New Escape 19 Dometic Furnace problems

[cpaharley2008]

Warranty or no warranty, seems to me if you spend a couple hundred dollars to have the unit fixed and it breaks again, would not the dealer then be liable to fix at their cost?

[steve dunham]

The problem as I see it is that the furnace is poorly designed & cheaply built using low quality components with a next to useless warranty . If they repair the furnace using the same low quality parts or replace the furnace with same problem prone furnace it is only a temporary solution . It appears that Dometic’s only objective is to get past the warranty period and pass the problem on to the consumer.
Again I am not blaming Escape , they are trapped between a rock and a hard place .
They purchased / installed what they were told was a reliable , well functioning furnace and unfortunately Dometic sold them a bill of goods .
Having to spend my time and effort repeatedly repairing something on a new trailer just doesn’t pass muster with me .
I would believe ETI is just as frustrated as I am

[jeffrow]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Why? They could use manufacturers like Truma. Oliver offers the AquaGo model as an on-demand water heating option and Airstream uses the Combi model on the BaseCamp which does both water and space heating. There are also other furnaces like Propex that I mentioned in an earlier post. Advanced RV in Cleveland is bringing in quieter Houghton Belaire A/C units that are designed in Australia as an alternative to the Dometic and Coleman freight trains. Microwaves made by Contoure or many others. Norcold for refrigerator. If an RV manufacturer really wants to they don't need to use anything made by Dometic.

Thanks, I didn't realize there were so many other options with a national service capability.

[gbaglo]

An observation: If you compare complaints against a company that sells millions of units and one that sells thousands, you will find there are fewer complaints for the latter.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by jeffrow

Thanks, I didn't realize there were so many other options with a national service capability.

Jeff: It sounds like the service from RV dealers stinks from what I read. My philosophy is that if a product is well engineered, well built and tested you will have little or no problems for the life of the product and can just enjoy camping. The brands like Truma that I listed are an example. Thankfully there are usually alternatives if you look hard enough.

[EdColorado]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Jeff: It sounds like the service from RV dealers stinks from what I read. My philosophy is that if a product is well engineered, well built and tested you will have little or no problems for the life of the product and can just enjoy camping. The brands like Truma that I listed are an example. Thankfully there are usually alternatives if you look hard enough.

But when you’re selling a trailer in the $25,000 - $30,000 USD price range, you can’t expect to get the quality components you would require in a trailer selling for well over twice that amount like an Oliver or Airstream.

Buy a Ford and you get Ford quality parts. Dometic caters to the ‘Ford’ part of the trailer market. Others serve the Mercedes market.

Ed

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by EdColorado

Others serve the Mercedes market.

Ed

Which also break and usually cost a fortune to service.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by EdColorado

But when you’re selling a trailer in the $25,000 - $30,000 USD price range, you can’t expect to get the quality components you would require in a trailer selling for well over twice that amount like an Oliver or Airstream.

Buy a Ford and you get Ford quality parts. Dometic caters to the ‘Ford’ part of the trailer market. Others serve the Mercedes market.

Ed

Escape could always offer premium brand items as an option and not affect the base price. Also we can’t assume that more expensive trailers are always outfitted with the best appliances. Oliver has an Atwood (now Dometic) furnace and Suburban water heater as standard. It also has a Dometic fridge and A/C. The Airstream BaseCamp has a Coleman A/C....

[Tam2004]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Escape could always offer premium brand items as an option and not affect the base price. Also we can’t assume that more expensive trailers are always outfitted with the best appliances. Oliver has an Atwood (now Dometic) furnace and Suburban water heater as standard. It also has a Dometic fridge and A/C. The Airstream BaseCamp has a Coleman A/C....

Please let us know what premium furnaces exist. -- Dometic bought Atwood -- there is Suburban - are they. better?

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Escape could always offer premium brand items as an option and not affect the base price. Also we can’t assume that more expensive trailers are always outfitted with the best appliances. Oliver has an Atwood (now Dometic) furnace and Suburban water heater as standard. It also has a Dometic fridge and A/C. The Airstream BaseCamp has a Coleman A/C....

Dave looked at a Lance tr trailer 1945 and they had the Truma . Is a Nordic refrigerator better then our Dometic ? Pat

[EdColorado]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Which also break and usually cost a fortune to service.

Agreed
A few years ago we looked at a Class B on a Sprinter chassis. Until I started looking at the cost to service an MB. Outrageous.
We passed.

[Iowa Dave]

I do not know anything about sourcing RV components. We have had pretty good luck so far and what we have needed to repair we could do ourselves. That said, the lack of multiple manufacturers, with entire markets being controlled by only a couple of manufacturers doing multiple branding of the same basic unit, is a huge problem in the USA and Canada in many fields. It’s not progress, it’s a result of a throwaway society, the demise of craftsmanship, and the willingness of too many people to accept the quality we are experiencing. I am always happy when I can buy something that hasn’t changed for years, is of equal quality that it was years ago, and that I can afford if I can wait to own it and “save up”. Buying lightly used 50 year old hand tools, sporting goods, and the like is fine with me. Perhaps an upshot of the trade and tariff will be the restablishment of some domestic manufacturing. I have an 80 year old palm hook corn picking glove. My dad owned it. It has a crayon price of $.69 on it. He told me once that when you wore out the palm peg, you could buy a new one for $.01. Picking corn now requires a $300,000 combine I guess.
Iowa Dave

[Viajante]

I’m amazed any of the components work given the suspension on the trailers. Would you expect the refrigerator to work after putting it in the paint shaker at the hardware store? Does anyone think the Dexter axle actually flexes when going over a bump? Give me an old Holsclaw boat trailer with its coil springs and shocks for a load comparable to our trailers.

[gbaglo]

Part of a news story tonight on the economy mentioned that 80 per cent of Walmart products come from China and that we will begin to feel the tariffs in January.

[davidmurphy02]

Finally had our old 1999 stick and tin rig hauled off today, bought by a guy who repairs and remodels old trailers - lots of wood rot in lots of places from roof leaks over the years. But all the appliances still worked - original refrigerator, furnace, oven, hot water heater, microwave. A/C died after ten years and had to be replaced. But most of those old appliances were still functioning well after almost twenty years of use, bouncing all over the country. What is sad to me is that the basic design and function of RV appliances today is pretty much the same...by now they should have the designs down to a science and they should be bulletproof. Instead it is the opposite, like so many things - corner after corner cut in the endless search for another nickel of profit.

Our new 5.0TA production date is next week and we eagerly anticipate going to pick it up in a few months. And even if the furnace dies the first month, I know that overall the trailer will be strong and functional for many years to come and we won't ever have to sadly watch it depart because it just rotted apart.

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by Tam2004

Please let us know what premium furnaces exist. -- Dometic bought Atwood -- there is Suburban - are they. better?

The problem is as soon as you identify some small manufacture that makes decent accessories either Dometic or Lippert buys them.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Tam2004

Please let us know what premium furnaces exist. -- Dometic bought Atwood -- there is Suburban - are they. better?

Suburban is on par with Atwood in my mind. Premium (to me) would be Propex, Truma, Alde. Many of these innovations are coming out of the European market. These are not direct replacements for a stock Atwood (Dometic) furnace. Propex available through dealers, but Truma and Alde appear to be OEM only.

Truma combi eco is a combination unit (water heater and furnace) so a more involved retrofit. Easily done by ETI on a new build if they would engineer it into the trailer. For instance, I could see one of these under the bed in a 21 where the water heater currently resides. Add some ducts blowing air out along the sides of the bed. Now you have hot water and a virtually silent furnace with 97% efficiency...and more drawer space in the cabinet that currently houses the furnace. If one wants the flexibility of propane or electric (or both simultaneously) you go with the Truma Combi Comfort model.

http://www.truckcamperadventure.com/...eater-furnace/

https://winnebagolife.com/2016/01/wh...y-you-want-one

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Dave looked at a Lance tr trailer 1945 and they had the Truma . Is a Nordic refrigerator better then our Dometic ? Pat

Pat: I don’t really know. I think they both have their issues. Only mentioned Norcold as an alternative to Dometic. I’ve worked on one in my neighbors motorhome, but no personal experience beyond that. Maybe others that have owned them can comment. I know it doesn’t work for many, but there have also been some real advancements in 12V compressor refrigerators.

[davidmurphy02]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Pat: I don’t really know. I think they both have their issues. Only mentioned Norcold as an alternative to Dometic. I’ve worked on one in my neighbors motorhome, but no personal experience beyond that. Maybe others that have owned them can comment. I know it doesn’t work for many, but there have also been some real advancements in 12V compressor refrigerators.

Our old fridge was a Norcold, never gave a bit of trouble. The guy who bought our trailer remarked that those old Norcolds were very reliable. Don't know about the newer ones, a lot can change in 20 years.

[EdColorado]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

Our old fridge was a Norcold, never gave a bit of trouble. The guy who bought our trailer remarked that those old Norcolds were very reliable. Don't know about the newer ones, a lot can change in 20 years.

Current recall on Norcold fridge.

https://www.thetford.com/customer-su...l-information/

Chose your poison. Dometic or Norcold.