YAWT (Yet Another Wobbly Table) The single-side in 17B caused by plastic edition - Escape Trailer Owners Community
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Old 11-14-2018, 10:06 PM   #1
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YAWT (Yet Another Wobbly Table) The single-side in 17B caused by plastic edition

The "wobbly" table on the single-bed side of the 17B needs some help. In my case, most of my wobble appears to be from the Plastic attachment/slide mechanism, and not the metal post.

Indeed there is two kinds of wobble, the light kind which causes the table to tilt several degrees, creek, and flop side to side when you do so much as rest your hand on it. There is the heavy kind where the whole metal post moves, but this takes leaning on your elbow to invoke. I don't expect this second kind to go away and I'm ok with that.

What can I do to improve the wobble being introduced by the plastic mechanism? Is there a more sturdy ball-bearing or aluminum solution that you can lock in place?



On a secondary note, the introduction video shows a manual twist-lock is available on the Escape 19 to prevent movement while the table is in motion. The Escape 17B doesn't have this feature. The factory doesn't think it's needed, but I feel otherwise. Without fail while towing, the table will shift from side to side which amounts to unnecessary stress. Do you have any suggestions to shut down this problem?
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Old 11-15-2018, 05:30 AM   #2
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From your picture it looks like ETI has gone to a thin plywood to mount the leg to, mines a good deal thicker. No idea if that comes into play.

Anyway, I tried a full extension 100 lb set of 12" glides and found the table top to sag when extended, went back to the plastic. I tried them both horizontally and vertically. I believe someone else had luck with the glides so trying a high quality set may work for you.

I used a bunk latch to hold the table in place when under way, there's a write up on it somewhere on the forum if you do a search.

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Old 11-15-2018, 10:07 AM   #3
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table slide in 17B

While on the road we secured the table by putting two cup hooks into one side under the table. We put a bungee around the leg and hook each end to a hook which pulls and holds the table tight while moving.
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Old 11-15-2018, 10:22 AM   #4
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I glued a plywood filler slide to the base side. This stiffens the base plywood and allows for longer screws. The top now slides on this new plywood skid providing tension on the plastic sliders which helps removes slack wobble.
Our 19 also has the knob which holds the table in place and I highly recommend. If you need pictures of this to duplicate...just ask.
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Old 11-15-2018, 10:25 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pc500 View Post
The "wobbly" table on the single-bed side of the 17B needs some help. In my case, most of my wobble appears to be from the Plastic attachment/slide mechanism, and not the metal post.

Indeed there is two kinds of wobble, the light kind which causes the table to tilt several degrees, creek, and flop side to side when you do so much as rest your hand on it. There is the heavy kind where the whole metal post moves, but this takes leaning on your elbow to invoke. I don't expect this second kind to go away and I'm ok with that.

What can I do to improve the wobble being introduced by the plastic mechanism? Is there a more sturdy ball-bearing or aluminum solution that you can lock in place?



On a secondary note, the introduction video shows a manual twist-lock is available on the Escape 19 to prevent movement while the table is in motion. The Escape 17B doesn't have this feature. The factory doesn't think it's needed, but I feel otherwise. Without fail while towing, the table will shift from side to side which amounts to unnecessary stress. Do you have any suggestions to shut down this problem?
That's interesting to note that you don't have the manual twist lock on your 17B. We had a twist lock on our 2017 17B. I would have thought that if you don't have one, it would be quite easy to self install one? It absolutely needs one. Shouldn't be too difficult to find at something like a Home Depot.
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Old 11-15-2018, 10:39 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pc500 View Post
The "wobbly" table on the single-bed side of the 17B needs some help. In my case, most of my wobble appears to be from the Plastic attachment/slide mechanism, and not the metal post.

Indeed there is two kinds of wobble, the light kind which causes the table to tilt several degrees, creek, and flop side to side when you do so much as rest your hand on it.

There is the heavy kind where the whole metal post moves, but this takes leaning on your elbow to invoke. I don't expect this second kind to go away and I'm ok with that.
The large table in the 19 moved way too much. To address the wobble from the post you can install a Springfield pedestal or maybe the Lagun. Either way, the slide mechanism still has a fair amount of play. See below for solution.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pc500 View Post
On a secondary note, the introduction video shows a manual twist-lock is available on the Escape 19 to prevent movement while the table is in motion. The Escape 17B doesn't have this feature. The factory doesn't think it's needed, but I feel otherwise. Without fail while towing, the table will shift from side to side which amounts to unnecessary stress. Do you have any suggestions to shut down this problem?
Our early 19 did not have a table lock. I disassembled the table and added two large knobs with threaded shafts that engage with t-nuts on the wooden piece. When these are tightened down they exert pressure upward on the table which keeps the table from sliding side-to-side for travel and takes some of the play out of the slide mechanism during normal use. The t-nuts are installed on the underside so they are being pulled into the wood when tightened.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-Rep...-Knobs/3903340
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-5-1...ee-Nut/3012534
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Old 11-15-2018, 10:39 AM   #7
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The table on our Escape 21 slid back and forth on rough roads until I installed the bunk latches Padlin refers to.
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Old 11-15-2018, 11:30 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris & Patricia View Post
That's interesting to note that you don't have the manual twist lock on your 17B. We had a twist lock on our 2017 17B. I would have thought that if you don't have one, it would be quite easy to self install one? It absolutely needs one. Shouldn't be too difficult to find at something like a Home Depot.
From escape:



In the 17’ trailer there was no knob for the table slider due to the smaller size of the table.
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Old 11-20-2018, 09:59 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rubicon327 View Post
Our early 19 did not have a table lock. I disassembled the table and added two large knobs with threaded shafts that engage with t-nuts on the wooden piece. When these are tightened down they exert pressure upward on the table which keeps the table from sliding side-to-side for travel and takes some of the play out of the slide mechanism during normal use. The t-nuts are installed on the underside so they are being pulled into the wood when tightened.
I found a picture of what I did. Notice though that the board underneath is much larger on the full size table in the 19 than the one shown by the OP. Further modifications would likely be necessary.
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Old 11-20-2018, 11:45 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by padlin View Post
From your picture it looks like ETI has gone to a thin plywood to mount the leg to, mines a good deal thicker. No idea if that comes into play.

Anyway, I tried a full extension 100 lb set of 12" glides and found the table top to sag when extended, went back to the plastic. I tried them both horizontally and vertically. I believe someone else had luck with the glides so trying a high quality set may work for you.

I used a bunk latch to hold the table in place when under way, there's a write up on it somewhere on the forum if you do a search.

Installed the bunk latch right away even before the Springflied . Wasn't crazy with the latching system from the factory which was tearing up the wood under the table . Pat
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Old 11-20-2018, 11:59 AM   #11
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I replaced the plastic slides with wooden slides that I could butt together for a full sliding range like the plastic. Used soap to lubricate the wood slides and no more sticky/binding at all. https://www.rockler.com/classic-wood...8aApfrEALw_wcB
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