Is the Escape 19' tough enough?

[MyronL]

Yes, that happened at the infamous Ruby Road cattle crossing. Have since learned to believe the trail warnings I read.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

pretty much all the *serious* off road trailers I've seen have been small ruggedized teardrops. they don't ahve bathrooms, showers, water tanks, or much of anything other than an outdoor kitchen, a place to store a large icebox, and sleeping quarters you can't stand up in.

 

[Brian B-P]

pretty much all the *serious* off road trailers I've seen have been small ruggedized teardrops. they don't ahve bathrooms, showers, water tanks, or much of anything other than an outdoor kitchen, a place to store a large icebox, and sleeping quarters you can't stand up in.

That's the trend, but similarly serious off-road travel trailers are available, too... the image which I posted in post #5 is from a travel trailer which is a bit longer than an Escape 19' and wider than a 21', and equipped similarly... and they also have larger models (and a smaller model with a pop top). If you just want to go off-road, but don't need to squeeze through small spaces, a rugged travel trailer is feasible.

 

[Donna D.]

If you're considering an 'off-the-shelf' 4x4 trailer, consider finding an old U-Haul. They were built for the rental market.

 

[Donna D.]

These people are really serious about where they go

 

[Doug2000]

Well I towed my 17B across Michigan, Indiana and Illinois last summer, that’s like driving the Dempster. We made out ok.

If it was me, taking the road less traveled, I would look for an older 17B as they were lighter and more maneuverable. Look for a model with the front frame that was offset up or higher at the hitch. My 17B, the frame was straight from the axle to the hitch. I had to set my ball really low on the truck. Buy an older trailer as there’s nothing worse than beating up a new trailer.

 

[Brian B-P]

The two features of the U-Haul which I can think of which are meaningful off-road (or at least on rougher roads):

• nerf bars on the frame
• straight tongue (allows more extreme turning angle than A-frame)

Nerf bars could be added to an Escape, and might be a good idea. Turning angle - which is mostly a matter of how much the trailer can be jackknifed in reverse - probably isn't a big deal.

 

[Brian B-P]

If it was me, taking the road less traveled, I would look for an older 17B as they were lighter and more maneuverable. Look for a model with the front frame that was offset up or higher at the hitch. My 17B, the frame was straight from the axle to the hitch. I had to set my ball really low on the truck. Buy an older trailer as there’s nothing worse than beating up a new trailer.

As I recall a discussion of this feature with Reace, and the 17's that I've seen, there was a progression...

1. originally the tongue was bent to offset the coupler higher than the frame, because the whole trailer was deliberately quite low
2. the suspension was then raised for better ground clearance, and the tongue made straight to maintain the coupler height
3. but tow vehicles kept getting higher so while the suspension was kept high, the tongue was bent again to raise the coupler

I don't know what year you need to get the higher coupler... it might make sense to just measure frame height and coupler height on any variation being considered.

 

[Doug2000]

As I recall a discussion of this feature with Reace, and the 17's that I've seen, there was a progression...

1. originally the tongue was bent to offset the coupler higher than the frame, because the whole trailer was deliberately quite low
2. the suspension was then raised for better ground clearance, and the tongue made straight to maintain the coupler height
3. but tow vehicles kept getting higher so while the suspension was kept high, the tongue was bent again to raise the coupler

I don't know what year you need to get the higher coupler... it might make sense to just measure frame height and coupler height on any variation being considered.

IIRC, the ball coupler was at 14" which was fairly low when I set up my WDH. Even at the lowest setting, my trailer was nose up a tad. There is a pic in this thread.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f10/2017-toyota-4runner-4-0v6-towing-my-experience-13422.html

 

[Brian B-P]

IIRC, the ball coupler was at 14" which was fairly low when I set up my WDH. Even at the lowest setting, my trailer was nose up a tad.

That makes sense. 14" off the ground (presumably to the top of the ball) would be reasonable for traditional moulded fiberglass trailers, but very low compared to most current trailers. There are WD shanks with more drop range to handle this situation, if required, but no matter what is done to match the trailer to the tug's hitch receiver, having a low tongue - especially with WD hardware hanging well below it - is not good off-road.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

a proper offroad trailer should have high ground clearance with shock absorbers and big wheels, a reinforced extra strong frame, the trailer interior should be ruggedized to withstand violent vibration. and the water and holding tanks should be heavy duty and mounted with reinforced supports that are padded to reduce abrasion from violent bumps. the trailer should have a very short wheelbase, with minimal overhang.

 

[wxguy]

maybe a tipi?

pretty much all the *serious* off road trailers I've seen have been small ruggedized teardrops. they don't ahve bathrooms, showers, water tanks, or much of anything other than an outdoor kitchen, a place to store a large icebox, and sleeping quarters you can't stand up in.

Hi John-

I'd argue that serious off-roaders use a tipi . The only amenity there is a liner, which in reality is an essential item if one is to have a fire inside (that is a great heater until it goes out). Also an abundance of wooden stakes and a 40 ft length of 3/4 in. manila rope.



I lived this way for several years full time in the Black Hills of SD/WY in my youth 40 years ago. Haul vehicle: gutless 1967 Plymouth Belvedere automatic w/ a slant 6. (This tow at 150K miles was so worn out that the oil light flickered at idle) It was a hard life, but I could camp just about anywhere on public land. And a lot of places private, once the owner became convinced I would be a responsible steward of his land, keep gates closed, etc. (Seems like people were a lot more accommodating back then...)

But back to being serious. I'm an old dude now with a bad wing from a skiing accident and I need a good bed. I have a 2006 Lance slide-in for my Tundra that I'm pretty sure would go a lot of places where teardrops dare not tread. (Plus, you can stand up in it!) But my wife is set on the "snowbird" thing (AK is a pretty dark place in deep winter..) putting us on the road in the CONUS for ~3 months in the winter. We still like to camp as far away from others as possible and stay at a good camp for several days. Hence the need for a rugged trailer with some longer term amenities. Like waking up warm in the mornings.

 

[h2owmn]

Did you find new poles at eash site,or transport them? Those are long!

 

[Bobbito]

We had the high lift option added to our 2015 Escape 21 a year after we bought it. The reason is that we occasionally go on logging and forest service roads and need just a bit more clearance. The high lift option was only made available after we bought our trailer. We had opted for the spray on foam, which decreased our clearance by about the same as the high lift raised it, so we ended up with about the same clearance as a trailer without the foam.
We take it slow when on rough gravel roads and have the fridge/freezer both strapped shut and the table slide locked with a separate lock I installed.

Bob K

 

[wxguy]

lodge poles

Did you find new poles at eash site,or transport them? Those are long!

Good question. Yes, we transport them. These are my third set of poles, and they are a treasured commodity. These are lodgepole pines, and a very good name indeed. There are 19 poles, the longest being about 25 feet. They are about 3" at the base and weigh in @ about 7-10 lb each. We culled through several hundred in a beautiful lodgepole forest in SE WY to get these particular poles, and put about 45 minutes into each one with a draw knife to debark and smooth. These are- with a couple exceptions- straight as an arrow.

This set ended up being the all-round best set of tipi poles I have ever seen. They are pretty weathered out now, though.

 

[gypsysouls]

We just upgraded (Feb. 2020) from a Casita 17SD to an Escape 19. One of the early modifications we did to our faithful Casita was to add 3" lift blocks, install a high lift Torflex (10 degrees down) and upgrade to 15" tires from the standard (for 2007) 14" tires. We gained at least 5" of lift over the original stock height and never regretted it.

We could basically pull the Casita anywhere our tow vehicle could go, we stopped scraping our rear bumper on gas station driveway aprons, and our grey/black tank drain was never lower than the sewer connections wherever we camped.

The lift blocks for the Casita were from a small aftermarket company - Orbital Machine Works. They only make customized Casita aftermarket items.

According to Dexter's website, they make lift kits, called "Frame Spacer Kits", for some of their axles, but I don't know if they would work on an Escape. But I am going to research this situation because after having the lifted Casita, the Escape 19 is a lowrider!

 

[gbaglo]

the Escape 19 is a lowrider!

You comments make me suspect that your Escape isn't an ETI Escape, but something else. My buddy ( in his 19' ) and I ( with a 17B ) have been over some pretty rough terrain. I do have the high-lift option and he does not.
My issue is with the WDH on my RAV4. It has dug a trench, even with no trailer behind.

 

[rubicon327]

According to Dexter's website, they make lift kits, called "Frame Spacer Kits", for some of their axles, but I don't know if they would work on an Escape. But I am going to research this situation because after having the lifted Casita, the Escape 19 is a lowrider!

This is what you need but obviously to lift the axle you need a different axle start angle and/or bigger diameter tires like you did to your Casita

www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Dexter-Axle/K71-707-02.html?feed=npn&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI897I0dro6AIVBeXICh2pSgf6EAQYASABEgITCfD_BwE

 

[Brian B-P]

According to Dexter's website, they make lift kits, called "Frame Spacer Kits", for some of their axles, but I don't know if they would work on an Escape.

For the past few years, those kits from Dexter Axle are what Escape offers as the "high lift axle" option. The raise the trailer by 2⅝".

 

[gypsysouls]

Perfect! Thanks for your feedback. Looks like etrailer (nice operation, have ordered many parts and trailer items from them in the past) sells the same kits as on Dexter's website, and that is exactly what I was looking for.