Our 21' Escape Trailer purchase issues

[davidmurphy02]

With any group of people this large there are bound to be a wide range of experiences and opinions. One of the things that makes this forum valuable is being able to share in that wide range of experiences, and 99% of the time it doesn't deteriorate into the conflict and hostility that is so common in many online environments.

I certainly don't expect that ETI does everything perfectly, or that everyone has a wonderful trouble-free experience with their trailer. Many people do have good experiences, and others have problems, and I for one prefer to hear about both sides of the coin to get a balanced picture.

Anything that can go wrong with a trailer or component will for at least some very small percentage of owners. I find it very informative and useful to read about all the issues and problems people have had - when something eventually gives me a problem, it will very likely be something I've already read about and won't catch me completely off guard. The wide range of knowledge and experience of forum members means that when a problem does occur, you can ask a question as I have done several times and get a number of very helpful responses that make it much easier to resolve the problem.

The community of this forum is one of the things that, to me, makes Escape unique. Yes, it is at times a fan club - but then many people have had wonderful experiences with both ETI and their trailers so that is understandable. No company in any industry can turn out products in a production line environment where many individuals have a hand in the process and not have a few mistakes happen and slip through. But compared to the rest of the RV industry Escape looks very good. Perfect - no, but certainly better than most.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

While I get great comments from the majority here, there are a few who dislike my point of view regarding Escape, which to be fair is a bit apprehensive at the moment until we get a years worth of results from the new owners.

I tend to agree with you Jim, I see some storm clouds in Chilliwack but hopefully they will dissipate over time, as most things do as a company grows.

[dsbc]

questions about Escape:
1. Explain details of new ownership and when?

2. Has new ownership changed Escape’s business model? If yes, in what way/s?

3. Is there any noticeable difference in quality of product and service recently?

Thanks

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by MyronL

Years earlier when camping in Baxter State Park in Maine one year we opted to stay in one of the primitive cabins on the lake where the caretaker/ ranger lived with his family. You rolled out your mattress on an army surplus bunk bed, got your water outside at a farm pump, were expected to leave the place like you found it. Chatting with the caretaker I asked him what kind of people using these bare bones cabins he dealt with and who were the most trouble. He said the ones who were church ministers were the worst, because they expected everything to be handed to them, done for them. I never forgot that.

That's a hoot. Went camping with my mom and dad ( the Lutheran minister ). As others, including mom, were preparing dinner, my dad said, "Magda, shouldn't you be getting the bed ready"?

[davidmurphy02]

Originally Posted by dsbc

questions about Escape:
1. Explain details of new ownership and when?

In the latter half of 2018 they took on a partner / sold a substantial interest in the business to a private equity group, KV https://kvprivateequity.ca/

2. Has new ownership changed Escape’s business model? If yes, in what way/s?

KV brought in a new president. Reace and Tammy are still heavily involved in the operation of the company, Reace is Director of Production. Many questions were raised when this first happened, and Reace responded on more than one occasion that the things that had made Escape so successful and unique - the customization of each trailer, the big annual rally, etc. - would still continue. ETI had likely grown to a size where Reace and Tammy were much more consumed with all the administrative and financial details of running a large business than they would like. This allows Reace to focus more fully on the actual design and production process. KV has purchased interests in several other small Canadian RV manufacturers and with them the original owners are still heavily involved in running the business but now have more substantial financial resources and corporate management, potentially the best of both worlds.

3. Is there any noticeable difference in quality of product and service recently?

We ordered our trailer last summer and it was built in December after the new ownership changes had been in effect for a while. I found the quality and attention to detail of construction to be outstanding, if anything I would think that with Reace being able to focus full time on production that it would result in an even better production process. Nothing is perfect, of course, as this thread points out, but in general it does not seem like there have been any noticeable differences in quality.

Thanks

Time will tell, but from what I can see it is so far, so good.

[dsbc]

Thanks davidmurphy02 for taking time to answer my questions.

[cdmixer]

I am not sure what got moderated other then I received a warning.



So I assume my post were moderated for some violation and now the conversation about my true feelings on my purchase so far are altered.


I will end my writting on this topic since its obvious the direction of opinions go.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by cdmixer

I am not sure what got moderated other then I received a warning.

So I assume my post were moderated for some violation and now the conversation about my true feelings on my purchase so far are altered.

I will end my writting on this topic since its obvious the direction of opinions go.

Your original post was not moderated. Several members edited their own posts and at least one member deleted his/her post entirely.


Attacks on other members is never tolerated and will be edited for content or deleted entirely.

[cdmixer]

For the record I committed no attacks on members. If I did please show me, and others where this occurred so I never do it again. If its a PM message I will reveal the contents to let others decide how helpful it was.

[Iowa Dave]

As anyone who has met me knows, my knowledge is mostly related in anecdotal fashion. It’s how I’ve learned and survived for seven decades. It’s sad to me that some posts deteriorate into negativity and despair when opinions on possible solutions are offered. Go camping, make friends , fix or get fixed stuff that breaks.
KISS works for camping and trapping coyotes. And that’s all I got to say about that.
Forrest Gump

[Oldtimer]

It make me wonder how many people read this wonderful source of knowledge that is past on freely and have their own solution and modifications but never post them not wanting to be heckled somewhat. No telling what we will never learn about due to this.

[steve dunham]

The issues you’ve encountered can only be resolved by ETI or in a court if law
Trying to resolve them here will only lead to more frustration and irratation on your part
I’ve had a myriad of problems with my 2018 Escape 21 and came to the conclusion that fixing them on my own time and at my own expense was the least painful way to handle the issues
Again I understand your frustration with your trailer but this thread has only served to make matters worse . It’s like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer ,it feels so much better when you quit !!

[dsbc]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

The issues you’ve encountered can only be resolved by ETI or in a court if law
Trying to resolve them here will only lead to more frustration and irratation on your part
I’ve had a myriad of problems with my 2018 Escape 21 and came to the conclusion that fixing them on my own time and at my own expense was the least painful way to handle the issues
Again I understand your frustration with your trailer but this thread has only served to make matters worse . It’s like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer ,it feels so much better when you quit !!

What problems did you have?

[Greg A]

Originally Posted by Oldtimer

It make me wonder how many people read this wonderful source of knowledge that is past on freely and have their own solution and modifications but never post them not wanting to be heckled somewhat. No telling what we will never learn about due to this.

I'm sure Oldtimer, that this is true on most all internet venues. Most people reading are and remain lurkers with no contributions ever coming from them. Do they learn some stuff, I'm certain they do, or they go on. You also get people on internet venues that post all the time but never produce any evidence of doing any actual mods or camping. Lots of theory without application. There are some who camp their lights out, but never do mod one. Sometimes you see a hobbyist just do mods on a trailer because they enjoy that, but the trailer never moves out of the driveway. All these different strokes have always made this an interesting hobby.

I've been in Molded Fiberglass for about 15+ years and the mod maintenance and basic concepts are applicable to all Molded Fiberglass trailers as well as fiberglass embodied sports cars. Working on 12v systems is universal.

If one just reads posts here, they are missing a world of information on other applicable sites. A lurker here may post somewhere else where they feel more comfortable and vice versa. Over the years I have my go to sites and I read and sometimes participate on many of them, including the sticky trailer websites.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by dsbc

What problems did you have?

If you really want to know , I will PM you
Not going to list them on the forum , at my age I don’t need the abuse !

[dsbc]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

If you really want to know , I will PM you
Not going to list them on the forum , at my age I don’t need the abuse !

Ok, thanks

[sallemann]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

If you really want to know , I will PM you
Not going to list them on the forum , at my age I don’t need the abuse !

Hi Steve...


We're going to pick up a 2019 21 on September 30th. I'd be curious to know what issues you had so we can check for those while we're at orientation.



If you don't mind... PM would be great.



Thanks

[Fun&Sun]

Hi cdmixer, I’m sorry to hear of your experiences with Escape. I’m hoping to offer you the light at the end of the rainbow. My wife and I have a 2017 - 21’ and had some problems at the start, but after time got most of them resolved. We are now 5-1/2 months into a trip that will take another month or so and have had no problems. We have covered 14 states and 6 provinces, so a lot of miles.
I hope that Escape steps up and you end up with a trailer you and your wife are happy with.
Good Luck and thanks for posting your experience.
Keep us updated if possible.

[Ronn]

I am not looking to get involved in this but I think if some of us recent buyers post our initial experiences it may be beneficial to others. We have not had our trailer long enough to know what might show up in the future, but this thread addresses issues both prior to and at pick up.

We picked up our 5.0 June 14th, 2019. We spent over 3 weeks bringing it home. We had 2 issues as I recall.
1) the water pump did not shut off - this issue was addressed in the orientation videos, our main problem was not having a 5/64th allen wrench available. We just shut the pump off when not in use until we found someone with an allen wrench.
2) Passenger side window covering is crooked, I haven't gotten to this yet, if I can't get it straightened out I plan to contact ETI.

We too are newbies to RVs. I did have the luxury to spend a lot of time on this forum (what a great source of wisdom available here).

Orientation went very smooth, we had watched the orientation videos a couple times (some more times ) prior and had some questions formulated prior to orientation. I felt that the new orientation with my questions vs trying to cover too many details in 2 hours worked out well for us. I was also asked a few questions to determe my knowledge on a some items which I think was a good idea.

We are very satisfied with the quality of our build.

I too believe that when customer service is initiated by the provider it is best, but I in no way have felt my concerns and questions were not properly addressed with this one exception. And this may have to do with an email not responded to which I think was during the same period that "cdmixer" had an email issue.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

If you really want to know , I will PM you
Not going to list them on the forum , at my age I don’t need the abuse !

You might mention that you bought your Escape used.