Worth the wait

Mudhiker

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2022
Messages
18
Location
Spokane
Good evening!


In 2009 I was discharged from the Coast Guard and wasn't sure where I wanted to be next, so I purchased, without any experience or research, a 20' no slide (Fleetwood) Mallard to live in. Fleetwood had just gone bankrupt so I got it new on the lot for thousands below MSRP. Dragged it to a park and lived there for two and a half years. Learned a lot... skirting, plumbing, frozen stuff, replacing water heater tanks, tree damage, condensation, etc. But it was an affordable little home with no roommate. Got married, had kids, traded the pickup for a family car, and sold the trailer to a family member who could make more use of it.

Now, my kids are getting big and I want to take them out and explore the country. I'm also in a permanently remote job so the idea of taking off for a week or two on the Oregon Coast or wherever sounds nice. So I'll probably be doing a mix of on and off-grid week or more trips. I've settled on the 21C, and will probably go pretty high spec with solar and such. With almost two years to wait, I have plenty of time to ponder.


Thanks all in advance for the forum. I've watched a great many of the official Youtube videos as well as third-party reviews, and already been browsing these posts to answer my questions and get a feel for the ownership experience. Escape looks to be a good company building a quality product that will last and hold its value better than most of the stick and tin mildew traps currently on end-of-year discount at the dealer lots just down the highway from me.
 
Welcome. ETI does seem to move up dates. Just did a bunch, so might be set for awhile. But, as new workers get up to speed, & others find a used one, (more & more of them out there). I'm sure hoping us resent deposit people more up.
 
Isaac, Have you seen an Escape up close? If not, you're welcome to view my 5.0 TA at some point. I'm in Spokane too. I was set on purchasing a 21 until we walked through a 5.0!
 
Isaac, Have you seen an Escape up close? If not, you're welcome to view my 5.0 TA at some point. I'm in Spokane too. I was set on purchasing a 21 until we walked through a 5.0!


Oh cool, I'll have to take you up on that soon. My tow rig will be a 2022 Toyota Tacoma with a pull rating of 6400 lbs. Apparently some people have managed to do some frame mods with a hitch to pull a 5.0 but I have the double cab short bed and it'd be a really fiddly expensive undertaking with the pivot way behind the axle.
 
WE have had many trailers. Our last was an Escape 17B. We sold it to upgrade to a larger trailer. We waited for a used Escape 19 but none were available over a year long wait. We shopped around, looked at dozens of trailers. My wife finally says to me just order a new Escape or you won't be happy. Luckily back in 2019 the wait was only 6 months.

Are they worth the wait, yes, or you'll be looking again 2 years from now when you buy a trailer with a leaky roof.
 
I just sent the check in today for a 5.0.

It was finished just before their Christmas break so just a little over 13 months from the deposit.

I’ve been going nonstop on many other things in that time, so the wait wasn’t too bad.

Getting the options I wanted was well worth the wait to me…
 

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