Hello from Texas

[tex wardfan]

I have never owned an RV but now that my wife and I are both retired it seems like a great way to travel. I purchased a trailer magazine and it had an advertisement for the escape 5.0. I fell in love with it at first sight. Only trouble is they seem very hard to acquire. I was wondering if there are similar trailers of a different brand that are sold from national dealerships like Holiday World , Camping world, etc. I love that it is a fifth wheel but very light and only 21 feet long. It seems like all the other fifth wheel trailers are huge heavy behemoths. If anyone can share any info about other small light fifth wheel trailers I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks if you can help.

 

[BCnomad]

Scamp makes a similar unit. Bigfoot did.

 

[Mary F]

Check out FiberglassRV.com, which is a more generic site for all kinds of molded fiberglass trailers (including Escape). You will be amazed by what's out there in these small-ish trailers, and by how resilient they can be.

 

[tex wardfan]

Thanks Bruce and Mary. I appreciate the fast replies.

 

[Donna D.]

To current date only Scamp and Escape are in the current lightweight all-molded 5er market. I own a Scamp and love it. But to compare the Scamp 5er to an ETI 5er build is blasphemy! Not even close in quality. The next bet would be a used Bigfoot 5er. The last were built in the early 2000s, then they lost the molds to a fire. They are HEAVY in comparison to Scamp and Escape. However, you can often find them for sale in the under $10,000 range (condition is all over the place). Check out the Canadian market if you're interested in a Bigfoot. Much more prevalent there.


Best of luck!

 

[rbryan4]

What Donna said. But, if you want a top notch fiberglass 5er, just order a 5.0TA and wait for it. That's one fine trailer.

 

[Brian B-P]

Aside from quality and equipment differences, there are some basic design differences between an Escape fifth-wheel and the Scamp 19'

Width
Although the original Escape 5.0 was the same 2-metre (80 inch) body width as the Scamp, the current Escape 5.0TA is 20 cm (8 inches) wider.

Hitch
The Escape 5.0TA (and 5.0) has a standard "pin and plate" fifth-wheel hitch configuration, while the Scamp has a 2" coupler that goes on a ball mounted in the truck.

Axles/Suspension
The Escape 5.0TA has tandem axles (that is, two axles), while all Scamps are single-axle.
Although every other Escape has Torflex independent suspension axles, the 5.0TA has conventional beam axles on leaf springs (with a rubber-cushioned equalizer rocker); all Scamps have Torflex or similar independent rubber-sprung suspension.


This does not mean that the Scamp is not a good choice - it suits many people. It's just not interchangeable with the Escape 5.0 or 5.0TA. There are no longer any other other moulded fiberglass trailers of this configuration (over-the-truck hitch), since the Bigfoot is long out of production, and although there have been other differently-constructed fifth-wheels of about this size, I don't know of any which are still made.

 

[escape artist]

Hello Texas!!!

I have never owned an RV but now that my wife and I are both retired it seems like a great way to travel. I purchased a trailer magazine and it had an advertisement for the escape 5.0. I fell in love with it at first sight. Only trouble is they seem very hard to acquire. I was wondering if there are similar trailers of a different brand that are sold from national dealerships like Holiday World , Camping world, etc. I love that it is a fifth wheel but very light and only 21 feet long. It seems like all the other fifth wheel trailers are huge heavy behemoths. If anyone can share any info about other small light fifth wheel trailers I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks if you can help.

Hi: tex wardfan... We own the combo that was used in the ad in Trailer Life. I know the feeling of falling in love at first sight. The 5.0TA isn't hard to acquire...it just takes time... and also being retired we had the time. Being hand laid fiberglass it takes about 3 weeks from start to finished trailer. Being such fantastic trailers is why ETI is so booked up with orders. It's also nicer to deal direct with the people who build them as you get to have personal input and customization for your trailer. Also no dealer network involved keeps one level of profit out of the price. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

 

[tex wardfan]

Hi: tex wardfan... We own the combo that was used in the ad in Trailer Life. I know the feeling of falling in love at first sight. The 5.0TA isn't hard to acquire...it just takes time... and also being retired we had the time. Being hand laid fiberglass it takes about 3 weeks from start to finished trailer. Being such fantastic trailers is why ETI is so booked up with orders. It's also nicer to deal direct with the people who build them as you get to have personal input and customization for your trailer. Also no dealer network involved keeps one level of profit out of the price. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Alf, Thank you for the info. If I may ask. How much was your trailer. Also living in Texas I would have to ship it here at 2 dollars per mile. Another problem is financing. I would need at least a 10 year loan to make it affordable. What would I do if I had a warranty issue and needed the trailer fixed. You can see there are a lot of issues I have to consider. It just might be a dream that I can never fulfill.

 

[tex wardfan]

To current date only Scamp and Escape are in the current lightweight all-molded 5er market. I own a Scamp and love it. But to compare the Scamp 5er to an ETI 5er build is blasphemy! Not even close in quality. The next bet would be a used Bigfoot 5er. The last were built in the early 2000s, then they lost the molds to a fire. They are HEAVY in comparison to Scamp and Escape. However, you can often find them for sale in the under $10,000 range (condition is all over the place). Check out the Canadian market if you're interested in a Bigfoot. Much more prevalent there.


Best of luck!

Thank you Donna. It is sad that there are only 2 trailer company's that build this type of trailer and seem very difficult to acquire. I guess if they were sold by the trailer box stores like camping world and holiday world the price would be so high it would be ridiculous. It would almost be like buying an airsteam. I guess I will keep my eyes out for a used one in Texas but then the financing would probably be an issue. Oh well, I guess I will have to settle for something not near as nice as the escape 5.0

 

[Donna D.]

Tex, you should probably talking to your lender first to find out all the details to finance a used or new RV. Here's a good place to keep an eye out for used all-molded-towables: Molded Fiberglass Travel Trailers For Sale | Fiberglass RV's For Sale


Here's a used Bigfoot 5th wheel in BC, looks nice in the pictures and good price! http://www.fiberglass-rv-4sale.com/for-sale/1985-20-bigfoot-5th-wheel-6500-port-alberni-bc-canada-0

 

[escape artist]

Alf, Thank you for the info. If I may ask. How much was your trailer. Also living in Texas I would have to ship it here at 2 dollars per mile. Another problem is financing. I would need at least a 10 year loan to make it affordable. What would I do if I had a warranty issue and needed the trailer fixed. You can see there are a lot of issues I have to consider. It just might be a dream that I can never fulfill.

Hi: tex wardfan... Our "Escape Hatch II" was in the 35K CDN range as equipped. The exchange rate to USD gives you about a 25- 30% discount.
We owned a single axle 5.0 "Our Escape Hatch" for 6 yrs. previous and delivered it to the new owners on our Holiday trip west to pick up the new trailer. I figured it would be nice for us to enjoy a vacation rather than spend the money for shipping.
Financing for us was pre arranged via our home line of credit. I use it for my "Big Boy Toy" fund.
Escape warranty is covered by ETI. You contact them and they authorize you to have the work done locally and they reimburse you for it. So far our 12V water pump became defective. Reace shipped me one and asked if I needed to take it to a RVTech for installation... but I was able to do it in less time than towing the trailer to Elgin RV. I am just ready for my first maintenance and the bearing repack will be $35. per axle and I replaced the anode rod in the water heater... cost 7 bucks. Not too expensive for our first maintenance.
Life is too short not to chase your dreams. I determined at age 60 I still had a chance for a travelling retirement and grabbed it while I was still working. Here's a pic of my "First sight" love... other than my wife.;D Alf
Our "First sight" of our first Escape trailer and our 40th. anniversary on the Maine coast.
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

 

[tex wardfan]

Thanks again Alf and Donna. I really appreciate the info.

 

[emers382]

Tex

I don't think it's been mentioned yet but if you contact ETI they will give you contacts for Escapes near you. if you look at the owners map you will see that there are two classic 5.0 (single axle) near Houston.

Adrian

 

[BCnomad]

Hey Donna by similar I meant FGRV.

 

[tex wardfan]

Tex

I don't think it's been mentioned yet but if you contact ETI they will give you contacts for Escapes near you. if you look at the owners map you will see that there are two classic 5.0 (single axle) near Houston.

Adrian

Adrian, what is ETI? Also is there an advantage having a tandem axle trailer over a single axle?

 

[BCnomad]

ETI means escape trailer industries, the peps that make these trailers. Link on right side here ---> for their number.

 

[rbryan4]

Also living in Texas I would have to ship it here at 2 dollars per mile.

Or, make a grand trip of it to go pick it up - like ourselves and most others have. I wouldn't trade that trip for the world.

Another problem is financing. I would need at least a 10 year loan to make it affordable. What would I do if I had a warranty issue and needed the trailer fixed.

The trailer is covered for two years, but having said that, very little typically goes wrong with these trailers, and out of warranty repairs would probably be more frequent with a stick-built trailer vs a molded fiberglass one. That's part of the appeal: low maintenance, reliability and no leaks. Add to that, Escape stands behind their product like few others do. We did 8 years financing, but 10 years is pretty common in the RV world - and even longer.

 

[Iowa Dave]

Well fools fall in love just like scoolgirls
Blinded by rose colored dreams
They're building castles on wishes
With only rainbows for beams
I like the Drifters version best.
If you can dream it, you can do it
Never give up on you dreams
Dave

 

[Mary F]

I agree about the picking it up: so much fun! Of course, we timed ours so we could attend the Fall NOG, and we had other friends/family to visit on the way up and back. SO MUCH FUN!

Sea lions, central coast of Oregon: