Why's Escape doing so well???

[Alf S.]

Hi: All... In such "Hard times" in the RV. business when Mfg's. are "Dropping like flies", Escape Trailers delivery dates are now sometime in Oct. What is it that they are doing right?
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Keith Williams]

Hi: All... In such "Hard times" in the RV. business when Mfg's. are "Dropping like flies", Escape Trailers delivery dates are now sometime in Oct. What is it that they are doing right?
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

Hi Alf, I wondered that myself, but after a visit from some new friends who just purchased a new (# 5) 19 ft Escape, I no longer wonder about it.

Ian & Jenny Eddy, of Vermont, are the lucky folks. I got to know them,by E mail, when I was looking for a Casita 17ft Liberty Deluxe, and they had theirs for sale. By the time I sold my Park Model in Arizona, so I would have money to buy one, they had just sold theirs. However, Jenny told me about the one in Mequite, NV that I ended up buying. This is more than you probably wanted to know but a bit of background,

Anyway, they were out in Colorado visiting their Son, on their initial trip after picking up the Escape, and they stopped by Aurora, CO so we could meet in person and see their new Escape. In short, I was blown away with the value and design of the trailer for the price. Jenny couldn't stop talking about the owners of Escape and how nice and accomadating they were to deal with. When you look at the price for a new 21 foot Bigfoot ( I had one for a couple of years so I know the trailers) and compare the value between the two, there needs to be no more discussion.

To sum it up, I would buy one of the Escapes like Eddy's in a heartbeat if I could afford it. It is definitely on my "sparkly" list.

BTW, the Eddy's are great people and we will certainly go out to visit them as soon as we can. He's a fine Blacksmith and you should check out his Web Site. www.ianeddyblacksmith.com

Regards,

Keith

[Ken C]

Dont they make one trailer every three days. If thats correct, that a heck of a lot of escapes being sold.

[Donna D.]

I believe it to be "best value for the dollar." Everyone is watching their personal finances and getting value for money earned is always good. The Escape trailer is good value. Reace and Tammy are building a quality product, but providing individuality through owner mods is great customer service. They've developed a good business model and that's evident by customer satisfaction and terrifc word-of-mouth advertising.

[Terry R.]

Are there any Escape dealers in the United States? Can they be delivered part way? Terry R

[Keith Williams]

I believe it to be "best value for the dollar." Everyone is watching their personal finances and getting value for money earned is always good. The Escape trailer is good value. Reace and Tammy are building a quality product, but providing individuality through owner mods is great customer service. They've developed a good business model and that's evident by customer satisfaction and terrifc word-of-mouth advertising.

Jenny and Ian told us that their trailer was # 5 and they have over 30 more of that model on order. That says something, eh?

EKW

[ronsmith100]

I believe it to be "best value for the dollar." Everyone is watching their personal finances and getting value for money earned is always good. The Escape trailer is good value. Reace and Tammy are building a quality product, but providing individuality through owner mods is great customer service. They've developed a good business model and that's evident by customer satisfaction and terrifc word-of-mouth advertising.

Donna how much do you attribute their success to being a "moderate upscale" product?
The design/engineering of this trailer appears better than an already good product like my Casita.
It also appears that they are not over the top luxurious as is the Oliver (IMO).

I am not sure why I didn't buy one originaly. Maybe I didn't even know about them.

[peterh]

Yes, I do think Reace and Tammy are wonderful people. I also think they're smart, astute about their buyers wants and needs, and hard workers. All wonderful qualities, but I'd also like to suggest there are other reasons for their success.

Something else they've been smart about is not growing too fast. Knocking a trailer out once every three days is not a rocking production schedule. Having orders booked for months in advance is money in the bank for a manufacturer. It gives your employees a sense of job security that's good for morale, potential buyers the impression that the manufacturer will be there in one, three, five years if they need to have their trailer repaired, and it doesn't hurt that people are lining up to buy. People have the mentality that good things are worth waiting for and no one lines up to buy a bad product.

Reace and Tammy also have the right product at the right time. With money tight and people (finally) starting to worry about gas efficiency, fiberglass trailers make a lot of sense. Do campers really need a full-sized living room and kitchen? And is it smart to spend $45K on a TV that gets lousy gas mileage during day-to-day use?

Escape has a product that hits that middle ground between price, towing efficiency, and needed amenities that makes it a very attractive choice. Add those things to their business philosophy and qualities as people and you have a real winning combo.

[Daniel V.]

Add those things to their business philosophy and qualities as people and you have a real winning combo.

It's great to see good guys winning for a change, and people recognizing the value of fiberglass trailers in general.

And as a Trillium enthusiast, I think that also says a lot about the quality of the new Trilliums being built at the Chilliwack factory as well.

[Donna D.]

For those of us that have been on the forums for a while, remember the history (or beginnings) of the Escape trailer saga. It started first with an idea (Reace and Tammy), then they started asking a BUNCH of questions. Starting with "what would you like?" I'd like to think the membership of FiberglassRV had a hand in how the trailer developed. Reace and Tammy really listened! From these desires, they started building trailers. How many other molded fiberglass trailer manufacturers can you name that asked questions FIRST... I mean before the FIRST trailer was built? Reace heard enough about rivets and the desire for 15 inch tires, the Escape doesn't have rivets and all models have 15 inch tires. To this day (and beyond) they continue to listen and if something is a really good idea, they incorporate the change into future builds. For instance, other than the Oliver and Bigfoot... how many molded lightweight fiberglass trailers do you know where you can get double-pane windows as an option?

[Frederick L. Simson]

[b]Are there any Escape dealers in the United States? Can they be delivered part way? Terry R

Like Scamp and Casita, Escape trailers are sold new factory direct, and not through a Dealer Network. I think the only fiberglass trailers that were sold new through Dealers in the last 20 years was Bigfoot. I understand there are ways delivery can be worked out through shippers for a separate fee.

[Rob M]

And it is a TRUE light weight!

[Steve Dunkel]

How many trailers do they sell? Rather than a 4 month lead time for delivery of a trailer suggesting what they may be doing right it may only mean they have limited resources, a weakness if demand can't be satisfied. Time will tell if they are able to weather the present economic situation. I think the exchange rate earlier this year helped sales of Escapes over domestic brands. Unfortunately that gap has closed considerably. I wish them well.

[Ken C]

Yes the exchange rate is going down fast thats for sure. I keep an eye on it. Bummer for potential buyers like me. Also I think someone mentioned they make one every four days not three I have no idea. And i don't know if that means its de-molded or a finished out the door product. I Always had this wacky idea of a group buy. Where forum members all get together and have a group buy in exchange for a little lower escape price. Everyone meets up in B.C. ANd get their trailers at the same time. It would be a fun social event.

[Keith Williams]

I Always had this wacky idea of a group buy. Where forum members all get together and have a group buy in exchange for a little lower escape price. Everyone meets up in B.C. ANd get their trailers at the same time. It would be a fun social event.

I think that's a "stellar" idea. If you pursue it, let me know. Maybe I'll get "stimulated" enough to have extra money laying around.

EKW

[ronsmith100]

How many trailers do they sell? Rather than a 4 month lead time for delivery of a trailer suggesting what they may be doing right it may only mean they have limited resources, a weakness if demand can't be satisfied.

That is typical of Casita too. It took me four months to get mine after deposit.

[Gilles D]

Gaz price will change the RV market sooner or later, you will see lightweight camping trailer behind Bio or Diesel hight efficient vehicule every where in a near futur. Reace and Tammy have made the good choice in the right time, they study the market before producing, like Peter say they grow slowly and keep the production under control so cash get in regularely. I have no crystal ball but I predict the small 13' will be a big hit.

The class C market have already change, those big V10 are replace today by 3.0 Mercedez engine, Daimler Chrysler put Mercedez Diesel in there Sprinter and Cherokee, if they dont crash and burn this year the suppose to add a small Cuming in the 2010 Dodge Ram 1500. Ho! Do you remenber those Jeep pickup? Using a Liberty base with the small Cuming engine is a project they already study Toyota? Honda? I bet they already get a eye on it.

Light weight camping trailer "is" the next big market in RV , just take a look to the movie "Home" and you can bet this is a fact not a fiction. The "reborn" 1300 Trillium is a natural choice today, lightweight ,easy to tow, easy to park, lower aerodynamique signature (Fx) then a stick constuction, long life expectation, good resale value, in brief it's a intelligent buy.

PS: Nobody paid me for my speach about Escape product, this is my 2.5 Cents!

[Steve Dunkel]

That is typical of Casita too. It took me four months to get mine after deposit.

Not really the same. You bought yours when the RV market was thriving. I understand Casita's wait time is now less than 4 weeks or non-existent if you choose one of the many already made trailers available for immediate sale.

But I would agree that growing slow can be a good thing. On the other hand, not satisfying demand when or if it exists can also be not so good. Not everyone will want to wait 4 months. Regardless, Escape's expansion may be limited to how fast they can accumulate cash to grow outside of the credit market, which is obviously difficult today.

[Bill MacDermod]

I first saw one at the Oregon gathering and if I were to buy new (which is really out of the question) it would be an Escape, Reace and company have a very well designed trailer and the workmanship is incredable. I would love their 5er

[Alf S.]

I first saw one at the Oregon gathering and if I were to buy new (which is really out of the question) it would be an Escape, Reace and company have a very well designed trailer and the workmanship is incredable. I would love their 5er

Hi: Bill...We sure love "Our Escape Hatch".
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie