First RV - needing some sound advice please

If you decide to tow with the Escape you probably want a Prodigy P-3 controller. That unit lets you set a bias as the trailer brakes come on so the trailer is neither "pushing" nor "dragging" the tow vehicle as you apply brakes. You may not understand exactly what this means until after you start towing, but it is important; particularly with a TV as light as an Escape.

All that said, I cant see anything as light and short wheelbase as the Escape as a really satisfactory tow vehicle. But then, the truck in my signature is a one ton diesel long bed.