so had to cut about 3" off each one so they'd be hidden under the center section when the sides are folded up.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 05-05-2021, 10:39 PM   #10
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Wow! Good on you OneCentHillman! I have always want to visit Colorado .... please let me know when there is space in your driveway.

Tom

So tell us .... are you keeping the 19?
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Old 05-06-2021, 08:30 AM   #11
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So tell us .... are you keeping the 19?

YES! Don't want to do all that work over again next year! Reclaimed our deposit and shortened the line by one for all those behind us. ;-)
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Old 05-06-2021, 10:23 AM   #12
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Really nicely done and all so very handy !
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Old 05-06-2021, 01:33 PM   #13
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Thanks. Sorry another question. Did you use the original table leg that with the trailer? Wondering if it is sturdy enough to hold the weight. I would like to add a lazy-susan type mounting so the table with rotate. Do you think that will work?
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Old 05-06-2021, 01:46 PM   #14
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Love all the organization. Can't wait to get our Escape in September!
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Old 05-06-2021, 02:29 PM   #15
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Love your Mods! How did you fasten the vertical rack to stay in place?
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Old 05-06-2021, 09:06 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carmel Clown View Post
Did you use the original table leg that with the trailer? Wondering if it is sturdy enough to hold the weight. I would like to add a lazy-susan type mounting so the table with rotate. Do you think that will work?

It's the original and pretty sturdy, but probably not our final option. We wanted to use it awhile to see how it stood up, but have our eye on a couple of other choices when we make the final table. We're also considering rotating and purchased the lazy-susan hardware, but now not sure if we'll do the rotation. We mainly wanted to rotate to get the table out of the way, but have found that it's so thin by folding up the two sides, that we no longer feel it's an obstruction.


Time will tell, we've got a two week trip coming up to test it out. ;-)
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Old 05-06-2021, 09:43 PM   #17
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Love your Mods! How did you fasten the vertical rack to stay in place?
First we made it a very tight fit.
Then we screwed it to the wall on the right and the wood molding on the left (left side only goes up about 8"). We drilled holes in the sides of the rack that lined up with the existing screws, then removed those screws, put the rack in place, and fasted it with longer screws that went into the old screw-holes. Did it this way to avoid making additional screw-holes in case we wanted to remove it later.
Clear caulked along the bottom where it meets the counter.
Wood glued a 1/4" piece of wood trim along the top where it meets the underside of the cabinet.
Here's a pic from another angle where you can see a bit of the 1/4" wood trim at the top...
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Old 05-06-2021, 10:00 PM   #18
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Nice work! And we are also in Fort Collins and have a 2017 Escape 19. We are not tall, however.
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Old 05-07-2021, 08:13 AM   #19
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It looks beautiful, how it will look after towing? There is lot weight up high there...
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Old 05-07-2021, 09:02 AM   #20
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It looks beautiful, how it will look after towing? There is lot weight up high there...

Not much weight. We've camped for years and travel light, especially in the upper storage areas. Took a couple of test runs and everything stayed in place. If it weren't in vertical storage on the wall it would have been crammed in a cabinet we'd have to fuss and rummage through to find what we needed. ;-)
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