Escape Shock Absorbers

[JohnBFlat]

Does Escape have a kit to add shock absorbers? I used a kit to add shocks to my Casita. The difference is very significant on my Casita & it's not a difficult mod.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by JohnBFlat

Does Escape have a kit to add shock absorbers? I used a kit to add shocks to my Casita. The difference is very significant on my Casita & it's not a difficult mod.

No, Escape doesn't offer a kit, and neither does Casita. The aftermarket supplier who has built the Casita kits came to this forum for information so that he could offer a kit for Escapes, prompted by an earlier discussion of adding shocks (Any Damage From Driving on Rough Roads?), but that didn't work out... so if you want to add shocks, you're on your own.

[JohnBFlat]

Thanks for the link. I purchased both the lift kit & shock kit from Orbital & installed them both myself. Each was a afternoon job with basic tools. Worked out very well, as I have an 06 with the low lift axle, so night & day result.
We will wait & see on the 5.0 as its a tandem which may have a more dampened ride. Still taking the lift option as we are very familar with the value in having that option.

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

No, Escape doesn't offer a kit, and neither does Casita. The aftermarket supplier who has built the Casita kits came to this forum for information so that he could offer a kit for Escapes, prompted by an earlier discussion of adding shocks (Any Damage From Driving on Rough Roads?), but that didn't work out... so if you want to add shocks, you're on your own.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by JohnBFlat

We will wait & see on the 5.0 as its a tandem which may have a more dampened ride.

Good idea. You don’t hear of too many Escape owners speaking of a harsh ride. With proper loading and an appropriate tire pressure chances are you will be fine.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by JohnBFlat

Thanks for the link. I purchased both the lift kit & shock kit from Orbital & installed them both myself. Each was a afternoon job with basic tools. Worked out very well, as I have an 06 with the low lift axle, so night & day result.
We will wait & see on the 5.0 as its a tandem which may have a more dampened ride. Still taking the lift option as we are very familar with the value in having that option.

I installed the shocks on my Casita as well - much better. Before the shocks, everything in the trailer was rearraigned each trip from the bouncing. With the shocks, even the cabinet doors were still closed when we got there.

Sold the Casita and now have a 21. No shocks needed for this trailer - I have actually left salt and pepper shakers on the dinette table and they were still there at the end of the daily drive. With the Casita, that would have never happened. The tandem axles really make a difference!

[JohnBFlat]

Good info....Thanks

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

I installed the shocks on my Casita as well - much better. Before the shocks, everything in the trailer was rearraigned each trip from the bouncing. With the shocks, even the cabinet doors were still closed when we got there.

Sold the Casita and now have a 21. No shocks needed for this trailer - I have actually left salt and pepper shakers on the dinette table and they were still there at the end of the daily drive. With the Casita, that would have never happened. The tandem axles really make a difference!

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Good idea. You don’t hear of too many Escape owners speaking of a harsh ride. With proper loading and an appropriate tire pressure chances are you will be fine.

Agreed!

I have one of the early 5.0 TAs with leaf springs rather than torsion axles. The only place where I see any indication of “bounciness” when traveling is in the rear cabinet over the dinette, and it really isn’t that bad. As to tire pressure, after 5 years I replaced the original Carlisle tires with Goodyear Endurance. The max sidewall pressure on the Endurance is 65 psi. Another owner with an early 5.0TA told me that with Endurance tires on his trailer it bounced all over the place and he had reduced the tire pressure to 45 psi. When I called Goodyear Corporate, I was told to inflate the tires to the pressure indicated on the Endurance Load Chart on the Goodyear Website. Knowing the scale weight of my trailer, the chart indicated somewhere between 45 and 50 psi. Since the original tires were inflated to 50 psi, I decided to stay with that inflation. The trailer handles and tracks well, the rear cabinet contents indicate the same slight amount of bouncing (things may move slightly but are not “rearranged”) and the TPMS has not indicated tire temperature increase as would be expected with under-inflated tires, so the Goodyear Load Chart would seem to be spot-on in its recommendations.

[Upfisk]

We had a Casita SD17 that was lifted. We added the shock kit and replaced the torsion axle. It did make a huge difference. Our lifted Escape 19 has no need for a shock kit, it rides smoothly and cabinets rarely empty (on rough roads they have). The Escape's ride is much nicer than even the improved suspension on the Casita. Thank the double axle for this.

[JohnBFlat]

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Upfisk

We had a Casita SD17 that was lifted. We added the shock kit and replaced the torsion axle. It did make a huge difference. Our lifted Escape 19 has no need for a shock kit, it rides smoothly and cabinets rarely empty (on rough roads they have). The Escape's ride is much nicer than even the improved suspension on the Casita. Thank the double axle for this.

[azjack]

Years ago our Casita bounced so much it bounced a tv (not flat screen) off the back corner of the bed onto the floor when driving in the truck lane of I-5. I stopped at an RV store in LA area and bought and installed in their parking lot a single bar equalizer hitch. Problem solved.
AZjack

[77FJ40]

We currently have Casita 17 with the shock kit. Really has helped with bouncing. We are going to be getting into an Escape 17B. With no shock kit available how is the bouncing on the single axle? I see the folks here have have no problem but all are using the 2 axle trailers.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by 77FJ40

We currently have Casita 17 with the shock kit. Really has helped with bouncing. We are going to be getting into an Escape 17B. With no shock kit available how is the bouncing on the single axle? I see the folks here have have no problem but all are using the 2 axle trailers.

I had a Casita that I installed the shock kit on as well. Since the Casita and the Escape 17B both use the same Dexter axles and that is what the shock kit bolts to, why wouldn't the same shock kit fit both?

Casita Shock Absorber Kit

[Centex]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

I had a Casita that I installed the shock kit on as well. Since the Casita and the Escape 17B both use the same Dexter axles and that is what the shock kit bolts to, why wouldn't the same shock kit fit both?

While the Casita kit (both lower and upper mounts) bolt to the Dexter hub/axle mount which may be in common with the Escape, note that the specific shape of the upper mount is made to work with the various Casita frame/shell dimensions and clearances in the wheel-well area. IMO there's risk that the upper mount designed for the Casita may not 'play nice' on an Escape with it's particular frame/shell dimensions, overhangs, offsets, etc.

The pics of the upper shock mount installation on this page illustrate what I'm talking about: https://www.flickr.com/photos/833439...7645073747863/

There are several versions of the Casita kit for different Casita axle/mount configurations .... perhaps one of those may be more suited to an Escape application than another (?).

IMO it'd be very difficult to tell for sure without having the designed-for-Casita kit in hand to check it's fitment against an Escape. YMMV