New Member Looking for a 21' Escape

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Greetings,
My wife and I have been considering getting a travel trailer for several years now. I have held back b/c we are nearly camping all the time where we live in NW Montana plus I have always thought travel trailers were poorly built. Now I find the Escape line and am excited. I have a 1996 HiPoint 18' M/C trailer that I have used for primitive camping and after all these years is still in near mint condition. I am a big fan of fiberglass trailers. My only problem is the 12 month wait for a near 21' Escape. I guess I just need to make my deposit and spend the next year reading posts on this forum to figure out the last minute options once mine gets built.

I plan to pull with an 02 Chevy 2500HD Duramax with 130,000 miles on it. I'll get a new truck if I need to, but no more diesels for me. The EPA has made the new ones way too delicate.

I am new to the game here so I would appreciate any tips. In the meantime I will enjoy reading the posts here.

It says a lot that ETI relies on customers to do much of their marketing. That's a pretty good indication they make a good product and have stellar customer service. I have already called a relatively local contact ETI gave me, and he is certainly satisfied.

 

[Bobbito]

Hi Rob,
Welcome to the forum. We first learned of the Escapes about a year ago, toured the factory in Sept and immediately ordered. We picked our 21 up mid-May, but the wait was worth it. Besides being among the best fiberglass trailers out there, the ability to speak with the owners/designers about questions and issues is priceless. Reace and Tammy are honest, good folk who go the extra miles to make their customers happy, hence the increasing wait for the Escapes. We had minor issues that had to be corrected after pickup, but you get this in any trailer. The difference is the 2 year warranty and ETI support. Read the response from Reace when I started the thread about them having to move the furnace on the 21. To many people the loss of two drawers wasn't a big thing, but to a few of us it was. Overnight Reace rebuilt the cabinet to give back one drawer. When we toured the factory I asked Reace about some modifications recommended on the forum. Most of them were already standard build now.
Don't worry about the long wait for your Escape. Time will fly by quicker than you think.
All the best.
Bob K

 

[Loren & Cathy]

Rob. We visited ETI last Sept. like Bob and put in an order for a 21 although we couldn't get the trailer till this Sept. We are just now getting pictures of it being built. A year seems like long time looking forward, but looking back it just flew by. I think everyone on this forum is very happy with their trailer and we all learn from each other. Once in a while a little difference of opinions arises, but nothing major. And every year, the build sheet seems to get more complicated with the most difficulty being in things that aren't on it. Do your home work and you will have build pictures before you know it. And what other company does that? Loren

 

[blue_bullet]

Bob,
Thanks for the welcome and the reassurances. I look forward to the buying process and reading/learning more on this forum. Your story of the factory tour reminds me of when I drove up to northern Ohio to pick up my HiPoint trailer. None other than John Penton himself, a world renowned off road m/c legend and the owner of HiPoint, gave me a personal factory tour. That was worth the trip in itself. On top of that John gimped thru the factory b/c he had just had knee replacements. I got special treatment and could tell he was proud of his business and manufacturing process. ETI sounds the same.
Rob

 

[blue_bullet]

Rob. We visited ETI last Sept. like Bob and put in an order for a 21 although we couldn't get the trailer till this Sept. We are just now getting pictures of it being built. A year seems like long time looking forward, but looking back it just flew by. I think everyone on this forum is very happy with their trailer and we all learn from each other. Once in a while a little difference of opinions arises, but nothing major. And every year, the build sheet seems to get more complicated with the most difficulty being in things that aren't on it. Do your home work and you will have build pictures before you know it. And what other company does that? Loren

Loren & Kathy,
Thanks for the encouragement. That customers are satisfied with the product and the process says a lot about ETI. I guess they are purposely staying small so they can enjoy the business themselves rather than getting too big and too busy. They may already be too busy.
Rob

 

[Mary Strasser]

We just ordered our 21 with a date of July 8, 2016! With all the decisions to make between now and then, it doesn't seem far off at all. We hadn't visited the factory (too far), but had lurked on this web site for several years, plus seeing a couple of 19's. I don't think we will be disappointed in the least, for the money, a new one is worth the wait; and winter is a great time to get the maps out and plan a trip.

 

[SpokanEscape]

Not sure how far you are from the Idaho border but we have a 21' you can view here in Spokane. And we may be selling in a couple of months - considering the 5.0 for full timing in retirement.

 

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Not sure how far you are from the Idaho border but we have a 21' you can view here in Spokane. And we may be selling in a couple of months - considering the 5.0 for full timing in retirement.

Jan and Paul,
We are 4.5 hours from the Spokane airport. We fly SW Airlines out of there since they are not in Montana. We would be interested in looking at your 21' Escape when you are ready to sell. What year is yours?

Sorry for the slow reply. Been out in the woods camping in the rain in our old M/C trailer. Not much fun but always good to get the rain.
Rob

 

[Donna D.]

I think the 5.0TA and the 21' are closer to kissin' cousins than the 19' and 5.0TA, because of the layout... just sayin' look at the kitchen area...

 

[Brian B-P]

I think the 5.0TA and the 21' are closer to kissin' cousins than the 19' and 5.0TA, because of the layout... just sayin' look at the kitchen area...

Right - the original 5.0 was derived from the 17 Foot, while the current 5.0TA was derived from the 21 Foot. The fifth-wheels match the corresponding conventional trailers in width, and in layout for all but the front part.

By "derived", I mean a shell of the conventional trailer was modified in front to make a plug for the mould of the fifth-wheel.

Not that I'm sure what triggered this comparison... I suspect that Donna may have intended to post in 5th wheel or 19?

 

[SpokanEscape]

Hi Rob -
Rain is a good thing these days! We had a nice downpour this morning and the firefighters are happy for sure.
Our 2014 was picked up in April 2014 we will have camped in it for 44 nights and put 3600 miles on it by Labor Day this year which is when we planned to put it up for sale. We are non-smokers and pet free.
If you are in Spokane before then you are welcome to look at it - wasn't sure if you had seen an Escape in person. If you PM us your email we can send some pictures. Also there are a few in an album on our page which you can access by clicking on our name.
We were brand new to trailering and have loved camping and traveling with our trailer. And yes we have decided to get a 5.0 for when I retire next year. Whatever Escape you purchase you will be very happy with a quality product.
Warm regards,
Jan and Paul