Escape comes to Connecticut

[RSB]

Hello from CT. Placed our order for a new E17A yesterday. Kathy and I are lifelong tent and pop-up campers. Now in our 70's looking forward to easier set up and break down! We travel camp coast to coast but primarily in eastern US and look forward to seeing other Escape owner on our travels.

 

[jjdeluca]

Congratulations! We'll also be moving up from a pop-up tent trailer we'd used for the past 20 years. (Sure won't miss having to close up a wet/damp pop-up when leaving campsite & open it up again to dry out once we got home.)

 

[iamunique127]

Hello from CT. Placed our order for a new E17A yesterday. Kathy and I are lifelong tent and pop-up campers. Now in our 70's looking forward to easier set up and break down! We travel camp coast to coast but primarily in eastern US and look forward to seeing other Escape owner on our travels.

Wow, exciting times.

Welcome and congratulations.

 

[C&G in FL]

Hello from CT. Placed our order for a new E17A yesterday. Kathy and I are lifelong tent and pop-up campers. Now in our 70's looking forward to easier set up and break down! We travel camp coast to coast but primarily in eastern US and look forward to seeing other Escape owner on our travels.

Set-up and break-down is somewhat easier in a trailer than a tent, but you will find it is still a good amount of work as set-up involves maneuvering into place, leveling the trailer, chocking the trailer’s wheels, disconnecting from the tow vehicle, deploying stabilizers, connecting utilities (electric, water, and sometimes sewer), and unpacking cabinets which store frequently used items that are packed away so they do not bounce all over the place. Break-down is the same in reverse, obviously. There is also added labor and expense with trailer maintenance. When a tent has been damaged, it is often feasible financially to simply replace it. And you do not have to periodically repack a tent’s wheel bearings or adjust or replace its brakes (LOL)! As it is fiberglass, it needs to be waxed periodically to combat oxidation (think of a boat exposed to the sun’s UV radiation). Finally, towing can be more stressful than driving a motor vehicle with nothing attached, especially in heavy traffic. Just be aware that camping/traveling in a trailer is not a cakewalk, but it is a heck of a lot more comfortable and convenient.

 

[WillyB]

Set-up and break-down is somewhat easier in a trailer than a tent, but you will find it is still a good amount of work as set-up involves maneuvering into place, leveling the trailer, chocking the trailer’s wheels, disconnecting from the tow vehicle, deploying stabilizers, connecting utilities (electric, water, and sometimes sewer), and unpacking cabinets which store frequently used items that are packed away so they do not bounce all over the place. Break-down is the same in reverse, obviously. There is also added labor and expense with trailer maintenance. When a tent has been damaged, it is often feasible financially to simply replace it. And you do not have to periodically repack a tent’s wheel bearings or adjust or replace its brakes (LOL)! As it is fiberglass, it needs to be waxed periodically to combat oxidation (think of a boat exposed to the sun’s UV radiation). Finally, towing can be more stressful than driving a motor vehicle with nothing attached, especially in heavy traffic. Just be aware that camping/traveling in a trailer is not a cakewalk, but it is a heck of a lot more comfortable and convenient.

That's part of the fun though. My wife and I have a pretty could team system going. She directs as I back in. Then I disconnect while she gets the blocks, X-Chocks and tools ready. Once we level from to back she sets the stabilizers while I hook up the utilities. Once done I install the X-Chocks and she grabs a couple of cold beers.

I then pull out the lawn chair so we can sit and enjoy our spot.

Plus, we have a "App For That" so it does all of this automatically if we want.

Congrats!

 

[MrLynn]

That's part of the fun though. My wife and I have a pretty could team system going. She directs as I back in. Then I disconnect while she gets the blocks, X-Chocks and tools ready. Once we level from to back she sets the stabilizers while I hook up the utilities. Once done I install the X-Chocks and she grabs a couple of cold beers.

I then pull out the lawn chair so we can sit and enjoy our spot.

Plus, we have a "App For That" so it does all of this automatically if we want.

Congrats!

Willy, your wife is better-trained than mine. But while I'm getting all the setup done, she's getting dinner on the table, and me a cold beer.

Well, she does "direct as I back in." Thank goodness!

 

[C&G in FL]

Plus, we have a "App For That" so it does all of this automatically if we want.

Willy, please send me a copy of that App. It would be most helpful in inclement weather!

 

[IanC]

Welcome RSB. My wife and I followed the same path: Tent for many years > Popup Trailer for 10 years > then we purchased an Escape 17B two yearsago. Like you, I had originally ordered a 17A (no bathroom) thinking I had camped for years without one and could continue to do so. A few folks here on the forum highly recommended getting the bathroom (17. We thought about it and changed our order to a 17B and I can't tell you how happy we are to now have the bathroom. We get up in the night more frequently these days (ages 66 and 67) and having a bathroom close by is super convenient. We've found there's plenty of storage room in the 17B, even with the bathroom. My other tip is to upgrade to the 4 cubic ft. refrigerator. And lastly, if you are somewhat handy, the Elfa storage drawers fit perfectly in the small wardrobe of the 17B. There's a lot about that in this forum, but if you don't find enough, feel free to PM me and I can send photos. Whatever model of Escape you end up with, you'll certainly enjoy it. Now for the wait.

 

[RSB]

Our new arrival showed up at dusk this past Friday! Covered in coast to coast winter road spay but none the worse for the wear. The new "to your door" delivery policy is awesome and made the process very easy. The delivery driver was a total pro and the E17A was unloaded and parked in our driveway just as darkness fell. Our first outing is planned for later this month. See you our there folks.

 

[sofmerc]

delivery day is very exciting.... Wash it off and plan trips...

 

[GregColdewey]

ex pop-up owner

Hello from CT. Placed our order for a new E17A yesterday. Kathy and I are lifelong tent and pop-up campers. Now in our 70's looking forward to easier set up and break down! We travel camp coast to coast but primarily in eastern US and look forward to seeing other Escape owner on our travels.

We had pop-ups for 30 years and it was great when the kids were home. Have had our 21NE for 3 years now and could not be happier. Have had zero issues with the trailer and it is so easy to get set up...probably 10-15 minutes tops. The other big difference is that we never stayed in our pop up if it was just for 1 night while traveling from point A to point B. Now we can stay anywhere and don't use hotels on travel days. Enjoy your Escape.

 

[RSB]

Hello from CT. Placed our order for a new E17A yesterday. Kathy and I are lifelong tent and pop-up campers. Now in our 70's looking forward to easier set up and break down! We travel camp coast to coast but primarily in eastern US and look forward to seeing other Escape owner on our travels.

Addendum to this post, anyone in CT should be aware that to register my new Escape in CT it had to be inspected at DMV in Wethersfield prior to registration. It is considered a "Gray Market" vehicle by CT DMV because of its status as an imported vehicle. This required me to have it trailered to and from Wethersfield (56 mikes each way) at a cost of $650 before I could get a registration. You can't even get temp. plates without this inspection. Thanks CT.

 

[sofmerc]

I had the same situation in Florida. My 5.0 had to be inspected in Jacksonville, about an hour drive for me. Fl allows a certain amount of time to travel without a plate, so I drove trailer there and got inspection and registration. Trailer still had to have insurance on it. I believe many states have a similar arrangement. Did you check Conns laws That seems like an expensive hassle

 

[C&G in FL]

I had the same situation in Florida. My 5.0 had to be inspected in Jacksonville, about an hour drive for me. Fl allows a certain amount of time to travel without a plate, so I drove trailer there and got inspection and registration. Trailer still had to have insurance on it. I believe many states have a similar arrangement. Did you check Conns laws That seems like an expensive hassle

That surprises me. I did not have my trailer delivered to Florida, I picked it up in Chilliwack but using documents provided by ETI, I had registered it in Florida and had a plate before leaving to pick it up. No inspection was involved after returning. There are previous threads from Floridians (including me) which discuss the Escape registration process in Florida. The only hassle I had was due to Florida’s bureaucracies in Tallahassee not knowing what their counterparts in other agencies were doing. The Florida Department of Revenue insisted that I prove I paid the sales tax on my trailer that had been collected when I pre-registered my trailer. I still fail to see why they couldn’t have coordinated with the Florida DMV, given that collection of sales tax is ALWAYS done when a new vehicle or trailer (or newly imported to Florida from some other location) is registered for the first time. Florida DMV even collects sales tax for other states when a title is transferred to a non-resident if the non-resident’s state of residence has entered into an agreement with Florida to do so. Apparently, this “prevents” purchase of a trailer that will be not registered by the out of state resident and moved to a remote location avoiding payment of sales tax when the trailer will be used as a hunting camp or weekend getaway.

 

[sofmerc]

My trailer was delivered to Sanford and I picked it up without plates or registration. Went right to DMV in my town and was told they couldn't register it without it being inspected....I took it to Jax, got inspected/payed sales tax/registered there.