Escape 5.0 TA Frame looks off center

[stratos175]

Donna D, have you read the book Die Broke'? written by Stephan Pollan. If not I think you would enjoy it.

I truly believe based on what I've read on this forum if there is a manufactures defect with any Escape trailer they would address it and make it right.

Safe travels to all,

Steve

[Chotch]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: All... I can't believe this "Tempest in a tea cup". So you know I just measured our 2014 5.0TA and in front of the upper fish plates one side measures 5" to the pontoon and the other side measures 4 5/8" frame to poontoon.
Due to the controversy I will stop recomending people buy these miss made trailers. They might be better off getting a "Stickey" trailer put together with a staple gun!!! SHEESH Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

“Tempest” , it appears we have a class 5 in that tea cup😂
Now if we hadn’t seen your trailer we might be in a “sticky “. Check out the Forest river forum and see what a real problem is.😎

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Chotch

“Tempest” , it appears we have a class 5 in that tea cup😂
Now if we hadn’t seen your trailer we might be in a “sticky “. Check out the Forest river forum and see what a real problem is.😎

Hi: Chotch... I remember that day!!! Sorry I forgot it was more like a "Category 5" storm. If it doesn't affect bearing wear, tire wear, or towing performance. What's the diff!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Mel Tucker]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: Chotch... I remember that day!!! Sorry I forgot it was more like a "Category 5" storm. If it doesn't affect bearing wear, tire wear, or towing performance. What's the diff!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Exactly. We have now pulled our 5.0 over 10,000 miles, once at speed of 85 mph, have been over all types of terrain and have been delighted with performance. Measured mine because I got curious. It's two fingers wide on passenger side and three fingers wide on drivers side in front. Then I got out my tape measure. Measured inside wheel well to outside tire tread on front tire and it was 8 1/2 inches. Same for rear on BOTH sides. Tells me that trailer is just right over axles. I'm satisfied. Still think the build quality of ETI is best in industry (compared to my previously owned two Class C's, one stick built trailer, and one stick built slide in). After six months of ownership the only problem I found was what I thought was a crack in the fiberglass just below the awning. I called Reace and he told me to put a little paint thinner on a rag and wipe the crack away because it was sealant that had run down the fiberglass. He was right. No crack. He knows his product. Where else can you call the owner of a company and get an answer to your questions (no matter how stupid the question is). Thanks ETI! Mel Tucker

[jkordzi]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

That sounds simple, but as already discussed the body being off-centre and the trailer's frame being straight are two entirely different things. I haven't even seen anyone report whether a body which is off-centre in this flat area is actually off-centre by that amount when looking at the whole width of the body.

Brian is correct. The only thing that matters to whether the trailer tracks properly when towed is whether the frame is aligned with the axles. Yes, offsetting the body on the frame will slightly affect the center of gravity, but I think its likely that no trailer has a perfectly aligned center of gravity due to the distribution of interior components. I think it's wrong to equate this design element with quality.



As was suggested, if you really want to check trailer alignment, pick a level area to park your trailer. then, level the trailer, drop a plumb bob from the center of the hitch pin to the ground and mark that spot. Then measure from that spot to the axle hubs (or marks you made on the ground that are equidistant from the hubs). If those measurements are very close, all is well. If you really had an issue, you'd notice it when you towed.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Mel Tucker

Exactly. We have now pulled our 5.0 over 10,000 miles, once at speed of 85 mph, have been over all types of terrain and have been delighted with performance. Measured mine because I got curious. It's two fingers wide on passenger side and three fingers wide on drivers side in front. Then I got out my tape measure. Measured inside wheel well to outside tire tread on front tire and it was 8 1/2 inches. Same for rear on BOTH sides. Tells me that trailer is just right over axles. I'm satisfied. Still think the build quality of ETI is best in industry (compared to my previously owned two Class C's, one stick built trailer, and one stick built slide in). After six months of ownership the only problem I found was what I thought was a crack in the fiberglass just below the awning. I called Reace and he told me to put a little paint thinner on a rag and wipe the crack away because it was sealant that had run down the fiberglass. He was right. No crack. He knows his product. Where else can you call the owner of a company and get an answer to your questions (no matter how stupid the question is). Thanks ETI! Mel Tucker

Hi: Mel Tucker... What's one finger between friends Eh? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[trainman]

I was trying to choose between two trailers, the Escape 5.0 and the one manufactured in Tennessee, I will be leaving for Tennessee next week.

trainman

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by trainman

I was trying to choose between two trailers, the Escape 5.0 and the one manufactured in Tennessee, I will be leaving for Tennessee next week.

trainman

The Oliver is a nice unit, heavier and more expensive but still nice.You will need a bigger tow...

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by trainman

I was trying to choose between two trailers, the Escape 5.0 and the one manufactured in Tennessee, I will be leaving for Tennessee next week.

trainman

Hi: trainman... No comparison!!! Escape 5.0TA is a true 5th. wheel... one made in Tenn. isn't. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[trainman]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

The Oliver is a nice unit, heavier and more expensive but still nice.You will need a bigger tow...

Just purchased a new 2019 Ram 1500 4x4 last week, should handle the job.


trainman

[Chotch]

Originally Posted by trainman

Just purchased a new 2019 Ram 1500 4x4 last week, should handle the job.


trainman

🤔 make sure you check your specs. The gvw on the larger Oliver is 7k, with a tongue weight possibly 700 lbs. A lotta Rams have a pretty low payload. Just saying.

[Fox hunt]

If i was concerned about the alignment of my trailer and had called and received an explanation that was unsatisfactory i would call Reace as i would definitely trust what ever he told me and I'm sure he could explain it to me.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by trainman

Just purchased a new 2019 Ram 1500 4x4 last week, should handle the job.


trainman

Maybe not, depending on the payload, the trailer in Tennessee will have a lot more tongue weight as well as gross weight and you will still need to purchase a full size spare for the Ram. Good luck in your decision....

[kfsmith]

Well my 2018 is off center as well. I wonder if this has anything to do with my tire wear?

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: trainman... No comparison!!! Escape 5.0TA is a true 5th. wheel... one made in Tenn. isn't. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

He's talking about the Oliver Alf, they don't make a 5th wheel, phony or otherwise.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by kfsmith

Well my 2018 is off center as well. I wonder if this has anything to do with my tire wear?

Your tires are on wheels that are mounted to the frame, not mounted to the trailer. If this were an issue, it would matter where you put your canned goods and beer, in the trailer.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Your tires are on wheels that are mounted to the frame, not mounted to the trailer. If this were an issue, it would matter where you put your canned goods and beer, in the trailer.

It does actually matter where the cargo mass is in the trailer, although it would take a pretty severe off-centre loading to cause tire wear issues!

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

He's talking about the Oliver Alf, they don't make a 5th wheel, phony or otherwise.

Hi: Donna D... "I knew that". We all know you "Can't compare apples and oranges"... but they can both use paring. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[trainman]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

He's talking about the Oliver Alf, they don't make a 5th wheel, phony or otherwise.

Thank you Donna D, as you can see we are just shopping for the future and looking at all that is out there in the fiberglass world. We just purchased a 2018 Casita in March of this year and it is working for us for the time being, but like many we are always looking ahead for what might be our future trailer. I do know it will be a fiberglass RV and it will either be the Escape, Oliver, or the Bigfoot. All have there advantages and disadvantages, but for now the Escape 5.0 has caught or attention.

trainman

[mizterwizard]

A few years ago I worked at a Chevy dealer. They sold a truck to a couple who took it to a place that sold bed shells to have one installed. The installer noted that the bed wasn't quite square with the cab. In fact it was almost 1.5" low on the left side.

The couple brought the truck back to complain. I think they might never have noticed had they not been told about it but they had and they didn't like it. I was given the task of finding out why.

I measured everything related to the bed, frame and cab that I could find. Nothing individually was off a significant amount but everything was off a little, as you might expect. Typical errors were in the range of 1/8 inch but where there was a difference it yielded higher on the right side and lower on the left.

There was nothing that was actually "wrong" with the truck but the typical manufacturing tolerances had just built up in such a way as to make the right side of the bed higher than the left side. A couple of dozen normal manufacturing tolerances that typically cancel each other out had built up to make a crooked truck.

I swapped the wheels from side to side, swapped the springs and swapped the rear cab mounts. That brought the difference down to about half an inch. The rest was in the welding on the bed and other areas that couldn't be easily fixed.

At that point the bed was as level as most others on the lot but still not perfect. Since the customer had been sensitized to the situation they still weren't happy. I was told to shim up the bed on the left to make it even, which I did. When the customer found out how I had "fixed" it they really hit the roof. Eventually it went to a body shop. I don't know what they did but they got it perfect.

I don't think it made any difference in the way the truck worked but it made a difference in the way the customer felt about it.

I think that having the body of a 5.0TA off center one inch will not produce any measurable difference in the way if functions and certainly will not affect tire wear. It may affect the way you feel about it though.

I too am particularly sensitive to things that are misaligned and tend to fix a lot of things that aren't really broken. Some people are picky and others are more tolerant. If this misalignment matters to someone then they should get it fixed but to me, sensitive as I am, I think I would forget about it. Of course these days I tend to forget about things more easily than I used to.