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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,714 posts, read 58,054,000 times
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Cousin has over 300,000 miles with Escape
With family they used a Dodge Durango to tow.
Now as empty nesters they use a 1500 crew cab Dodge with v6.
I too prefer a substantial tow vehicle, as I have seen way too many crashes and close calls as a commercial semi truck driver.
Often a Toyota towing more than reasonable, with an inexperienced driver who hits the brakes, instead of gently and gingerly correcting sway / dangerous condition.
Short wheelbase is ok for 5r, but not bumper pull.
Need to know # of miles / yr and terrain for OP. For ID, UT, WY, NV, NO CA... You could get by with a vehilce best suited for mtns, and adequate enough for towing.
I use a dually 4x4 w350 Cummins. I put a roadranger 13 speed semi truck transmission in her, as well as an exhaust brake. (Heavy towing in MTN).
BTW, Escapee travel club offers a bootcamp for RVrs. Used to have a session in Aug in Moscow ID.
Thank you, StealthRabbit! I have been discussing the thread and advice with my wife. When we started, we were leaning towards Escape and the feedback here seems to support that notion. As a result of the advice from 509 - we have now moved up to Escape 19 (from 17) as the latest top interest.
We don’t have a tow vehicle as yet and will be buying one. That’s partly why I created the thread ahead of the decision. Looks like F150 or something similar might be the better idea. It is a stretch for for my wife (as she decidedly prefers small vehicles) but she accepts that it is better and safer to go for something bigger if pulling one is the main use.
We don’t have a good read on the usage in the pre-retirement phase. We currently go camping 3-4 times a year. But, some of that is also a function of the shorter trips and hesitation to take on the overhead of tent camping (including the need to get in early on the arrival day to pitch the tent while there is light) for A 2-3 night trip. So, our usage could be higher if this were easier, we don’t know by how much.
The interest in a camping trailer is not an impulse. We have been (tent) camping for a very long time and love it, have been to around 30 national parks. We have discussed the thought of buying a trailer for decades. Because of work commitments, our trips are limited and we have been postponing taking the plunge thinking it is not worth it to spend the money to buy the camping trailer, tow vehicle and sign up for the recurring costs (parking, insurance, maintenance, etc.) given our modest use.
The business case before retirement is frankly marginal, but it is very solid for the after retirement stage (as we love travel to and hiking in areas with exquisite nature - national parks and otherwise and are very well located for it). My logic is that we are 61/60 in a year, and a new tow vehicle and trailer will easily last us 10-15 years, which is the likely sweet spot for their usage in our lives. Buying at 65+ will only make the decision harder and we will get less out of the same level of expense.
We bought our 17' Casita used. I believe they are available with a high lift axle. We towed very well with a Nissan Xterra which has been discontinued.
I have not owned one but the floor plan of the Escape 17B looks quite nice.
Thank you, engineman! We are leaving towards Escape 17/19.
Casita has a program where you can call them and they will give you the address of a Casita owner in your area. IF you buy a Casita, the company sends them a $100. They really do it.
I don't know if Escape has the same program. Call them and see and ask about how long between ordering and taking delivery.
If you see a Casita or Escape stopped ANYWHERE...knock and talk to the owners. You will learn quite a bit.
I think you will find you will use the trailer MORE than you imagined before retirement. It is so simple to have everything ready to go.....and so you go.
During fishing season I keep the trailer packed with food, clothes and my fishing gear at all times. Even a lake 45 minutes from town...I now take the trailer later in the afternoon and stay the night. Fish the following morning and then go home.
It is so much more relaxing than driving out there loading and unloading the fishing gear and boat for just a short day of fishing.
One great recommendation....is to get in your choice of RV and then go ahead and act out an entire day of going to bed, waking up, cooking breakfast, using the bathroom, taking a shower, fixing lunch, and then dinner. Oh, throw in taking a nap.
Once you act out the day...it will quickly identify the weak spots in the RV and how important they are TO YOU. All RV's are compromises.
BTW...in my 5th wheel. I thought the slide out pantry was a bit much. Living in it. That slide out pantry is one of the BEST design features in the trailer...and it has a LOT of good design features.
A good, well-built RV is like that...you will find all sorts of things that make your life much easier. Lots of which you never really thought about......until you found you couldn't live without them.
The reason we are hesitant to try to contact the Casita/Escape owners to see the trailer is the Covid situation. It is getting worse by day where we are - and it seems prudent to minimize contact, unless absolutely necessary. Doing that could put us or the host owner at risk - and we don’t want to do that.
I hope you are right in terms of usage before retirement. My wife and I spent some time talking about that and came to a similar conclusion. So, we are both aligned to proceed. Will still be slow about it as we don’t even have the tow vehicle yet and might prefer the 2021 model.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,714 posts, read 58,054,000 times
Reputation: 46185
Your plans vs. reality changed a lot during retirement. @ age 49.
Still waiting for Medicare age.
We used RV far less due to very inexpensive air, and a switch to international travel instead of domestic. Covid-19 USA response will curtail international, so we are back in the RV. (VW Rialta). Small, but just right for our previous thousands of nights in tent. Unfortunately, it is highway / good roads only (low clearance and Fwd). So... Take motorcyles for quick access to remote back country, will be adding a diesel conversion Samurai as a PT toad.
Ideally we would be using a TDI conversion VW Westy Synchro. Or a 4x4 sprinter campervan (with motorcycle toad) . But any one vehicle is not ideal for all situations when Backcountry and long road trips are norm and frequent. I really prefer a campervan to towing. (50 yrs as semitruck driver. BTDT towing thing). We don't live in the thing, but have been out 3+ months at a time. I expect age 70-80 will be our most likely RV yrs. Age 60-70 will continue to be 'fly-drive' centric and international while fares are cheap. NZ was fun to witness all the variety of RVs. Many DIY for local people.
Europe is extremely popular to see a compact car towing a caravan (TT). I prefer a minivan there (ez parking and lower tolls). Friends shipped their 'rialta' to Europe and kept it there for years. Our 22' RV would be a HUGE size in Europe.
We had an old (97) Bounder (Class A) for about 5 years. Enjoyed it, but it was getting to the point where every trip we took it on I ended up fixing something, so a little over a year ago we traded it in and bought a brandy-new travel trailer. The decision came about because we started looking for a newer, but still used, Class A and then at the same time we ended up needing a new family car. Long story short, we ended up buying a Suburban (8000lb towing capacity) and the trailer. Fivers were just too expensive and I could not see my wife and kids using a big pickup truck as the family car (darn!). Due to Covid, we've only taken it on three trips this past year, but after the first trip, which was a bit of a white-knuckle ride due to my inexperience with towing, I became much more comfortable driving the whole rig. All three trips involved mountain passes, and we were fine with each. However, I definately found after the first trip, adding a second sway bar made a huge difference in minimizing sway. It's a pretty long trailer (31 feet tongue to bumper) and the dealer only sold us a single sway bar. After the first trip I did a little research and discovered that a trailer that long needs one on each side, so I bought a second one and installed it myself. It made a huge difference. Having the Suburban available to run around in after we get to our destination is a major plus.
I'll be buying a pop up truck camper when I retire in a few years.
I love National Parks and the west in general. I want a camper that is portable....and on the truck so I can fit in all regular parking spots. I also want to be able to get into areas that people pulling campers can't.
4 Wheel Camper (Brand name) fits the bill. Doesn't weigh as much as a full size hard sided camper. Pops up in 3 minutes and when driving (it's down) you have better aerodynamics for better mileage. And it's not as top heavy.
They come with a heater, fridge, solar, stove, sink and inside or outside shower and even a King size bed (queen is stock). Not as much room as a pull behind but more maneuverability.
If you're interested just Google "4 wheel camper" and hit images.
I'll be putting my camper on a 2023-2024 Ram 2500 or 3500. Not sure on Diesel vs. Gas yet...but have a few years to make a decision.
Good luck with your choice and travels!
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