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Escape Trailers - may be decent for the Ascent

10K views 39 replies 16 participants last post by  daihung 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey all, I ran into this entirely by accident looking for something else. It seems the 21 Series (and smaller) may be decently suited for the Ascent. The 23 Series is, in my opinion, too large, and a bit too heavy.


The 19 Series and 21 Series are tandem axle with lower tongue weights than comparably sized trailers from others, which should make managing them easier. The 17 Series is VERY light, so, even with a single axle, the tongue weight starts very low.

GVWR on all of them is 5,000 pounds, but that's with a LOT of cargo weight (eg: 1,360 pounds on the 17B series)

Of course, the shape isn't the most conducive to towing, or to fuel efficient towing, but, they're also not massively tall (the Heartland Edge I tow is a foot and a half taller). Heck, the fiberglass (roof) ends at 8.1'. Not bad at all.

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Thoughts?
 
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#2 ·
I was actually going to find somewhere to look at that tiny 5th wheel figuring it would be an easy tow for an f150 or even a compact pickup. My wife voted no because of the wet bath. I love the full fiberglass and dual axles. With the bathrooms located forward I'd want to verify that the tanks aren't up front making those low hitch weights a big variable.
 
#3 ·
I left them a comment asking if there's any on Long Island I could check out. The Heartland Edge has the bath on the rear driver's side corner, sink in the middle opposite side, drains rear of the axles, and tanks in the middle - so, lots of plumbing going everywhere, lol!

If there's one I can check out locally (or on one of my trips), I will report back.
 
#6 ·
I wonder if they'd let you poke around underneath to see where the tanks are?
 
#7 ·
2 big concerns are warranty coverage since there are no authorized dealers and no used trailers to go check/buy. Thre entire notion of a trailer is to bring our 2 dogs and so my wife has access to a bathroom and a bed en route. She's a chemo patient and traveling is really challenging. But, a trailer would be a total experiment and would rather buy used. A fully self contained might work better for us but then we'd probably trade-in the Ascent for something that can be flat towed.
 
#9 ·
I've been looking for an excuse.
 
#17 ·
I can bet that the Escape Trailers are wait-listed just like the Scamp trailers are. I contacted Scamp because I was interested in them, but they told me that they are backordered until Nov of 2022!!! I'm sure that the Escape are the same way. But, my bet is that we'll wait 2 years and a whole bunch of trailers will show up on the market because people who bought them to get away during Covid, will decide that these trailers aren't really their cup of tea and that they rather not camp, but instead go for a cruise. Keeping my fingers crossed that there will be some good deals out there to be had!
 
#11 ·
As a previous owner of a Scamp camper (also a fiberglass camper) these are built and sold direct from the factory like Scamp and Casita. Typical wait time is around 12-16 months as was our Scamp. These are built using two solid fiberglass shells joined together. Quite a bit different from the normal construction methods. As you probably have read there is quite a following for these and those who own them love them. Prior to purchasing our InTech Horizon we checked out a 21' Escape. Only reason we passed on placing an order and waiting was not wanting to miss a year or more of camping with our son. If you have the patience you will not regret owning one.
 
#13 · (Edited)
@Road Runner Puller with the OEM hitch, the Ascent is rated for 5,000 pounds, and it's a real rating.

In this pic, this was a little over 4,300 pounds. Towed great. I expect that'll be a similar weight to the Escapes when they're loaded.

12210



Also, it's pretty easy to be considerably below 5,000 in one of the Escapes due to the large available cargo weight. All of the 17-21 series have low tongue weights, which will make keeping tongue weight under 500 pounds a lot easier. And finally, two of them are tandem axles, which are more stable to tow.

What about the trailer weights post confuses you? I would be happy to try to clarify. Let me use some of the acronyms as an example in this.

The GVWR of the heaviest Escape in the 17-21 Series is 5,000 pounds, meaning, it should never weigh more than that (safety and legality). But, its GTW/GVW will be less.

Let's use the 21 Series.

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Out the door and ready to use, it weighs 3,539 pounds (Dry Weight, plus propane). If you fill ALL tanks with water, that's about 635 pounds more... but people don't usually do that. They usually start out with one full tank, then have as much as 1.5-2 tanks full due to waste material. So, add about 400 pounds. The trailer will generally weigh 3,939 pounds before clothing, camping supplies, food, etc. Lets say you add another 300 pounds there. That puts you at 4,239 pounds.

And now you're ready to hit the road. Your trailer's GTW/GVW is 4,239 pounds, which is well within the Ascent's limits of 5,000 pounds. It's also within the "85% rule of thumb" a lot of people stick to (which would be 4,250 pounds). It's also the same or less than the weight I generally tow at.


So, in that example, you've got the Dry Weight (as shown on the specs table), the hitch weight, and we've calculated the Gross Trailer/Vehicle weight to make sure it's under the weight limit (GVWR) of the trailer. We'd usually also want to make sure we're at or under the tow rating of the car, but, we already know that the GVWR of the trailer is the same as the car's tow rating. So, by making sure the trailer isn't overloaded, we automatically make sure it's under the tow rating of the car.
 
#15 ·
We owned our from November of 2017 until December of 2020 and never had an issue with anything on the camper. You get the normal warranties from Dometic for appliances, A/C etc. Dexter warranty on the axle and any other subsystem with the camper. As far as things covered by Scamp I would have never made the drive back to northern MN from SC had there been an issue. If I recall from reading the Scamp forum they did allow you to use a standard RV dealership for repairs and they (Scamp) would pay the bill if it fell under the warranty rules and time frame.
The beauty of a solid fiberglass trailer is you dont have the same type of build issues etc that you find with stick built models.
 
#19 ·
We just bought a used 2004 Escape 17! However, we haven't purchased an Ascent yet. We were about to put a deposit and got nervous about the cost of the new one. So we aren't sure now what we are going to buy for a tow vehicle. The older ones - our dry weight is 2k. Seems any 5k towing vehicle should be fine.
 
#21 ·
As to the water... (21 Series)

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#24 ·
Yup. Lots of great small/light options out there but I too want a slide and a bathroom, preferably dry. Going to wait out the pandemic supply crunch and probably get a GeoPro in a year or so. Currently using RVShare to try different things out.
 
#30 ·
I'm thankful we got ours when we did, looking now would just be disheartening. The affordable RVs and TTs are usually unmaintained and showing alot of issues: leaks, delamination...etc.

I would recommend against a slide simply because of the weight it adds. For the ascent that extra weight is a precious commodity and most slides would only accommodate a small dinette in the sub 5k lb weight range.

As far as warranties go, I wouldn’t have that as a make or break item. Most dealers will take months to get a warranty issue checked/approved/repaired. So even a 2yr warranty isn't going to give you much actual assurance. Read plenty of reviews and be prepared for the maintenance. That is a place where fiberglass shells and airstreams have a distinct advantage in reliability. They will likely never leak, where as any rubber roof model will most definitely leak at some point. Just be realistic and be prepared.
 
#31 ·
I'm thankful we got ours when we did, looking now would just be disheartening. The affordable RVs and TTs are usually unmaintained and showing alot of issues: leaks, delamination...etc.

I would recommend against a slide simply because of the weight it adds. For the ascent that extra weight is a precious commodity and most slides would only accommodate a small dinette in the sub 5k lb weight range.
I go back and forth on the slide TBH. For us, on the models we've looked at, the slide will provide more floor space which is what we actually need. We've got 350# of dog that need places to lay down at night so the slide gives us that in most layouts.
 
#38 ·
I just received a text that my 2022 Ascent Limited ordered 7/31 has finally been delivered and I need to order a break controller for my Escape 21C. There are so many post about which one is the best one and I hope I can get the latest recommendation from the forum.
 
#39 ·
The two most popular remain the Tekonshia P3 and the Redarc. Some folks have embraced one of the new wireless units, but there's a premium cost to that...very much worth if if you need to move between tow vehicles, but "for me", I'd stick with the regular type.
 
#40 ·
Just saw this thread. Late to the discussion. I have a 2020 Ascent LImited with tow package. I also have a 2019 Scamp 16 Layout 6 camper. I put in a deoposit for an Escape 17B on Black Friday this year. Estimate delivery time is August 2023. Even thought I initially wanted a E17B, I'm also considering a 19. I love my Scamp but always wanted an Escape.

I'm from NY so I'll most likely have the camper deliver to me or I'll go pick it up somewhere mid-west and camp my way back. The best gas mileage I had while towing the Scamp was 28mpg on the highway. That's the best I ever had. Driving local, not even towing, I get about 13-14mpg.

I got some contacts for the Escape ambassador program. I'll probably reach out to them sometime in the spring to visit their trailer. I love the idea of the 17B with a full bunk bed. The 19 only has a cot style bunk, not a true bunk.

Anyone else here have an Escape on order? Which model you're looking to get? Those that have them, what do you like about your model?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

-Peter
 
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