Any Escape 21's coming down I-80 in Nebraska?

[Keith Baird]

Hello, I am in transition mode from backpacking to trailer camping; ;much to my wife's delight and relief. We are considering an Escape 21'.
If you are coming along I-80 in Nebraska or I-70 in Kansas and would like to let me take a few minutes to look at your new camper I would appreciate it very much. Or if you are headed south along Hiway 81 in Nebraska I am mobile and willing to travel some to have a look firsthand.
We are considering a trip to SE Alaska so any tips on trailers on the ferry system would also be appreciated. Thanks, Keith

 

[Ray N]

We'll be coming through in late June. On our way from the Black Hills toward Columbia Missouri, to visit our son at Mizzou. You probably want to see one before then, however.

 

[rvomaha]

Hi Keith, I know it's the 21 you are interested in, but as a substitute we could show you our 19 here in Omaha any time. --Liz

 

[fudge_brownie]

I would take Liz up on her offer to show you an Escape 19, it is a really nice trailer. I like what they have done with the colors. Besides that you get Liz and Jay thrown in for good stories, lots of travel and experienced campers. Seeing as there are less than a dozen Escape 21's produced to date the chance of seeing one is pretty slim.

 

[Keith Baird]

Hi Keith, I know it's the 21 you are interested in, but as a substitute we could show you our 19 here in Omaha any time. --Liz

HI Liz: Thanks for the invitation. We have a daughter in Lincoln and would like to come on up to Omaha to see your 19 whenever it is convenient. Thanks again, Keith

 

[Devil Dog-ESC]

The snow and ice will be gone by July. We hope .
Canada is on the right...

 

[bpjod]

We're picking our Escape 21 on April 11th. We're then heading down to Utah for some hiking before heading home. I suspect we'll be camping somewhere in the Canyonlands area from April 14-19. I know it's a whole state and then some away, but it's a whole lot closer than Chilliwack!

 

[Keith Baird]

Thanks for the offer to see your new Escape 21. Your trip sounds exciting but we will not be able to get away for a trip to Utah in April. Thanks and enjoy. Let me know if there are any options/accessories that you recommend including or eliminating. Thanks again and be safe. Keith

 

[rvomaha]

Keith, I'll send you our phone number by private message. --Liz

 

[Kevin H-ESC]

We're picking our Escape 21 on April 11th. We're then heading down to Utah for some hiking before heading home. I suspect we'll be camping somewhere in the Canyonlands area from April 14-19.

Any chance you will be coming through Yellowstone at the end of April - first of May? I, too, would love to see a 21.

 

[bpjod]

We'll be trying to stay in Utah as long as possible, yet still make it home in time to get to school and work on Tuesday. We won't be on a leisurely schedule when driving home.

According to Google Maps, I-15 will be our fastest way home. I'd estimate Moab to Helena/Great Falls, MT on the 20th and from there to home on the 21st. We'll be trying to put on the miles on the 20th, allowing us to get home earlier in the day on the 21st. I suspect we'll know if this is being too ambitious after driving from Chilliwack down to Utah as we've never hauled a trailer before.

If you care to recommend a good pit stop for a couple boys 8 & 12 to stretch their legs for 1/2 hour or so and to get some grub while on our way, we *could* consider that. Keep in mind we'll be packed for travel rather than setup for camping, in a bit of a hurry, and subject to the whims of traffic, weather, how fast we pack up camp, etc. At this point I'm not making any promises as we're still in the planning stages and I've got to keep 3 other people's agendas in mind.

 

[Dave Walter]

We're picking our Escape 21 on April 11th. We're then heading down to Utah for some hiking before heading home. I suspect we'll be camping somewhere in the Canyonlands area from April 14-19. I know it's a whole state and then some away, but it's a whole lot closer than Chilliwack!

We'll be trying to stay in Utah as long as possible, yet still make it home in time to get to school and work on Tuesday. We won't be on a leisurely schedule when driving home.

According to Google Maps, I-15 will be our fastest way home. I'd estimate Moab to Helena/Great Falls, MT on the 20th and from there to home on the 21st. We'll be trying to put on the miles on the 20th, allowing us to get home earlier in the day on the 21st. I suspect we'll know if this is being too ambitious after driving from Chilliwack down to Utah as we've never hauled a trailer before.

If you care to recommend a good pit stop for a couple boys 8 & 12 to stretch their legs for 1/2 hour or so and to get some grub while on our way, we *could* consider that. Keep in mind we'll be packed for travel rather than setup for camping, in a bit of a hurry, and subject to the whims of traffic, weather, how fast we pack up camp, etc. At this point I'm not making any promises as we're still in the planning stages and I've got to keep 3 other people's agendas in mind.

I have driven a couple of times across the country when my kids were quite young and know from experience that numerous long days of driving in a row can be very hard on them.

The 1100 km drive from Wetaskwin to Chilliwack will take you a full day. I know from personal experience that this is a long drive without the trailer, and with 2 kids could become quite painful. I assume that you will drive down on the 10th for your April 11 pickup. If you have a morning pickup scheduled, you could be away by noon on the 11th. If not it will be close to the end of the day. I assume that you would plan on staying near Chilliwack your first night. From Chilliwack to Moab is about 2000 km drive. A very ambitious schedule with two younger kids would be to do this in 2-days. Even three 730 km days would be fairly long hauls, but more do-able. The trip home from Moab is another 2000 km. Again, three days would be more comfortable than 2.

So if you plan on 3 driving days for each of the 2000 km legs of your trip, that would give you about 3-4 days in Moab. With longer days, you could stretch things out to about 5-6 days in Moab. Either way, it is going to be a lot of driving.

By the way, we are planning a slightly longer trip in July, maybe 6000 km total, and are doing it over 23 days. Our longest planned daily drives are in the 650 km range, with preferred daily drives in the 300 km range.

Hope to see pictures of your build shortly. I know that you will enjoy your Escape.

 

[bpjod]

Thanks Dave. I tend to be an ambitious driver and can put in many hours at a time, especially if my wife spells me off for an hour a couple of times during the drive so I can have a quick, refreshing catnap. The kids are well experienced and excellent travelers too as I've been hauling them around on adventures since they were infants. Nowadays it's even easier as they're avid readers (when they were younger they couldn't read). So a combination of books, audio books that the whole family enjoys, and the iPad keep them entertained forever. I don't think I've heard a complaint from them since they were about 2 years old, thank my lucky stars.

What will be new is in the past we've driven and stayed in a hotels or tents, but have never hauled a trailer. I remember driving my dad's Suburban as a kid and found being tossed around in strong winds to be quite tiresome and stressful and that both removed the enjoyment of driving and decreased my stamina behind the wheel. I wonder whether hauling a trailer around will have a similar effect.

So current plans to go to Canmore Wednesday night and stay at a friends' place. Then drive to Chilliwack on the Thursday to be ready for Friday morning's orientation. Then three days (including the orientation and a shopping trip to stock up on supplies for the RV) to Utah, six days hiking and sight-seeing, and two long days home. The drive from Chilliwack to Utah will be a learning experience for us and may make me revise my plans for getting home, but for now that's how it stands.

Sometimes the journey is the destination, but on this trip, partly because it's April and I expect most of the Northern parts of the trip to still be somewhat winterbound, our plan is to get the travelling bits over with as rapidly as possible and spend the maximum amount of time in Utah.