From Casita sd17 to a 21 Escape

[steve dunham]

We own both a 2013 17 ft Casita SD and a 2018 21 ft Escape
We bought the 21 ft Escape for TWO REASONS , more room so we can take our grandkids camping with us and slightly more storage space
We find the build quality of the Casita and the Escape to be about equal .
That being said we’ve made more repairs to our Escape
(Leaks , broken bed support , staples holding paneling letting loose , roof penetrations not properly caulked , etc ) in the first month of ownership than in the first year of Casita ownership .
There are a lot of small standard features on our Casita that are missing on our Escape such as bathroom storage ,no strip heater and no dual fuel water heater that we find frustrating.
Both are good trailers but if you want more room the choices are limited
Some day when our grandkids are grown we may go back to a 17 ft Casita

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

hat being said we’ve made more repairs to our Escape in the first month of ownership than in the first year of Casita ownership ( Leaks )

Can you re-write this sentence so that we know which trailer had leaks?

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Can you re-write this sentence so that we know which trailer had leaks?

The Escape had the leaks (Plural), one caused a large puddle to form inside one of the cabinets and then run out onto the aisle floor .
I hope this is clear enough to answer your question !

[Glenn Baglo]

Careful. You need to watch your blood pressure.

[Stephen_Albers]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

The Escape had the leaks (Plural), one caused a large puddle to form inside one of the cabinets and then run out onto the aisle floor .
I hope this is clear enough to answer your question !

Virtually all production trailers are built to a price instead of for function. The cause of your leaks is in an unexpected place: the frame, which is flexing. The flexing stresses are transmitted to the shell which is not designed to withstand them. This opens seams, loosens screws and pops rivets. Hence, your leaks. Any repairs are cosmetic, only temporary and doomed to failure unless they address the root cause: the flexing frame.

Appreciate that no trailer manufacturer does stress analysis on his product like automotive and aircraft manufacturers are mandated by law to do. That means every customer is a free test pilot for the manufacturer. And that means the place to lodge your complaint is, not with a dealer, but with the manufacturer, whom you may discover, knows of the design defects and chooses to ignore them.

Inviting him to permanently fix the defects with your assurance of return with each recurring failure may get his attention, or may not. If not, you may try assuring the manufacturer you'll be returning with your lawyer and a box of matches to set fire to your trailer on his front lawn, should he demure.

As an example, here is a custom boondocking frame upgrade that may solve the inadequate frame problem for the Casita: https://youtu.be/zkfaMf4JCUg

[MyronL]

RE "Leaks, etc".... What Glenn said. No rivets in my Escape. Bed support failures? Loose staples? Roof penetrations? Are you sure you own an Escape and not some stickie?

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Myron Leski

RE "Leaks, etc".... What Glenn said. No rivets in my Escape. Bed support failures? Loose staples? Roof penetrations? Are you sure you own an Escape and not some stickie?

I have no exterior rivets in my Escape nor did I post anything about rivets or rivets leaking so I have no idea where that came from
I do NOT own a stick built trailer , I own a 2013 17 ft Casita SD and a 2018 Escape 21 , both are molded fiberglass
The build quality of our Casita in many ways exceeds the build quality of our Escape . Since our Escape costs twice as much as our Casita , I expected better

I hope and assume your experience has been different

[buellfire]

Good discussions here guys. I think what I like best about the Casita, is it’s durablity and ease of use. Steve thanks for the comparison between your Casita and Escape experiences. I wish Casita would step up with a slightly larger model. Something along the lines of a sd20 and a foot wider. I really like the Oliver 23ft, but I would need to take a loan on that gem. I learned a long time ago that payments on toys is never a good idea. I one of the concerns I have with the escape would be how far we live from BC. Oliver, Casita, and even Airstream are a days drive for me, should issues develop.

[Stephen_Albers]

Originally Posted by buellfire

Good discussions here guys. I think what I like best about the Casita, is it’s durablity and ease of use. Steve thanks for the comparison between your Casita and Escape experiences. I wish Casita would step up with a slightly larger model. Something along the lines of a sd20 and a foot wider. I really like the Oliver 23ft, but I would need to take a loan on that gem. I learned a long time ago that payments on toys is never a good idea. I one of the concerns I have with the escape would be how far we live from BC. Oliver, Casita, and even Airstream are a days drive for me, should issues develop.

Depending on the manufacturer for support, while possibly necessary for warranty or structural defects, is not the best plan because manufacturers know very little about operational issues of the trailers they build. For example, no one at the Casita factory operates a Casita trailer. It is just a business for them. Fortunately, component manufacturers support their products much better. I recommend:
editing all of the componants manuals to remove all material of models you don't have and thoroughly read what is left. Make sure you write down the support phone number and website for each component in its manual.
Upgrade every component for minimal maintence.
Do all recurring maintenance.
Then you'll get reliable operation without depending on the manufacturer.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

You'll never regret moving up! Many Escape owners started with molded trailers from other manufacturers.

Just a counter point...
I'm glad that all sorts of RVs are available but,

I like a travel trailer, not a mobile home.
If there were no 13ft fiberglass travel trailers,we would not own a travel trailer.(well maybe, reluctantly, a 16) We have all the amenities of home in a package that can go anywhere, towed by something comfortable to drive when towing and when touring.
I have towed larger trailers which caused me to swear off RV towing for many years until I discovered such 13ft trailers as the LoveBug, Scamp, etc.

Bigger is not always better. It is also nice to to have a fully equipped travel trailer in a convenient, "travel size"... and a tow vehicle which will fit in a standard garage and normal parking spot.

[Fred762]

Originally Posted by buellfire

Good discussions here guys. I think what I like best about the Casita, is it’s durablity and ease of use. Steve thanks for the comparison between your Casita and Escape experiences. I wish Casita would step up with a slightly larger model. Something along the lines of a sd20 and a foot wider. I really like the Oliver 23ft, but I would need to take a loan on that gem. I learned a long time ago that payments on toys is never a good idea. I one of the concerns I have with the escape would be how far we live from BC. Oliver, Casita, and even Airstream are a days drive for me, should issues develop.

.................................................. ...............................

Good points. WE all have our limitations. For the 2 of us it was a compromise..we had to buy a new TV awa a TT...so we spent about a year loking at options. We had sold our old truck 2 yrs before so towing w a sedan was out. We wanted flexibility so wanted a TT and a TV wh we could use for other things.
Ours was made easier: ..no kids left! We decided that a double cab truck wd be a decent compromise..filling the bill as a SUV when needed to haul more thatn 2 folks, but able to tow and haul alot of stuff as a TRUCK.
Most every dlr wanted to sell us a short-bed 4x4 mid size truck. WE opted for a long-bed 2wd model..same price as a 4x4 but 14" longer WB abd 14" longer bed for hauling "stuff". We went with a Nissan made here in central TN over the Toyota, built in Mexico. Similar trucks but the wife liked the ride and interior of the frontier more..so.

The Casita was as difficult..finally after looking at several we went with the new Independence model..we both liked the 7 foot by 31" separate TWIN beds. Neither one of us like dinettes much and we didn't plan to sit inside of thje TT much anyways, so why pay for 4 extra feet of TT just to get a dinette? Problem solved.

We liked the Ollies and live nearby, but we don't camp in winter..we go to FL so Ollie's winter ability was useless to us.
And they are waaay too costly!!

[Stephen_Albers]

Originally Posted by floyd

Counter point... I like a travel trailer, not a mobile home.
If there were no 13ft fiberglass travel trailers,we would not own a travel trailer.(well maybe, reluctantly, a 16) We have all the amenities of home in a package that can go anywhere, towed by something comfortable to drive when towing and when touring.
I have towed larger trailers which caused me to swear off RV towing for many years until I discovered such 13ft trailers as the LoveBug, Scamp, etc.

Bigger is not always better. It is also nice to to have a fully equipped travel trailer in a convenient, "travel size"... and a tow vehicle which will fit in a standard garage and normal parking spot.

Campers, like yachts, pay increasingly dearly in expense and limitations with every inch of increased size over the one parking spot dimension. A powerful paradigm is to downsize personal requirements while increasing Camper performance.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by floyd

Just a counter point...
I'm glad that all sorts of RVs are available but,

I like a travel trailer, not a mobile home.
If there were no 13ft fiberglass travel trailers,we would not own a travel trailer.(well maybe, reluctantly, a 16) We have all the amenities of home in a package that can go anywhere, towed by something comfortable to drive when towing and when touring.
I have towed larger trailers which caused me to swear off RV towing for many years until I discovered such 13ft trailers as the LoveBug, Scamp, etc.

Bigger is not always better. It is also nice to to have a fully equipped travel trailer in a convenient, "travel size"... and a tow vehicle which will fit in a standard garage and normal parking spot.

Floyd ; your point about your 13 is well taken and bigger is definitely not always better but for us if the only choice was a 13 ft we would not own a fiberglass travel trailer .
For us our 17 ft Casita is fine for short excursions but for longer trips it begins to feel claustrophobic and little irritations seem to grow into big irritations.

[bjsmitty]

As Reese said, we have 2 footitis - meaning moving up from an Escape 19 (2015) (which we love) to a 21. The principle issue is that my husband and I are too old to jump over each other to get up in the middle of the night to visit the loo. the 21 allows us to exit the bed without having to elbow a loved one out of the way at 2 in the morning.

If you are young enough to enjoy to thrill of rolling over your bed partner in the middle of the night, and want a great Escape 19, let us know. We have one to sell.

BJ Smitty

[Stephen_Albers]

Originally Posted by bjsmitty

As Reese said, we have 2 footitis - meaning moving up from an Escape 19 (2015) (which we love) to a 21. The principle issue is that my husband and I are too old to jump over each other to get up in the middle of the night to visit the loo. the 21 allows us to exit the bed without having to elbow a loved one out of the way at 2 in the morning.

If you are young enough to enjoy to thrill of rolling over your bed partner in the middle of the night, and want a great Escape 19, let us know. We have one to sell.

BJ Smitty

These points are very well-taken. The RV industry offers a huge selection of vehicles for a wide variety of uses. This makes careful consideration of intended use so very important. Besides that, everything is relative. I hiked 823 miles of the Appalachian Trail sleeping in a tent, eating the food I carried. Compared to my tent (which was very nice) my Casita is a ballroom. The previous owner of my Casita traded up to get separate bunks you desire. His new unit is much more spacious than my Casita. But it suffers the limitations of increased size that may not matter to owners who do not boondock. The Casita Independence could supply separate bunks without the increased size.

[Jon Vermilye]

I went from an Escape 17B that I towed close to 100,000 miles around the US & Canada over 6 years. Towed it with a RAV4 for the first 5 years & a Tacoma off Road for the last. I loved the trailer, and made many modifications to make it a home for the 6 - 8 months I spend on the road or out in the Arizona desert for the winter.

That said, I wanted an oven, a full time 4 person dinette, a built in microwave, and more counter space. While all that would have been possible in an Escape 19, I would have had limited drawer & cabinet space. I went with a 21, and have enjoyed it for over a year. I did change tow vehicles - the Tacoma would pull the 21, but was overloaded (payload) so I switched to a F 150.

[John in Santa Cruz]

did that escape by chance have the new style borderless windows? I've heard those are prone to leaking. my 2014 has the old style sliding double-pane windows, been in a major downpour, stayed nice and dry. even left the maxxfan deluxe open all night, with the fan on low, not a drop came in.

[Fred762]

Originally Posted by bjsmitty

As Reese said, we have 2 footitis - meaning moving up from an Escape 19 (2015) (which we love) to a 21. The principle issue is that my husband and I are too old to jump over each other to get up in the middle of the night to visit the loo. the 21 allows us to exit the bed without having to elbow a loved one out of the way at 2 in the morning.

If you are young enough to enjoy to thrill of rolling over your bed partner in the middle of the night, and want a great Escape 19, let us know. We have one to sell.

BJ Smitty

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

THAT is precisely why we bought the 17 Casita Independence Dlx: ..2 TWIN beds lengthwise at the rear 7 feet long by 31" wide and no one has to climb over anyone.

Sure, it has NO dinette, but we hate "dinettes" and wd not use one IF we had one. We wanna eat at a small table? we can stay the flip home. Or we can put in a stand-pole and slip a table top onto that stand, between them two beds. OR we can slip in two table tops and our extra cushions and make a king-sized bed in back suitable for 3 adults.

[John in Santa Cruz]

we find the dinette comes in really handy for a meal stop on the road, and for meals when the weather has turned nasty, whether windy or wet. its also nice for doing that odd spot of remote working on the laptop (my wife telecommutes and sometimes has a fire to fight when she's on vacation), or one person reading when the other has gone to bed.

[1Oldman]

Originally Posted by buellfire

my wife says, I think we should consider a larger camper,

There is a lot of good discussion here about the merits of one trailer over another, tow vehicles and trailer quality. We are one of many couples that have made the switch from a 17' Casita to a 21' Escape and love it!

I would suggest the most important consideration is that your wife thinks you should consider the larger trailer. I think peace during trips and companionship on the road would lead you to buy the new larger trailer and do it quickly.