Karl Says Goodbye

[oldwave]

I expect the lessening demand is due to a number of factors. Higher interest rates, the very steep price increases of Escape trailers, and a bit of market saturation of rv’s. I have no comment on the build quality lately because my Escape 21 was built in 2017. It was by no means perfect, but the issues were minor and the fit and finish was acceptable to excellent.

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

some of us will be glad to see him go.
Hopefully the new management can undo some of the changes.
Love to see the
Quilty control issues get better.
let U.S customers pay the same as Canadian customers.
let a customer see the trailer before paying in full.
Have some type of warranty on trailers. That a customer can use. This going out and getting bids does not work. At least in my location no Rv repair shop will even look at a escape trailer. I feel the changes over the last 4 years where all based increasing profits. I know this is a business and they need to make money, but you also need to balance customer satisfaction or sales will drop.
Just my option

And ignore the fact that the Suburban SDS2 cooktop can and has exploded in owners faces!

I often wonder how many others had their stove explode in their face and/or legs.

I sent Karl a registered, signature required letter outlining what happened and how to fix, but got no acknowledgement at all. I did get his signature though.

Head in the sand, with no warning for those who also had loose nuts.

I'm guessing the expensive rally only for existing customers that had already bought their campers, and the 23 foot Escape fiasco also had some bearing on his departure.

Except for the stovetop, our 2018 pre-Karl 5.0 had great fit/finish and was wonderful.

Perry

[Croney]

With many large companies, and especially private equity companies, leadership changes are like that line in Clint Eastwood's The Unforgiven: "Deservin's got nothin' to do with it." One may be able to infer what went on based on where he lands, but most of the time a leader is brought in to execute a play book, stays for a cup of coffee and then moves on to the next acquired company or maybe translates his PE gig into something bigger. Sometimes they leave things better, sometimes worse.

[felix2]

We met Karl in late November 2019, when we drove up to Chilliwack on a Saturday to look at trailers. Unknown to us, the winter hours were in effect, closed on Saturdays (we found out the day before when we called ahead from Lynden, WA to verify). Graciously, he came in on his day off and spent a couple of hours with us, showing us product including the new (still not released) 21NE (which we put a deposit on the next week).

He was always helpful, answering all my emails (well, there were maybe 8 over the years). Whatever happened, he handled it with professionalism as always, in my view.

Te build quality of our trailer was incredible (especially compared to my brothers stick-built fifth wheel!), our only issues not of my fault being the stove burners shaking loose, the bath fan fuse failure, and a folding counter hinge pin failure. Hardly Escape’s fault. I believe he must have set in motion some quality control measures when he first arrived that probably were put to the test soon after when the pandemic production boom hit. Fortunately we purchased before the boom.

Best of luck to Karl, wherever he goes.

[YakRV]

Count us among the happy Escape campers during Karl’s tenure. We greatly appreciate the expansion of choices brought about during his time - some we selected (i.e., contemporary interior, compressor fridge, lithium batteries, etc), others we didn’t opt for but thought long and hard about (i.e., the 21NE model, lagun table, etc), and others we were too early for but are still intrigued by (i.e., the 23 model, added floor plans for existing models, new lithium battery vendor, upgrade to Victron solar components, etc). We also give Karl credit for steering the ship during the Covid years.

We hear and understand those who have complaints out there, but our particular 21C has been phenomenal for us. Also, the Escape team as a whole was excellent during our build process and continue to be so with our one and only issue (small gelcoat spider crack). We enthusiastically recommend this trailer to anyone who asks.

We send Karl and his family our best wishes for what comes next. We hope the future of the good people at ETI is stable and the company continues on its successful path under the new leadership.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by MadCAT3

As always, Iowa Dave is right on target… Great suggestions. The addition of stepping up quality control by Hugh is essential to continued success. Sorry to hear of the issues with his trailer. Those of us who promote this brand by word-of-mouth will be observing the path going forward as with the transition from Reace & Tammy to KV. Good luck to Karl and his family…

Thanks for the kind words Claude.
I first posted about a couple brake system problems several years ago. While both of our Escapes have been excellent and a minimum of maintenance problems observed and fixed, nothing is perfect and I really don’t expect it to be. In addition, having been in maintenance jobs and jobs where common sense kept me alive and productive, I can’t help but go back to
many of the life lessons I was taught even as a teenager when it came to dealing with the public and making an honest effort to treat people fairly and to their satisfaction. I’ve also been fortunate to enjoy to a reasonable degree fixing things and making them better and like a lot of folks on here, sharing solutions “so it doesn’t happen again”. My wife pointed out today that many of the things I can do and need to do in the way of maintenance and repair aren’t necessarily things that everyone knows how to do. And that’s where better quality control, better orientation and perhaps a better manual could come in handy. In addition many of us were helped by the decency of Reace, Tammy, Nigel, Tammy’s Dad. and other Escape employees.
Like the time I gave Reace a receipt for welding the mending plates onto the 19 frame for $80
And he gave me a bill for repairing a couple things that we broke on the 19 for $110. He put one piece of paper in each hand, rocked them up and down and said “Even?” I knew I got the better deal but I did make it more even at the rally a couple days later when I gave Tammy a 12 pack of Summer Shandy I’d hauled 2300 miles for her and Reace. That’s the kind of relationships I’ve cultivated my entire life, based on liquor, vegetables, fruit and wild game meat. Probably sad but true.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see the trends in RVing in the US and Canada. Will even government campgrounds price themselves out of the market? Will other forms of recreation, some of which are yet unknown develop and overshadow camping or like other forms of recreation will camping self regulate in popularity. In the days of Chris Everett and Jimmy Conners, we couldn’t build tennis courts fast enough. For the past few years many courts sat empty or were converted to basketball courts or skateboard parks.
Now along comes pickleball, it’s been around for decades, it just took a generation with bad knees and the desire to whack a ball then go drink a $5 coffee and eat a bearclaw to generate new constructions of yup, you got it, Pickle ball courts. Have a great week ahead .
Iowa Dave

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Now along comes pickleball, it’s been around for decades, it just took a generation with bad knees and the desire to whack a ball then go drink a $5 coffee and eat a bearclaw to generate new constructions of yup, you got it, Pickle ball courts. Have a great week ahead .
Iowa Dave

One of the many things that I'm grateful for is that I don't live near a pickle ball court. I was visiting a place near one and the incessant whack, whack, whack made me cringe. I feel sorry for anyone having their peaceful neighborhood disturbed by that racket. No pun intended.

Ron

[sofmerc]

I wish Karl and family the best in whatever endeavor he chooses. I have been very happy with the build quality of my 2022 5.0 camper. Only issue was a fridge thing that was addressed by warrantee claim. No complaints here about ETI management..

[Iowa Dave]

Rita just came back yesterday from Fort Wayne with my daughter Kelly and our 6 year old very active grandson. The boy had two things he decided to play with. A rubber cobra snake and some kind of a clacker. 400 miles of clacking the clown head as it tried to bite the cobra. Followed by “Are we there yet?” She is still unwinding.

Pickleball on nice days and knock hockey on a Masonite board with a red Elm stick and red elm puck. No wonder those recreation people I worked with seemed a little crazy.
Iowa Dave

[HenryV]

All the best to Karl. My guess is the company is going to cut costs, because sales are down. They will probably have a lot less customization in the trailers. We all want high end components in the trailer, but at what cost? I'm on the wait list for a 23, and i like the design he came up with.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by HenryV

I'm on the wait list for a 23, and i like the design he came up with.

Seeing the demo one at the rally was a real eye opener. Al the folks that ever had to choose between "scoot" and "climb over" were thinking hmm. Us included.

Ron

[stratos175]

Well said and good not agree more.

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

One of the many things that I'm grateful for is that I don't live near a pickle ball court. I was visiting a place near one and the incessant whack, whack, whack made me cringe. I feel sorry for anyone having their peaceful neighborhood disturbed by that racket. No pun intended.

Ron

When I was building my house, the neighbor above me, had built his son a good sized skate board "Thingy" out of plywood(kid was on it ALL the time). People would say "doesn't that bother you?" I said, "At least the kid is OUTSIDE, but, I also knew, luckily he'd out grow it someday...... It has been peaceful for about 4 yrs now. I walked away from land, too close to a highway, grade school yard, etc.

[Escape_19]

I wonder if Escape will become part of the Tri West group (Outdoor Adventure) that bought Northern Lite and Off Grid? Perhaps...the RV industry is cooling quite a bit the past year. It appears this would be a great fit not only for Tri West but for the current and future owners of Escape trailers,

[Chasing Trials]

Some people on the fb page. Say there people like him, that are brought in to like reorganize a company after like a buy out. Then they move on to the next one. I wonder how he liked this job, vs the others?............

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by Chasing Trials

Some people on the fb page. Say there people like him, that are brought in to like reorganize a company after like a buy out. Then they move on to the next one. I wonder how he liked this job, vs the others?............

Must say I would never have figured Karl for a hired gun. His videos always evinced a genuine fondness for the Escape trailers, ETI's marketing philosophy, and its customers. I got the impression he really enjoyed the job. But of course I never met him in person, either.

[GinoandLinda]

Originally Posted by Chasing Trials

Some people on the fb page. Say there people like him, that are brought in to like reorganize a company after like a buy out. Then they move on to the next one. I wonder how he liked this job, vs the others?............

Way more common than you would think, although most companies would have a communications or media spokes person in front of the reorganization specialist.

[HABBERDABBER]

We all may want to know what's up, but time alone, or some accurate inside information from somewhere will be the best way to decipher this change. It could be nothing much, or a big change.

Time may tell.

[Jim Bennett]

I wish Karl and family all the best in their new adventures.

I met Karl first when the 23 was early in the concept stage while picking up a 19 with one of my brothers and spent a good hour talking with him about lots of things Escape along with the 23 ideas. He was well aware I was friends with Tammy and Reace. We had a good chat and I quite liked the direction his thinking was taking him at that time.

I have chatted via email a bit too. I drank whiskey with him while he sang an Irish song (including the rugby version of it).

I really liked dealing with Reace and Tammy and shared a few cocktails and meals with them over the years discussing life as much as the business. Great folks. I would place Karl along the same line as a great guy who was more business focused than Reace and Tammy and the business did good for that.

I know, I know, I'm a guy who looks for the good in things rather than dwelling on the bad (though it does need to be dealt with). I look forward to how Escape moves forward now.

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

Must say I would never have figured Karl for a hired gun. His videos always evinced a genuine fondness for the Escape trailers, ETI's marketing philosophy, and its customers. I got the impression he really enjoyed the job. But of course I never met him in person, either.

I do/did get the impression he liked ETI, why I mentioned it.