thumper-tx
Senior Member
After picking up our 21 on 6/20 and making a meandering 3500 mile trip home it seems like time to shore some thoughts and experiences.
Towing: Our lifter 21 towed very much like our old Casita 17, I could tell little differences, even in wind. Our 2014 F-150 4X4 [eco boost] got 11mpg in the mountains and 12mpg in more flat country. These numbers are again, almost identical to Casita towing.
Border Crossing: We crossed twice and each time took 5 minutes or less. We had two dogs and told the guards that we had dogs and paperwork, they did not ask to see the paperwork. We were asked about weapons and a couple other things but they did not look in the truck or trailer. Quick and professional.
Camping: We did boondocking and national parks and RV parks. If you are on the road around a major holiday like July 4th..... get reservations way ahead if possible as things get rather crowded.
Solar power: Our solar far exceeded expectations. We did 3 days in rainforest with little sun and in spite of some microwave use ad regular lighting use, we never got much below 80% on solar. [This is after an initial repair listed under issues]
Issues: Solar; Our inside control panel was not working right initially as it had a symbol for the inverter showing [panel is not hooked to inverter] and would not go above 90% charge. We stopped before leaving Canada and Reese quickly changed out the panel and we were fine on solar after that.
Water pump: Our pump would often not shut off when the water demand stopped. I called Tammy and she emailed adjustment instructions. After a little tinkering, the pump shuts off fine.
Fridge: We had issues. Initially in cool Canada, we were getting 34-35 degrees at night and 44-45 in the day with the fridge set on "5" As we got farther south it got worse even though temps were rarely above 85. Daytime highs in the fridge were high 40's and not getting into high 30's till after we went to sleep. We tried it on gas, 120, and solar with similar results on all. Also the exterior blue light on the door would go off and on at different times but the interior lights always showed the unit on. By the time we got to WY [about 1/2 way home] we had to start using an ice chest for all our cold food. We kept it running to monitor performance and the last night the temp only got down to 48. The coldest the freezer got on the trip was 13. Rease said we could not likely get it repaired on the road and should take it to a Dometic warranty place when we got home. Tomorrow I will take it in.
None of the problems we had had anything to do with Escape's construction or attention to detail as they were all with installed components. The detail and construction are all much superior to our old Casita. The fridge issue was very frustrating but hopefully Dometic will get it squared away.
Towing: Our lifter 21 towed very much like our old Casita 17, I could tell little differences, even in wind. Our 2014 F-150 4X4 [eco boost] got 11mpg in the mountains and 12mpg in more flat country. These numbers are again, almost identical to Casita towing.
Border Crossing: We crossed twice and each time took 5 minutes or less. We had two dogs and told the guards that we had dogs and paperwork, they did not ask to see the paperwork. We were asked about weapons and a couple other things but they did not look in the truck or trailer. Quick and professional.
Camping: We did boondocking and national parks and RV parks. If you are on the road around a major holiday like July 4th..... get reservations way ahead if possible as things get rather crowded.
Solar power: Our solar far exceeded expectations. We did 3 days in rainforest with little sun and in spite of some microwave use ad regular lighting use, we never got much below 80% on solar. [This is after an initial repair listed under issues]
Issues: Solar; Our inside control panel was not working right initially as it had a symbol for the inverter showing [panel is not hooked to inverter] and would not go above 90% charge. We stopped before leaving Canada and Reese quickly changed out the panel and we were fine on solar after that.
Water pump: Our pump would often not shut off when the water demand stopped. I called Tammy and she emailed adjustment instructions. After a little tinkering, the pump shuts off fine.
Fridge: We had issues. Initially in cool Canada, we were getting 34-35 degrees at night and 44-45 in the day with the fridge set on "5" As we got farther south it got worse even though temps were rarely above 85. Daytime highs in the fridge were high 40's and not getting into high 30's till after we went to sleep. We tried it on gas, 120, and solar with similar results on all. Also the exterior blue light on the door would go off and on at different times but the interior lights always showed the unit on. By the time we got to WY [about 1/2 way home] we had to start using an ice chest for all our cold food. We kept it running to monitor performance and the last night the temp only got down to 48. The coldest the freezer got on the trip was 13. Rease said we could not likely get it repaired on the road and should take it to a Dometic warranty place when we got home. Tomorrow I will take it in.
None of the problems we had had anything to do with Escape's construction or attention to detail as they were all with installed components. The detail and construction are all much superior to our old Casita. The fridge issue was very frustrating but hopefully Dometic will get it squared away.
