Any Regrets with Factory "Touch Audio" Stereo

[Dave Walter]

We are in the planning stage for our Escape 19, trying to decide which options would be best for us. One of the questions that I am struggling a bit with is whether or not to go with factory "Touch Radio" stereo. Although we are not audiophiles by any stretch of the imagination, we would definitely like to have the ability to listen to music in the trailer. I have no personal experience with this particular stereo, but from my browsing through this forum, several other rv forums, and various websites, I see the following real or perceived issues:

- Sound quality of Touch Audio stereo is reportedly poor.
- Problems with malfunctioning touch panel.
- Problems with radio turning on by itself to play weather alerts.
- Poor documentation/manuals
- Model does not appear to be available at major retailers
- Where to take for warranty or repair services?

For the $300 that this option is valued at, I could probably purchase a car stereo and speakers that are likely to be more reliable and have better quality sound. In particular, if there is likely to be issues with this system, I would rather deal with it in advance than have to go through this again in a couple of years. Have any of you gone the route of buying an alternate car stereo system? If you have gone with an alternate system, how did you address the installation:

(1) Did you send the stereo and speakers to Escape and have Reace install?
(2) Did you ask Reace to run speaker wire to proposed speaker locations and 12V power to stereo location, but do install yourself?
(3) Did you do the complete installation yourself?
(4) Did you do something else?

If I do choose to forego the factory stereo for some alternate, my personal inclination would be to go with (1) or (2), depending on how much Reace could do the install for. As always, your thoughts, experiences, and opinions are welcomed.

regards
Dave

[Jim Bennett]

Dave, that was not the stereo that we got, but if I was to do it all over again, I would install my own. The one we have works just fine, but we do rarely use it as we are most often outside. I do have speakers that go outside, but can't control the stereo with the remote from out there. I think a good portable setup with a place inside to put it would work best.

I know a couple people with the small Bose systems. They can be recharged, and really produce great sound.

Another friend has a wireless bluetooth setup, and just uses his smart phone to play songs. I think this is a way I might go in the future.

[gbaglo]

If you go with the factory install or install your own car stereo, at some point in the future you will have a stereo that needs to be replaced and a hole in your cupboard. As electronics and the features they offer improve every few months, I wouldn't go with any "permanent" installation.
I have iPod and iPod dock ( no need to store CDs ) which I can place where I want, inside or out, by using inexpensive extension cords for the 12V plug. I also have portable Sirius satellite radio and dock. I have another dock for the Sirius in the tow vehicle. It provides a wide range of music, sports, news, talk and oldie radio shows. I can plug the iPod into the Sirius dock via an audio cord.
Being portable, I can place the units next to me instead of turning up the volume for the entire campground.

baglo

[Vermilye]

I also skipped the factory radio & purchased a good iPod dock that has a built in FM radio, Aux input that lets me plug in my XM Radio receiver, and internal rechargeable battery (a Sony RDP XF100iP). While the FM radio sensitivity leaves much to be desired, overall it has worked well. Sound quality is excellent, I can use it with my iPhone to listen to Pandora or my music, and take it out to the picnic table when cooking or sitting outside. I don't believe this model is still available, but there are others...

[cpaharley2008]

I think a weather radio is very important while camping and having it "alert" you while sleeping to special alerts for your area. That said, the Touch system seemed to large. I opted for a small am/fm/ipod radio with weather and mounted on the front shelf, all wires are behind the shelf and speakers are hidden by the shelf. See post here
http://escapeforum.org/index.php?topic=2152.75

[captmath]

I thought it was just me. Touchpad quit working. Weather radio comes on while traveling. I occasionally have to pull the plug to reset because it randomly comes on, cycles through all the modes and then turns off. Over and over. Pushing the reset button didn't help, but pulling the plug did. And the antenna won't pick up stations I can get with my Ipod.
The only accessary I ever regret buying. I found a nice unit at Crutchfield. And Jensen has a couple I like, but I am hesitant to spend almost $400 more if the reception isn't any better.

Dick

[cpaharley2008]

"And Jensen has a couple I like, but I am hesitant to spend almost $400 more if the reception isn't any better."

Dick,
You have a choice of antenna with the jensen, I opted for the little 6" mounted inside, seems good for weather station located 90 miles away. There is also an exterior mount antenna, same price, but mounted on exterior of trailer, on the side, 14" tall.

[prairieboy]

In my 17B I opted to install my own stereo and speakers. The challenge was running the electrical wires from the cupboards at the front dinette back to the electrical panel at the rear. I now have a 19 on order and am having Escape install a stereo and speakers that I am supplying. I like a good quality sound and the speakers appear to be the key. According to my car stereo salesman, the amplifier in most car stereos is identical, so the sound quality will not vary whether I spent $100 or $250. The difference in the stereo is features, cd player, dvd player, ipod/mp3 controller, gps, etc. I ended up with the least expensive stereo and the most expensive speakers. I also wanted the stereo to be able to broadcast the audio from the tv, as elsewhere on the forum I've read about the poor quality sound from the small tv.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Dave, that was not the stereo that we got, but if I was to do it all over again, I would install my own. The one we have works just fine, but we do rarely use it as we are most often outside. I do have speakers that go outside, but can't control the stereo with the remote from out there. I think a good portable setup with a place inside to put it would work best.

I know a couple people with the small Bose systems. They can be recharged, and really produce great sound.

Another friend has a wireless bluetooth setup, and just uses his smart phone to play songs. I think this is a way I might go in the future.

I really like the idea of a radio with Bluetooth capabilities and had actually been considering a car stereo with Bluetooth. I am thinking that I may just ask Reace to run the power and speaker wires during the build, and then install the system myself. I have a couple ideas for both the stereo and the speakers that would have minimal impact on structure if they are ever removed or modified.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by prairieboy

In my 17B I opted to install my own stereo and speakers. The challenge was running the electrical wires from the cupboards at the front dinette back to the electrical panel at the rear. I now have a 19 on order and am having Escape install a stereo and speakers that I am supplying. I like a good quality sound and the speakers appear to be the key. According to my car stereo salesman, the amplifier in most car stereos is identical, so the sound quality will not vary whether I spent $100 or $250. The difference in the stereo is features, cd player, dvd player, ipod/mp3 controller, gps, etc. I ended up with the least expensive stereo and the most expensive speakers. I also wanted the stereo to be able to broadcast the audio from the tv, as elsewhere on the forum I've read about the poor quality sound from the small tv.

What stereo and speakers did you choose and what kind of price did Reese give you for the install (if you don't mind answering)?

[prairieboy]

Stereo is a JVC KD-X40, ipod/iphone control, bluetooth ready (requires an adaptor), no cd player, $100 at Future Shop. Speakers are Infinity Reference 6030cs, $250 at Future Shop...or $160 from Amazon.com with duties and shipping (go figure!!). Escape is charging $100 to install.

[LeonW]

So far, we have been very happy with our Jensen AMW975. I was concerned about the reception, but then found the reading lights above the bed produce a fair amount of interference. If they are off, then reception is great. I had Escape install it, and run an HDMI cable to the TV. I like the built in look.

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by Leon Webster

So far, we have been very happy with our Jensen AMW975. I was concerned about the reception, but then found the reading lights above the bed produce a fair amount of interference. If they are off, then reception is great. I had Escape install it, and run an HDMI cable to the TV. I like the built in look.

Leon, the Jensen AMW975 appears to be a higher end radio than the Touch Audio. How did it end up in your Escape? Did you purchase yourself and ship to Escape for them to install, or something else?

regards
dave

[Dave Walter]

Just a thought. For those of you who have installed a car stereo (or have had Escape install it for you), did you have to also install an antenna? If you did install an antenna, was it internal or did you put it on the roof?

[LeonW]

I bought the AMW975 at camping word's web site, and had them ship it to Escape. Escape then installed it for me, and ran an HDMI cable to where the TV was going. They also installed a "pig tail" (?) FM antenna, which runs along towards the back of the trailer (ours is a 17B). We get RF interference if we use the reading lamps at the same time we are using the FM radio. So one of these days, I am going to re-route the antenna. If I had to do it over again, I might get a small rubber external FM antenna and mount it to the outside of the trailer. I still might do that one of these days if get up the courage to actually drill a hole in the trailer shell. But so far, I am following Baglo's Law.

[RickM]

Many times interference is caused by the converter, especially on AM. Are the reading lamps LEDs or are they incandescens?

[gbaglo]

I don't think you need to drill a hole. I think you can just mount the FM antenna inside a cupboard and the FM signal will go through fiberglass.
I sometimes have to place my Sirius satellite antenna outside to point it in the right direction, but mostly it picks up OK inside the trailer.

Try re-positioning the pigtail FM antenna so it's not near electrics.

baglo

[cpaharley2008]

I mounted mine inside and it works fine, picks up weather from 90 miles away. You can see it here mounted in corner, all connections inside.

[dbailey]

Music is very important to me, so I want to make sure I get a good solution to this problem. I'm not an audiophile, but I want to get decent sound quality (at low volume, both inside and outside the trailer). I prefer a built-in solution, since portable units are just one more thing to set up and take down, and one more set of batteries to keep charged.

In the 19 that I looked at on the lot in Chilliwack, the speakers are mounted in the cabinet over the bed. This takes away valuable cupboard space. Jim's solution (looks to be over the dinette?) is similar, but since it's a smaller unit takes up much less space.

In the pictures of the 19 on the Escape website, they stereo and a pair of small speakers is mounted under the cabinet over the bed. This looks like a good idea, so long as the stereo isn't so large that somebody sitting on the bed will whack their head on it.

I'm a fairly accomplished cabinetmaker (as a hobby, anyways), so I was thinking of having Rease pre-wire for an under-cabinet mount, and leave me to purchase a car stereo, speakers and build an enclosure for it.

This leaves the question of music outside the trailer, though. I've seen units with external speakers installed through the side of the trailer. I don't like that idea, since it's one more place for water to get through, but unless the speakers are permanently mounted, there's no way to get away from the "one more setup item" problem.

I'm not sure what solutions wireless technology (either RF or bluetooth) gives, but I will look into that. Barring other better solutions, I might just have Rease pre-wire some speaker cables from where the under-cabinet mount will go down into the under-bed bay, where I can install some jacks. When I want outside music, plug some speakers into these jacks and set them up outside.

If you've noticed my posts, you might have noticed that I tend to over-think things. Another fine example...

[J Mac]

I, like Baglo, prefer the 'boom box'. Put the music where the listener is! I use the Dewalt job site unit. It's AM, FM, iPod ready and charges it's own battery when plugged to shore power. I use the battery to power my Dewalt drill for raising and lowering my stabilisers.