frozebubba
Member
I traded off my 2014 Gen 1 21C for a 2024 Gen 2 21C. The 2014 was unlifted, had full spray foam insulation underneath, an air conditioner and weighed 650 lb less in travel mode than the 2024 which was lifted, had no spray foam and no air conditioner.
I am a snowbird and migrate annually between wintering grounds in North Florida and summering grounds in Central Alaska. I have made 2 round trips with the 2014 and one northbound trip with the 2024. I do all the driving and avoid interstate highways if possible.
Ideally the data collected to compare mileage between a lifted and an un-lifted Escape 21C would hold as many of the conditions of the test as constant as possible. These conditions would include driver, tow vehicle, temperature and wind among others. I can hold the driver (me) and tow vehicle “constant” (2016 RAM 3.0 ecodiesel; 94K miles when I started pulling E21s and now at 147K).
My hand calculated MPG averages are based on 23K miles towing the 2014 and 6K miles towing the 2024. I excluded tanks with non-towing miles.
Overall, there was no material difference in MPG between the un-lifted and lifted E21Cs; 15.4 vs 15.3 MPG, respectively, even though GCVW was 750lb higher for the lifted version.
If you break the trips down to northbound and southbound runs, then the un-lifted trailer yielded 16.0 MPG compared to 15.3 MPG for the lifted trailer for northbound runs. I haven’t made a southbound run with the 2024 yet.
I was not expecting to see better fuel economy on the northbound legs where I was generally heading into the prevailing westerlies and driving up the globe. I’ll update the data after I return to FL in the fall of 2025.
Even if the 0.7 MPG difference between northbound runs is real, I’d still opt for the lifted version. It has come in handy when turning around in lumpy terrain and going through dips and I really like the ease of checking underneath for the lifted version.
I am a snowbird and migrate annually between wintering grounds in North Florida and summering grounds in Central Alaska. I have made 2 round trips with the 2014 and one northbound trip with the 2024. I do all the driving and avoid interstate highways if possible.
Ideally the data collected to compare mileage between a lifted and an un-lifted Escape 21C would hold as many of the conditions of the test as constant as possible. These conditions would include driver, tow vehicle, temperature and wind among others. I can hold the driver (me) and tow vehicle “constant” (2016 RAM 3.0 ecodiesel; 94K miles when I started pulling E21s and now at 147K).
My hand calculated MPG averages are based on 23K miles towing the 2014 and 6K miles towing the 2024. I excluded tanks with non-towing miles.
Overall, there was no material difference in MPG between the un-lifted and lifted E21Cs; 15.4 vs 15.3 MPG, respectively, even though GCVW was 750lb higher for the lifted version.
If you break the trips down to northbound and southbound runs, then the un-lifted trailer yielded 16.0 MPG compared to 15.3 MPG for the lifted trailer for northbound runs. I haven’t made a southbound run with the 2024 yet.
I was not expecting to see better fuel economy on the northbound legs where I was generally heading into the prevailing westerlies and driving up the globe. I’ll update the data after I return to FL in the fall of 2025.
Even if the 0.7 MPG difference between northbound runs is real, I’d still opt for the lifted version. It has come in handy when turning around in lumpy terrain and going through dips and I really like the ease of checking underneath for the lifted version.
| unlifted | lifted | |
| Overall: | 2014 | 2024 |
| Miles towed | 22,805 | 6,220 |
| Fuel burned | 1,480 | 407 |
| MPG | 15.4 | 15.3 |
| Northbound: | 2 trips | 1 trip |
| Miles towed | 11,645 | 6,220 |
| Fuel burned | 727 | 407 |
| MPG | 16.0 | 15.3 |
| Southbound: | 2 trips | no data |
| Miles towed | 11,160 | |
| Fuel burned | 752 | |
| MPG | 14.8 |
