Hello Everyone, we hope you are enjoying/enjoyed our full-time trailer tour. Don't hold back to ask questions. We will do our best to answer them. Our other videos might interest you as well. We are adding new videos with not more than 1 1/2 weeks in between in the future. And in regards to the extra items we installed in the Escape... we provided all Amazon links in the description so you can easily find them! Have a great day!!
Your walk-thru was exceptionally thorough and very helpful, especially for Escape shoppers like us. Thank you for taking the time this took to make. Especially appreciate the many product links. Nice trailer!
One of the best videos on the 21C I have found! Thank you so much for sharing! It would be awesome to learn about your power upgrades in more details in a future video.
Thanks so much! Really appreciate you liking this tour video. We will make sure to make a more detailed video on the power upgrades once all is finalized. Have a great day!
Fabulous tour & thorough explanations of everything the trailer comes with, where you upgraded and modified. You helped me decide this is the trailer I choose as my new home! Thank you both so much!
You are very welcome! We are happy we could help you with this video tour. It is a very cozy trailer and we are sure you will be happy with it as your new home. If there are issues, they are all usually manageable. But out of experience living in even aluminum trailers before, this one is so easy to deal with. Have a great weekend!
Great video and awesome information. After a year of planning and waiting we are finally putting our build sheet together for our 21C. Your video has been super helpful for us in making the few last build decisions.
We're happy to read that the video was a helpful tool for your decision making. The weeks before it goes into production are so exciting, aren't they?!
Great you like the tour and us sharing our story! We even had to edit a lot out unfortunately, since our german-based OCD made the original tour much too long😁. But it looks like we covered most of it.
We tried to stay with the base options that the manufacturer provides. You can do all kinds of changes but we thought as well that the black counter provides a nice contrast to the maple.
What an excellent introduction to the Escape 21C. Thank you so much for such detailed content. Will be watching more of your videos from my new 21C in 2024 🤩
Glad you liked it🤗. And thank you for watching. Congrats on getting your 2024 21C. We're sure you will love it😎! If you have any questions let us know.
Seeing your Nespresso setup made me so happy!! So perfect! I was worried full-timing I would have to give up my Nespresso, but now I see I don’t have to!
Excellent tour! Best I've seen. I have the same little padlock on my front storage! 🙂 I had to turn my motorized jack sideways 90 degrees to allow room for my pickup tailgate to lower, but no problem doing that. The standard USA hitch is easier to get the ball into/out of, but this one works fine for me too and yes, I have to adjust the truck forward/back just a quarter inch or so to get it to line up. Wish Escape had used the USA type hitch. Love my E2 system. I added/wired in four light switches for four external lights (one on each exterior wall) and those switches are just inside the door on the kitchen wall. I wanted to be able to turn on ALL LIGHTS (or individual ones) from inside if there were shenanigans going on outside. Yep, I had same issues with the sail switch too, must be bad design. And yes, that heater isn't very efficient. It's on my list to replace it with a radiant propane heater that uses no electricity and is much more efficient, and I'll install it under the foot of the bed so it's down on the floor and so it points to the dinette rather than pointing out the door! Ok, that's enough comments from me. 🙂 You have encouraged me to produce a video of my own 21ft Escape.
Hi Ann, great you like the tour of our 21C. We actually just today turned the jack sideways as well because of the space for the tailgate. Such a game-changer to be able to properly access the back of the truck. The hitch is for sure something to get used to, but it seems to add a tad more stability...maybe. Good idea with the individual lights switched for the outside. Very helpful. If you are interested in a very efficient, electricity-less heater. check out Martin heaters. We had that in our Avion before and it was awesome. It is direct vent propane heater. We thought about installing it in the Escape, but the direct vent puts a damper on that, since it has to be installed horizontally. Maybe you have a solution for that. Other than that we looked at the Dickinson Marine Propane heater. It only has a a 12V little circulation fan and would be much more efficient than those nasty normal RV furnaces. For sure do a video tour. Visuals are so helpful for people, even if they do not own an RV. Have a great weekend!
Thank you! Glad we could provide you with some info with our video. The 21C is for sure a great choice. Your Lab will feel very comfortable. Hope you are not too far out on the build schedule, although for us the wait was such an exiting time as well.
You are very welcome! Even the wait-time until your trailer is ready is exciting, isn't it?! We were constantly planning things for the trailer. Have a great weekend!
You are very welcome! Even the wait-time until your trailer is ready is exciting, isn't it?! We were constantly planning things for the trailer. Have a great weekend!
Thanks so much for this video - we are just completing our build sheet for our 17B and although we are getting a different trailer and won't be living in our trailer, it's nice to see a trailer with 'stuff' in it and where people put things and what gadgets you have that worked for you. We are also two adults with two (smaller - cocker spaniels) dogs that sleep on the bed. We live close enough to Escape to be able to go and see the trailers in person, but it's nice to see trailers 'in action'.
Thanks for watching🤗! We are like that as well. We enjoy seeing solutions to things and how they perform during the actual use👍🏻. And we wish you happy travels for when you have your 17B. Such an exciting time😊!
Great you liked the video. Thanks for the input. Once I have the electrical all pretty much finalized (proper fuseholder another battery disconnect, better solar panel fusing) I will make sure to show the details. In regards to what I used on the major parts so far (inverter, shunt, solar charge controller) the list in the description that shows "Extras we installed in our trailer", might provide a small insight for now. Have a great day!
Thank you so much for your detailed tour. I would like to see a video on your lithium upgrades. I received my 21C trailer just about the same time. It is a dream come true. I want to commend you on your organization. My husband was Dutch and he was much better at organizing and making efficient use of space than I am. I wish you well on your journey and will be checking out some of the products you used as well.
Glad you liked the tour! And thanks for watching! Julia is our organization genius and we get quickly annoyed when something is not working as it should, haha. Probably the German in us ;) We do plan to show a bit more about our electrical set-up and how we deal with things on that end. Hopefully we get to it fairly soon. Let us know if there are any products in the list in the description that we might have missed. And I will add the necessary link to it. Thanks for the well-wishes and we wish you all the best as well!
Hello, thanks for watching 🤗. That blue layer is actually underlay usually used for flooring (laminate, etc.). We looked at all the fancy options, and those were just too pricey. This blue underlay does the very same thing, to create airflow under the mattress and cushions. And the whole roll (we only needed a minimal amount of it) was only $72 (Canadian) at Home Depot. We never had condensation after that on those surfaces. We hope that helps😊.
It would be great to have web links to some things you used/did... ie stuff under seat cushions to prevent condensation. Will be ordering our 21c soon.
That is actually a good point. Thank you! I will add some links to the description. The ventilation material we got in the flooring department at Home Depot (or Lowes, I will check). There is a material online which is called "Hypervent-Aire Flow Moisture Barrier", but it is very pricey. So we walked around at hardware stores and tried to find out what might achieve the same function. I do that a lot...I like hardware stores too much :)
Hi Ian and Jessica, I created all the Amazon-links for the items that we used in our trailer in the video description. Some of them we did not show, but wish we had in the video now, since we are happy with them ;)
Hi David, we got them at a small store, but I found those with the exact same measurements on Amazon. This is the link: amzn.to/3D18cK7 Hope that helps.
Oh thank you! finally someone fully grown like me in one of these things! It is a very valid point that you really rarely stand upright in a trailer. I would like there to be more head room in the places where you do - over the kitchen and in the bath. Did you find that a wet bath is actually preferable because you can sit down for the bathing process? also - why not the 5.0 that offers a 6'7" height in the areas I mentioned? Is that availability or didnt want to deal with a 5th wheel type tow rig? One of the things I hate the most about most trailers are the windows. the framed ones only open half way and reed some sort of add on to keep rain out. The frameless windows only open a bare crack of a couple inches. The acrylic double pane windows from europe that are appearing on many trailers are so much better. I saw in Johnny Hung's video he replaced several of his Escape's windows with those and it looks fantastic.
Hi, thanks for watching! The wet bath in general is in our opinion a great thing, since a person literally spends only some low amount of time in it every day that the living space is much more important to be comfy. And it being a two function areas in one makes sense to us, instead of those areas being separate. I thought I would sit down for the showering but actually I never do. The curve on the ceiling restricts the shower head positioning mainly, but it is still enjoyable even at my 6'6". The bigger issue I don't like is when there is not enough room around me, that is why I moved the composting toilet further back than where Escape installed it. That made a huge difference in regards to the space feeling. We thought about only having the kitchen sink for everything to have more room in the wet bath, but are now happy with having both. We opted to not go for the 5.0 mainly because we need all the truck space for our stuff (bikes, tools, external solar panel, extra water, etc.) The truck bed is our basement that keeps all our full-time stuff dry. When we picked up our 21C in Chilliwack it was the first time for us in one, so we just went for it knowing the height issue is not a big concern when we ordered it online (The AC is the only thing I keep a watchful eye on, haha). After only a week we knew we made the best decision and we are feeling super cozy in this little home of ours. A lot of people like the framed windows, but as you mentioned rain can be an issue. So far we never had to be concerned about it with the frameless windows. The amount they push open is, again in our opinion, very much enough to allow great airflow. The much more important component here is the MAXX fan. When that thing is on level 5 (out of 10) The draft it creates is amazing. We have our fan going pretty much 12 hours a day. And our dogs love the cool down. It works great for them on hotter days as well without us having to be concerned about their safety. Johnny is amazing with his upgrades. Those windows are what the North American RV industry needs to move on to. Johnny makes my german OCD happy ;) The response got a bit lengthy, sorry, hope it helps though. Have a fantastic day!
Hi Andre and Julia, the pendant lamp over the dinette is nice. How did you secure it to the ceiling? Also where did you get the soft-sided storage bins?
Hi Don, we used the same length screws that Escape uses for their standard ceiling lights. Should be 1/2" length. Since the location of the light is a tad further back than where Escape's standard ceiling light would be, we had to make sure there is something to screw into. Above the center dinette area Escape installs thin plywood under the ceiling, before they install the vinyl. We noticed that in a factory tour video. You do not want to hang a heavy lamp on it, but this one was great for it. The soft-sided storage bins we got from IKEA. They work great and don't scratch anything when it gets bumpy. Hope that helps.
Hi there🤗, All our clothes are in the overhead cabinets around the bed area. We don't hang clothes since it takes away a lot space. And for us using the closet as a pantry made more sense. In regards to the dining area. Yes, the table platform comes down (in this case the lagun table) and the table rests on two edges that are installed around the seating bench. Then the wall cushions are used to fill the table top so that it is one big area with all the cushions. Hope that helps😊! Thanks so much for watching.
Thanks for watching😊. They have that pole in that position to improve the support for the overhead cabinets. All other overhead cabinets are in a way interlocked with sidewalls, except for the one over the sink. Which improves the stability immensely for those. The fiberglass shell with the embedded wood structure (only for installation purposes) would not be enough. Hope that helps🤗👍🏻.
Hi, great you liked the video. Thanks for watching. When you go in the description under any of our videos, the trailer tour included, there is a list with all direct Amazon links to the items we have in the trailer so far. The RV storage lift kit is a bit further down on the list. Hope that helps 😊!
Hi there, thanks for watching the tour. Well, officially, Escape considers it a 3-season camper...BUT we live in it full-time and had no problem being in -14C (7F) and a lot of other cold nights in freezing temperatures and were cozy warm. We have the spray foam insulation option under the unit which helps immensely to keep the floor warm. Main thing is good ventilation by having the roof fan cracked just a bit to let the condensation out. The windows are glass with a special layer that improves the insulation but they are not double pane. Escape is considering it for the future though. Hope that helps.
Glad you like it. It is very easy to get stuff in and out. Not sure where you are located, but we got the bungee on one roll and cut it to the right length. The hooks we bought in a pack of 10, I think at Canadian Tire. But a lot of hardware store should carry something similar. The tricky part was pre-drilling a small enough hole into the medicine cabinet sidewalls for the hooks. Hope that helps. Have a great rest of your day!
Ours is a tad bigger. Should be 1/8". But 1/16" could work as well. In the end as long as you can easily access/place the items in the shelve, any bungee thickness will hold them in place. Have fun with your modifications!
Oh so you drilled holes for the hooks? Does the magnet hold the door well? Mine seems loose. Does the magnet in the cabinet move a little on yours? I enjoyed your video.
Brian Kaplan, yes, we pre-drilled the hook holes with a very small drillbit. The magnet is OK-ish, sometimes it seems it opens during rough rides. Since, before we installed the hooks and bungee, small things were on the wetbath floor sometimes. Great you enjoued the video and thanks for watching !
Hello Earl, thanks for watching the video and great to hear from a fellow Escape owner. To answer your question, since the wardrobe cabinet is our pull-out drawer pantry, all of our cloths are in the overhead cabinet around the bed area. Things we want to hang up, like jackets, are on hooks in between the bed and the drawer cabinet where the furnace is in. It's usually only jackets and a couple shirts for in between weather though.
Good question. At this point...no. Escape so far sticks with wood cabinets. They are thinking of introducing aluminum frames, instead of their current steel frames, in the future. Currently the only company that I can think of that has fiberglass cabinets is Oliver. But that is of course another jump in price. Their base weight is not too light either though if I remember correctly. Hope that helps.
Hi ! We love your videos ! Your expertise in adding a 400 Ahr Li battery setup shows, great job. We also have a Escape 21C and we have the very 1st (prototype) Escape installed 400 Ahr battery. I do have one question, I saw in one of your earlier videos that you use a solar suitcase with an extension cord. So, what Solar Suitcase do you use and how long and what gauge wire is the extension cord ?
Hi there! Thanks for watching our videos and we're glad you love them. Thanks for the compliment to our setup. There is much more we would do to it, but for now it works great. To your question. We have the GoPower solar suitcase (100W). It has 5V USB outlets as well so it can be taken anywhere to charge anything USB as a stand-alone unit. But I have to admit we would go with a 200W Renogy foldable case these days and delete the solar charger it usually comes with. Since the Escape exterior solar connection is wired in parallel to the roof panels and you don't need that charger on the exterior panel then. The extra 100W makes a big difference in shady situations (and for some reason, we are always very lucky finding those😁). The GoPower suitcase is voltage wise close enough, but not perfect as an add-on to the roof panels. You want to match your portable panel as close as possible to the roof panels in the voltage readings. Otherwise you can drag down the efficiency and get less wattage out of your system than what could be possible. To the wire size: Since we are using the 30A removable power cord and if needed a 30A extension cord, the wire size is #10AWG. I built two adapters for the cables so they can connect to the solar suitcase and to the exterior solar connection on the Escape. Since we don't want to carry around even more cables and the RV cables 30A #10AWG size keeps the voltage drop low, which is a big factor in the low voltage world. I even thought about #8AWG, one size bigger, but there has to be a limit as well to things one wants to carry around in the storage box. Apologies for the long response but hopefully it is helpful.
Oh...and to the length of the cables: the removable power cord from Escape that I use as well for the solar suitcase connection cable, with my self-built adapters, is 25ft. If needed I add the other 25ft 30A RV extension cable to it. But we try to keep it with only one cable if possible, to reduce voltage drop and therefore improve efficiency.
@@backroadsbetty Really appreciate the prompt and well thought out response ! This is truly helpful, as we will soon need to park in the shade. Also I concur with another fellow commenter, a separate video detailing your electrical design, layout, and thought processes behind the technological choices (Solar Controller, batteries, Inverter, fuses, Converter, etc.) would be really nice, maybe explain your future desired electrical changes as you go along. Again much thanks and keep up the Canadian/American touring and elegant video making !
Hello, I see you’ve sold the trailer but I wonder if you can tell me what water filtration system you installed, please. And why did you sell? Thank you. We pick ours up 29Jan2024 😊
Hi there, thanks for watching our video🤗. I cannot give you the exact name of the water filtration system, but I do remember that we got it at Home Depot . It was a one stage filtration system, which was plenty for us. The reason why we sold this beautiful trailer is because we are traveling Europe and shipping the trailer was not an option. So great you are getting your trailer very soon. We wish you a lot of fun with it!
Hello Terry, If you have the towing package for your V6 Toyota Tacoma. Yes, for sure. We travelled very heavy and for that the F150 was needed. But only because we were loaded to the brink. Both trailer and truck. The Escape 21 is very easy to pull with a smaller vehicle. Hope that helps.
Congratulations on your full-time adventure on your Escape trailer. I enjoyed your trailer tour. I also have a E21 and have enjoyed my ownership. May I ask if you will winter in Canada?
Hi Sauntering, thanks for the congrats and great that you enjoyed the tour. Always great to hear from other Escape21 owners enjoying their rig as well. To your question, we will not be in Canada this winter. We are finally on a long-planned adventure through the US and then back up to the Canadian border 6 months when the weather at least shows some mercy here and there ;) . But we did stay in Canada in our former aluminum Avion 33ft trailer last winter. That was in Metchosin, BC. After we got our Escape we went to Banff in early April (Episode 2). We had some cold nights (2 Celsius) and the Escape performed very well and much better than our former aluminum trailer did. We were crispy warm in our Escape. With the necessary precautions in regards to condensation of course. Have a great day!
@@backroadsbetty Fantastic, Have fun at thw states. Ii was just curious as to how you will meet the challenges of the Canadian winter. And yes, I deal with condensation especially on the driver side dinette cushions and the drive side of the mattress/wall interface. Anyways, i will be following your journey to get motivations to do thw same one day. BTW, her are some of my modifications I have done which you might be interested in, seeing that you are an Electrician. th-cam.com/video/EavsmBF1dzc/w-d-xo.html Meanwhile, safe travels😀
Thanks. And yes, cushions and mattress wall condensation is probably the hardest. But I might even install an air circulation conduit around the trailer powered by a small fan. I for sure will check out your modifications...always great to learn more!
Hi, we didn't weigh the hitch weight alone when fully loaded. But we weighed the trailer while having all our things in there, plus water (fresh and some grey water, since we don't have a black tank). 2268kg (5000lbs) is the GVWR of the trailer. We were at 2109kg (4650 lbs). Our trailer is very well balanced the way it is loaded. Hope that helps 😊👍🏻.
I love the hypocricy of the "composting" toilet, as it's contents are disposed of in a plastic bag, into the trash, for the dump. Never into nature to further compost .... :D
Our standpoint is not that we are composting with it or that we save the planet with it...BUT... our reason for using it is that: - we do save loads of water that would go down the pipe for flushing instead of more important things in our RV - we don't need to buy extras to keep the tank from smelling or clean...since we don't have a black tank and the composting (diverting) toilet does not smell during or after use like even a flush toilet does - we save the black tank weight and have more space under the bed because of having no black tank for more important things than carrying around a slush mix of pee and poop - we only need to empty the bucket every 5-6 weeks depending. The urine compartment of course more often, but we can just go to a normal toilet if needed and don't need to find a drain area while pulling the whole trailer to it - did we mention it doesn't smell bad at all? Actually it feels like pooping in the woods because any smell is more like nice garden moss smell🤗😁 That's our reasons anyway, but the good thing is you can choose your Escape with whatever toilet you like best😀. Have a great day!
Hi there, The mattress is 80"x53". So kinda between a Double and a Queen. You don't want it bigger in that Floorplan. We sleep in it with two adults and two big labradors. A cuddle party 😁.
Hi, fiberglass is a plastic material that is reinforced with glass fibres embedded in resin matrix. After that there is an additional gel coat added in this case. Hope that helps🤗.
If the sale of your trailer that is currently pending falls through, please contact me- I would love to take it off your hands. Are you including your batteries and inverter?
Hi Karilee, no problem. We can let you know should it fall through. The trailer is scheduled to be picked up tomorrow (Friday, March10th). To answer your question. Yes, the 400Ah battery bank and the 2000W inverter come with the trailer. All our upgrades stay in it (except for our Dyson vacuum😁, and personal items of course).
Just wanted to let you know that the trailer sale has been finalized and it has been picked up. But keep checking the Escape pre-owned section, there are a lot of trailers being listed currently. You will get yours 👍🏻.
Hello Everyone, we hope you are enjoying/enjoyed our full-time trailer tour. Don't hold back to ask questions. We will do our best to answer them.
Our other videos might interest you as well. We are adding new videos with not more than 1 1/2 weeks in between in the future. And in regards to the extra items we installed in the Escape... we provided all Amazon links in the description so you can easily find them! Have a great day!!
Thank you
Your walk-thru was exceptionally thorough and very helpful, especially for Escape shoppers like us. Thank you for taking the time this took to make. Especially appreciate the many product links. Nice trailer!
You are so welcome! It was for sure a fun video to produce. We're glad it is helpful!
One of the best videos on the 21C I have found! Thank you so much for sharing! It would be awesome to learn about your power upgrades in more details in a future video.
Thanks so much! Really appreciate you liking this tour video. We will make sure to make a more detailed video on the power upgrades once all is finalized. Have a great day!
Fabulous tour & thorough explanations of everything the trailer comes with, where you upgraded and modified. You helped me decide this is the trailer I choose as my new home! Thank you both so much!
You are very welcome! We are happy we could help you with this video tour. It is a very cozy trailer and we are sure you will be happy with it as your new home. If there are issues, they are all usually manageable. But out of experience living in even aluminum trailers before, this one is so easy to deal with. Have a great weekend!
Great video and awesome information. After a year of planning and waiting we are finally putting our build sheet together for our 21C. Your video has been super helpful for us in making the few last build decisions.
We're happy to read that the video was a helpful tool for your decision making.
The weeks before it goes into production are so exciting, aren't they?!
Super comprehensive tour! Appreciate you taking the time to create this resource for us all.
Great that you liked the tour. It was fun to do. Hopefully it is helpful here or there! Have a great day!
You two did a wonderful job showing us your camper. We get our 21C in a month. Exciting times.
Thank you so much. Hopefully it was helpful🤗. Soooo exciting, we are sure you will love it. The 21C is a great unit!
We love the attention to detail @Embrace Your Escape. Thanks for sharing your story, modifications and enthusiasm! Samuel@Escape
Great you like the tour and us sharing our story! We even had to edit a lot out unfortunately, since our german-based OCD made the original tour much too long😁. But it looks like we covered most of it.
The black counter contrasts beautifully with the maple cabinets. Great option.
We tried to stay with the base options that the manufacturer provides. You can do all kinds of changes but we thought as well that the black counter provides a nice contrast to the maple.
Excellent tour. Especially appreciated all the customizations. Very helpful.
Thanks so much🤗 Glad it was helpful and that you like the customizations. Have a great day😊.
Great video! Lots of new ideas. We plan to keep watching. Thank you.
Thanks for watching🤗! Great you liked what we did and that it was inspiring.
Great tour of your home, and thanks for sharing just how well this escape makes such a wonderful home!
Thank you very much for watching! And great to read that you enjoyed the tour. We are very happy to be able to live in this trailer. Have a great day!
Fantastic job. Just love that you went over every detail. Very helpful.
Thanks so much! It was a lot of fun to do.
What an excellent introduction to the Escape 21C. Thank you so much for such detailed content. Will be watching more of your videos from my new 21C in 2024 🤩
Glad you liked it🤗. And thank you for watching. Congrats on getting your 2024 21C. We're sure you will love it😎! If you have any questions let us know.
Great tour. Love how you took the time to explain everything.
Originally the tour was even longer😁, but since Andre likes to talk a lot sometimes we had to edit it into a reasonable length😁🤗!
Thank YOU, both for this video.
And thank you for watching our video! Hope you are having a good day!
Love all the modifications you made. Great ideas.
The Escape is so much fun to modify :) Thanks for the compliment.
Seeing your Nespresso setup made me so happy!! So perfect! I was worried full-timing I would have to give up my Nespresso, but now I see I don’t have to!
Yes, the Nespresso machine had to be with us🤗 no compromise there. As long as the battery power is available all is good👍🏻😊!
Beautiful inside and out! Very good tour. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you and thanks for watching our tour. It was fun to make and to share.
Excellent tour! Best I've seen. I have the same little padlock on my front storage! 🙂 I had to turn my motorized jack sideways 90 degrees to allow room for my pickup tailgate to lower, but no problem doing that. The standard USA hitch is easier to get the ball into/out of, but this one works fine for me too and yes, I have to adjust the truck forward/back just a quarter inch or so to get it to line up. Wish Escape had used the USA type hitch. Love my E2 system. I added/wired in four light switches for four external lights (one on each exterior wall) and those switches are just inside the door on the kitchen wall. I wanted to be able to turn on ALL LIGHTS (or individual ones) from inside if there were shenanigans going on outside. Yep, I had same issues with the sail switch too, must be bad design. And yes, that heater isn't very efficient. It's on my list to replace it with a radiant propane heater that uses no electricity and is much more efficient, and I'll install it under the foot of the bed so it's down on the floor and so it points to the dinette rather than pointing out the door! Ok, that's enough comments from me. 🙂 You have encouraged me to produce a video of my own 21ft Escape.
Hi Ann, great you like the tour of our 21C. We actually just today turned the jack sideways as well because of the space for the tailgate. Such a game-changer to be able to properly access the back of the truck. The hitch is for sure something to get used to, but it seems to add a tad more stability...maybe.
Good idea with the individual lights switched for the outside. Very helpful.
If you are interested in a very efficient, electricity-less heater. check out Martin heaters. We had that in our Avion before and it was awesome. It is direct vent propane heater. We thought about installing it in the Escape, but the direct vent puts a damper on that, since it has to be installed horizontally. Maybe you have a solution for that. Other than that we looked at the Dickinson Marine Propane heater. It only has a a 12V little circulation fan and would be much more efficient than those nasty normal RV furnaces. For sure do a video tour. Visuals are so helpful for people, even if they do not own an RV. Have a great weekend!
Great informative and detailed video, we can't wait to get our Escape 21C. Our 85 lb yellow Lab is going to enjoy all the space.
Thank you! Glad we could provide you with some info with our video. The 21C is for sure a great choice. Your Lab will feel very comfortable. Hope you are not too far out on the build schedule, although for us the wait was such an exiting time as well.
Thanks for the tour and mods. We’re looking forward to picking up our 21c in January.
You are very welcome! Even the wait-time until your trailer is ready is exciting, isn't it?! We were constantly planning things for the trailer. Have a great weekend!
You are very welcome! Even the wait-time until your trailer is ready is exciting, isn't it?! We were constantly planning things for the trailer. Have a great weekend!
Very thoughtful video. Thank you
Glad you liked it 🤗. Thanks for watching 😊.
Thanks so much for this video - we are just completing our build sheet for our 17B and although we are getting a different trailer and won't be living in our trailer, it's nice to see a trailer with 'stuff' in it and where people put things and what gadgets you have that worked for you. We are also two adults with two (smaller - cocker spaniels) dogs that sleep on the bed. We live close enough to Escape to be able to go and see the trailers in person, but it's nice to see trailers 'in action'.
Thanks for watching🤗! We are like that as well. We enjoy seeing solutions to things and how they perform during the actual use👍🏻.
And we wish you happy travels for when you have your 17B. Such an exciting time😊!
Great video. I would be very interested in a detailed video of your electrical system upgrades.
Great you liked the video. Thanks for the input. Once I have the electrical all pretty much finalized (proper fuseholder another battery disconnect, better solar panel fusing) I will make sure to show the details. In regards to what I used on the major parts so far (inverter, shunt, solar charge controller) the list in the description that shows "Extras we installed in our trailer", might provide a small insight for now. Have a great day!
Great detailed video! Thanks
Glad it was helpful 👍🏻. Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for your detailed tour. I would like to see a video on your lithium upgrades. I received my 21C trailer just about the same time. It is a dream come true. I want to commend you on your organization. My husband was Dutch and he was much better at organizing and making efficient use of space than I am. I wish you well on your journey and will be checking out some of the products you used as well.
Glad you liked the tour! And thanks for watching! Julia is our organization genius and we get quickly annoyed when something is not working as it should, haha. Probably the German in us ;) We do plan to show a bit more about our electrical set-up and how we deal with things on that end. Hopefully we get to it fairly soon. Let us know if there are any products in the list in the description that we might have missed. And I will add the necessary link to it. Thanks for the well-wishes and we wish you all the best as well!
I would like to know what the product is that you have under the mattress and cushions. So many options. Thanks for your video. Very informative
Hello, thanks for watching 🤗. That blue layer is actually underlay usually used for flooring (laminate, etc.). We looked at all the fancy options, and those were just too pricey. This blue underlay does the very same thing, to create airflow under the mattress and cushions. And the whole roll (we only needed a minimal amount of it) was only $72 (Canadian) at Home Depot. We never had condensation after that on those surfaces. We hope that helps😊.
It would be great to have web links to some things you used/did... ie stuff under seat cushions to prevent condensation. Will be ordering our 21c soon.
That is actually a good point. Thank you! I will add some links to the description. The ventilation material we got in the flooring department at Home Depot (or Lowes, I will check). There is a material online which is called "Hypervent-Aire Flow Moisture Barrier", but it is very pricey. So we walked around at hardware stores and tried to find out what might achieve the same function. I do that a lot...I like hardware stores too much :)
@@backroadsbetty Please also include the boxes you added behind your stove/counter to hold the jars. Thanks.
Will do!
Hi Ian and Jessica, I created all the Amazon-links for the items that we used in our trailer in the video description. Some of them we did not show, but wish we had in the video now, since we are happy with them ;)
@@backroadsbetty thank you!
Where can I get those sliding wire basket shelf/drawer devices you have in your "pantry"?
Hi David, we got them at a small store, but I found those with the exact same measurements on Amazon. This is the link: amzn.to/3D18cK7
Hope that helps.
Oh thank you! finally someone fully grown like me in one of these things! It is a very valid point that you really rarely stand upright in a trailer. I would like there to be more head room in the places where you do - over the kitchen and in the bath.
Did you find that a wet bath is actually preferable because you can sit down for the bathing process?
also - why not the 5.0 that offers a 6'7" height in the areas I mentioned? Is that availability or didnt want to deal with a 5th wheel type tow rig?
One of the things I hate the most about most trailers are the windows. the framed ones only open half way and reed some sort of add on to keep rain out. The frameless windows only open a bare crack of a couple inches. The acrylic double pane windows from europe that are appearing on many trailers are so much better. I saw in Johnny Hung's video he replaced several of his Escape's windows with those and it looks fantastic.
Hi, thanks for watching!
The wet bath in general is in our opinion a great thing, since a person literally spends only some low amount of time in it every day that the living space is much more important to be comfy. And it being a two function areas in one makes sense to us, instead of those areas being separate.
I thought I would sit down for the showering but actually I never do. The curve on the ceiling restricts the shower head positioning mainly, but it is still enjoyable even at my 6'6". The bigger issue I don't like is when there is not enough room around me, that is why I moved the composting toilet further back than where Escape installed it. That made a huge difference in regards to the space feeling. We thought about only having the kitchen sink for everything to have more room in the wet bath, but are now happy with having both.
We opted to not go for the 5.0 mainly because we need all the truck space for our stuff (bikes, tools, external solar panel, extra water, etc.) The truck bed is our basement that keeps all our full-time stuff dry. When we picked up our 21C in Chilliwack it was the first time for us in one, so we just went for it knowing the height issue is not a big concern when we ordered it online (The AC is the only thing I keep a watchful eye on, haha). After only a week we knew we made the best decision and we are feeling super cozy in this little home of ours.
A lot of people like the framed windows, but as you mentioned rain can be an issue. So far we never had to be concerned about it with the frameless windows. The amount they push open is, again in our opinion, very much enough to allow great airflow. The much more important component here is the MAXX fan. When that thing is on level 5 (out of 10) The draft it creates is amazing. We have our fan going pretty much 12 hours a day. And our dogs love the cool down. It works great for them on hotter days as well without us having to be concerned about their safety.
Johnny is amazing with his upgrades. Those windows are what the North American RV industry needs to move on to. Johnny makes my german OCD happy ;)
The response got a bit lengthy, sorry, hope it helps though.
Have a fantastic day!
Awesome thanks 🙏
Hi Andre and Julia, the pendant lamp over the dinette is nice. How did you secure it to the ceiling? Also where did you get the soft-sided storage bins?
Hi Don, we used the same length screws that Escape uses for their standard ceiling lights. Should be 1/2" length. Since the location of the light is a tad further back than where Escape's standard ceiling light would be, we had to make sure there is something to screw into. Above the center dinette area Escape installs thin plywood under the ceiling, before they install the vinyl. We noticed that in a factory tour video. You do not want to hang a heavy lamp on it, but this one was great for it. The soft-sided storage bins we got from IKEA. They work great and don't scratch anything when it gets bumpy. Hope that helps.
Excellent review. Where do you store your clothes? Can you make the dining room into a bed?
Hi there🤗,
All our clothes are in the overhead cabinets around the bed area. We don't hang clothes since it takes away a lot space. And for us using the closet as a pantry made more sense.
In regards to the dining area. Yes, the table platform comes down (in this case the lagun table) and the table rests on two edges that are installed around the seating bench. Then the wall cushions are used to fill the table top so that it is one big area with all the cushions.
Hope that helps😊!
Thanks so much for watching.
Thank you for the detailed review. I just wondered why they put a pole next to the sink (which is quite rare)?
Thanks for watching😊. They have that pole in that position to improve the support for the overhead cabinets. All other overhead cabinets are in a way interlocked with sidewalls, except for the one over the sink. Which improves the stability immensely for those. The fiberglass shell with the embedded wood structure (only for installation purposes) would not be enough. Hope that helps🤗👍🏻.
Good video. Where did you source the bed storage lift?
Hi, great you liked the video. Thanks for watching. When you go in the description under any of our videos, the trailer tour included, there is a list with all direct Amazon links to the items we have in the trailer so far. The RV storage lift kit is a bit further down on the list. Hope that helps 😊!
@@backroadsbetty thank you! Love your kitchen upgrades. We are getting a 12c in August.
Love your camper! The ceiling could be a little taller and needs a little bigger bath other wise it's a nice camper!
Is this a 4 season camper? And the windows are they double pane ? If not can you order with ?
Hi there, thanks for watching the tour. Well, officially, Escape considers it a 3-season camper...BUT we live in it full-time and had no problem being in -14C (7F) and a lot of other cold nights in freezing temperatures and were cozy warm. We have the spray foam insulation option under the unit which helps immensely to keep the floor warm. Main thing is good ventilation by having the roof fan cracked just a bit to let the condensation out. The windows are glass with a special layer that improves the insulation but they are not double pane. Escape is considering it for the future though. Hope that helps.
Where did you access the little bungee cords and hooks for you medicine cabinet? I like that idea. Easier to get close sized stuff in and out, I bet
Glad you like it. It is very easy to get stuff in and out. Not sure where you are located, but we got the bungee on one roll and cut it to the right length. The hooks we bought in a pack of 10, I think at Canadian Tire. But a lot of hardware store should carry something similar. The tricky part was pre-drilling a small enough hole into the medicine cabinet sidewalls for the hooks. Hope that helps. Have a great rest of your day!
@@backroadsbetty Thanks for the reply. I found rolls on amazon. Was the size around 1/16 or so? We are in Alberta
Ours is a tad bigger. Should be 1/8". But 1/16" could work as well. In the end as long as you can easily access/place the items in the shelve, any bungee thickness will hold them in place. Have fun with your modifications!
Oh so you drilled holes for the hooks? Does the magnet hold the door well? Mine seems loose. Does the magnet in the cabinet move a little on yours? I enjoyed your video.
Brian Kaplan, yes, we pre-drilled the hook holes with a very small drillbit. The magnet is OK-ish, sometimes it seems it opens during rough rides. Since, before we installed the hooks and bungee, small things were on the wetbath floor sometimes. Great you enjoued the video and thanks for watching !
We have a 21 Escape and really enjoy it. Where do you keep your cloths?
Hello Earl, thanks for watching the video and great to hear from a fellow Escape owner. To answer your question, since the wardrobe cabinet is our pull-out drawer pantry, all of our cloths are in the overhead cabinet around the bed area. Things we want to hang up, like jackets, are on hooks in between the bed and the drawer cabinet where the furnace is in. It's usually only jackets and a couple shirts for in between weather though.
I have a question- do they ever do fiberglass cabinets/ no wood for lighter weight. We have a Toyota Rav 4 for our tow vehicle
Good question. At this point...no. Escape so far sticks with wood cabinets. They are thinking of introducing aluminum frames, instead of their current steel frames, in the future. Currently the only company that I can think of that has fiberglass cabinets is Oliver. But that is of course another jump in price. Their base weight is not too light either though if I remember correctly. Hope that helps.
Its smaller but Cortez builds all fiberglass inside, I think they cloned a casita and upgraded everything. Double hull etc.
Hi ! We love your videos ! Your expertise in adding a 400 Ahr Li battery setup shows, great job. We also have a Escape 21C and we have the very 1st (prototype) Escape installed 400 Ahr battery. I do have one question, I saw in one of your earlier videos that you use a solar suitcase with an extension cord. So, what Solar Suitcase do you use and how long and what gauge wire is the extension cord ?
Hi there! Thanks for watching our videos and we're glad you love them.
Thanks for the compliment to our setup. There is much more we would do to it, but for now it works great.
To your question. We have the GoPower solar suitcase (100W). It has 5V USB outlets as well so it can be taken anywhere to charge anything USB as a stand-alone unit. But I have to admit we would go with a 200W Renogy foldable case these days and delete the solar charger it usually comes with. Since the Escape exterior solar connection is wired in parallel to the roof panels and you don't need that charger on the exterior panel then. The extra 100W makes a big difference in shady situations (and for some reason, we are always very lucky finding those😁). The GoPower suitcase is voltage wise close enough, but not perfect as an add-on to the roof panels. You want to match your portable panel as close as possible to the roof panels in the voltage readings. Otherwise you can drag down the efficiency and get less wattage out of your system than what could be possible.
To the wire size: Since we are using the 30A removable power cord and if needed a 30A extension cord, the wire size is #10AWG. I built two adapters for the cables so they can connect to the solar suitcase and to the exterior solar connection on the Escape. Since we don't want to carry around even more cables and the RV cables 30A #10AWG size keeps the voltage drop low, which is a big factor in the low voltage world. I even thought about #8AWG, one size bigger, but there has to be a limit as well to things one wants to carry around in the storage box.
Apologies for the long response but hopefully it is helpful.
Oh...and to the length of the cables: the removable power cord from Escape that I use as well for the solar suitcase connection cable, with my self-built adapters, is 25ft. If needed I add the other 25ft 30A RV extension cable to it. But we try to keep it with only one cable if possible, to reduce voltage drop and therefore improve efficiency.
@@backroadsbetty Really appreciate the prompt and well thought out response ! This is truly helpful, as we will soon need to park in the shade. Also I concur with another fellow commenter, a separate video detailing your electrical design, layout, and thought processes behind the technological choices (Solar Controller, batteries, Inverter, fuses, Converter, etc.) would be really nice, maybe explain your future desired electrical changes as you go along. Again much thanks and keep up the Canadian/American touring and elegant video making !
Hello, I see you’ve sold the trailer but I wonder if you can tell me what water filtration system you installed, please. And why did you sell? Thank you. We pick ours up 29Jan2024 😊
Hi there, thanks for watching our video🤗. I cannot give you the exact name of the water filtration system, but I do remember that we got it at Home Depot . It was a one stage filtration system, which was plenty for us.
The reason why we sold this beautiful trailer is because we are traveling Europe and shipping the trailer was not an option. So great you are getting your trailer very soon. We wish you a lot of fun with it!
Do you think my Toyota Tacoma with V6 engine could tow the 21 foot trailer?
Hello Terry,
If you have the towing package for your V6 Toyota Tacoma. Yes, for sure. We travelled very heavy and for that the F150 was needed. But only because we were loaded to the brink. Both trailer and truck. The Escape 21 is very easy to pull with a smaller vehicle. Hope that helps.
@@backroadsbetty Thank you!
Congratulations on your full-time adventure on your Escape trailer. I enjoyed your trailer tour. I also have a E21 and have enjoyed my ownership. May I ask if you will winter in Canada?
Hi Sauntering, thanks for the congrats and great that you enjoyed the tour. Always great to hear from other Escape21 owners enjoying their rig as well. To your question, we will not be in Canada this winter. We are finally on a long-planned adventure through the US and then back up to the Canadian border 6 months when the weather at least shows some mercy here and there ;) . But we did stay in Canada in our former aluminum Avion 33ft trailer last winter. That was in Metchosin, BC. After we got our Escape we went to Banff in early April (Episode 2). We had some cold nights (2 Celsius) and the Escape performed very well and much better than our former aluminum trailer did. We were crispy warm in our Escape. With the necessary precautions in regards to condensation of course. Have a great day!
@@backroadsbetty Fantastic, Have fun at thw states. Ii was just curious as to how you will meet the challenges of the Canadian winter. And yes, I deal with condensation especially on the driver side dinette cushions and the drive side of the mattress/wall interface.
Anyways, i will be following your journey to get motivations to do thw same one day. BTW, her are some of my modifications I have done which you might be interested in, seeing that you are an Electrician. th-cam.com/video/EavsmBF1dzc/w-d-xo.html
Meanwhile, safe travels😀
Thanks. And yes, cushions and mattress wall condensation is probably the hardest. But I might even install an air circulation conduit around the trailer powered by a small fan. I for sure will check out your modifications...always great to learn more!
Curious- did you ever weigh your hitch fully loaded? Do you remember how much it weighed?
Hi, we didn't weigh the hitch weight alone when fully loaded. But we weighed the trailer while having all our things in there, plus water (fresh and some grey water, since we don't have a black tank). 2268kg (5000lbs) is the GVWR of the trailer. We were at 2109kg (4650 lbs). Our trailer is very well balanced the way it is loaded. Hope that helps 😊👍🏻.
@@backroadsbetty yes, that’s very helpful, thank you!
I love the hypocricy of the "composting" toilet, as it's contents are disposed of in a plastic bag, into the trash, for the dump. Never into nature to further compost .... :D
Our standpoint is not that we are composting with it or that we save the planet with it...BUT... our reason for using it is that:
- we do save loads of water that would go down the pipe for flushing instead of more important things in our RV
- we don't need to buy extras to keep the tank from smelling or clean...since we don't have a black tank and the composting (diverting) toilet does not smell during or after use like even a flush toilet does
- we save the black tank weight and have more space under the bed because of having no black tank for more important things than carrying around a slush mix of pee and poop
- we only need to empty the bucket every 5-6 weeks depending. The urine compartment of course more often, but we can just go to a normal toilet if needed and don't need to find a drain area while pulling the whole trailer to it
- did we mention it doesn't smell bad at all? Actually it feels like pooping in the woods because any smell is more like nice garden moss smell🤗😁
That's our reasons anyway, but the good thing is you can choose your Escape with whatever toilet you like best😀. Have a great day!
Is this trailer still for sale?
Hi Marie, we have someone scheduled for tomorrow (Friday, March 10th) to pick it up. But we can let you know should it fall through, if you want.
Just a twin bed in such a large trailer...?!
Hi there,
The mattress is 80"x53". So kinda between a Double and a Queen. You don't want it bigger in that Floorplan. We sleep in it with two adults and two big labradors. A cuddle party 😁.
Fiberglass is plastic, right?
Hi, fiberglass is a plastic material that is reinforced with glass fibres embedded in resin matrix. After that there is an additional gel coat added in this case. Hope that helps🤗.
@@backroadsbetty Thanks.
Trailer's utility hitch capacity is really low. Whole unit needs a heavier capacity frame.
At a GVWR of maximum 5000lb? Just wondering😊.
@@backroadsbetty GVWR and load capacity are two different criteria, and the utility hitch capacity is barely enough for two bicycles and carrier rack.
If the sale of your trailer that is currently pending falls through, please contact me- I would love to take it off your hands. Are you including your batteries and inverter?
Hi Karilee, no problem. We can let you know should it fall through. The trailer is scheduled to be picked up tomorrow (Friday, March10th). To answer your question. Yes, the 400Ah battery bank and the 2000W inverter come with the trailer. All our upgrades stay in it (except for our Dyson vacuum😁, and personal items of course).
@@backroadsbetty well I’m going to cross my fingers for luck! One way or another, I’ll have a trailer just like yours one day soon!
Just wanted to let you know that the trailer sale has been finalized and it has been picked up. But keep checking the Escape pre-owned section, there are a lot of trailers being listed currently. You will get yours 👍🏻.
@@backroadsbetty thank you! I’ve been checking every day. I will find it eventually! Wishing you luck on all your adventures!