Escape money well spent?

[cpaharley2008]

I love the interior wood finish of the 16' Scamp Deluxe with front dinette, just wished it were 2 feet longer or 1 foot wider.

[SherryNPaul]

I'd agree. The craftsmanship is lovely in the Scamp 16 Deluxe.
The "carpet" on the walls in my friend's Casita is just nubby marine fabric/headliner/carpet. It doesn't seem to be a big maintenance deal, either.
Sherry

[floyd]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I love the interior wood finish of the 16' Scamp Deluxe with front dinette, just wished it were 2 feet longer or 1 foot wider.

That second part is what Ford said about my Ranger and now all you can get from them is an oversized truck!
You might then really like a Bigfoot..., but it takes an oversized tow vehicle to move it, Great at the campsite, but not on the road, the world is full of compromise. I'm just glad someone made one just the right size for me.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

There are a fair number of rivets on the outside hatches and vents and such. I counted a few dozen on my 19.

4 on the door stay
4 on the door stay mount
4 on the battery vent
10 on the small hatch accessory
~16 on the fridge vent lower
3 on the power inlet
3 on the water heater deflector

The quickest way to learn something new is to make a definitive statement.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Worth it???
All depends on what you feel you absolutely need. I chose and very very happy with my choice, a 13' standard Scamp. After thousands of miles and several hundred nights there's not another trailer on the market I would rather have. Part of it depends on what is important to you. For us it was more important to spend that extra $10,000+ that an Escape or other trailer would cost on gas for travel. We don't need to spend days on end inside the trailer.
We don't need to worry about bumping into each other on the small bed, we're good friends. We don't mind going to bed at the same time and getting up at the same, even getting up in the middle of the night at the same time.
I often wonder what those that say that my 13' is too small do with more room. Even a 16', what is done with the extra 3'? Carry more junk that I wouldn't need I guess.
Some mention of cold weather. Sometimes you can't avoid cold weather. We got stuck in Big Bend last winter with temperatures close to 0°F We used a bit of propane, and stayed inside most of the time, but it wasn't so bad that we would let the experience bother us. We both caught up on some reading. We still went for walks and talked to people, took a few pictures of the frozen pond.
Enjoyment and happiness is all in the mind. Seeing the world and being outside are what makes us happy, but most important is being together wherever we are.
Enjoy what ever you decide.

[honda03842]

Life is a series of choices. If you choose a fiberglass trailer you've made a good choice.

A fiberglass trailer can last as long as you're willing to do some simple things to take care of them.

It's true there are differences between models and brands; that's great it provides more choice and competition, most importantly the basic underlying strength runs thru the many brands of fiberglass trailers I've seen.

Some people can justify the cost of bigger, heavier, fancier, larger tow vehicles and higher operating or higher purchasing costs; for others smaller is financially, ethically or physically smarter and more practical. In either case they are all both excellent choices and can be worth your money.

As well having less expensive brands does provide a migration path for owners who at somepoint desire and can afford more.

Personally as we've proceeded thru our RV life, we have found that often less can be more. Sometimes it means we can travel further and longer because our costs are less or we have found that smaller and simpler is just easier as we age.

As the teacher said "make good choices, life is short". If you're reading this forum you're probably making good choices.

[steve dunham]

I enjoy tent camping ( fishing & hunting trips) ,my wife does not. When i retired I decided now that I have more time I wanted to do more camping, I purchased the Scamp so my wife would want to go camping and we could enjoy it together . We camped about 30 days last summer , not enough for me but plenty for her. She looked at the Escape on the Internet and said maybe if we had a little bigger trailer with more amenities she would be more inclined to go camping. I looked at the Escape and saw a first class trailer with a first class price tag . We basically use our Scamp as a bedroom , spending most of our day outdoors. I was having a difficult time justifying the cost of an Escape 19 ft on the hope my wife would want to go on longer or more frequent trips . I believe our Scamp is a fine trailer but like most there are things on the Scamp I would like to change but at what cost ? .Your thoughtful advice will surely help us make a wise decision .

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Steve Dunham

[cpaharley2008]

Let us know when and if you make any decision. This was an interesting thought processing thread.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by floyd

The Scamp Deluxe custom cabinets have solid oak fronts, solid oak framed doors, solid oak veneer plywood panels, sides and bottoms. There is no MDF and no photo copied woodgrain plastic. The cabinetry is screwed in place(through the shell) not riveted.
The hub-bub over the use of "through the shell" rivets is mostly unfounded hyperbole. The alternative method of glassing in plywood for attachment has it's problems as well, In fact I have often found these boards to be infiltrated with water from window leaks and rotting inside the fiberglass... Much more difficult to fix and at least as common if not more so.
(Just about all Fiberglass RVs have windows)
I have had the washable vinyl walls( became obsolete at Scamp in 1986)... Definite advantage for Scamp's "rat fur"
There is no shower pump in the 16Scamp side bath.

I forgot to mention that the word "Oak" could be replaced with the word "Birch" which is the other choice.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

I enjoy tent camping ( fishing & hunting trips) ,my wife does not. When i retired I decided now that I have more time I wanted to do more camping, I purchased the Scamp so my wife would want to go camping and we could enjoy it together . We camped about 30 days last summer , not enough for me but plenty for her. She looked at the Escape on the Internet and said maybe if we had a little bigger trailer with more amenities she would be more inclined to go camping. I looked at the Escape and saw a first class trailer with a first class price tag . We basically use our Scamp as a bedroom , spending most of our day outdoors. I was having a difficult time justifying the cost of an Escape 19 ft on the hope my wife would want to go on longer or more frequent trips . I believe our Scamp is a fine trailer but like most there are things on the Scamp I would like to change but at what cost ? .Your thoughtful advice will surely help us make a wise decision .

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Steve Dunham

I understand. My wife and I have had a similar conversation. If it's her desire and idea to go along more often, and if you like having her along, a bigger trailer is probably more worthwhile than if, say, you want her along but she is more reluctant. In the latter case she may be trying to talk herself into doing what she'd rather not do and/or appeasing you, which won't result in much more joint camping time in the long run.

My wife is in the latter group. She simply enjoys sitting around the house and socializing via computer. Whereas I thrive on an open blue sky above, the sound of wind in the pines, and outdoor scents wafting along. My wife says, "Maybe if the RV had a more comfortable place to sit and a bigger bed..." but I know it would not truly make her happy, only more willing to put up with the traveling.

Maybe the question is not, "is the more expensive trailer worth it," but rather, "what will truly make my wife happiest?" For that, you and I may need to join a psychologist's forum!

[honda03842]

Traveling together.

When my neice and I spend a day together, I try to develop a shared agenda. Spending a day with an 11 year old takes some consideration.

Living for 11 years as a mostly RVers takes compromise and development of shared interests on the part of both parties. One of my sister-in-laws wonders where she could put all her quilting stuff if she had hit the road.

I try to explain that long term RVing is not really an continuation or extension of your past but an expansion of your future. In some measure you are trading the confines of your home and it's all too busy sameness for an expanded universe of opportunity.

Some people are obviously not interested in expanding their futures, for them no matter how large or elegant the RV they will not be satisfied.

We bought our first RV from a couple who had bought a beautiful new motorhome. They took one trip and she told him she was never going in it again. We bought it, traveled for 80,000 miles and had a great time.

When we speak to RV couples they all have a massive array of memories of their travels, of shared adventures, of new and old friends. Like many RVers we deeply love our families and our previous non-rving life; now we love our freedom and the super-togetherness of our travels and close time together. Ginny is more interesting than ever and we are as happy "as clams". (I don't know what clams have to do with anything but it slipped into my head and thru my fingers.)

As a disclaimer, Ginny always tells me RVing is not for everyone....

Happy holidays to every one of you. 86F in FL today.....

[Raz]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Let us know when and if you make any decision. This was an interesting thought processing thread.

I agree. When we first started egg shopping a Casita would have been my first choice, unfortunately jalousie windows were a must for us and they were not an option with a Casita. After reading how flexible the Escape folks were we ordered one, only to discover jalousie windows were not available from them either. That left Scamp and Trillium. Both were about the same cost. While the deluxe wood interior was very appealing, the jalousies on four sides won out. Despite all the build quality headaches, the Trillium has become a good match for our needs.

Every manufacturer has pluses and minuses. Reading about peoples likes and dislikes helps future owners make their choice. To that end threads such as this one are useful.

When the owner of the Escape we toured had a leaky window, Escape quickly shipped out a new window and had it installed to the owners satisfaction. That's the kind of story that gets repeated over and over. People perceive Escape to be a premium product with good customer service and that has created a demand. Each of us is a traveling billboard for the trailer we own. All manufacturers should realize that owners are their best or worst advertisers. Raz

[Daniel A.]

Steve it's been a good process.

When I retired I knew I wanted to be free of schedules & time commitment and roam around without being in a hurry.
My wife still works, her biggest thing was how much will it cost.
I settled on the used Bigfoot and she likes it.
Her and I have different interests but both can work with the RV.

[CallDon]

Originally Posted by Alf S.

Hi: Daniel A... Another big factor in mass production is population #'s. 38 or so million Canadians vs. 380 or so million Americans.

There are actually only around 300 million Americans.

[Nomad1]

On another forum I was convinced to look at "fiberglass(Bigfoot)" and buying by the comments of a 25 year owner of Airstream and now a fiberglass (Bigfoot) owner. " I've had my fiberglass over 5 years, with many miles travelled. I relish the fact that it is maintenance free/ I can enjoy my travels w/o concerns with leaks". From the mouth of experience! Our fiberglass trailers ARE better built, no aluminitis for me!

[Alf S.]

Hi: CallDon... "300 million"??? Those are only the ones you know about!!! LoL
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[CallDon]

Originally Posted by Alf S.

Hi: CallDon... "300 million"??? Those are only the ones you know about!!! LoL
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

Those are the mostly legal ones!!

D*

[Roger C H]

On our recent winter trip, I discussed small trailers with a guy who had a new Airstream Bambi. He said that he was really disappointed in the lack of quality in the mark since Thor took it over. He said the woodwork fit up was sloppy and that instead of plywood floors, he had chip board.
Just passing on what I heard.
"The pain of poor quality will hang around long after the pleasure of a cheap price leaves."

BTW, it sill cost upwards of $40K.

[CallDon]

Originally Posted by Roger C H

On our recent winter trip, I discussed small trailers with a guy who had a new Airstream Bambi. He said that he was really disappointed in the lack of quality in the mark since Thor took it over.

Thor took it over in 1980!! Thor was founded in 1980 with the purchase of Airstream. So he was talking about the last 30 years. I guess he was not familiar with the Airstreams of the 1970s, their rear frame sag and body/frame separation. "Thor took it over" 32 years ago. Airstream has been through several design revisions since then. Most products are certainly different from what was on the market in 1980.

But Airstream is a totally different product from the majority of the market, like Casita and Scamp are a different product from the rest of the market. So I'm not sure he is really aware of what he is saying. Know what I mean?

Don

[Boomer]

All you need to do is go to the Air Stream Forum and read the threads on leaks and problems. No way would I invest 60 grand in one of these units. They are beautiful but unless you are good with rivets and finding leaks I would urge caution. Just my thoughts, Boomer