Runaway Campers....
- Thread starter KC2BUN
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- overland trailer
Enthusiast III
Awesome. I was literally coming to this thread to ask about the Runaway!Runaway Venturist owner here. It's a great platform that is available without going above $10k. You can build out the interior to your needs and the possibilities are only limited to your imagination. No company builds a camper to last forever...they all take upkeep and will have bumps along the road. But the Runaway gives you a great platform and product to build from and work with.
I'll be glad to honestly answer any questions you may have.
Mine is a 6x8 Venturist. Full electrical setup with dual 100ah batteries, 165W Solar, custom lighting, refrigerator, shelving and storage.
How tall is that thing...pictures don't do the height justice. I'm considering moving to this since my wife is a bit over sleeping in our RTT. I've had the RTT for about 3 years and something like the Venturist makes sense for long distance over the RTT. How's the bedding inside?
So far out of all the trailer companies Runaway has the most sensible pricing as far as I can tell. I've already spoken to them about providing wheels/tires and I have a fridge already so I'm glad they'll work with me in excluding the items I don't need.
Clark Griswold
Rank I
Enthusiast I
Hey, Brock.
I emailed Runaway with the same question about height. Here's what I got.
Exterior: 11'4" L x 65" H X 66"W
Interior: 94.5" L X 42" - 46" H X 46.5" W
I'm going through a dealer in PA, XYZ Camping. I can get it delivered there with no change in price. Since I'm in MA I'm going that route instead of driving all the way to Florida.
Good luck!
I emailed Runaway with the same question about height. Here's what I got.
Exterior: 11'4" L x 65" H X 66"W
Interior: 94.5" L X 42" - 46" H X 46.5" W
I'm going through a dealer in PA, XYZ Camping. I can get it delivered there with no change in price. Since I'm in MA I'm going that route instead of driving all the way to Florida.
Good luck!
Enthusiast III
Thanks for the info @Clark Griswold . I just moved and was maybe an hour from their Ocala location and now I'm over 12...wish I would have known a few months ago!
Just ordered a Venturist through XYZ Camping last week. It should arrive in the end of March or early April.
Clark Griswold
Rank I
Enthusiast I
Hey, Jeff.
I haven't got it yet. The plant in Florida had to close down for a bit but it's up and running again. I called the factory last week to confirm this. Mine was supposed to be here in April. I don't have it yet but I'm hoping it will be here any day! Mike at XYZ has been very helpful through this and I haven't bugged him lately. He really can't do much about it. I'll give him another call though.
What have you heard?
Contributor I
I've been looking at all of the options but haven't decided which one yet. Wanted to know if got the electric brake option? I had a previous camper without electric brakes and had them overheat on big down hills in the mountains. Anyway, if so, how do you like them.
I bought my trailer with electric brakes for the reason you describe. I chose the Redarc Elite for my brake controller. The Redarc was easy to install and works as expected, easy to adjust. I don't have to see the screen as I did my previous Prodigy 3, I just turn the nob on the Redarc for more or less braking power. Good luck.
How are you guys finding the fit and finish or your 2020 Runaways with the new composite material? I have a Venturist with some quality issues from a mismanufacrured door that runaway knowingly still sent out to light coming thru around the doors. My biggest issue is the roof. Mine is sagging which Runaway says is "normal" but appears there is not be enough support in my opinion.
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Has Runaway helped much? Your comments are very concerning to me because I've narrowed my search down to the Venturist. I wonder if this totally composite build is too new.
Sorry for the delayed response. Yes, they need to figure out the new composite. I heard they only made one camper of this new composite to show people and then started producing the new campers for the consumer instead of building a couple to put in the field and work out any problems before they sold them to the consumer. I was told the roof sag or "swale" as he called it is normal, but it looks like they have already redesigned it....
I've been dealing with the owner Steve the owner who I'm disappointed with. He admitted they've been very busy and apologized and said they would send the parts then I really struggled with him to get reimbursed the going rate to have it fixed as all the problems should have been caught at the factory if they had someone doing quality control. He wanted to send $35 hour, going rate up here is $90-$125 hour. I would definitely stay away form Runaway until they get it figured out. If I was to do it again I would look into Hiker Trailer or Escapade.
I had a similar experience . I like the Hiker and the Escapade. I wanted the Escapade, they did raise their prices at the first of the year and I decided to get the Runaway. I wish I would have listened to myself.
No worries on the delay. Thanks for responding. I’ve been following the facebook group and after reading about quite a few people having various problems with the new models and the company’s somewhat lackluster response, I’ve decided to go a different direction.
The Escapades are really nice, interested to see how their seamless composite system holds up over time. I originally wanted a Hiker Trailer but their lead time was 8-12 months, the Runaway dealer had a Venturist on order and it would of been to me in 4-6 weeks if Covid didn't shut everything down. I need to listen to myself and be patient too!
I just went to the Escapade sight the other day I didn't know they were doing the composite as well. Maybe it's the thing of the future once they get the bugs worked out. I definitely think Runaway does have much in the way of quality control.
I know it has been a couple of years since you made this post about intending to beef up your Runaway camper. Have you been able to do this? I'd love to see what you've done.
Clark Griswold
Rank I
Enthusiast I
It's been a long time since I've been here but I saw a notification about Runaway trailers. I've had my Venturist for two years now. It's absolutely awesome. I've taken it off road several times with zero issues. I even towed it to California and back from Massachusetts. Zero issues and it gets a lot of attention. It's a simple trailer that I've modified to meet my needs. I couldn't have picked anything better.
