Disappointing start with our new Escape

[Zahuta]

Originally Posted by akmacs

Sorry to hear about the trouble and hope it is remedied soon. Hope the rest of your trip went well!

I like your sink choice, guess that isn't a stock choice?

No, we paid the big bucks for a special sink but we really like it! It is Quartztone you can order from Wayfair.ca It comes in other colors. Ours is BLACK but it is more of a dark charcoal. It is a larger sink that fits ETI's requirements. We were told they are installing quite a few of them.

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

well It is unfortunate this left the factory this way. Am i missing something with the warranty? The way i understand it you just take to a RV dealer and have it fixed and ETI would make arrangements with them to get parts and pay bill. I don't understand why you be fixing anything yourself unless you prefer to do it that way.

Watch it Billy- that kind of talk isn't appreciated by some and could be construed as negative.

[rbryan4]

That's not the first time that clear flexible hose has had a leak problem, and not the only location either. The sink lines in the 21 come to mind. I'd probably not use any of that hose going forward.

[jking1224]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Have to ask. Were you running the pump while connected to city water? Not supposed to do that.

Even though you are “not suppose to do that”, under no conditions whatsoever should water flood the trailer. Even if you hook everything up backwards and simultaneously, it should never leak and flood the interior. At most the fresh water tank should overflow to the outside.

They have a legitimate problem.

I posted about two months ago about the ability to do a thorough checkout on the property at ETI before departure. Many of the responses were along the lines of “you have nothing to worry about, Escape thoroughly tests everything”. Well, this story is an example of exactly why I was concerned. An Escape trailer is a hand-crafted product containing hundred if not thousands of components. A high level of attention to detail does not change the fact that humans sometimes make mistakes and that components can fail early.

I learned that ETI has very legitimate reasons why they cannot offer their customers an on-premises testing area or the luxury of doing their own checkout, whatever the customer feels that may be. Primary reason is that, for US based customers, the border crossing has a deadline and the paperwork is dated for the same day.

We too, were delayed at the ETI offices after our orientation was completed. Our import driver and us had to wait a couple hours for some customs document to be properly filed. Our first camp setup in Lynden was near dark and we decided to not de-winterize the waters systems as we originally planned. We too, did the water jug toilet flushing and drinking water and ate at a restaurant.

In addition to whatever Reace and company discovers is the cause of this issue, it should also offer ETI the opportunity to enhance their quality testing/inspection process. It seems obvious that ETI missed something during their checks, which I would equate to a process failure.

[jking1224]

Another option for ETI to consider, in the name of high level customer service, is some form of “rapid response team”. Have a technician and truck loaded with parts and tools. And a phone number with some extended hours specially for new owners. So, if a brand new owner, camped an hour away from ETI, finds a problem, they can call, say up to 8pm, and the technician can come out that same evening to try and address the problem.

That would be an very nice option for ETI to offer, should not cost them much to maintain, and greatly relieve the concern and be a great company service story.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Rossue

Watch it Billy- that kind of talk isn't appreciated by some and could be construed as negative.

I think Billy's post was extremely positive considering the extremely negative subject matter. I realize that some mistake honesty and sincerity as being negative but all Bill did was ask a logical question

All building materials have application guideline so using a material in an unintended manner usually leads to failure.

[padlin]

Like the rest I hope your issue is quickly resolved and it's all you run into. It is a good lesson to those picking up new trailers, stay in the area for a couple days in case you too have problems.

As far as the warranty goes, it's probably up to the owner whether you do the work yourself or insist on bringing it into a repair shop, not everyone has the ability to do such. Personally I prefer to do all repair work myself if I have the knowledge, I've seen some of the work done at repair shops.

Most times it is preferable to get the parts from ETI irregardless of who does the work, then you know it has the right parts.

I've had good luck with mobile repair when the guy doing the work is also the business owner. Thankfully I've only needed it for Dometic issues.

[float5]

Originally Posted by NEWYORKHILLBILLY

well It is unfortunate this left the factory this way. Am i missing something with the warranty? The way i understand it you just take to a RV dealer and have it fixed and ETI would make arrangements with them to get parts and pay bill. I don't understand why you be fixing anything yourself unless you prefer to do it that way.

Yes, you should be able to take it to a dealer and Escape should pay the bill. You would have to get them to agree to it beforehand and this seems a case where, of course, Escape should pay for it.

Once owners fix something, they may own the problem. So if you fix it, and if it is not really taken care of by you, it may have just become your problem with Escape not doing anything else. I would have wanted to go to a shop. You cannot always assume that a problem and supposed fix are indeed the fix.

Others want to fix things themselves, maybe depending upon what. If the OP thinks she or he can repair it in ten minutes or thinks time and trouble would be greater to go to a shop, then this owner may want to do it at home.

[Greg A]

Not saying anything about how anyone else would handle this and it certainly is unfortunate that it happened to these folks, but from the picture provided this is how I would have approached it.

Field repair: since it didn’t involve the pex lines an inexpensive barb coupler at a Home Depot or similar, cut the line at the leak, trim any damage, push the barb coupler in on both pieces of hose and good to go. Have ETI address permanent repair later and reimburse for field repair.
For sure this shouldn’t happen on a brand new expensive trailer, but field repairs are not uncommon when camping. I had a leak when I showered in almost the same area camping last week, and it fortunately appeared to be the pump connection had worked loose. Got it stopped for the rest of the campout, but will do a more permanent fix this next week.

[float5]

I would say that for anyone with a trailer under warranty to call and/or e-mail Escape before getting on this forum and see what Escape says to do. I would not do a thing unless instructed by them. They have very often seen a problem and know what it is even if you do not. Or they will go through things with you to try to find the problem. There is probably nearly nothing that can be wrong with your trailer that they do not already know about and they likely know what to do about it in most cases.

Even a trailer not under warranty, you can call them and they may tell you very useful information.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

That's not the first time that clear flexible hose has had a leak problem, and not the only location either. The sink lines in the 21 come to mind. I'd probably not use any of that hose going forward.

If I recall correctly, Reace said that the type of tubing in question was rated for 120 lb pressure - cold water. ETI does a production test to 90 lb pressure (air pressure on water-filled lines) to check their connections. The prior problem mentioned came from extended runs of HOT water through this type line, such as a long, hot shower. It doesn't appear the line in question in this thread was being used for hot water, and it is located in an area where ETI would have looked for leaking connections during production and should have seen this leak at that time, if indeed it was leaking at that time. Quite the mystery as to what caused it. I'll be curious to learn what the "experts" deduce once the leaking section of tubing is examined closely. But a bummer, at any rate....

[akmacs]

Thank you for the information on the sink I like your flooring also. Nice looking interior altogether.

While I'm in no way implying that you need to fix this yourself, I recommend keeping a pex crimper, extra pex and vinyl tubing, fittings, clamps, etc with you. We always do as we rarely camp near repair facilities and I know someday they will come in handy, so far I've only used them for planned work on prior RVs

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

If I recall correctly, Reace said that the type of tubing in question was rated for 120 lb pressure - cold water. ETI does a production test to 90 lb pressure (air pressure on water-filled lines) to check their connections. The prior problem mentioned came from extended runs of HOT water through this type line, such as a long, hot shower. It doesn't appear the line in question in this thread was being used for hot water, and it is located in an area where ETI would have looked for leaking connections during production and should have seen this leak at that time, if indeed it was leaking at that time. Quite the mystery as to what caused it. I'll be curious to learn what the "experts" deduce once the leaking section of tubing is examined closely. But a bummer, at any rate....

Such a sensible post. And such a beautiful Escape. I'm certain all will be fixed and this will be one of those "remember that crazy time" events as mentioned earlier. Good luck and nothing but best wishes to the OP for pleasantly memorable adventures ahead.

[phalaney]

Originally Posted by Zahuta

No, we paid the big bucks for a special sink but we really like it! It is Quartztone you can order from Wayfair.ca It comes in other colors. Ours is BLACK but it is more of a dark charcoal. It is a larger sink that fits ETI's requirements. We were told they are installing quite a few of them.

We have the same one and are loving it!

[float5]

We have what I think is the same kind of sink in our house. One problem with it is that, if you cook with a pot on the stove, and then put the pot in the sink to clean, it will transfer the grit and grime from the pan to sink. Then the junk has to be scrubbed off of the sink. So you need a rubber mat or something in the sink to prevent that. I really wanted the sink and like the look of it, so I don't mind putting up with that, but everyone does not like it. Be advised to use one of those dish mats.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

That's not the first time that clear flexible hose has had a leak problem, and not the only location either. The sink lines in the 21 come to mind. I'd probably not use any of that hose going forward.

Those sink lines were carrying hot water, and occurred because that hose is neither intended nor suitable for hot water. In contrast, reinforced PVC hose is the right product for lines both into and out of the water pump (to isolate vibration), and for any cold water line which is likely to freeze (such as the line from the fresh water tank into the trailer).

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Those sink lines were carrying hot water, and occurred because that hose is neither intended nor suitable for hot water. In contrast, reinforced PVC hose is the right product for lines both into and out of the water pump (to isolate vibration), and for any cold water line which is likely to freeze (such as the line from the fresh water tank into the trailer).

Hot or not, it would seem that the hose was defective. Maybe it was a one-off.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Zahuta

... until the flooding started. At this point I should state Bruce is a civil engineer and infrastructure is his thing in a big way. He was filling the water tank properly with his super duper pressure regulator in place when water started advancing across our gorgeous new floor. It took a while to find the hole in the bottom side of the waterline feeding the pump...

If it is the line from the freshwater tank to the pump, this hose should never be under pressure. The pump pull from there (doesn't push water there), and pressure supplied to the city water inlet (including when pressure-testing with water or air) should be blocked by the check valve in the water pump. If it is this line, the only way to have water pouring out of there would be to have both a pump fault and a hole in the hose... so the pump should be checked out as well as the hose.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Hot or not, it would seem that the hose was defective. Maybe it was a one-off.

Or it was damaged during handling of the hose or construction of the trailer. It is relatively soft hose, so it is easier to damage than PEX.

[Jim Bennett]

So sorry to hear this happened. Seems like a simple fix, so hopefully all goes well with it. That line your husband has his fingers on is the line from the tank to the pump though, is it not. I don't have my 5.0TA handy, but I thought the city water line was PEX. I did have to snug up the connector to the hatch on mine, as there was a wee drip, easy fix though.

BTW, your trailer looks gorgeous. Nice choice of materials.

Originally Posted by float5

I would say that for anyone with a trailer under warranty to call and/or e-mail Escape before getting on this forum and see what Escape says to do.

This is very good advice. Many responses here do not give any idea of how to fix it, mostly because unless one was there it is often hard to remedy something like this. There does seem to be a lot of folks trying out for a director position with Escape though, forming policy and practice for them.