Karl with ETI said they cannot make fifth wheels back to back? - Escape Trailer Owners Community
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Old 08-11-2021, 01:39 PM   #1
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Karl with ETI said they cannot make fifth wheels back to back?

Does anybody have an idea why they cannot make 15 fifth wheels in a row they say they can't even make two back to back Karl never explains why on his videos?
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Old 08-11-2021, 01:48 PM   #2
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Never knew this and now I have forgotten it.......Escape is a small manufacturer and if they do not make duplicates then so be it......does not seem important.
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Old 08-11-2021, 01:56 PM   #3
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You can always ask ETI, but just for grins here's a WAG .....

Assume, just for the sake of a WAG, they have crews and equipment to complete multiple trailer shells in a given day, but only one set of molds for the 5.0 shell
  • It takes 'X' number of days to prep, mold, remove the shell, and make the mold available for another 5.0
  • Rather than have a 'gap' of 'X' days on the trailer production line, they fill the 'gap' with other model shells
  • Ergo, no "back-to-back" 5.0's through the production line
In the nomenclature of scheduling this describes the number of 5.0 molds as the "Critical Path Constraint" for production of that model. Again, just a WAG, it could be something totally different

Whatever it is, if Karl determines that there's a solution to the constraint that's beneficial overall to his business model, I'm pretty confident he'll act to remove the constraint.

I'd suggest it isn't a 'given' that having some customers wait longer than others is detrimental to his overall business model (e.g. if indeed he's got a wait-list for 5.0's going to 2023, and a generous backlog of other model orders to keep the production line full .... that might suggest it's not a problem for the business, and the cost of removing the constraint may not be overall beneficial).
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Old 08-11-2021, 01:59 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Never knew this and now I have forgotten it.......Escape is a small manufacturer and if they do not make duplicates then so be it......does not seem important.
Well they said they can build the other models back to back but not the fifth wheel, and those people that are having build completion dates at the end of 2023 might disagree with you.
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Old 08-11-2021, 02:51 PM   #5
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You can always ask ETI, but just for grins here's a WAG .....

Assume, just for the sake of a WAG, they have crews and equipment to complete multiple trailer shells in a given day, but only one set of molds for the 5.0 shell
This is correct. Karl said in one of their videos that Escape only has one 5.0 mold. He’s also mentioned that it takes more time to build one. He’s optimizing production capacity by spacing out the 5.0. I think he said once that they’re looking into possibly acquiring a second 5.0 mold, but he added that even a second mold might not speed things up much because of the time and effort it takes to build one.
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Old 08-11-2021, 03:31 PM   #6
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.... I think he said once that they’re looking into possibly acquiring a second 5.0 mold, but he added that even a second mold might not speed things up much because of the time and effort it takes to build one.
It's the nature of the beast that is scheduling: one removes the current Critical Path Constraint, reducing the length of the Critical Path, but another step in the process then becomes "Critical" by definition. Eliminating Critical Constraints is a 'fun' and complex 'game' of balancing cost and benefit against the overall business goals.

Methinks Karl and his cohorts responsible for maintaining the success of ETI are no fools in such matters. YMMV.
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Old 08-11-2021, 03:38 PM   #7
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Methinks Karl and his cohorts responsible for maintaining the success of ETI are no fools in such matters.
Agree. With the popularity of the 5.0 model, I’m sure they would produce more of them faster if they could. . . . . . . same for the others too.
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Old 08-11-2021, 03:56 PM   #8
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Does anybody have an idea why they cannot make 15 fifth wheels in a row they say they can't even make two back to back Karl never explains why on his videos?
Hi: Wanderbred... ETI has always made their models on a rotating basis. That means 17's one day 19's another. 21's another day an 5.0TA's another. It takes time for the shells to cure and be attached to the frame. There aren't enough minutes in a day, week, or month to mold enough trailers for the demand. This is what our trailer looked like after it got attached to the frame. At that time it took about 3 weeks from start to finish. I wanted my trailer made well. Do you want a rush job? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
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Old 08-11-2021, 05:47 PM   #9
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I would caution Escape on expanding production too much. The RV industry is very fluid. Sometimes the glass is full, sometimes the glass is empty. In 2008 a lot of pain was felt in Elkhart Indiana as many plants laid off and or closed all together. Remember Coleman tent trailers, probably the best ever built, bankrupt. When I ordered my 19 2 years ago, the wait list was only 4 months while running 2 shifts, now their running 3 shifts and have a 2 year wait. By 2025 when the market is flooded, the wait list might be 8 weeks.

Likely Escape doesn’t have carts, ladders and scaffolding for the the taller 5.0 to increase the line rate.it all takes up space, and there is nowhere to expand.
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