No orientation

[davidmurphy02]

Even if they are not doing hands-on orientations right now if you are able to go to ETI (even if you are a US customer and they will be driving the trailer to Sumas for final delivery) I would see if they would let you go through your trailer on your own at the factory. That way at least you could do your own walk-through and check for any possible cosmetic issues, anything not done according to the build sheet, etc. and if there are any issues they could be corrected before bringing the trailer down to Sumas.

We got the full orientation 2 years ago and like others have said it all kind of washes over you. They had a training room next to the showroom with all of the components / controls mounted where they showed you how each worked (very, very briefly) and then took you out to the trailer. I still wound up having to dig out manuals the first few days to figure out how to operate components unfamiliar to me - i.e. how to turn on the inverter, how to read the display on the EMS, etc.

[kathytony1985]

Yes, we have been scouring through the manuals we received. Unfortunately we didn't receive them all. Contacted ETI and they referred us to the websites where we can print them ourselves. ��

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by kathytony1985

Yes, we have been scouring through the manuals we received. Unfortunately we didn't receive them all. Contacted ETI and they referred us to the websites where we can print them ourselves. ��

I would highly recommend saving all manuals as a PDF. I carry a folder of these on my phone, my laptop and my wife's tablet. They are very rarely used anyway, and nice not to have to haul stuff around like manuals.

[Northerngirl]

Originally Posted by kathytony1985

At the time we were scheduling pick up we were told no orientation, beginning of this month. If we had the opportunity we would have taken the week and a half off and gone to Sumas for pickup. Instead we paid to have it delivered to within 45 miles of our house. It was a little expensive, but just a bit more than if we had driven the 3,000 miles and hotels, meals, etc.

Kathy we were quoted over $6000 CA to have ours delivered 1500 miles. I just laughed at the absurdity

What did you end up paying?

We'll be driving down anyway to our boat on the coast so it's not such a big deal. Plus my husband is keen to pick it up in person. I got the quote just out of curiosity

[kavm]

Originally Posted by Northerngirl

Willyb

We are going to contact Escape as we get closer and request the orientation. I’ll post back here then but I would encourage you and anyone else for whom that’s important to request the same of them. I’m a tactile learner, so videos and manuals aren’t as helpful for someone like me. A bigger issue for us is we live in the north so the minute we turn down the Stuart Cassiar highway we won’t have any cellular service to come back here and ask questions or to watch a video

To the poster who wondered what can go wrong with something new… lots

A couple years ago we bought a Mazda SUV in Vancouver and drove it 1500 miles home. The next month there was a safety recall and a computer chip had to be replaced. Despite assurances that servicing could be done in Whitehorse it couldn’t, so it was a real hassle

Anyhow, thanks so much for all the input folks, will sign off on all this now

You will want to download the videos on to a USB stick or your laptop's hard drive. That way, you do not require wifi or cellular signal to access them.

The videos are a definite plus, though nowhere near an adequate substitute for an orientation. But, this is where we are - with pandemic and with ETI.

Several senior members here offered their contact information and offered to help us if we ran into trouble during our trip from Sumas, WA. And, it gave us confidence that really knowledgeable folks had our back. I'd definitely recommend that. I am happy to share our contact info, though we only know enough to be dangerous

[kathytony1985]

Good idea Jim!

[sofmerc]

Originally Posted by kavm

You will want to download the videos on to a USB stick or your laptop's hard drive. That way, you do not require wifi or cellular signal to access them.

The videos are a definite plus, though nowhere near an adequate substitute for an orientation. But, this is where we are - with pandemic and with ETI.

Several senior members here offered their contact information and offered to help us if we ran into trouble during our trip from Sumas, WA. And, it gave us confidence that really knowledgeable folks had our back. I'd definitely recommend that. I am happy to share our contact info, though we only know enough to be dangerous

great idea about the USB stick

[Dave Walter]

It has been a long time since we had the orientation when picking up our 19' in 2013. At the time, I thought the orientation was highly informative and unlike others on this forum, I did not soon forget everything I had heard. The orientation gave us an opportunity to inspect the trailer for any issues that may have been apparent. We found none but were glad for the opportunity to do so! These days with no orientation and no pickup of trailers at the factory (for out of country buyers), buyers are in the position where they just have to take what they are delivered and hope that Escape will do something to address those issues at a later date. Not an optimal situation in my opinion. If I was to purchase another new Escape, I don't think that I would need another orientation (after owning 2 Escapes over the past 9 years). However, I would want the opportunity to view the Escape at the factory on pickup to do my own quality control check. If issues were observed, I would get agreement on resolution 'before' taking the trailer off site.

[poodlespal]

The in person orientation when we picked up our Escape was very poor. The video and the videos by Reece are excellent. IOHO

[tuericentrum]

Originally Posted by kathytony1985

Good idea Jim!

I'll second that.

I go a step further and use a cloud drive (Google) to store all my non-personal documents, and make them available to all my devices.
You can do the same with any instructional videos, after you download them. For your phone you can make them "available off-line" before traveling so that you don't have to rely on cell data.

[YakRV]

Just got back to this after the thread was temporarily closed (? ? ?), regarding my asking if anyone has had an inspection done on their Escape trailer at/prior to delivery:

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Interesting thought, but raises a few questions to me.

First, why? It is a new trailer. I know trailers and quality fairly well and neither time did I even consider something like this. Never found a need afterwards either, at least nothing an inspection would show.

Simple answer: why not? Quality control in RV manufacturing is kind of an oxymoron these days, unfortunately. Since we’re most likely going to take delivery in Sumas or another site in the US (without the presence of a rep from Escape), taking care of mistakes/build issues could be a real hassle. I hope we’re lucky enough to avoid anything major being fouled up at delivery, but would much rather be prepared.

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Secondly, who would you get to do this? I have never heard of this being done and can't imagine finding someone qualified to give an accurate inspection.

This is not only done, it’s common advice from experts on RV purchasing. There’s an organization dedicated to certifying RV Inspectors - the National RV Inspectors Association, or NRVIA. A Google search pulled up several RV repair shops in the area (mobile), as well as local providers for this very service.

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Thirdly, have you ever heard of this being done at a vehicle manufacturer? I would bet they might be a bit leery of entertaining such a request.

Still, asking never hurts to ask. I would be quite interested in hearing what they say and the results of such an inspection should it actually happen.

Whether or not Escape would be leery of having this done on their premises is the question I was asking this forum. I had no idea if anyone has ever tried before. Since I’ve received no other replies but yours, I’m guessing not. First time for everything though. There is a period of time between when the trailer build is complete and Escape has it loaded onto the delivery truck when an inspection could be performed.

We’re not projected for delivery until next May, so you’ll have to wait and see if we can pull it off. I’ll be happy to report on it if it happens though.

[cpaharley2008]

Here are a couple from our orientation in 2019

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by YakRV

This is not only done, it’s common advice from experts on RV purchasing. There’s an organization dedicated to certifying RV Inspectors - the National RV Inspectors Association, or NRVIA. A Google search pulled up several RV repair shops in the area (mobile), as well as local providers for this very service.

My guess is that these inspectors are typically called upon in private party sales of used RV’s. That said, I think it’s an interesting idea to have someone inspect a new trailer for you before it leaves the factory if you cannot. Wondering what Escape will say. If they are confident in their product they shouldn’t hesitate to accommodate the request.

Another way to maybe force their hand a bit if someone is picking up in Sumas is to tell them you’ll have an inspector there with you and you will expect the driver to keep the trailer hitched and wait until the inspection is done. If there are any issues you’ll expect it to be towed back to Escape to be rectified before you will accept the trailer. They’ll like the inspection at the factory better for sure!

[sofmerc]

Not sure about the RV world but very common in the boating world... Newbuilds or used boats

[YakRV]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

My guess is that these inspectors are typically called upon in private party sales of used RV’s. That said, I think it’s an interesting idea to have someone inspect a new trailer for you before it leaves the factory if you cannot. Wondering what Escape will say. If they are confident in their product they shouldn’t hesitate to accommodate the request.

Another way to maybe force their hand a bit if someone is picking up in Sumas is to tell them you’ll have an inspector there with you and you will expect the driver to keep the trailer hitched and wait until the inspection is done. If there are any issues you’ll expect it to be towed back to Escape to be rectified before you will accept the trailer. They’ll like the inspection at the factory better for sure!

We’ll be addressing this with Escape when we start our build sheet process with them. We’ll follow up with an update here on the forum when we get their thumbs up or down. I sure hope they’re agreeable.

[diannelgraham]

My pick up date for my 21C currently is 1/11/2022. You can request to come to the factory to inspect your trailer before the pickup at Sumas. I’m lucky as I only live an hour and a half from the factory, I’m in Washington state. I will drive up on the 11th to do a final inspection and them drive to Sumas the next day if nothing has to get fixed for the pick up.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by diannelgraham

My pick up date for my 21C currently is 1/11/2022. You can request to come to the factory to inspect your trailer before the pickup at Sumas. I’m lucky as I only live an hour and a half from the factory, I’m in Washington state. I will drive up on the 11th to do a final inspection and them drive to Sumas the next day if nothing has to get fixed for the pick up.

Is the border open now?

[diannelgraham]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Is the border open now?

US going to Canada yes but you need to meet requirements, fully vaccinated, neg Covid test Canada has everything on the web that is required. Canadian to US travel is still closed to non essential travel.

[bborzell]

Our Sumas pickup date is (currently) 11/17/21. Our factory visit to check out the trailer is (currently) 11/16/21.

I don’t really expect an orientation. After several RVs, I know how systems are designed to work. What I do want is an opportunity to turn things on and off and determine initially whether anything is wonky (maybe check to see if the black water tank is full of test water ).

In addition, we will be hanging around within easy return distance of the factory for a couple of nights. That will give us a chance to test out pretty much everything under actual use conditions.

[kathytony1985]

Our fresh water tank was 80% full when we received the trailer from shipper. The black and gray were empty. Maybe they needed the weight on the flatbed to keep the trailer stable.