New to Escape... new to RV'ing...

[DavidF-ESC]

Hi All,

Been lurking here a few days now, and what an incredible useful community of folk.

Short (long?) story, moved from South Africa to Vancouver Canada five years ago. In South Africa, we were often out camping, normally in a tent alongside our Land Rover Defender which we had kitted out with pretty much everything we needed, or backpacking in remote areas.

I recently started looking at Travel Trailers, as we really want to tour around our new homeland. I really didn't fancy camping in near zero temperatures and 24hr a day damp (its a rain forest afterall), but was very discouraged to find out a) how heavy and huge most trailers were and b) how badly put together they are...

We stopped looking and went off camping in our tent and tarp to keep of the worst of the wet, but a week in the Kananaskis valley/Jasper/Lake Louise just as the snow started falling had me once again looking for some sort of light weight caravan, and I stumbled on the Escape...

So a few questions to you wise Escapees..

1. We are used to camping "rough" with NO services at all. We've never had a Travel Trailer, never travelled with one: how useful is the really cramped shower/toilet? Most camp sites we've been to in Canada have from perfectly serviceable pit laterines to full washrooms.

2. Are the fridges any good? As a field geologist I used 3 way fridges years ago and they were frankly not the greatest. We moved to smaller compressor based fridges such as the Engel https://www.engel-usa.com/products/fridge-freezers and never looked back, these keep stuff cold/freeze in 40C plus... BUT need 12V or mains power, and if you are stationary for a few days, this can be an issue. This was rarely an issue when we were touring, a dual battery system in the Land Rover pretty much ran the fridge for 2 days even when stationary. Modern Solar power panels would probably help as well.

3. The Escapes seem pretty solid, and some pictures show them nice and dirty from being dragged over gravel roads. Anyone got much experience of getting them to pretty out of the way places? I'm thinking of the back roads camp sites in the Chilcotins via the Hurley pass etc.


4. Though the Escape is light by North American Standards, it still seems to use solid/dense/heavy materials for the interior. Does anyone make truly light weigh travel trailers here in the west? I found this Alto 1743 but am not sure this will stand up to being dragged around gravel/forest service roads.

I hope to get out to the factory next week, and see some actual examples!


Any comments, inputs and ideas welcome

Thanks

David

 

[Sandra L]

Welcome! As I don't boondock, I cannot answer most of your questions, but my 5year old 3-way Dometic 3.4 (I think) fridge works great. I use electricity and have been warned about staying connected to my tow vehicle (fridge on-car off) as it will draw down the car battery in a big hurry. (beyond 20 minutes or so.) I do know that a cut-off switch can be put in the tow vehicle for just that purpose.

 

[gbaglo]

I have the 5 cu. ft. two-way fridge ( AC and propane ) I chose not to get 12V because it sucks down the battery in no time. If your battery is depleted and you move camp, the tow vehicle will only be able to feed the fridge set on 12V, with nothing left over to re-charge the battery. Some people travel with propane on. I just shut it off and it stays cold for five hours or more under normal summer temps ( for BC ).

The cupboards etc. are made from a thin plywood. There is none of that particle board / MDF / Oriented Strand board ( tops of seats maybe exempt ). Light weight materials are used and built to stand up over time.

My trailer has the high-lift axle and can go places my RAV can't.

Where in Vancouver are you? Mine is in the drive-way in North Van. Will save you the Port Mann toll. Then you can visit the factory.

 

[Jim Bennett]

Hi David, and welcome.

I do mostly boondocking, and with our 5cf fridge on propane, it does great. The whole trailer does great.

Lighter materials could be done, but at a cost, either in money or durability. Escape seems to find a decent compromise. A lot of the weight issues comes not from the trailer, but the gear you haul along. If you are used to tenting, you should be able to keep this to a minimum and still enjoy your camping.

I rarely use the toilet myself, only when in a campground where there is no viable tree near by. It is nice to have though, my wife really likes it.

 

[JaneM.]

Hi David!

Welcome to a great forum!
We don't yet have an Escape, but I can give input based on our Casita and our camping.

1. We love having the toilet! We use campground toilets and showers most of the time, but it's invaluable for the night time needs. We wouldn't be without it.
2. The fridges are good. We mostly dry camp and so we run it on propane most of the time. All of them struggle a bit in very high temperatures, but that's just inherent in the design.
3. Escapes are very well built and durable, but I'll leave the details for someone who has one.

Good luck!
Jane

 

[thoer]

David,

Welcome. You luckily found what I believe is the best price/quality ratio trailer of any currently available before you got stuck with a lemon like most of us on the first or second RV. I think Jim is absolutely correct about a lot of weigh coming from stuff we bring along and keeping that to a minimum makes a huge difference.

Being both in our 60s now, we love the bathroom, and especially the shower. Living where there are lots of ticks, mosquitos ,black flies, deer flies, etc and often camping where there are no showers, being able to take a quick shower to get the repellent off before climbing into bed is wonderful. (It is amazing how little water is actually takes for a shower when you are really aware of being careful with it)

Best of luck with all your decisions,
Eric

 

[cpaharley2008]

David,
Welcome to Escape Forum, our little world. As several have said, durability comes with a cost, heavier structural components. The refer in the Escape is a 3 way Dometic, operating off propane it is very efficient. There is a 12v and a 120v option also. With factory solar and dual 6 volts, you will be self sufficient and will need water before needing hookups.

 

[gharper]

We purchased our 19 for the same reasons DavidF you described. We hike lots, travel to northern BC, Jasper and interior, and prefer boon docking. We wanted some thing small, light and quality and looked at TABs, Altos, Escapes and the usual inventory at the RV outlets. I am too tall for a TAB. Altos have a nice layout, seemed a bit smaller that an equivalent size/weight Escape and not sure if they would last as well particularly over rough road. Not much difference in price when you factor in shipping from out east, also they have fewer options and little customization. Alto will give you names of folks in BC if you want to see one (there's one in Victoria).

We have the 5 cu ft fridge and it works well, perhaps get it cold and loaded a couple days before travelling during the summer. We find for boon docking a must have is a solar panel and an outside shower. I like to keep dirty hiking boots, packs, hiking poles, bear mace, etc, in the front storage box.

 

[DavidF-ESC]

Many thanks for the warm welcome and good information. It will be a while till we can get one of the Escapes, but I look forward to the day we finally get one.

I'm so glad I avoided the general run of the mill RV's, the Escapes seem to really hit a good value point.

Regards

David

 

[DavidF-ESC]

Well as luck would have it, we ended up having to drive out to Manning Park to collect a couple of friends who had just completed the PCT hike - (Pacific Crest Trail, essentially they walked from Mexico over the last 6 months. the mind boggles). As we were passing through Chilliwack we dropped into the factory, unannounced and a gracious lady, Lisa, showed us the entire range of Trailers.

These are really neat trailers and just what we've been looking for. Whilst the 15 is the most appealing, sensibility and and longer term view, suggest that a 19 would be the most effective for our longer term needs. The 21 is just too much for our needs.

So we now are into the sorting out finances and wondering what options we'll go for.

I have a question that I've searched for but haven't found an thread on, maybe wrong search words, about axle and wheel choices. Ideally we want to use this to go boondocking, and I'm interested to hear if anyone has had axles/wheelsets to provide additional clearance? What are your experiences, was it worth the effort? Did you try and match TV and Trailer wheels? A lot of the Forest roads we wander up have been decommissioned and have some interesting water bars to navigate..

If anyone is interested, the sort of boondocking trailer we'd be looking at if still back in South Africa would be this: Xplorer Xcell | models

Have a great weekend, happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians!

Cheerio

David

 

[dbailey]

I believe all the Escapes use a high lift axle by default now. It used to be an option, but now it's standard.

 

[gbaglo]

I believe all the Escapes use a high lift axle by default now. It used to be an option, but now it's standard.

I donno about that. It's still listed as an option on the 17 for $100.
A lot of customers wouldn't want a taller ( outside ) trailer.

 

[dbailey]

hmmm.... true enough. OK, now I'm uncertain enough to say you shouldn't trust me...

 

[cpaharley2008]

I believe you are right Doug and I also believe that the website is incorrect in that Escape may not still offer that option anymore because it is standard now on all models.

 

[gbaglo]

What would be the rationale for using the high-lift axle on all Escapes? And, isn't the high-lift axle the same axle, but mounted differently??
It raises the trailer 3 or 4 inches for off-road clearance.

 

[Burloak]

I believe you are right Doug and I also believe that the website is incorrect in that Escape may not still offer that option anymore because it is standard now on all models.

That's the way it was for my 2012 19.. hi axles standard. I had the original lower axles installed at no extra charge. I'm towing coast to coast on freeways every year and wanted to lower the cg and wind resistance of my rig as much as reasonably possible.

 

[dbailey]

OK, so I'm not out to lunch then. At least, not completely...

 

[escape artist]

OK, so I'm not out to lunch then. At least, not completely...

Hi: dbailey... How did the beans turn out? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

 

[cpaharley2008]

Robert,
that is an interesting thought, do you think you are getting better fuel efficiency with the lower axles on your Escape 19' ? Have you had any issues with it being lower?

 

[Burloak]

Robert,
that is an interesting thought, do you think you are getting better fuel efficiency with the lower axles on your Escape 19' ? Have you had any issues with it being lower?

Lol.. only have empirical evidence. I have no dead bugs across the top front of the trailer, only down the front corners. I'm sure my ski box helps in punching a hole through the airstream. I've never towed without it. Even when the skies aren't in it, the hoses, power cord, wash brush and bucket are.

The trailer is at the standard height from 2009-12 when the high lift axle option became the standard. At 7 Ft wide the 19 is still a narrow trailer in my case with a heavy polar cub ac on the roof. I'm more comfortable with the lower ride height and improved cg when I'm swerving around deep potholes and rock debris that litter the roads in the BC interior in the springtime. The lower entry step height that even my 89 year old mother can easily navigate is just a bonus