New 19 in February - What's best campground near Sumas for shakedown?

ED

Edgefiddle

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2019
Posts
16
Location
Medford
We're from North Carolina. We sold our Prolite and are moving into something with fewer leaks. Trips in 2019 were a 2 month Winter loop in the South West, and a 3 month grand Yukon / Alaska loop. But for such trips the Prolite is just not heavy duty enough.

We'll be picking up our 19 in February, and ultimately be using it mostly for music festivals and dry camping on long travel excursions. Many thanks to this forum for helping to guide us through the ordering process!

The question is: where/which is the best campground near Sumas to spend several days shaking out the trailer (within a short drive of ETI)? We'll be leaving Washington for a month is Southern AZ, and want all the gremlins identified before we head south.

Thanks

Ed
 
I stayed at the City of Anacortes owned Washington Park on Fidalgo Island for a couple of days. Beautiful place, and I'd recommend it, but if I had it to do again I might try Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island. There is a KOA just south of Sumas that most people use, but I'm personally awfully fond of the San Juan Islands.

BTW, after spending a couple of nights, there was absolutely nothing wrong with my brand new Escape 19 last June. I hope you have a similarly pleasant couple of days of poking around your new trailer. That time of year you'll have some weather for sure, and know pretty quickly whether you've got any leaks.
 
also highly recommend Lynden KOA> nice folks! I stayed there after pickup for what ended up being 5 nights before the 2018 rally. I hadn't factored in the holiday and hadn't made advance reservations anywhere else...they were kind enough to find me a spot to stay longer than planned. The above recommended spots are truly wonderful but I wanted to be near supplies...home depot, target, etc. The upside for me was that I put my elfa drawers in the wardrobe and got some things for various simple mods.
 
We stayed at Rasar State Park. Beautiful place and a little over an hour to Sumas. Like many others, we didn't have any problems after pickup. Enjoy your trip.
 
After pickup, we headed south to Bellingham, where we stocked up on food, etc. We camped at Bayview State Park for a few days to check everything out. (Bayview is about 1¼ hour from Sumas.) We got to explore Deception Pass SP, Whidbey Island, etc.
From there we took the ferry from Coupeville (on Whidbey Island) across Puget Sound to Port Townsend, on the Olympic Peninsula. (That allowed us to avoid Seattle's horrible traffic). We cruised and camped along US-101 on the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula for the next 2 weeks, then along the Oregon coast, until we hopped over to I-5 for the big run south.


If you do this route, and have no stops planned in So. Calif., then at Bakersfield on I-5, take CA-58 to Tehachapi and thence to Barstow (you'll avoid the "grapevine", Tejon Pass, and then LA traffic). There you can intercept I-40 to Arizona. US-93 or I-17 will take you to Phoenix and I-10.
 
Last edited:
I chose to stay at the Lynden KOA two days in the middle of last month, because they had pull-through sites and were close to Chilliwack if any problems arose. Turns out that I was better at backing than I thought I'd be (due to past experience with a utility trailer), and despite rain, rain, and more rain, my 17B was leak free and cozy. Because of the rain, however, I was glad not to have planned on going to Whidbey Island, a place I've wanted to visit for quite a while but didn't want to explore amidst a deluge. After two nights, I headed south on I-5 until I finally ran out of rain and into sun in southern Oregon. Your weather may be perfect for sightseeing, but it's something to consider in February. :cool:

Hope your E19 is as well put together as my Sojourner! And if you're planning to spend time in Canada before your orientation, I recommend this Airnb. It's a lovely place in Chilliwack near restaurants and shopping. Two nights there cost less than one night in a hotel, but it had all of the amenities and more. :flowers:
https://www.airbnb.com/h/yvonne

Safe and happy travels!
 
rotateclockwise said:
We stayed at Rasar State Park. Beautiful place and a little over an hour to Sumas. Like many others, we didn't have any problems after pickup. Enjoy your trip.
Click to expand...

Rasar could have snow in February, though. But great sites and a favorite of mine. Lots of pull throughs.
 
thanks... never thought outside the hotel box. will have to look into this! Not thrilled about the stairs but the price is right! Ed
 
Edgefiddle said:
thanks... never thought outside the hotel box. will have to look into this! Not thrilled about the stairs but the price is right! Ed
Click to expand...

Ed, the first photo actually seems to exaggerate the steepness. Don't know if you saw it, but a side-view photo of the stairs can be viewed if you arrow on.
The folks who run it are really nice, too. They'll give you attention if you want it and privacy at all other times. It was my first airnb experience, a cozy resting place instead of an impersonal hotel room after traveling all the way from Texas. I only wished that it hadn't been raining the entire time I was in Chilliwack and the two days after when I took possession of my trailer, because I would have loved more time to explore the town.

BTY: Best wishes from a former North Carolinian born and bred! I sold my house and moved from Greensboro to Houston in June. Glad to be with my daughter in Houston but sorely missing the Piedmont! That said, I'll be traveling back with Sojourner in tow for Christmas. I wouldn't mind a White Christmas, a light snow - after I'm securely parked in my sister's driveway. :whistling:
 
i was fine at the hotel next to escape, but i was cautioned to unload my car overnight. A b&b would likely be more secure and way less trouble. I had everything for a couple weeks camping--filled the highlander and the overhead carrier.
 
What is your completion date. We are letting our 19’ sit for 4 months before we pick it up. The fumes from off gassing of the fibreglass resin and other glues in the cabinets can be strong the first month.
 
We are concerned about the out-gassing, but there's a music festival in Tucson we'd like to attend 2 weeks after our completion date Feb 24th. Idea is to pull a small u-haul trailer from NC to WA with all our camping and festival gear and "move in" at either the KOA or the Hidden Village campground near Lynden. Plans of course still early in development...

I know that FG trailers use a lot of "interesting" chemistry to build, and picking up the trailer in Winter means limited ventilation... but it hasn't seemed to deter others on this thread.... Interesting to see where comments go after this. Thanks! Ed
 
Edgefiddle said:
I know that FG trailers use a lot of "interesting" chemistry to build, and picking up the trailer in Winter means limited ventilation... but it hasn't seemed to deter others on this thread.... Interesting to see where comments go after this. Thanks! Ed
Click to expand...

I don't know whether or not ETI kept windows open during the build, but I'm quite sensitive to chemical fumes so did ask them to do so and didn't find the smell overwhelming. I made the trip back down to Texas without headaches, etc., but I opened windows and used the Max fan whenever possible. After 5 weeks, the chemical smell has lessened quite a bit but nevertheless lingers, so I'm still leaving the bathroom window open most of the time and running the fan whenever I'm inside, which also helps with condensation.
 
Sedro-Woolley has a city park with RV spaces. It's not far from Sumas; just drive south on Highway 9. The park borders the Skagit River. It's sort of utilitarian but it will do for a shake-down, and the location is convenient to other sights in the area.
 
As of 2015, when we picked up our Escape, it was about 4 weeks between "out of the mold" and "ready for pick up" by us. We didn't smell anything. After picking it up in Sumas, we drove about an hour+ to Bellingham to buy food & supplies, the off to Bay View State Park on Puget Sound for a few days. Don't remember noticing any odors.
 
Ok, thanks for the comments about off gassing and fumes. I feel better now. We are both pretty sensitive to fumes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

KI
Shake Down Cruise
2
padlin
PA
CA
19 Pickup Trip Report and Initial Impressions
2
canyonrider-ESC
CA
AL
Proud new owners of 2013 19' Escape
padlin
PA
LI
To Chilliwack and back for our 17A
NW Cat Owner
NW Cat Owner
RO
Home But Not For Long
techfan
techfan

New posts

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom