Total Newcomers here .

[Cathi]

Raj, congratulations on your Escape!

I do not want to say nobody picks up an Escape from most parts of the U.S. in February ---one person went south and then west to California and then up, and then back a similar route --- but just about nobody. What they do is have Escape store the trailer for months until decent weather. There would likely be far too much snow and ice between you and Chilliwack.

[Evergreengirl]

Congratulations on your decision to go with an Escape trailer. They're top quality rigs. A trip in February across the country doesn't sound very pleasant to me. Although it will be hard to wait, it might be wiser to have Escape store the trailer until April or so. It will make for a much more pleasant trip, not to mention a safer one.

[disneydoc]

Thanks for the suggestions, I am as excited as a kid with the expectation of a new toy coming in the mail (delaaaaaaaayyeed).
The excitement of new phase of RV in our lives is no less than a teen looking forward to driving a car for the first time.

Let us hope the snow/cold next year is not too bad, and be as good as Carol H found this year.
We will be driving against the traffic though(Seems the whole world is in Florida in the winter)

Thanks & best regards

[honda03842]

Raj,

Congratulations on your purchase. Your February trip may be a problem. Certainly you may have to take the coast road through Oregon, CA and back through the southwest however that's a marvelous trip. One alternative is to wait until March, generally a better month than Feb.

[disneydoc]

Thanks Norm & Ginny,

Our fun visit to you had a lot to do to rest some of our apprehensions about RV, thanks a lot to you two for that.
Your understanding & time is much appreciated.

When we get done with Atlanta visits, we will get in touch with you to request another visit.... options & equipment for our rig, our upcoming maiden towing attempt, fun places to visit & such......

Best wishes

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by disneydoc

Thanks for the suggestions, I am as excited as a kid with the expectation of a new toy coming in the mail (delaaaaaaaayyeed).
The excitement of new phase of RV in our lives is no less than a teen looking forward to driving a car for the first time.

Let us hope the snow/cold next year is not too bad, and be as good as Carol H found this year.
We will be driving against the traffic though(Seems the whole world is in Florida in the winter)

Thanks & best regards

As Cathy suggests the best route from Florida to Escape land in the winter would be staying south and heading west and then start heading north from Arizona then move over to northern California once you pass Vegas.

I suspect a lot about why some fear coming to Canada in winter to pick up is they are not familiar with the actual weather in Escape land. I know its hard to believe but many winters we don't get any snow and when we do it normally washes away in less than a day. The City of Vancouver for example does not actually own any snow plows. As with all things though one needs to watch the weather forecast though. Every 6/7 years or so we can have a white Valentines Day - sometimes only an inch or it could be a foot or more.

On the other hand *lots* of folks who live in Escape Land do head south from December to February. Hang out on the I5 on the week after Christmas and you will see a stead stream of trailers heading south.

The one section of highway between Escape and California you really need to watch the weather on and those of us who have done the winter trips south fear the most is Grants Pass, Oregon. The weather on the pass is very unpredictable, so you may have to bunker down for a day or two waiting for good weather to get over it. But even that Pass was greatly lacking in snow this past winter. Clear and dry for a better part of the winter. If heading south and needing to bunker down and wait out the weather in Grants Pass the Seven Feathers Casino and campground in Canyonville is a popular spot to do that. They have nice camping facilities with heated showers. Champoeg State park just south of Portland is another poplar stopping spot coming and going in winter. They also have heated washrooms although not as well heated as the ones in Canyonville .

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by disneydoc

I reserved a Escape 17B for February 2016, after seeing a 19B & liking the various features & the quality.



Thanks for the many posts & lot of info on this & escape forums, we got informed & educated about different fiberglass trailers & decided to go for a new Escape 17B.



We will have the challenge to drive up from central Florida to Chilliwack, Canada & that too in the cold month of February & then to drive back with the Trailer. Well, we will cross the bridge & deal with it next year.



Anyway, to choose the various options now. Thanks to several posters in helping me along the way



Best regards

Our build date was in February too. We were coming from South Texas. We decided to have Escape hold the trailer for another 6 weeks and pick up on March 20th or so. That was a great decision. As others have pointed out, the problem is not the weather in Chilliwack. The problem is the weather in the mountains between you and there. By waiting until late March, we had no issues with weather except a few snow flurries in the higher elevations. Camping along the way was much more pleasant too, and many campgrounds don't open until mid March or early April.

It was very hard to wait, knowing the trailer was finished and waiting for us, but if I had to do it again I'd do the same thing.


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by disneydoc

Thanks Norm & Ginny,

Our fun visit to you had a lot to do to rest some of our apprehensions about RV, thanks a lot to you two for that.
Your understanding & time is much appreciated.

When we get done with Atlanta visits, we will get in touch with you to request another visit.... options & equipment for our rig, our upcoming maiden towing attempt, fun places to visit & such......

Best wishes

Raj,

We should be in FL sometime in Oct. until Dec. We'd love to have you visit.

[Mike Magee]

If you don't put yourself under any time pressure, just take it slow and easy, and take the southern route across to CA, you'll be fine. Treat it like an adventure. Relax, poke along, see sights along the way. If you hit some weather you don't like, wait to move on. It can be a memorable, fun trip.

[disneydoc]

Thanks Cathi, Carol H, Robert, Norm & Ginny and Mike for your input.

I am sure that cross country trip will need more than some planning to do, as the completion date approaches.
Like Robert said postponing till late March may not be a bad idea.

We will see how that goes......

Thanks again

[Carol H]

As Mike says do not put any must be at such and such a spot pressure on yourselves. Best to let the weather decide for you which route best to take and when.

Middle of winter is a great time to visit many great parks as the weather is very comfortable & they are not over crowded so reservations are often not needed or can still be made a day or two prior to arrival. Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Lake Mead, Valley of Fire, Anza Borrego and even the south rim of Grand Canyon, to name just a few, all great spots to visit in the winter.

Now you have be dreaming of another winter road trip! LOL

[disneydoc]

Hi Robert,

Which route did you take/would you suggest to take from Houston to Chilliwack, BC, Canada. Some details about the route please

Thanks

[Uplander]

My interest in fiberglass trailers causes me to ask....must buyers drive to their factory and pick up a unit or is delivery possible? If I was buying a Jayco Travel Trailer I would not have to drive to Indiana just visit a local RV dealership.
I'm not buying a Jayco just used that as an example.
Is there a dealer network for these Canadian fiberglass trailers in place in the United States?

[emers382]

No, FG trailers are sold direct from the factories and generally sold by word of mouth especially Escape trailers. Escape can arrange delivery to you, usually combining two or three to the same part of the country. Check out ETI website.

Adrian


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV