Possible upgrade from Casita to Escape 19 or 21

[jmikeb76]

Hi. New to this forum and joined to learn more about the Escape trailers. I have a Casita Spirit Deluxe 17 which the wife and I love. For us (and our small dog) it is perfect and so simple. But, the kids are grown, I see grand kids in the offing and a little more room would be nice. Escape 19 or maybe even 21 seems like a perfect step up - not too much bigger but much more in amenities and space. And, it appears I can still tow either of these with my current Toyota 4Runner. So, maybe there is trade coming for me in the near future. Anyway, happy to be here (I can also be found on the Casita forum under the same name)

 

[cpaharley2008]

Welcome Mike,
If you wish to see one in person, contact the factory and they will put you in touch with an owner near you.

 

[rotateclockwise]

Welcome to the forum. Lots of great info here.

We moved from a Casita SD to a 21. Never had any problems with the Casita and we really enjoyed it. We moved to an Escape to gain more room. Personally, I feel the Escape build quality is better and having dual axles results in a smoother towing experience. Being able to customize our Escape was fun and our selections allowed us to become more efficient campers. You can't go wrong with either trailer.

Having had two Tacoma's and an FJ, I believe the 19 is the best fit with your 4Runner. The 21 can get heavy with options and might need a stronger vehicle. There quite a few posts on the forum about towing vehicles for each size trailer. Lots of experiences can be found through forum searches.

 

[Charlie-ESC]

Mike, welcome to the forum!

We have a 2018 Escape 21 which we tow with a 2011 Highlander with the towing package. Absolutely no problems towing. 15mpg cruising 65-70mph. Down to 10-11 with a lot of mountain driving, which we have a lot of in Oregon.

Unfortunately we are needing to sell it due to health issues. So, if you want to travel farther west, stop by and we can make a deal. (Find the posting by me, Charlie).

 

[cpaharley2008]

Charlie in Oregon has an almost new E21 for sale, skip the 6 month wait and meet somewhere in between to pick it up.

 

[richardr]

Escape 21 with Tundra

We had an FD17 Casita, and loved it. However when we went mostly full time (we rent our house to our kids) we decided our marriage wasn't strong enough to live in a Casita, and bought an Escape 21. We pulled the Casita with a 4Runner (a perfect match), but decided to go with more power and bought a Tundra. I was against going with a bigger vehicle at first, but now I'm very glad we did it. The Tundra pulls the Escape with ease and has surprisingly rapid pickup when needed while towing.

 

[Mr. Bill]

I’m looking for a 21 can you PM me with info. Thanks!!

 

[okiesoup]

escape from casita

Hi. New to this forum and joined to learn more about the Escape trailers. I have a Casita Spirit Deluxe 17 which the wife and I love. For us (and our small dog) it is perfect and so simple. But, the kids are grown, I see grand kids in the offing and a little more room would be nice. Escape 19 or maybe even 21 seems like a perfect step up - not too much bigger but much more in amenities and space. And, it appears I can still tow either of these with my current Toyota 4Runner. So, maybe there is trade coming for me in the near future. Anyway, happy to be here (I can also be found on the Casita forum under the same name)

We had a 2015 17' Casita SD and really loved it, but it was just a little too small. In March we picked up our new Escape 5.0 and we haven't looked back since, we really love it and can pull it fine with our 07 Tacoma Sport TRD. We really like the bigger table and not having to crawl over each other to get out of bed. Also the A/C in the Escape runs off our Honda 2000 generator with less load than the Casita A/C had.

 

[tdf-texas]

We had a 2015 17' Casita SD and really loved it, but it was just a little too small. In March we picked up our new Escape 5.0 and we haven't looked back since, we really love it and can pull it fine with our 07 Tacoma Sport TRD. We really like the bigger table and not having to crawl over each other to get out of bed. Also the A/C in the Escape runs off our Honda 2000 generator with less load than the Casita A/C had.

We had a 2013 Casita SD and really liked it but the climb over and the replacing rivets got old. Our 21 has everything we wanted and a few luxuries we didn't know we wanted until we tried them with the Escape.

Our Casita had the Polar Cub so ti wasn't too much of a change when we got the Escape with the Dometic. Owners that have the later Casita's with the Mach 8 will find that the Escape A/C noise level is much lower and the amp draw is less.

 

[richardr]

We had different results when comparing our Casita AC (Mach 8) to the Escape AC running on the Honda 2000i generator. We found that the generator bogged down significantly more when starting the Escape AC. We installed the MicroAir Soft Start in the Escape AC and now it starts slowly loads the generator.

For the sake of full disclosure, we installed the Orbital Machine Works Hush Kit in the Casita AC. It may have reduced the starting and running current, I'm not sure.

 

[tdf-texas]

We had different results when comparing our Casita AC (Mach 8) to the Escape AC running on the Honda 2000i generator. We found that the generator bogged down significantly more when starting the Escape AC. We installed the MicroAir Soft Start in the Escape AC and now it starts slowly loads the generator.

For the sake of full disclosure, we installed the Orbital Machine Works Hush Kit in the Casita AC. It may have reduced the starting and running current, I'm not sure.

The Orbital Machine Works Hush Kit is a great mod for the Coleman. It does reduce both the noise and the power required.

I haven't tried to run the Escape A/C on a 2000i - I have the Yamaha 2400 and it runs the A/C fine.

Going back to the OP going from a Casita to an Escape, they won't need a hush kit for the Dometic as it not nearly as loud. The OP has the Polar Cub if they have the A/C which is a little quieter than either of them but sadly Coleman discontinued it.

 

[okiesoup]

Escape A/C

We had different results when comparing our Casita AC (Mach 8) to the Escape AC running on the Honda 2000i generator. We found that the generator bogged down significantly more when starting the Escape AC. We installed the MicroAir Soft Start in the Escape AC and now it starts slowly loads the generator.

For the sake of full disclosure, we installed the Orbital Machine Works Hush Kit in the Casita AC. It may have reduced the starting and running current, I'm not sure.

I also had installed the Hush kit from them but I think the 2015 Mach 8 might have a high initial amp draw. I have thought of getting the MicroAir Soft Start for our Escape. Was it very hard to install? When the A/C starts the overload light on the Honda 2000 does come on for a second. Thanks

 

[richardr]

I also had installed the Hush kit from them but I think the 2015 Mach 8 might have a high initial amp draw. I have thought of getting the MicroAir Soft Start for our Escape. Was it very hard to install? When the A/C starts the overload light on the Honda 2000 does come on for a second. Thanks

We installed the more expensive full kit. It's installation was very straight forward with easy to follow instructions.

I didn't watch the overload light when starting the Escape AC without the Soft Start, but the generator sounded like it was going to stop running due to the load put on it by the compressor. In reality it recovered each time.

 

[Pupfish]

Escape v Casita

Initially we looked at Casitas, but went with an Escape 19 to accommodate grandkids. Looking at the two, on the occasions that we have the kids, the extra space is welcome. Day to day, I am 6ft 2in and can stand straight up in the Escape.

 

[stratos175]

Hello All,
We just decided to make this leap for the same reason, more room when the grand kids come along and also when we retire we want to be camp host so we decided a little extra space won't hurt.
We were fortunate enough to find 21' 2014 in pristine condition, (well it found us, we placed an ad in the looking for section of this site and it worked).
Will admit bought this almost site unseen and really surprised how much bigger 4' is.
Did this thinking I would have no problem towing this with a 2012 4WD Pathfinder but now starting to wonder and will no soon since I will be towing it from MS to GA this week.

We love our Matilda ('04' SD) and really hate getting rid of her and hoping a friend of mine is going to buy it so I know where it is.

Great thing about this is I know if for some reason we decide to go back selling the Escape wont be a problem and sure I can find a Casita we like.

Safe travels to all,

steve

 

[cpaharley2008]

Steve, be sure and update your avatar to reflect your new trailer...

 

[rubicon327]

Great thing about this is I know if for some reason we decide to go back selling the Escape wont be a problem and sure I can find a Casita we like.

Unlikely. You've been hooked now.;D Best of luck with the trailer.

(In all seriousness, before ever considering going back might I suggest checking out an Escape 19. They are lighter than the 21's, offer a great layout and have much more room relative to a Casita.)