13' Escape, No Longer Making?

[Cathy P.]

I noticed on the Escape website that they don't show a 13' except for a 2011 they are trying to sell. In their "products" section, the smallest is 15' (a really nice set-up I think) so I am just curious as to whether they have discontinued the 13' assuming it was a standard product. As I look at the "random" photos that appear on this website, there were some real beauties produced in the past but like everything else, many high quality products have been discontinued because of the cost of producing/loss of appreciation of quality workmanship & materials and the low cost of poorly made products.

[Paul Braun]

Escape found the 15 much more popular and the price differential between the two models made the 13 redundant. I believe they still have the molds and may be convinced to build one, having a 2011 remaining probably shows the reasoning for their decision. A usual wait for an Escape is three months, depending on model and time of year.

[Carol H]

I dont know but suspect one of the other reasons that the 13' wasn't a strong seller is due to the strong used 13' fiberglass trailer market in BC where Escape is located. A 13' used Boler in BC is not a rare find and any given day there are listings for them in the papers. We are still 5 months away from our July Fiberglass rally and we already have 14 - 13' Bolers registered for the meet - by the time the meet rolls around if history repeats itself we will have *a lot* more than that...... now finding a used 16' fiberglass trailer in BC is a very different story! :-)

[Cathy P.]

So, I thought the only advantage to living in Canada would be the medical care and now I learn, you have used units, lots of them! We almost live in the "dead" center of the US, emphasis on "dead".

[Carol H]

Dorthy this isn't Kansas

Check this out

to see what I mean!

[BCDave]

I was out at Escape the other day, and they said that there is basically no market for a 13 footer at all.

[Cathy P.]

Oh, that video clip is beautiful! I spent a year in Anchorage, AK and grew up in MI so I have seen "green" before. Maybe there isn't room in the 13' for blankets, long johns, ear muffs? How long is summer there? I know in AK when I was there the hottest it got was 70 degrees in summer - heavenly! But then, winter came! I can see the attraction to the 15' though, just enough extra space but not too much, for the blankets, the long johns.......

[BCDave]

How long is summer here? Well, I literally spent 3 hours today vacuuming my outdoor pool! (No I will NOT be using it in the foreseeable future but it is warm enough for the pool to start growing things if don't keep after it)

Today is about plus 8 or so (call it a bit over 45* "Foreign-height")

Uusally using the pool by mid May. Climate here is about the same as Seattle.

[Carol H]

Well Vancouver's weather is fortunately for us nothing like Anchorage....its currently sunny and 48 Fahrenheit (9 Celsius) and some of the flowers are starting to come out in the garden. Cherry trees will bloom soon. The average temps in Vancouver in January are 32/43 Fahrenheit (0/6 Celsius). So far this winter we have had only about a half inch of snow on the ground for about 12 hours and I do not think it has gone below 32. In 2010 we were actually the warmest city to date to host the winter Olympics - people were surprised to see we do have flowers on our trees in February :-) Rain is more common than snow here but during July & August we can have drought conditions. You need to go up into the mountains to actually play in the snow - I live at the bottom of a mountain that does have skiing but the real good deep white stuff is up at Whistler/Blackcomb an hour and 45 min north of here. In the summer the average temps are I suspect about 68/70 but temps can & do go well above that - not uncommon to have a least some part of the summer where the temps go into the high 90's and above. Summer months run from June through August but we often have what we call Indian summers where the temps & weather stay warm through September. Golf season is in full swing by early April (actually had a friend go this morning) so it is possible to have a great morning of skiing and then go golfing or sailing in the afternoon - folks love to brag about doing that! ;-))

Gezzzz maybe I should get a job with BC Tourism!!! LOL

[Carol H]

Sorry Dave didnt see you had pretty well covered it...

[Paul Braun]

Carol that is an interesting bit of information on the supply side of 13' trailers. You provided what I would call "local knowledge". Another factor maybe there is such a supply because there are more of that size made. I have seen figures for each of the manufacturers but never figures by size.

Also, it appears that the Pacific Northwest has many more fiberglass trailers. This is anecdotal evidence based on what I see on this forum, in other words no proof.

[Cathy P.]

Now, see, I would have never guessed that. Actually, I didn't even know where BC was other than Canada until I had looked to see where the Escape factory was located. So, getting a lesson in geography while looking up locations of people, rallies and factories involved in the FGRV world. It was 68 degrees today but winter is coming back tomorrow.

Don't you just love pretty places! Why on earth Dorothy would want to have left Oz to get back to KS, what was she thinking?

[Carol H]

Paul as the Boler was built in Manitoba a lot of them made it into BC & some where actually built in BC for a time. In addition to all the 13' Boler's registered for our BC Meet we also have another six 15' & 17' Boler's registered. Then of course the BC company Bigfoot built a the Lil Bigfoot 13'? and a 17'trailer. There are still some of those around as well. We also have Trillium's another Canadian company - we have 5 Trillium's registered so far for the July meet. The Surfside 14' was another Manitoba company who's trailers made it to out to the coast - have 2 registered for the meet so far.

Lots of options in the used 13' & 14's fiberglass trailers but far fewer Boler and Bigfoot 17''s so if one wants a fiberglass trailer bigger than a 14' you need to either buy an Escape or import a Casita or Scamp. I am happy to see that a lot of people are opting to buy from Escape (actually wish I had one). Very happy to see their numbers climbing fast across the border as well. Actually saw more Escape's out in the desert in December than any other brand of fiberglass trailer.....

[Brian Van Snell]

I feel I must defend the reputation of the Escape 13, not just because we own one and love it.

1. The Escape 13 is a much better quality than any other 13 foot trailer that I am aware of -- we looked at others before deciding on an Escape
2. We can tow our Escape 13 with a Subaru Forester -- we would need a larger vehicle to tow a larger trailer
3. The Escape 13 has everything we need! I admit that some people prefer larger trailers, but they also have to haul them and park them!
4. The Escape 13 is a beautiful trailer! Our little trailer is still on the home page of the FiberglassRV forum! Photos of our Escape 13 won prizes at both of the Oregon Gatherings we attended and has appeared twice in the Escape calendar! When we show our trailer at a rally we always have lots of people wanting to see it! My photo of our Escape 13 is the most popular photo of any I have posted!
5. The Escape 13 can still be made by Escape on special order for special customers!

Brian