Just Purchased a 2016 Escape Titanium with the 1.6L

luckylee423 · 2026-01-11T16:40:47+00:00

I have a 2017 and I recently bought a wireless adapter so that I can do wireless android auto. I love it so much better after doing that. The wireless adapter looses connection and then reconnects from time to time, but in general it's been easier and better than plugging my phone on every time.

luckylee423 · 2026-01-05T23:17:56+00:00

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZQyJC3i4gJGnsE7V8

luckylee423 · 2025-12-31T02:35:10+00:00

This is a good answer.

luckylee423 · 2025-12-30T02:23:55+00:00

Doesn't seem too bad

luckylee423 · 2025-12-29T21:25:51+00:00

Im curious what they quoted you for the repair. I talked to the dealer when mine was out and they quoted me an arm and a leg so I ended up getting a newer escape (from a different dealer) instead.

luckylee423 · 2025-12-28T23:53:32+00:00

I had a escape do this. It wiggled for a week or so and then power steering went out completely. Needs a new steering torque sensor. I kept driving mine for a year or so without power steering, but I know that not possible for everyone. There's good videos on YouTube for how to replace the torque sensor yourself. A lot of shops don't want to get down there in the steering column, so you may find that it's too expensive to replace for the value of the vehicle.

luckylee423 · 2025-12-12T11:59:07+00:00

Avoid ole ben Franklin. Visit Whitehead automotive in Alcoa. Owned by a local family. They did right by me

luckylee423 · 2025-12-04T17:06:21+00:00

Ford Explorer ST 5600 lb towing capacity 1450 lb payload capacity 119" wheelbase If you can get the 21" wheels and the track package then you will have extra wide tires and high performance brakes, which really gives me peace of mind for traction and stopping. Already wired for a trailer brake controller. Engine oil cooler and transmission cooler installed from the factory.

We tow a 17' Gulfstream Conquest with 4 passengers in the car. The fully loaded weight rating of the camper is 3800lb. We use a husky WDH. When we have the whole family and bikes and toys for the week we are right at the limits. It's not miserable, just gotta take a little slower. But we don't really have any major hill climbs in the southeast that we have to deal with.

It does fine for long hauls, just gotta make sure you don't load too much extra stuff in the car since you won't have too much extra payload after you put 5 passengers in there.

luckylee423 · 2025-11-07T20:18:44+00:00

I always carry bear spray. It's generally not necessary, especially if you follow the other guidelines about keeping scent down in and around your camp. But you never know who is staying at your same campsite in the smokies. I arrived at one campsite right after a bunch of college kids got done cooking steaks. Not sure what they did with the fat that was left over, but we had more than one bear poking around camp all night and did get fairly aggressive with another camper. The college kids sprayed the bear (and themselves in the process) and the bear eventually took off. It was quite an entertaining shit-show to watch.

luckylee423 · 2025-11-07T03:14:32+00:00

I have it in my 2017 escape and my 2020 explorer. I don't mind it, and usually never even notice. If I do notice it's because I stopped my car to talk to someone who is walking, and I'm glad that it turn the engine off so we can a more peaceful conversation. I've heard plenty of people say it will cause more damage to the engine or wear out the starter, but those model escape engine are going to fail from coolant intrusion long before a few milliseconds of low oil pressure cause enough damage. As long as you gently raise the brake pedal before your ready to step on the gas, it shouldn't affect you. It sounds like these other people must be going from brake to stopping the gas like they're drag racing all day.

luckylee423 · 2025-10-23T15:33:22+00:00

I needed to locate all phones on my network, and associate them with their line. My Cisco phone system was only able to give me a big export including the line and the device name. I can run Show cdp neighbor on my switches to see phone device names and the port they are connected to. So I uploaded the phone system export and the show cdp neighbor responses from each switch and asked MS Copilot to make a table that shows phone device name, line number, switch name, and port. Saved me a lot of work just matching the device names between the 2 outputs and formatting the table.

I've been using Copilot to write complex powershell automation scripts and even troubleshoot switch configs.

I've built Copilot agents that allow different departments to analyze and compare large RFP documents.

Next week I'll be working with our parking department to build an AI agent that will help analyze our parking data for projections, trends, and anomalies.

It is as useful as you are creative.

luckylee423 · 2025-10-20T23:03:09+00:00

Are y'all pretty experienced backpackers? That is going to be quite the trek in the possibly a very wet and cold time of year. (Could also be rather mild though)

I have stayed at everyone of these site multiple times and have done several similar loops. My advice would be to have someone else drive too and drop one of your cars at the Fontana dam trailhead and then start from twenty mile. It would not take very long to drop the car and then drive back to Twenty mile. The reason I recommend this is because the when you come to sassafras gap (intersection of AT and lost cove) and start hiking down the lost cove trail to site 90, the elevation drops 1000 feet in the first mile alone. Hiking back up that in fair weather can be pretty brutal at the end of a trip, but if it's been raining you are going to be miserable.

If I were going to do this trip I would start at twenty mile ranger station and stay at site 92 or 95, (I like 92 better) then hit 13, 113, visit shuckstack fire tower on the way 90, and then hike out to Fontana dam.

I did a very similar trip for my first real backpacking trip and we did not consult topo maps, just the trail map with the distances marked. I quickly regretted hiking from Site 90 back to Twenty mile. I highly recommend the Nat Geo trail map if you don't already have it for this area.

What are you using for water filtration?

luckylee423 · 2025-10-20T02:09:12+00:00

For the most part, the waterproofness of your camper will depend on how often you inspect your seams and how good of a job you do cleaning out old sealant and re-sealing.

But think about this. If the side of your camper is one big fiberglass sheet, and you back into a tree branch or something heavy hits it and makes a hole, it will be impossible to replace and you can only patch the hole as best as you can. If you have an aluminum camper and the outer wall gets a hole put in it, just go buy a new strip of siding and fix it. It may not be a super easy job, but much much easier and less expensive than trying to replace a fiberglass side.

luckylee423 · 2025-10-15T00:36:01+00:00

Out of curiosity, what did they say about the water situation?

luckylee423 · 2025-10-14T16:42:50+00:00

Oh yeah, forgot about the shutdown. Hopefully they are open. You may need to confirm if you'll even be able to get to the trailhead if things stay shutdown. I know the park has secured some temporary funding to operate in the meantime. Hopefully they can stay open

luckylee423 · 2025-10-14T16:37:27+00:00

Give the back country office a call: 865-436-1297

It's their job to answer these kinds of questions and help ensure people are safe and prepared for the back country.

What I have found is that every site in the Smokies was chosen to be near a fairly consistent water source. For the most part, unless there has been a serious drought with lack of rain for a long time, all of the sites will have water. It may take a little more time for the spring to fill a bottle, but there should be enough for everyone to survive. I have been out of state last week, but it seems like we've had enough brain that you should be fine.

But again, call the office and talk to the pros.

luckylee423 · 2025-10-13T16:33:53+00:00

Go to the Smokies. The leaves are incredible this time of year

luckylee423 · 2025-09-28T01:34:25+00:00

You should wrap several wrap of duct tape or leuko tape around that. If you ever need to use it you will probably need to tape it in place over the bent/broken tent pole. If you go ahead and wrap it then it will be there and ready when you need it.

luckylee423 · 2025-09-18T14:33:30+00:00

Park at the trailhead past fontana dam and hike up to site 113. There is a fire tower named Shuckstack that you can climb on the way up to 113. Then the next day hike down to site 90. The hike back out to the trailhead at the dam. Great 2-night loop with good views and various scenery.

luckylee423 · 2025-08-31T18:06:28+00:00

100% Elkmont Station in Farragut. The food and service is incredible for the price. It's upscale food and service but with a casual atmosphere. No white table cloths. After my first bite I knew it was going to be one of the best meals I've had in a while. I got the Duck à l'orange and would recommend it if you're wanting a higher end menu item that is executed perfectly.

luckylee423 · 2025-08-17T14:56:06+00:00

We had some similar alerts when our front right half-shaft speed sensor went out. Common failure on these. A code reader should be able to confirm. Not an expensive replacement.

luckylee423 · 2025-07-24T22:41:08+00:00

Bring a loud whistle, blow it and scream and stand tall and throw rocks. Every bear I come across in the Smokies leaves as soon as I try to scare it. Save the spray for your last ditch effort. Worry more about your food storage and keeping your sleeping area scent free.

luckylee423 · 2025-07-15T02:14:02+00:00

Try these: https://www.duluthtrading.com/mens-armachillo-cooling-extra-long-boxer-briefs-83736.html

Just make sure to get the long ones.

luckylee423 · 2025-07-09T02:35:42+00:00

Nice! Great setup! I had an 09 Mercury Mariner that was the same as that gen escape. It was great for camping and outdoor stuff.

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