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9:43 pm
March 19, 2011
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Mike Magee
| | near Tulsa OK | |
| Member | posts 204 |
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Last Saturday I picked up my new KZ Spree Escape E14RB. Thursday I towed it to Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas for 2 nights of camping, and it was great.
 
Here's a photo of my new home-away-from-home under the pines at Petit Jean. It was my second time there, and I enjoyed it. Great hiking trails, plenty of neat spots to photograph, peace and quiet. The CG gets kind of smoky from all the camp fires, but otherwise it was great. When my grandkids get to be 8 or 10 I want to take them here, they'll love clambering around the rock outcroppings and stuff.
I had the dealer install a TurboMaxx fan/cover over the rear vent and a plain cover over the front vent. I could leave the fan on low with the bathroom door closed and hardly hear it running, but it brought in a nice breeze. Before leaving, I added a towel ring on the outside of the bathroom door, a paper towel holder between the streetside windows, and various clear plastic containers to hold stuff in the cupboards and keep it from bouncing around much. But it seems like stuff really didn't get displaced much from bouncing, unlike previous trailers (which all had torsion axles… go figure). There was ample storage space for all.
The trailer towed well. Going out was extremely windy with strong gusts, so I really felt the buffeting… more so than with my old Burro and its rounded edges. After getting out of the windy area it did fine. No sway at any time. Fuel economy was 10 and 2/3 mpg up against that wind, but over 13 mpg the rest of the trip, @ approx. 60 mph.
Negatives: the fridge would not work at all, and there's a small gas leak somewhere (most noticeable when the water heater was on pilot… it set off the detector). I'm sure the dealer will get these things straightened around for me when I get the trailer back to them for a visit next weekend.
Positives were abundant! It's a comfy trailer, great layout, a pleasure to be in. I am thinking about taking it for about a 3 week trip this summer… a few days in Colorado for sure, plus maybe back to Utah and/or perhaps Glacier National Park in Montana. We'll see.
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2008 Toyota Highlander – 2011 Escape E14RB
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7:31 pm
March 20, 2011
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sandersmr
| | Texas | |
| Member | posts 338 |
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Hope they get your service issues fixed quickly.
And I'm glad that you enjoyed your inaugural trip out.
I'm interested how you continue to like your MaxxAir fan. I would like to do something like that – it tends to get stuffy at night with the door shut, even with the windows and vents open.
And I got beat up by the wind as well this weekend. I kept thinking I would eventually get a tail wind since I had head winds Friday but I came home a different way and had a cross wind most of the way.
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2010 16BH towed by 2002 F-150 Super Crew 4.6L V8
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9:44 pm
March 20, 2011
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Mike Magee
| | near Tulsa OK | |
| Member | posts 204 |
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The fan is outside of the trailer in the TurboMaxx, so on low with the bathroom door closed it is very quiet. On medium I would say it's about the same as our old Fantastic fan on medium… and I have to leave the door cracked a bit or I stifle the airflow, because the fan pulls a lot of air on medium. On high it's loud enough to drive me crazy, just like the Fantastic fan was… I will only use high for a couple of minutes if the trailer is really hot.
It will blow air in as well as out. The controls stick down a couple inches, so if someone were tall they might bump their head in the shower. I'm 5'8″, no worries…
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2008 Toyota Highlander – 2011 Escape E14RB
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9:22 am
March 21, 2011
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Karsty
| | Niagara Falls, Ontario | |
| Member | posts 114 |
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Hey Mike: Thanks for the report on your newSpree Escape E14RB. I pick mine up in a few weeks and am anxiously waiting to put her through her paces.
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CURRENT: 2012 Winnebago ERA – FORMER: 2011 Toyota Sienna Limited – 2011 Spree Escape E14RBnn"If a hammer doesn't fix it … it must be an electrical problem."
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5:59 pm
March 21, 2011
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Mike Magee
| | near Tulsa OK | |
| Member | posts 204 |
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Karsty, you will love it. I know what you mean about the "anxiously waiting" part. And I didn't have to wait nearly as long as you! Once I decided this was what I wanted and negotiated with the dealer, it was hard enough for me just to wait a week while they had the fan shipped in and installed.
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2008 Toyota Highlander – 2011 Escape E14RB
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8:47 pm
April 2, 2011
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Mike Magee
| | near Tulsa OK | |
| Member | posts 204 |
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I got my Escape back from repairs today. The fridge needed a new thermostat and the LP connection near the furnace was not tight. All should be well now. They checked the fridge with a thermometer and said they had it down to 22 degrees, the freezer was well below zero! Guess I am ready for the summer heat.
I planned to take it for a night of camping at Osage Hills SP, west of Bartlesville OK (the town where my dealer is located), but as I headed that way the smoke from grass/woods fires was heavy! We are tinder dry and under a burn ban… unfortunately a number of fires started today and the brisk south wind whipped them up good. I turned back and headed home. I will sit in the trailer in my back yard and 'pretend camp'. 
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2008 Toyota Highlander – 2011 Escape E14RB
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11:06 am
April 3, 2011
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Karsty
| | Niagara Falls, Ontario | |
| Member | posts 114 |
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"Pretend camp" Love it!!! LOL.
Heck why am I laughing?? That's were I'll be spending my first night in my trailer as well. LOL
Patio Beach here I come. Just 18 days and counting before I get her. 
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CURRENT: 2012 Winnebago ERA – FORMER: 2011 Toyota Sienna Limited – 2011 Spree Escape E14RBnn"If a hammer doesn't fix it … it must be an electrical problem."
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8:57 pm
April 27, 2011
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Mike Magee
| | near Tulsa OK | |
| Member | posts 204 |
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Post edited 4:07 am – April 28, 2011 by Mike Magee
Here's another photo of my Escape at Petit Jean SP, in a different part of the CG near the lake.
My hobby is 3D photography, which means I have cameras that take 2 views at once… 1 for the left eye and 1 for the right eye. It's easiest with a viewing aid (something with lenses or prisms to direct each eye to the correct side), but with practice a person can learn to freeview such pairs. To try it, use a sheet of paper or something like it as a 'septum' from your nose to where the 2 sides join, so each eye can only see its own side. After a bit, your eyes may adjust.
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2008 Toyota Highlander – 2011 Escape E14RB
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