Thursday, June 14, 2018
When we left this story at the end of the last blog post, I was sitting in my big white truck right outside the front office of Escape Trailer Industries in Chilliwack, BC … waiting for ETI employee Randy to hook up his Canadian licensed pickup truck to my new trailer and then bring the truck and trailer around front so that we could head south across the border and into the USA in tandem.
And here he is, with my trailer in tow!
Randy pulled over to the chain link fence in the photo above, parked the truck and got out, walked around the fence and chatted with me about which route he would take, the speed he would travel, his expectations of the border crossing, etc. It was all ok with me … let’s go!
My new checkerboard-floor trailer is about to hit the highway! I think she was a little sad to be leaving her sisters and brothers behind, but she was excited about getting out and seeing the world too.
The video below shows Randy and the trailer pulling out of the ETI parking lot. My friend Jan and I were right behind in the big white truck.
Notice the Canadian license plate on my trailer in the photo above. ETI tows new trailers across the border for USA buyers. They use a temporary Canadian license plate on the trailer while in Canada. If I were to take possession of the trailer at ETI while I was in Canada, I would be required to fully license the trailer in Canada and pay Canadian licensing, fees, and taxes … then ALSO license the trailer when I got into the USA and pay USA licensing, fees, and taxes as well. I am very grateful that ETI towed my trailer into the USA for me, and handled all of the cross-border export-import paperwork.
Photo above … leaving ETI in Chilliwack, heading up the road towards the freeway.
Almost onto Trans-Canada Highway #1.
It was raining lightly and it continued to rain all the way to the border and then for those few blocks into Sumas and our meeting place.
We followed along right behind Randy and the trailer. I swear I took photos (oops, I mean my friend Jan who was with me took photos) while we were on the freeway, but I sure don’t find them on my camera. I guess I was so excited that I just imagined I took photos.
The speed limit oh the freeway was 110kph (68mph). We were traveling about 104kph (65mph). Several other pickups with travel trailers passed us (and we passed several as well). I noticed that every one of those trailers swayed either a foot or two from side to side, or maybe just a tiny bit, but they all swayed. I also noticed that this brand new Escape trailer didn’t move a muscle from side to side! Not one centimeter!
When we arrived at the border crossing, Randy and the trailer turned off to the right into the commercial trucking lanes, but we proceeded through the “regular” lanes since I was not a commercial vehicle. After clearing USA Customs, my friend and I in my big white truck arrived at the agreed meeting spot in Sumas. About 15 minutes later, Randy pulled in with my trailer in tow behind his pickup. Just before he pulled in, the rain stopped. Perfect. 🙂
What a great day for me, and what a great day for this brand new trailer too. Her very first day out of the shop and already she’s an experienced border-crossing international traveler.
Randy unhooked his truck and pulled it to the side. Then I hitched up the big white truck to the trailer and we checked to make sure everything worked (they had checked at ETI, but we double-checked here in Sumas as well, just to make sure). Everything was A-OK. Randy handed me an original copy of the officially approved Customs border clearance documentation. And then Randy jumped in his truck and with a fond farewell headed back north to Canada and to ETI. And there I was with my brand new trailer. Oh my word! 🙂
And then … not only had it stopped raining, but the sun came out!
This had been an intense day, starting with that 8am Orientation, then the drive to the border, then taking legal possession of the trailer … and the day was only half over! Jan and I had lunch at Bob’s Burgers & Brew (in the tall log building with the teal roof in the photo above). I was finally able to take a deep breath and even relax a bit.
Jan and I spent the afternoon taking photos and double-triple checking everything about the trailer and the truck. Two problems surfaced with the trailer (I fixed both of them) … and some fun stuff happened too. I’ll tell you all about those things in the next post. Stay tuned for sure!
She sure is a beauty! Congratulations! Have fun and be safe
Thanks Jo. 🙂
I love the part about her not swaying an iota…
Me too! She seems perfectly designed for weight and balance. And, she knows what her business is and she knows how to do it. 🙂
Congratulations, Ann! We look forward to seeing you on the road one of these days. Really like the Escape trailer approach to design and construction. We’re sure you’re gonna love it.
Thanks AJ. I’m sure our paths will cross … kind of like our boating paths crossed so many times … and I’ll look forward to seeing both of you. Thanks for the nice words. 🙂
Your new additon is one TERRIFIC looking trailer. She looks amazing!!! Have fun.
P.s. Today is a very good day. I was able to do the math only using my hands, didn’t have to use any feet……
Sometimes one’s feet get awfully tired, don’t they? Glad I could make life a little easier for you today.
Thanks for such high praise, though I kind of agree. 🙂
I am so excited for you. Glad everything went good getting across the border.
Question…is the step easy to pull out?
Hi Ginger. No, the step is NOT easy to pull out! So far it’s the only thing I don’t like that I don’t see a way around. Funny you would pick up on that, but that was a great question. I meant to lube it with some CRC spray today, but forgot … now that you have reminded me, I’ll do it for sure tomorrow. Maybe that will do the trick. Thank you. 🙂
I only asked that because when I was married my hubby and I had a 5th wheel trailer. I never could pull the step out by myself. I got so fed up with having to ask him to do it. Lol
It’s frustrating. I read online how lots of folks find these steps, of ANY brand, difficult to pull out. I did spray mine today and it’s much easier, but I’ll have to keep spraying it. Someone needs to come up with a better design eh?
Congratulations! Happy and safe travels in your new, beautiful Escape 21!
Thank you, that made me smile! 🙂 From one E-21 owner to another E-21 owner. Hope to meet you folks one of these days.
Congrats!
Are you noticing a big difference in towing a trailer with a double axel ?
Ha! Hi Bonkers. 🙂 Thank you.
So far, I have towed the trailer just that one trip home from Sumas to Tacoma, for several hours on the freeway with two short stops off the freeway, one of which was in a small shopping center where my friend Jan appropriately suggested I drive around a bit to see how the trailer handles (and see how I do). It was a piece of cake. At the end of that trip down the freeway, when I got home, I did back the trailer at a 90-degree turn into my short driveway … had to pull forward just once to straighten the truck out (not the trailer, the trailer was aligned perfectly). I had done the same with that other trailer I owned (a single axle) … didn’t notice any difference between the two. The two axles on the Escape are fairly close to each other, so that might make it easier to turn. Good question! I’ll be paying attention to that in the future.
Wow! I like how high she is off the ground. You’ll be able to take her into some off the beaten track places. I cringed a little when she went thru the puddles in the rain. It was an initiation of sorts…
Oh, you and me both! I didn’t even want the tires to get dirty, much less get wet, or get the trailer dirty. I cringed too! But I like your thought about it being an initiation, or a blessing … that’s kind of how I viewed the rain that day, come to think of it.
One of the Escape options (which I did choose) was for them to install a “high lift kit” on each axle which raised the trailer about 3″. I’m planning on boondocking a bit in the future so that extra clearance should help. It does also raise the step, however, so I purchased a really sturdy free-standing step to put on the ground so I can still get in the trailer. Always a trade-off. 🙂
Hi Ann,
I’m a bit late coming to this post but I’ve been trying like the dickens to read my way through this blog to find out why you chose to trade trailers. So far I haven’t found any mention of it. (I’m in September 2017). You see, I’m in the research stage and would really appreciate your input since I value your opinions. Your first trailer was my top pick for the non-clamshell category after reading a few favorable articles from RV industry watchers. But the Oliver or the Escape are tempting because of the fiberglass shell and dual axles. I so appreciate your explanation about axle ratio and such, in the Blueberry Farm post! I’ve got it bookmarked ?. I’m guessing that you wanted the Escape all along but wanted a try-out trailer while you were on the waiting list for the Escape?
Hi Edith, thanks for asking. There’s a post early on in 2016 where I talk about wanting to and then buying a used but very clean travel trailer in order to find out if I like doing this sort of thing … and that the used trailer (the MiniLite) might be my forever trailer or might not. I didn’t even know Escape trailers existed. Then there’s a post (at least one) in 2017 where I wrote about realizing that I loved camping in a trailer, but I also knew the MiniLite wasn’t the trailer I wanted, so started doing research about other trailers. Then I found Escape, and the rest is history. 🙂 Yep, that info and those posts are there. There’s even a post with a VERY long list of specific things that I didn’t like about the MiniLite and specific things that I did like about Escape trailers. Take another look. 🙂