Escape wannabe but undecided re 19 vs 21

[Bear101]

Hello All
I just joined the form. We, my wife and I, are looking to move from our tent trailer to a light weight travel trailer and found the Escape. I love the ability to customise the trailer and I get the sense that these are quality trailers. Another we are considering is the Camplite. What we like about the Escape configurations are having a dinette with windows on three sides and cozy beds. My concern is one that has been discussed elsewhere in the form, is the 21 bed too narrow versus crawling over my wife to get out of the queen at night. I decision we will have to make. Any thoughts if one of the 2017 options will be the pedestal tables that so many form members have had installed? Will the new design have lowered / larger windows so that dinette does not need to be raised? Waiting to see the next edition is quite exciting.

All the best !

 

[Donna D.]

Barry, this is tough. My best suggestion is to get inside each. The layout's are different enough you need to find which one would work best for you. This is a big asset purchase, you'll make the right one for you.

Best of luck!

 

[PGDriver]

Welcome to the forum, all good questions but I think Escape is keeping most of the answers under wraps for a little bit longer.
As to the quality some of us are on our second Escape trailer (and some on their 3rd right Jim) I think that says something. We can't imagine having any other trailer.

 

[Bear101]

Thank You Donna D. Unfortunately there is not a 21 close by anybody out there near Ontario with a 21? : )

 

[Bear101]

Good to know Doug and Eileen, Thank you.

So the next question I guess is will our Acura MDX (5000lb tow rating) be sufficient as a TV for the 21? I think it should be good for the 19. Thoughts anyone, or do I need to be in a different thread?

 

[gbaglo]

So the next question I guess is will our Acura MDX (5000lb tow rating) be sufficient as a TV for the 21?

Again, I think we have to wait for ETI to introduce the new trailers before we know what the weights will be.

 

[Bear101]

Good point, I thought ETI would target similar weights but there is now support for this thought. I guess we will find out in March.

 

[Jim Bennett]

Welcome!
Tough deciding between the 19 and 21, as both have individual merits the other does not, one just has to decide which of these features is more important.

If a full queen is a must, the 19 is the only choice.
If a rear dinette is a must, the 21 is the only choice.
And so on.
And so on.

I doubt the weights will change very much, as though things are tweaking, most elements remain the same. Only time will tell for sure though.

 

[Brian B-P]

So the next question I guess is will our Acura MDX (5000lb tow rating) be sufficient as a TV for the 21? I think it should be good for the 19. Thoughts anyone, or do I need to be in a different thread?

You started the thread, and it is about the choice between the 19 Foot and the 21 Foot - which depends in part on compatibility with the tow vehicle - so I personally think this question belongs in this thread.

Since not many people have an Acura MDX, it might be helpful (for getting feedback) to point out that an MDX is basically a Honda Pilot; more than one member here has a Pilot. It may matter (whether comparing to another MDX or to the Pilot) that these vehicles have gone through multiple generations which change their specifications (getting larger each time); the current MDX started in the 2014 model year, and the corresponding Pilot started with the 2016 model year.

Again, I think we have to wait for ETI to introduce the new trailers before we know what the weights will be.

At the same size, with the same floorplan, it's hard to imagine how there could be a significant weight change for similarly equipped trailers. Unless a huge amount of equipment becomes standard (making a lightweight "base" model unavailable), it seems reasonable to me to plan based on current weights.

 

[Bear101]

You started the thread, and it is about the choice between the 19 Foot and the 21 Foot - which depends in part on compatibility with the tow vehicle - so I personally think this question belongs in this thread.

Since not many people have an Acura MDX, it might be helpful (for getting feedback) to point out that an MDX is basically a Honda Pilot; more than one member here has a Pilot. It may matter (whether comparing to another MDX or to the Pilot) that these vehicles have gone through multiple generations which change their specifications (getting larger each time); the current MDX started in the 2014 model year, and the corresponding Pilot started with the 2016 model year.


At the same size, with the same floorplan, it's hard to imagine how there could be a significant weight change for similarly equipped trailers. Unless a huge amount of equipment becomes standard (making a lightweight "base" model unavailable), it seems reasonable to me to plan based on current weights.

Thank You Brian B-P our Acura MDX is a 2011 and as stated the MDX is built on the same platform as the Pilot so if someone has a pilot that tows 5000 lbs that would be very similar to the MDX. In our region of Canada the pilot can be purchased with either a 3500 lb or 5000lb tow rating. So is anyone towing a 19 or a 21 with a Honda Pilot.

 

[float5]

There are Pilots here with 4500 towing capacity and people have towed 19's with them. Don't know about 21's. If you have a 5000 rating and you check the other numbers such as GCWR and GVWR, you can see if those numbers work for a 21' with 4600 lbs. allowed for the trailer. We do use a WDH for our 5000 towing capacity TV.

 

[Brian B-P]

... our Acura MDX is a 2011 and as stated the MDX is built on the same platform as the Pilot so if someone has a pilot that tows 5000 lbs that would be very similar to the MDX. In our region of Canada the pilot can be purchased with either a 3500 lb or 5000lb tow rating.

That would be the second-generation MDX, presumably corresponding to the second-generation (2009-2015) Pilot. In this generation, it appears that an MDX has a slightly larger engine and more power than a Pilot.

Since additional towing capacity is usually due to reliability-related changes (such as additional transmission cooling capacity), the towing behaviour and performance probably changes little if any with the towing package (but of course you need to stay within your vehicle's limits for reliability).

 

[Loren & Cathy]

Since we figured this was a one time major purchase, we drove to Chilliwack to compare all of the models that Escape manufactured. We left thinking it was the 19, but ended up with the 21. Take your time, compare all of the trailers and make the choice that is best for you. Worry about the tow later. Loren

 

[Bear101]

Welcome!
Tough deciding between the 19 and 21, as both have individual merits the other does not, one just has to decide which of these features is more important.

If a full queen is a must, the 19 is the only choice.
If a rear dinette is a must, the 21 is the only choice.
And so on.
And so on.

I doubt the weights will change very much, as though things are tweaking, most elements remain the same. Only time will tell for sure though.

Thank you Jim
I agree with your logic, we have excel spread sheets comparing the Escapes to each other, to Camplites and to the Airstream Sport 22FB. We are leaning toward dinettes at the front or rear which rules out everything but the Escapes. We need deep enough dinettes that our Border terrier, Baco, can sit beside us so we have decided the 19 or 21 will be a better fit for us. Now a deciding factor is whether we can share the smaller bed in the 21 with the dog, he has his own pillow on our king size bed at home and this is replicated in the tent trailer which also has a larger than queen bed. So the queen may be the way to go; but will the greater feeling of space in the 21 be better for those rainy days when you stay inside the trailer reading? Perhaps Baco would sleep at the foot of the bed in the 21. I will discuss that with him tonight when he moves up to try and share my pillow : ) Good thought process. I appreciate the feed back.

 

[cpaharley2008]

Having owned and slept in both Escape models, here is my opinion. The bed in the 19, although a queen mattress is really too big for the space, to a point where it is really hard to make the bed, also the bed is elevated to where one can not sit on the bed and put on their shoes or socks. You have to climb over the other person and you are surrounded by 3 cold walls in the winter. The aisles and bathroom are smaller, to where only one person can get by.
In the 21 you have none of these issues, the bed is lower to where you can sit at the foot and put you shoes/socks on, one less exterior wall and a lot easier to make. A lot more storage underneath the 21' bed. The aisles are 2 people wide and the bath is almost a foot larger.
Finally your dinette is looking out the rear 3 windows which normally will have a better view that your tow vehicle. Go big or stay home.....

 

[pkgman51]

The 21 isn't the only choice for a rear dinette. You can get the 19 with the dinette in the back. However, you would have to convert that to a bed every evening, and back to a dinette every morning. We do it that way and it's not a big deal. We have a single bed in the front. Our "bedding" just gets moved back and forth. Again, not a big deal because we like being surrounded with three large window in the back. Just sayin'....
Gary

 

[pstyer]

Picking the right trailer!

Try to attend one of the Escape rallies. You can meet owners and tour the trailers. We waited to attend the Niagara Wine Escape Rally at Niagara Falls and it sealed our decision to purchase a 21'.
This year's rally is September 16th - 18th with the official tours on Saturday. Come and meet the good folks who own Escape's

 

[NW Cat Owner]

I don't know how practical it would be to do, but here's a thought. Since you're not sure if you're going to be able to view a 21' near you and I kind of wonder how many owners would let you, your wife and your dog test out the bed in their trailer, you could try this at home.

Pile up a bunch of blankets along one side of your king bed. Measure so the area left to lay down is the same size as the beds in the 19 and 21 (you'll be doing this twice, once for each bed size). Flop down on the bed with the dog and see how it works for sleeping. For the person on the inside for the 19, how easy is it to crawl over the other person and the dog? For the 21, how easy is it to scoot down with the dog near your feet?

Maybe if your dog likes a certain pillow, you could put it on the dinette in either trailer and it'll sleep there, giving you guys more room for sleeping. (Yeah, my cats sleep with me, so I can relate.)

Or, just figure one of you will sleep in the bed and the other on the dinette, made into a bed. and the dog will have a choice of two places to sleep. :whistling:

 

[Bear101]

Having owned and slept in both Escape models, here is my opinion. The bed in the 19, although a queen mattress is really too big for the space, to a point where it is really hard to make the bed, also the bed is elevated to where one can not sit on the bed and put on their shoes or socks. You have to climb over the other person and you are surrounded by 3 cold walls in the winter. The aisles and bathroom are smaller, to where only one person can get by.
In the 21 you have none of these issues, the bed is lower to where you can sit at the foot and put you shoes/socks on, one less exterior wall and a lot easier to make. A lot more storage underneath the 21' bed. The aisles are 2 people wide and the bath is almost a foot larger.
Finally your dinette is looking out the rear 3 windows which normally will have a better view that your tow vehicle. Go big or stay home.....

Thank you Jim!
Excellent points, especially the last one : ) And the cool thing is if I combine your comments with Gary's, thank you Gary, and we get the 21 and have ETI install a pedestal table in the rear we could always convert the dinette to a second bed at night and reset it as a dinette every morning. So as long as the GVWR of the 21 stays at 4500 lbs our TV should be appropriate at least for the relatively flat Southern Ontario trips we would do the first year, then who knows, maybe a new TV is next.

 

[Bear101]

Try to attend one of the Escape rallies. You can meet owners and tour the trailers. We waited to attend the Niagara Wine Escape Rally at Niagara Falls and it sealed our decision to purchase a 21'.
This year's rally is September 16th - 18th with the official tours on Saturday. Come and meet the good folks who own Escape's

Great idea pstyer even if we decide to risk it and place an order earlier. How does one find out about dates and locations of the rallies?