3" Frame Recall on 15', 17' & 19' Escape Trailers

[reace]

September 22, 2015

To Whom it May Concern,

Escape Trailer Industries is announcing a recall on the trailer frames manufactured for the 15’, 17’, and 19’ Escape Travel Trailers between 2009 and 2014. This recall pertains to all 3” frames with a welded joint where the A-frame meets the chassis rails. (Please see Fig A.)

CONCERN
Certain trailer frames may have been manufactured with a weak weld at the joint where the A-frame joins to the chassis rails. Prolonged flexing on a weak joint can cause a failure at this point.

SOLUTION
An additional mending plate is required to strengthen the joint on the 15’, 17’ and 19’ Escape Trailer Frames. The 19’ Escape will also require two additional attachment points installed to bolt the body to the frame. (Please see Fig B. and C.)

There are two options to have this issue corrected:

1). Contact Escape Trailer Industries in Chilliwack at warranty@escapetrailer.com to set up an appointment. Repairs will be available by appointment only.

Or

2). Escape Trailer Industries will ship all required hardware and instructions to the address provided by the customer. Escape Trailer Industries will reimburse the customer as per the Compensation Guidelines below.

COMPENSATION

If Escape Trailer Industries performs the work, there is no charge to the customer.
If a third party welding shop is used, Escape Trailer Industries will pay up to $100 CDN or US, to have this repair fixed. Please note this will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

INSTRUCTIONS for WARRANTY REPAIR AND COMPENSATION

If your trailer frame is included with this recall:
1). Please respond to this email providing Escape Trailer Industries with your current mailing address.
2). State your intention as to whether Escape Trailer Industries will be completing the repair or if you will be having the repair completed locally.
3). If you would like the repair completed locally we will ship the mending plates with instructions directly to you.
4). Once you have received the mending plate you will make the necessary arrangements to have the mending plates installed as per the provided instructions.
5). Once the work has been completed, please have the repair company contact Escape Trailer Industries and we will provide them with a credit card to process the $100 CDN or US.

Or

Provide Escape Trailer Industries with a copy of the invoice and we will reimburse you $100 CDN or US. Please note Escape Trailer Industries is not responsible for bank fees.

Please note we will be contacting all customers by email and by post. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please feel free to forward any other questions you may have.
Sincerely,

Escape Trailer Industries
Tel 604 703 1650/Fax 604 703 1651

[reace]

Photos of frame recall.

[thoer]

Thanks Reace.

[reace]

Hello everyone,

I am very sorry to inconvenience you with this recall.

For most of 2014, the 19' trailers were built with a 4" frame and about mid year the 15' and 17' trailers were also changed to a 4" frame. We have included all of the 2014 owners in this recall just to make sure we don't miss anyone.

If in your travels you happen across other Escape Trailer owners, would you please pass along this frame recall information.

There are approximately 700 trailers affected by this recall.

Thank you for your patience on this...

Reace

[float5]

Thanks, Reace. I will contact our buyers and this is the reason why anyone buying a trailer even long out of warranty should provide the company with their contact information. Quite a few people here have used Escapes. In fact, that included us!

[Iowa Dave]

Reace
No, Thank You for the excellent product and your continued willingness to stand behind it.
Most owners realize there are some recalls and safety fixes on many products produced today. By providing the repair plate and even paying for its installation, you have once again shown that Escape Trailers and its owners are a class act. The new solar, 12V outlets, surge protector and other work you did for us in June is all working great and we are enjoying it.
Dave and Rita Smith

[Brian B-P]

Reace, can you provide the serial numbers (last three digits of the VIN) for the range of trailers affected? It could be the easiest way to check a particular trailer.

[Cypherian]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Reace, can you provide the serial numbers (last three digits of the VIN) for the range of trailers affected? It could be the easiest way to check a particular trailer.

Reading is a wonderful ability..15’, 17’, and 19’ Escape Travel Trailers between 2009 and 2014. This recall pertains to all 3” frames

So parsing this out : ALL 15',17',19' Escape Travel Trailers Made between the years 2009 and 2014 Mid year with 3" (Inch) frames are involved. Then you look at the pictures and they show the frame and the repair. So you look at your title, yep it matches size and year. Ok now get a tape measure and measure your frame yep it is 3" so with that information you now know your trailer is involved. Then contact ETI and work out repair. There is no need to dig through all the paper work for vin information just read the post it is faster. Pretty easy really.

Cypher

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Cypherian

Pretty easy really.

Cypher

Wow, I knew you was a fart smeller.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Cypherian

2014 Mid year with 3" (Inch) frames are involved.
Cypher

Not quite mid-year, ours was made in April 2014 and has the 4" frame.

Ron

[gbaglo]

Different ways to read the information.
Mine is a 2008. I haven't measured, but I presume it is 3" frame since it appears ETI moved to 4" in 2009.
On the one hand it says trailers manufactured between 2009 and 2014 are possibly affected.
But then second sentence reads This recall pertains to all 3” frames.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Cypherian

Reading is a wonderful ability..15’, 17’, and 19’ Escape Travel Trailers between 2009 and 2014. This recall pertains to all 3” frames

So parsing this out : ALL 15',17',19' Escape Travel Trailers Made between the years 2009 and 2014 Mid year with 3" (Inch) frames are involved. Then you look at the pictures and they show the frame and the repair. So you look at your title, yep it matches size and year. Ok now get a tape measure and measure your frame yep it is 3" so with that information you now know your trailer is involved. Then contact ETI and work out repair. There is no need to dig through all the paper work for vin information just read the post it is faster. Pretty easy really.

Cypher

I can read quite well, and don't need extra-large text, bolding, or underlining - let alone all three - to see this information.

If I owned my Escape already, I wouldn't need any year range, model description, or other information to see if I had a 3" tall mitre-jointed frame. On the other hand, if I or anyone else is shopping remotely (because essentially all Escapes are somewhere else) it's a lot easier to get the current owner to read out the last three digits of the VIN than to get them to measure the frame, determine just when it was made, or determine the frame design. I have noticed that some current owners are unsure of their year, in for-sale ads and discussions.

Since I can read - and can apply a bit of common sense - I understand that the issue does not apply to all 3" frames, just all of them in a particular time period and built to a particular design. Several years of earlier Escapes also had 3" frames, but had a bend at that point rather than a mitre joint... thus the reference to frames

Originally Posted by reace

... with a welded joint where the A-frame meets the chassis rails.

It is normal for vehicle manufacturers to specify the range of affected vehicles by VIN. I assume that Escape already has this information, and for the owner the VIN is readily available on the trailer (and on the title) without digging through any paperwork.

[Cypherian]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Not quite mid-year, ours was made in April 2014 and has the 4" frame.

Ron

Sorry my reading was a bit off just got in from work.

"For most of 2014, the 19' trailers were built with a 4" frame and about mid year the 15' and 17' trailers were also changed to a 4" frame. We have included all of the 2014 owners in this recall just to make sure we don't miss anyone."

I was being cixelsyd so shoot me :} Wait umm oh hell I don't even have my vest on anymore it is hung up so wait a sec lol :}

rehpyC

[Cypherian]

Brian B-P


Oh I am sorry I forgot you did not own an Escape. I would imagine most folks know exactly what year their trailer is and what size so going out and using a tape measure is a fairly simple procedure. This does of course presume a person owns a measuring device and knows how to read it correctly and not just call out the big number and the amount of little lines. The description is very clear and hey I am not even an engineer. So I will stand by my original post, I highlighted, enlarged and bolded the statement to call your attention to the statement. It is possible you read the post quickly just as I did a minute ago as pointed out by RON (Thanks By The Way) lol To late in the evening or morning.


Cypher

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Different ways to read the information.
Mine is a 2008. I haven't measured, but I presume it is 3" frame since it appears ETI moved to 4" in 2009.
On the one hand it says trailers manufactured between 2009 and 2014 are possibly affected.
But then second sentence reads This recall pertains to all 3” frames.

As per the recall, yours should be just fine. I believe that the frames were built differently then is why. The recall is for all 3" frames in the time frame mentioned.

[gbaglo]

And, not everybody knows what a mitered frame weld looks like.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

As per the recall, yours should be just fine. I believe that the frames were built differently then is why. The recall is for all 3" frames in the time frame mentioned.

Yes, at least as of 2006 the frame had a bend instead of a welded mitre joint at the base of the A-frame section.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

And, not everybody knows what a mitered frame weld looks like.

The diagram Reace supplied clearly shows it, plus all that matters is they know the year, and the frame size.

[Cypherian]

Why some folks want to make things harder then they really are is beyond me. Moreover, why folks speak from anecdotal or internet knowledge only is even further beyond my logic. The frame issue is not an opinion It is a fact Reace wrote a description and put up pictures and a diagram if anyone is unsure I am sure they can email ETI and ETI will tell them if their trailer is involved. If you want to pick apart grammar or spelling and it makes you happy fine . It does not lessen ETI's product quality, how many other companies can you call and talk to the owners. Now go on about your day/night.


Cypher

[Dave&Jane]

Our mid-September, 2014, 17B has the 3" frame, so apparently the frame change for 17' trailers did not happen until later in the year.

For most of 2014, the 19' trailers were built with a 4" frame and about mid year the 15' and 17' trailers were also changed to a 4" frame.

- Dave