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Old 08-22-2019, 08:17 PM   #1
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Quality of Escape

Don’t want to stir the pot and create a stink with loyal Escape owners, but I would like to hear from those who picked up their Escape trailer after June 1, 2019 and those prior owners under warranty for the last two years if they have any quality issues with their new trailers and how the ‘new’ Escape ownership has dealt with those problems. New ownership and expansion can sometimes lead to a decline in quality control and responses to warranty issues can change.
I had to cancel my order last spring because of health issues. Now I have the option to renew my order soon on a build.
Would like to know if the change in ownership had an effect on the quality of the Escape trailers and on warranty response.
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Old 08-22-2019, 09:04 PM   #2
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Possibly Ordering New

I am also interested.

I have been looking for a used Escape 19' and with the used prices I'm seeing, I might as well order a new one.

I see the trip from Ontario to BC more of an adventure than adding to the cost.
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Old 08-22-2019, 10:36 PM   #3
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Why did you choose June 1, 2019?
I believe the controlling share of ETI was sold to KV in August 2018.
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Old 08-22-2019, 11:00 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
Why did you choose June 1, 2019?
I believe the controlling share of ETI was sold to KV in August 2018.
Only because Tammy and Reace ‘retired’ on that date according to their last response on the Escape Forum.
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Old 08-22-2019, 11:15 PM   #5
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We put down our deposit on our 21 in August 2018, it was ready for pick up in November 2018 and we picked it up in May 2019 (Escape stored it for us until May). We like it a lot.

The few times we emailed Escape turned out to be our inexperience and they were quick to help us out over email. Our dealings with Escape were top notch from start to orientation.

We took 1 week to get home from Chiliwack, about 1300 km. In June we went to Ottawa area and slept in our 21 every night for the whole month, about 7600 km. We took it out locally August long weekend, probably 500 km. And we are probably going to spend another 10 days shortly going to BC. We have had zero problems other than a few inexperience issues. It's a well built trailer.
KV bought a company with a lot of goodwill and I doubt they would want to mess that up. Who knows, they might even make some improvements?
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Old 08-23-2019, 08:27 AM   #6
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New ownership will have no effect on production of new existing models. This is something that was set up before the new ownership and will continue pretty much the same. All the components will be the same.

The issue of having a worker make a mistake during construction will still be the same, though usually but not always the QC person finds the problems.

I hope all still goes well into the future with new model design. Personally, I would not have said anything to the general public until the units are much nearer production, but hey, I don't own the company.

Personally, as someone who knows Reace and Tammy quite well, if I wanted to buy an Escape trailer now, I still would not hesitate.
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Old 08-23-2019, 09:58 AM   #7
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I wish I wasn’t so pessimistic, but I have my doubts. I struggled unnecessarily with the new ownership over a simple warranty issue. It was eventually resolved, but only after multiple communications and ultimately appealing to the new president. That would never have happened previously.

I suspect that what was once a very special organization will become just another company. I hope I’m wrong.
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Old 08-23-2019, 10:14 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Jeff and Karen View Post
I wish I wasn’t so pessimistic, but I have my doubts. I struggled unnecessarily with the new ownership over a simple warranty issue. It was eventually resolved, but only after multiple communications and ultimately appealing to the new president. That would never have happened previously.

I suspect that what was once a very special organization will become just another company. I hope I’m wrong.
I'm not sure your experience is an indication of new ownership. I recall multiple threads where persistence was needed to get a warranty issue resolved long before new ownership. You are still dealing with people and their understanding of the issue without seeing it so there will always be mistakes made with initial assessment. I'm sure that is little consolation to you when dealing with the issue but I would hesitate to blame it on new ownership.
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Old 08-23-2019, 10:57 AM   #9
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I picked up mine on June 13th and haven't had any issues other than having to adjust the water pump. All my emails and couple of phone calls during the build went very well. I got used to the trailer in on my way home over 30 days.
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Old 08-30-2019, 08:17 AM   #10
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I am very disappointed with their warranty service, or lack thereof. Several issues and the first two I pretty much gave up on after their initial comment in one case and lack of response in another case.
But the blatant disregard for my rear camera issue has really disturbed me to the point that I would not do business with them again. The warranty as of current management has no value whatsoever in my view.
And if anyone does order a rear view camera option, DEMAND that they install the RV SYSTEMS power cable with the weather-proof plug connector on the OUTSIDE of the shell. Do not trust ESCAPE to properly plug the twist-locking connector together and bury it into the headliner were it could never be serviced etc without taking a razor knife to the headliner.
FYI the rear camera comes from RV SYSTEMS with a very well designed power cable which has a weather-proof female twist-locking connector, and the camera comes with a short cable with the mating male connector which allows one to remove the rear camera for service if needed without “cutting” the cable.
Problem is ESCAPE buries this connector inside the camper shell and under the headliner fabric. In my case the plug connection “failed” and I was unable to fix this without cutting into my headliner.
I requested a new power cable from escape and they refused. They “offered” me a 6foot length of wire instead, with the expectation that I cut my new camera cable plug off and butt-splice to their warranty replacement “wire”. I objected to this and requested replacement RV SYSTEM cable with proper plug. They refused. I in turn have no respect for their so-called “customer service” and consider their warranty of little value.
By the way, RV SYSTEMS is a first rate company which absolutely stands behind their product, they replaced my camera without any problem, even tho as it turned out the problem was in the power cable.
And then they sent me the new power cable immediately, free of charge and didn’t even ask why.
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Old 08-30-2019, 08:33 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave58 View Post
I am very disappointed with their warranty service, or lack thereof. Several issues and the first two I pretty much gave up on after their initial comment in one case and lack of response in another case.
But the blatant disregard for my rear camera issue has really disturbed me to the point that I would not do business with them again. The warranty as of current management has no value whatsoever in my view.
And if anyone does order a rear view camera option, DEMAND that they install the RV SYSTEMS power cable with the weather-proof plug connector on the OUTSIDE of the shell. Do not trust ESCAPE to properly plug the twist-locking connector together and bury it into the headliner were it could never be serviced etc without taking a razor knife to the headliner.
FYI the rear camera comes from RV SYSTEMS with a very well designed power cable which has a weather-proof female twist-locking connector, and the camera comes with a short cable with the mating male connector which allows one to remove the rear camera for service if needed without “cutting” the cable.
Problem is ESCAPE buries this connector inside the camper shell and under the headliner fabric. In my case the plug connection “failed” and I was unable to fix this without cutting into my headliner.
I requested a new power cable from escape and they refused. They “offered” me a 6foot length of wire instead, with the expectation that I cut my new camera cable plug off and butt-splice to their warranty replacement “wire”. I objected to this and requested replacement RV SYSTEM cable with proper plug. They refused. I in turn have no respect for their so-called “customer service” and consider their warranty of little value.
By the way, RV SYSTEMS is a first rate company which absolutely stands behind their product, they replaced my camera without any problem, even tho as it turned out the problem was in the power cable.
And then they sent me the new power cable immediately, free of charge and didn’t even ask why.
So with this one issue you "would not do business with them again"? In today's wireless world I don't know why one would purchase a wired camera.

We've owned 15 campers and except for Bigfoot, don't know of a another camper that's built as well as our Escape. And yes, we owned a Scamp and Casita, and they have their issues, but would be next on my list of acceptable campers. It's a very short list and does not include Oliver.

Oh, a neighbor let us use her wireless camera and it worked for backing up our 5th wheel using our phone for a screen (it worked with our laptop too). I know at least another that uses the same kind of camera. I was amazed!

Enjoy,

Perry
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Old 08-30-2019, 09:06 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave58 View Post
I am very disappointed with their warranty service, or lack thereof. Several issues and the first two I pretty much gave up on after their initial comment in one case and lack of response in another case.
But the blatant disregard for my rear camera issue has really disturbed me to the point that I would not do business with them again. The warranty as of current management has no value whatsoever in my view.
And if anyone does order a rear view camera option, DEMAND that they install the RV SYSTEMS power cable with the weather-proof plug connector on the OUTSIDE of the shell. Do not trust ESCAPE to properly plug the twist-locking connector together and bury it into the headliner were it could never be serviced etc without taking a razor knife to the headliner.
FYI the rear camera comes from RV SYSTEMS with a very well designed power cable which has a weather-proof female twist-locking connector, and the camera comes with a short cable with the mating male connector which allows one to remove the rear camera for service if needed without “cutting” the cable.
Problem is ESCAPE buries this connector inside the camper shell and under the headliner fabric. In my case the plug connection “failed” and I was unable to fix this without cutting into my headliner.
I requested a new power cable from escape and they refused. They “offered” me a 6foot length of wire instead, with the expectation that I cut my new camera cable plug off and butt-splice to their warranty replacement “wire”. I objected to this and requested replacement RV SYSTEM cable with proper plug. They refused. I in turn have no respect for their so-called “customer service” and consider their warranty of little value.
By the way, RV SYSTEMS is a first rate company which absolutely stands behind their product, they replaced my camera without any problem, even tho as it turned out the problem was in the power cable.
And then they sent me the new power cable immediately, free of charge and didn’t even ask why.
Escape quality is better than other trailers I have owned or had the chance to examine but I can't defend the way they do wiring.

I have discovered too many gotcha's in my wiring and others on the forum have too. Wiring seems to be the achilles heel for Escape - they really need to take a serious review of how they wire the trailers.

Hiding a wiring disconnect under the headliner is not smart. Now I wouldn't make the statement that I would never buy another Escape because of it. There are more serious errors that other trailer manufacturers have that are not as easy to fix.

Let's face it - you can rewire the entire Escape for only a few hundred dollars so it's not that bad an issue (and have pretty much done it). And the entire trailer doesn't have to be rewired - just some problem areas like the hidden butt splices, etc.

There are too many threads already on Escape wiring issues to regurgitate them here. I'm meeting Karl next month at Pineknot and will be sure to talk about the changes that should be made in how they wire the trailers. Who knows - maybe this can be a dead issue finally.

All said, Escape still makes the best trailer for the money that I know of - definitely don't cross them off the list because of a minor error.
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Old 08-30-2019, 09:22 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave58 View Post
I am very disappointed with their warranty service, or lack thereof. Several issues and the first two I pretty much gave up on after their initial comment in one case and lack of response in another case.
But the blatant disregard for my rear camera issue has really disturbed me to the point that I would not do business with them again. The warranty as of current management has no value whatsoever in my view.
For the few times I needed to use the warranty, I also had little success going through customer service. The issues were always resolved by bumping it up to Reace and he would take care of it.

Reace and Tammy are no longer there so who do we go to now? Escape needs to do some customer service training with their staff such that problems like this don't have to go the owner of the company to get resolved.

Karl seems to be a decent guy but he needs to spend his time worrying about the larger picture than chasing down every little warranty problem that comes in - that's what customer service is for.
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Old 08-30-2019, 09:38 AM   #14
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RE... "... The warranty as of current management has no value whatsoever in my view...."

I think somebody needs a hug.
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Old 08-30-2019, 10:08 AM   #15
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I thought that component issues were normally handled through the supplier (and their warranty) rather than through Escape. So to me, it sounds like your issue was resolved as it should have been.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave58 View Post
I am very disappointed with their warranty service, or lack thereof. Several issues and the first two I pretty much gave up on after their initial comment in one case and lack of response in another case.
But the blatant disregard for my rear camera issue has really disturbed me to the point that I would not do business with them again. The warranty as of current management has no value whatsoever in my view.
And if anyone does order a rear view camera option, DEMAND that they install the RV SYSTEMS power cable with the weather-proof plug connector on the OUTSIDE of the shell. Do not trust ESCAPE to properly plug the twist-locking connector together and bury it into the headliner were it could never be serviced etc without taking a razor knife to the headliner.
FYI the rear camera comes from RV SYSTEMS with a very well designed power cable which has a weather-proof female twist-locking connector, and the camera comes with a short cable with the mating male connector which allows one to remove the rear camera for service if needed without “cutting” the cable.
Problem is ESCAPE buries this connector inside the camper shell and under the headliner fabric. In my case the plug connection “failed” and I was unable to fix this without cutting into my headliner.
I requested a new power cable from escape and they refused. They “offered” me a 6foot length of wire instead, with the expectation that I cut my new camera cable plug off and butt-splice to their warranty replacement “wire”. I objected to this and requested replacement RV SYSTEM cable with proper plug. They refused. I in turn have no respect for their so-called “customer service” and consider their warranty of little value.
By the way, RV SYSTEMS is a first rate company which absolutely stands behind their product, they replaced my camera without any problem, even tho as it turned out the problem was in the power cable.
And then they sent me the new power cable immediately, free of charge and didn’t even ask why.
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Old 08-30-2019, 10:23 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave58 View Post
I am very disappointed with their warranty service, or lack thereof. Several issues and the first two I pretty much gave up on after their initial comment in one case and lack of response in another case.
But the blatant disregard for my rear camera issue has really disturbed me to the point that I would not do business with them again. The warranty as of current management has no value whatsoever in my view.
And if anyone does order a rear view camera option, DEMAND that they install the RV SYSTEMS power cable with the weather-proof plug connector on the OUTSIDE of the shell. Do not trust ESCAPE to properly plug the twist-locking connector together and bury it into the headliner were it could never be serviced etc without taking a razor knife to the headliner.
FYI the rear camera comes from RV SYSTEMS with a very well designed power cable which has a weather-proof female twist-locking connector, and the camera comes with a short cable with the mating male connector which allows one to remove the rear camera for service if needed without “cutting” the cable.
Problem is ESCAPE buries this connector inside the camper shell and under the headliner fabric. In my case the plug connection “failed” and I was unable to fix this without cutting into my headliner.
I requested a new power cable from escape and they refused. They “offered” me a 6foot length of wire instead, with the expectation that I cut my new camera cable plug off and butt-splice to their warranty replacement “wire”. I objected to this and requested replacement RV SYSTEM cable with proper plug. They refused. I in turn have no respect for their so-called “customer service” and consider their warranty of little value.
By the way, RV SYSTEMS is a first rate company which absolutely stands behind their product, they replaced my camera without any problem, even tho as it turned out the problem was in the power cable.
And then they sent me the new power cable immediately, free of charge and didn’t even ask why.
I fuly agree and understand your frustration . I have never believed that mailing the customer a box of parts and then passing the burden of installing them on to the customer is living up to the warranty . Whether Escape installs a wired or wireless camera , it should work properly and the customer should not be responsible for Escape’s choice of equipment
I am going to stop now because I can tell by some of the responses that we are headed down the same road again , blaming / attacking the end consumer .
From my experience and knowledge Escape’s guality and warranty is no better than Scamps or Casitas and nowhere near the quality of Oliver or Bigfoot !
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Old 08-30-2019, 10:43 AM   #17
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I thought the default for mounting a rear camera was on the exterior above the rear window. Dave did you specifically ask for it to be wired inside, or is it? AND, isn't all the wiring run in the corners behind the removable vinyl panel? There should be no need to 'cut' the vinyl. What am I missing....
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Old 08-30-2019, 10:44 AM   #18
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No where near the price of a Bigfoot or Oliver either.
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Old 08-30-2019, 10:51 AM   #19
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In looking a the pics of a 5.0 where he says he had to cut the headliner to access the connector, it would of been inside the cabinet so where’s the issue. One makes the cut n reseal with fabric tape Even the best made products fail and need to be replaced
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Old 08-30-2019, 10:53 AM   #20
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In looking a the pics of a 5.0 where he says he had to cut the headliner to access the connector, it would of been inside the cabinet so where’s the issue. One makes the cut n reseal with fabric tape Even the best made products fail and need to be replaced
That makes sense. ETI can't just leave the wiring loose inside the cabinet. Some other owner would snag the wiring, yanking out the connections and then THEY would be mad. Seems safer behind the vinyl to me....
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