New member from Astoria, Oregon

[John Webb]

Hi All! My name is John Webb. I do not own an Escape trailer yet, but have put a deposit on a E23. I joined to try and learn more, as I complete the build sheet. I thank all of You, as I am sure I will ask a lot of questions! This project for Me is definitely a bucket list item, and it feels great to see it coming to fruition, after waiting so long!

 

[iamunique127]

Big congratulations, John.
Welcome to the forum and the Escape world.
You've got lots of fun ahead.

 

[Sean Murry]

Welcome to this forum. This forum has a load of very experienced and willing people to give tips and advice. Many of the things I have done to my trailer came from the vast amount of information received from this forum.

Congratulations!!

 

[John Webb]

Thank You All! I am looking forward to doing this in My retirement.

 

[Escape Trailer]

Congratulations John! Looking forward to seeing all of your great adventure highlights! Safe and happy travels to you and yours. Thank you so much for choosing Escape to help make your travel dreams come true!

 

[John Webb]

Thank You for Your kind response!

 

[Ron in BC]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Yes, the forum has a wealth of information. Your biggest job will be deciding what opinions to follow. Lot's of folks have strong views on items and often there's two or more views expressed.

Ron

 

[Cathleen Shea]

Hey John,

Hillsboro, here. We're due to pick up our first ever trailer, an E19, on 3 October. I'm in the 60 day... auuugggghhhh mode. Just wrote out our master list of must-have items for getting started. Cha-ching... the prices! But I know we'll get through all the challenges. Welcome to the world of Escape.

 

[John Webb]

Cathleen Shea, You are doing well, as Our E23 is not due to be completed until December 23, and I will not pick it up until after the New Year. I think I did O.K. on the build sheet, but I am sure I did not get everything perfect, but did get quite a few of the options. This has been a long time coming, and it is going to take awhile longer, but feels good to know it is going to happen in time for next summer. Enjoy Your new trailer!

 

[Ron in BC]

Hey John,

Just wrote out our master list of must-have items for getting started.

I see folks doing this all the time. My advice is take the basics on the first outing and see what you actually need as opposed to what you think you might need.

Between Walmart, Camping World and Amazon anything you find you need is readily available.

Ron

 

[Cathleen Shea]

Fantastic, John.

We started our journey in February, this year. ETI has been fabulous in working with our changes along the way. Initially, we thought we needed to wait a year for financial conservativeness. It turned out we could swing it this year... and ETI kindly found us a spot sooner in the build schedule.

Jodi Woywitka, our build specialist, has been the best of build-midwifes for us. Don't be afraid to ask for changes... if it's before the build starts... remember. ETI builds for you.

See you out on the road.

 

[John Webb]

I too used Jodi. She did a great job answering about a 100, or more questions. Everyone that I have dealt with at Escape, has really been great to work with. My wife and I are going to Washougal, Washington Sunday to take a look at a E23 in person. I have seen lots of pics, floor plans, etc., but My wife has not, and I would really like to have both of Us see one in person, just to confirm. Have a great weekend, J. Webb.

 

[John Webb]

I see folks doing this all the time. My advice is take the basics on the first outing and see what you actually need as opposed to what you think you might need.

Between Walmart, Camping World and Amazon anything you find you need is readily available.

Ron

I watched a Utube video that was well done by a couple ladies about necessities that were needed. I watched part of it, then went and got a tablet, and made a list, as what They said made a lot of sense to Me. There were a lot of things that I had not thought of. We are going to pickup the trailer at Escape, and immediately camp, and I want to be prepared, as We aren’t a huge distance from Home, (Oregon), but still far enough away to, “Be Prepared”.

 

[Ron in BC]

We aren’t a huge distance from Home, (Oregon), but still far enough away to, “Be Prepared”.

And there are at least 3 Camping Worlds between ETI and your home.

Ron

 

[Cathleen Shea]

I too used Jodi. She did a great job answering about a 100, or more questions. Everyone that I have dealt with at Escape, has really been great to work with. My wife and I are going to Washougal, Washington Sunday to take a look at a E23 in person. I have seen lots of pics, floor plans, etc., but My wife has not, and I would really like to have both of Us see one in person, just to confirm. Have a great weekend, J. Webb.

Oh, I'm glad you'll get to go see one in person. We were able to go up to Chilliwack in early March... met everyone, and got to see a bunch of models.

We scoured the web for a bunch of different trailer companies. ETI is the best. The Oliver trailer, the closest competition in shells... cost twice as much. We could not be more pleased with our choice.

We'll try not to melt this weekend. Oregon is hotter than ever.

 

[Cathleen Shea]

I see folks doing this all the time. My advice is take the basics on the first outing and see what you actually need as opposed to what you think you might need.

Between Walmart, Camping World and Amazon anything you find you need is readily available.

Ron

Good wisdom. As the list topped $2000 I had a wee meltdown. For example... we won't buy a backup generator straight away. While we want to go off grid, in the wilds... we're going to spend this winter in campgrounds, and RV parks, on electric, as we get used to our systems. Then... one piece at a time, we'll add in new gear for our chosen destinations.

 

[Ron in BC]

For example... we won't buy a backup generator straight away. While we want to go off grid, in the wilds...

That's good because there's a good chance that you'll never need one. We spend almost all our time in Forest Service or BLM sites without power. With adequate solar and lithium batteries the need for a generator has greatly diminished.

Ron

 

[Cathleen Shea]

That's good because there's a good chance that you'll never need one. We spend almost all our time in Forest Service or BLM sites without power. With adequate solar and lithium batteries the need for a generator has greatly diminished.

Ron

This is great to hear. We lived in Lincoln City, on the Oregon Coast, for 13 years. Power occasionally went out. The great hurricane tail that hit in the winter of 2006 or so... might be the only time we were out for days.

Our plan for the first six months of trailer life will coincide with winter. So, we're going back to the coast... probably a bit further south, but still in Oregon. I'm in a sweet spot as a disabled veteran for campground discounts. Electric hookups here we come.

And, we'll be testing out our solar kit, as well. No illusions about charging rates during an Oregon Coast winter.

Everything will contribute to our knowledge base. Once we feel comfortable... it'll be off to find dark skies for my astrophotography, and landscape photography hobbies. I'm excited to be mobile.

 

[brroberts]

Everything will contribute to our knowledge base. Once we feel comfortable... it'll be off to find dark skies for my astrophotography, and landscape photography hobbies. I'm excited to be mobile.

Two things:

I agree start out simple. We probably all have RV stuff on a shelf somewhere collecting dust that we either hardly or never use.

Also, there are several Escape owners who do astronomy and can be cross referenced at CloudyNights. I just sent Astronomics more college tuition money during the ZWO sale.

 

[Cathleen Shea]

Right on! I need to roam Cloudy Nights more often. I was posting a bit on the Astrospheric forum.

My old and tired Pentax K3ii is protesting being out at night lately. My last shoot was down on the north flank of Mount Shasta in April.

I'm babying my camera along, and mostly... patiently... awaiting getting started on the road, not blowing out our budget... before I invest in the new Nikon Z6iii. It'll be quite a leap for my Pentaxian brain... but what a camera!