Anode Rod, Screen Door and Door Window

[MaryK]

We need help and or suggestions on how to fix a few things, but first we need some information on the anode rod. We've had our Escape for just a little over a month and it hasn't left our driveway yet (it was delivered to us). John (hubby) is going to sanitize the tank and he checked to see if the hot water tank had water in it - it did. We had filled the water tank a couple wks ago to see if the water pump worked - it does. We have not tried the hot water heater yet. Water has sat in the hot water tank for a couple of wks. Can an anode rod look like this after a couple of weeks?



Since we received our trailer we have reached out to Escape many times concerning our screen door doing what I call 'hanging low'. Meaning there is a gap at the top. Reace told us that they noticed this problem in the shop and that the door was warped. Just give it a good twist as that is what worked with the door at the shop. My husband has done this many times and we can not correct the warping. Only way we can get it to close at the top is to lift the screen door upwards and or slightly sideways. Upwards works the best and then the door looks perfect.

Also I'm looking for suggestions as to how to cover up the scratch marks on the door window frame. Trailer arrived to our home with this, I've asked how to fix this - maybe some kind of paint?? My husband has called concerning the window and the screen door, I've emailed (weeks) and we are not receiving a reply back. Reace was very helpful concerning the air bubbles in the door window covering. He sent us a replacement covering even though I was willing to take a pin to the air bubbles and see if I could fix the problem. It looks like who ever put the door on had some problems as there is white paint along the frame covering up some scratch marks, but no paint to cover up the window frame scratches. Actually the marks are more gouge/groove marks vs scratches. Sadly those stick out like a sore thumb because of the metal look under the black frame.

We love our little trailer, but I see the window frame and the screen door every time I go in or out of the trailer. I know it may seem petty to some and it does even to me at times, but we've had people who I do not know stop while driving by our house asking to see the trailer - they love it also. They have noticed the window/screen door and ask about it. I tell them it will be fixed, but will it?


Photos of the rod, screen door, window on door and door frame.

[John in Santa Cruz]

thatsa nearly new anode. here's an old one below a brand new one.

[John in Santa Cruz]

re the scratches, get a black 'industrial' Sharpie (aka Sharpie Pro), or a MarksAlot, and dab the scratch, voila, no-see-um. won't last forever, but easy to touch up. regular sharpies don't work so great, they have water based ink, the industrial/pro version is the ORIGINAL sharpie formula, writes on metal, glass, everything and is quite durable.

[Kent]

Originally Posted by MaryK

Can an anode rod look like this after a couple of weeks?

Answer is Yes, it is doing what it is supposed to do.

For me I always empty the hot water tank and leave anode out after getting back home from trips and leave tank empty while in storage.

Keep in mind if the anode rod did not look like that, then the hot water tank would and why there is the sacrificial anode rod.

[Mucram]

FYI. My screen door was sticking, something was catching. Anyway escape paid for an adjustment by my rv repair place. Works great now. Good reminder I need to check that anode again.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

thatsa nearly new anode. here's an old one below a brand new one.

Great example of when it is time to replace the anode. That is about where I go to with mine before replacing.

[John in Santa Cruz]

oh, and when I replaced that anode rod in my picture? I used a rv water heater flush wand, and wow a lot of crud came out of the tank.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XL2IBS

sure, you could make one of those yourself, but for $8, it works great...

[caddoster]

our screen door is like that but the opposite - lower corner has a gap.. since it didn't change anything we just sort of ignored it. sorry no help here... just letting you know you aren't the only one I guess..

[Rossue]

You paid as much as a certified pre-owned Lexus, so insist on a proper fix.

[MikeS]

Originally Posted by Rossue

You paid as much as a certified pre-owned Lexus, so insist on a proper fix.

I agree, but it sounds like she is not getting an answer from ETI. The door should have never left ETI with that slop of touch up paint.

[maiki724]

My brand new 19 also has the gap in the same spot. Not only does it look sloppy, but more importantly, it will allow bugs to get inside. From what I can tell based on the top edge of the doorframe, it looks like it has an indentation from being hammered up into the trailer door frame. I haven't notified Escape yet, but doubt there is anything they can do about it now. My solution will be to wrap a soft edge guard around that corner of the screen door, maybe eight inches or so long to seal the gap.

[MaryK]

I thank you all for responding. Nice to know that the anode is looking as 'it should'. It's good to know because we can have extra at home at the ready to replace when needed. Our local water is hard and since we'll be using home water it will probably need replacing more so than usual - maybe. Time will tell, but we'll keep a close eye on it.



Thanks for the heads up on the heater flush wand. We will be purchasing one. First time owners mistake - John pulled out the anode and was blasted with water and debris. Thankfully the water was not hot. We had a good laugh and John got a good hose down to wash all the particles off him - that was fun on my end. Not often does a husband ask his wife to squirt him with the garden hose - ha!



As for the screen, scratch and touch up paint. So many thoughts are running through my head on these - mostly just plain disappointment and dissatisfaction at how it came to us and that we are receiving the silent treatment from ETI. Trailer arrived to our home on the 17th of May and we are concerned as to if anything happens in the future and we need to reach out to the company about something else? Will they respond if they are not responding now?



Sorry to hear others are having issues with the screen door, but nice to know we are not alone. We'd be happy if they sent us one that is not warped and we just replaced it ourselves. Same with the window on the door - we could replace that also ourselves or at least give it a try. It's sharp where it's scratched and while I don't expect anyone to bump up against it and get cut, washing the window I will have to be careful.


Sharpie Pro - wonder if it comes in white also? Nope just checked and it doesn't. I knew we were in for a pickle when I sent the picture of the window to ETI and got a response back that the metal bracket was normal - not a word in response to the scratch marks by it and the reason I sent the picture.



We searched for 2 years for our trailer, following this forum, other fiberglass forums, physically looked at the Casita, Scamp (which is near us) and even looked at the Happier Camper (love the concept of this trailer) along with a 17A and 19 Escape. This journey has been a long one for us, but probably not any longer or shorter than most people when it comes to spending this much money on a trailer.



Kinda takes the joy out of our decision no matter how much we love the trailer. Thank you all again for responding and offering suggestions on how to touch up things.

[Donna D.]

White Sharpie Paint Pen: https://www.amazon.com/Sanford-35558.../dp/B001PLKRZQ

[MaryK]

Originally Posted by maiki724

My brand new 19 also has the gap in the same spot. Not only does it look sloppy, but more importantly, it will allow bugs to get inside. From what I can tell based on the top edge of the doorframe, it looks like it has an indentation from being hammered up into the trailer door frame. I haven't notified Escape yet, but doubt there is anything they can do about it now. My solution will be to wrap a soft edge guard around that corner of the screen door, maybe eight inches or so long to seal the gap.

Sorry to hear your new trailer has the same issue. We too are concerned about bugs. ND has mosquito's with West Nile and they can easily get into the trailer through the gap of the screen door. Our gap coverage will have to go longer than 8 inches down the the side of the door and across the top. Let me know what kind of guard you use. Does your trailer have the wrinkling of the door frame? I was told this is normal.

[citabria90]

Your anode rod is a thing of beauty. BTW, have you checked the anode rod in your home water heater? You might want to do that . . .

Chuck

[John in Santa Cruz]

ah, i thought the picture showed scratches on black coated aluminum.... for scratches on something painted white, I would use a suitable white enamel touchup paint as sold for cars... of course, there's a million shades of 'white' (I've noticed my Escape's 'white' body is distinctly warmer white than my Casita or our white Ford F250, and our white Mercedes 320 wagon is an even brighter white than the Ford).

[The Quilting Lady]

Originally Posted by MaryK

We need help and or suggestions on how to fix a few things, but first we need some information on the anode rod. We've had our Escape for just a little over a month and it hasn't left our driveway yet (it was delivered to us). John (hubby) is going to sanitize the tank and he checked to see if the hot water tank had water in it - it did. We had filled the water tank a couple wks ago to see if the water pump worked - it does. We have not tried the hot water heater yet. Water has sat in the hot water tank for a couple of wks. Can an anode rod look like this after a couple of weeks?

Since we received our trailer we have reached out to Escape many times concerning our screen door doing what I call 'hanging low'. Meaning there is a gap at the top. Reace told us that they noticed this problem in the shop and that the door was warped. Just give it a good twist as that is what worked with the door at the shop. My husband has done this many times and we can not correct the warping. Only way we can get it to close at the top is to lift the screen door upwards and or slightly sideways. Upwards works the best and then the door looks perfect.

Also I'm looking for suggestions as to how to cover up the scratch marks on the door window frame. Trailer arrived to our home with this, I've asked how to fix this - maybe some kind of paint?? My husband has called concerning the window and the screen door, I've emailed (weeks) and we are not receiving a reply back. Reace was very helpful concerning the air bubbles in the door window covering. He sent us a replacement covering even though I was willing to take a pin to the air bubbles and see if I could fix the problem. It looks like who ever put the door on had some problems as there is white paint along the frame covering up some scratch marks, but no paint to cover up the window frame scratches. Actually the marks are more gouge/groove marks vs scratches. Sadly those stick out like a sore thumb because of the metal look under the black frame.

We love our little trailer, but I see the window frame and the screen door every time I go in or out of the trailer. I know it may seem petty to some and it does even to me at times, but we've had people who I do not know stop while driving by our house asking to see the trailer - they love it also. They have noticed the window/screen door and ask about it. I tell them it will be fixed, but will it?


Photos of the rod, screen door, window on door and door frame.

Mary, you paid for new, unscratched, nonwarped. Insist on what you paid for!!!

[MaryK]

Originally Posted by citabria90

Your anode rod is a thing of beauty. BTW, have you checked the anode rod in your home water heater? You might want to do that . . .

Chuck

We will check our water heater at home. Thanks :-)

[MaryK]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

ah, i thought the picture showed scratches on black coated aluminum.... for scratches on something painted white, I would use a suitable white enamel touchup paint as sold for cars... of course, there's a million shades of 'white' (I've noticed my Escape's 'white' body is distinctly warmer white than my Casita or our white Ford F250, and our white Mercedes 320 wagon is an even brighter white than the Ford).

I was wondering if car paint might be better than a white marker. Thanks!

[MaryK]

Originally Posted by The Quilting Lady

Mary, you paid for new, unscratched, nonwarped. Insist on what you paid for!!!

John is calling ETI tomorrow.