21C fresh water tank

caheaton

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2021
Messages
184
Location
SW Ohio
We'll be receiving our Escape 21c in a couple of weeks, but was curious ahead of time....where is the fresh water tank located...is it in front of or behind the axles?

Wondering if I might be able to get by with not always using a WDH and instead making sure I have enough weight on the tongue. We ordered it with the dual 6v, so there's already considerable weight behind the axles...so location of water tank could make quite a difference in how I load the trailer.
 
It is behind the axles.

Normally the 21C is the model that is least prone to being tongue-light as it has the bed up front as well as the bathroom and a lot of storage over the bed and underneath the bed.

We recently experienced a bit of a light tongue for the first time after placing two 55# ebikes on the back. Keeping the fresh water tank low made a big difference, however I need to look at other means to keep enough weight on the tongue.

One would be to mount the spare tire under the A-frame as others here have done. We usually load a lot of things under the dinette benches & that needs to be changed up too and put only lighter items. There goes the wine cellar:rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the info. We didn't order the tongue box, as I plan on installing my own. May have to do that sooner rather than later (first long trip in late July). Then I could add some weight to the box when required. At a later date I'll look into moving that tire....especially since I would like to travel at times with a full fresh water tank when heading to dry campsites.
 
Although are not heavy packers we do try our best to keep the weight balance. We do keep a medium amount of things it the from box but not too heavy.

Because we might travel with light/heavy/water loading using the WDH fills that balance for us without having to think too deeply about loading. I'm more focused on the sway control than weight.
 
That actually is my reason as well, keeping the hitch weight say around 12 ~ 15% of trailer weight helps greatly with sway. I guess the best way will be to go ahead and always use the Andersen (WDH I'm considering) and then not sweat it too much :)
 
In almost ten years- even with 2 bikes that weren't electric we never had any inkling of a light tongue and a little light steering. If nothing on the back I wouldn't hesitate to have a full tank of water unless you are trying to improve mpg.

Why aren't you getting factory front box? If it is to save a few bucks I would just say that you might very well regret it later. They are very well designed and help protect the front of the trailer from rock chips.

Someone I showed our trailer to and ordered was also going to not get it. I convinced them to get it and they agree it is a must-have.
 
As previously suggested:
"Why aren't you getting factory front box? If it is to save a few bucks I would just say that you might very well regret it later. They are very well designed and help protect the front of the trailer from rock chips.

Someone I showed our trailer to and ordered was also going to not get it. I convinced them to get it and they agree it is a must-have."


I agree, and 2nd, and 3rd this suggestion. Shipping & crating costs later on if you want one are a bit prohibitive. It is a very useful item and matched to the trailer.

YMMV
 
Another 21C owner here. Definitely get the tongue box. The Escape supplied box matches the non-vertical (slanting inwards) cross section of the front of the trailer. If you just install a normal square sided box, you'll be losing quite a bit of storage space.


BTW, the water tank in the 21C is behind the rear axle, but only by about a foot. A full tank of water (~225lb) only takes about 30lb of weight off the tongue.
 
Last edited:
And another 21c owner , the tongue box is a must . Look up what others have done for custom and after market boxes and you will see compromises that do not equal the factory box . As far as tongue weight, we have 2 45lb ebikes on the back , relocated the spare to the truck bed and have a single 300amp hour lithium battery in the back dinette bench and we are actually a little tongue heavy. I would avoid traveling with a full water tank as the mounting straps really are not designed to hold that much weight bouncing down the road
 
Thank you to all for the advice and information. It's likely a bit too late to add the box, as it's already gone through production and is just waiting to ship (which has already been scheduled). My main reason for declining the box is too fold...first, I felt the price was outrageous for a box, second, I just didn't like the looks of it (slant and all). I've considered adding a rubberized coating to areas prone to chipping, so we'll wait and see on that. If it's any consolation, I did give it serious thought during my build sheet, but decided I just didn't care for it. :)



Thanks again for the advice on the tank and weight it adds (or doesn't....less than I'd anticipated) to the tongue.
 
If you want the storage call ETI in the morning n see if they will add it. Worst they can say is no
 
Thank you to all for the advice and information. It's likely a bit too late to add the box, as it's already gone through production and is just waiting to ship (which has already been scheduled). My main reason for declining the box is too fold...first, I felt the price was outrageous for a box, second, I just didn't like the looks of it (slant and all). I've considered adding a rubberized coating to areas prone to chipping, so we'll wait and see on that. If it's any consolation, I did give it serious thought during my build sheet, but decided I just didn't care for it. :)

Thanks again for the advice on the tank and weight it adds (or doesn't....less than I'd anticipated) to the tongue.


I agree. The Escape box is certainly pricey! Maybe just think about it as a long term investment. ;)
 
I would avoid traveling with a full water tank as the mounting straps really are not designed to hold that much weight bouncing down the road

I disagree with your assumption, they are designed for exactly that. It's a travel trailer designed for traveling water and all.

I would like to see even one example of someone's water tank coming loose from traveling with a full tank.
 
If you want the storage call ETI in the morning n see if they will add it. Worst they can say is no

I agree, and they can always ship it loose.

I just didn't like the looks of it (slant and all).

The advantage of adding it yourself is that you can install it without the slant.

I disagree with your assumption, they are designed for exactly that. It's a travel trailer designed for traveling water and all.

I would like to see even one example of someone's water tank coming loose from traveling with a full tank.

Yah, those comments drive me nuts. I have a water tank. I use water. I fill my tank with water and go. Alaska, Baja, East Coast, West Coast, never an issue with having water in the tank, whatever level.

Ron
 

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom