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Old 02-02-2017, 11:56 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hrewer View Post
Here is a photo of the trailer. I think that ETI located the holder based upon the small Canadian trailer plate.
It appears the mount could have been further towards the side of trailer by a few inches. I would just figure out a way to offset the plate on the existing bracket as Brian explained above. The battery has room to slide right towards the tire but I bet that the bracing that holds the battery would need to be modified.
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Old 02-02-2017, 12:07 PM   #22
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Here is a photo of the trailer. I think that ETI located the holder based upon the small Canadian trailer plate.
Most - probably all - Canadian provinces and territories use the normal (6"×12") size of plate for trailers... including British Columbia.

It looks like the holder is just in the wrong place. Time to move it or use one of the work-arounds.
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Old 02-02-2017, 12:42 PM   #23
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My BC plate is 5" X 8".
Suggest moving here.
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Old 02-02-2017, 12:42 PM   #24
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Perhaps as important as the last digit, the year decal is also obscured. I've seen some people turn their plates 90 degrees to vertical, but it's not clear that would work for you either because you still need the white light to illuminate the plate while traveling at night. Seems like a bracket extension that will let you shift the plate a few inches to the left, and still be located mostly under the license plate light, is your best option.
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Old 02-02-2017, 01:04 PM   #25
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I would just drill two new holes in the plate to the right of where they are now, like between the C and L in California.
Or, actually, don't the plate holders have slots that would allow the screws holding the plate to be shifted to the left?
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Old 02-02-2017, 01:13 PM   #26
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I would just drill two new holes in the plate to the right of where they are now, like between the C and L in California.
Or, actually, don't the plate holders have slots that would allow the screws holding the plate to be shifted to the left?
Yes, there is maybe 1" of free play, depending on the plate holes, so maybe one hole would need to be redrilled.
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Old 02-02-2017, 01:33 PM   #27
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Mmmmm...it is nice there, is that an invitation?
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Old 02-02-2017, 01:35 PM   #28
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Some photos of 17's on ETI's website show the same problem, but it appears they didn't care!
I highly doubt it's because they don't care.
Much bigger companies than ETI have had similar problems. All 1953-1956 Ford truck license plates looks like this when mounted in the stock position as determined by the manufacturer. I've seen some creative work to move them. Guess it will be the same thing for those with dual batteries on the rear bumper of a trailer.
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Old 02-02-2017, 02:03 PM   #29
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I highly doubt it's because they don't care. ...
My bad. It was a flippant remark on my part. I was just surprised that a company with a reputation for quality like ETI would let a simple design issue like this slip by. And it's not clear that the issue has been fully resolved yet - hence this thread.
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Old 02-02-2017, 02:48 PM   #30
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Since the 17' was the first model by ETI (started manufacturing the 17’ Escape Trailer in 2003), I don't think there was any thought given at that time about dual 6volt batteries on the rear. When did ETI start that option?
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Old 02-02-2017, 02:49 PM   #31
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The motorcycle tag like I get from AZ would work perfectly on that 17. Not sure if CA allows you to get the smaller plate, but well worth it if they do.
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Old 02-02-2017, 03:15 PM   #32
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I was just surprised that a company with a reputation for quality like ETI would let a simple design issue like this slip by. And it's not clear that the issue has been fully resolved yet - hence this thread.
War Eagle, if we look at the timing of events it appears it may have been resolved pretty quickly. The original post indicated they picked up their trailer on Halloween, so Oct. 31, 2016. There is a picture in the It's Friday thread of a 17 with dual 6V batteries on Nov. 10, 2016 showing the bracket further left relative to the tail light (link below). A few other 17's with pics posted in January consistently have the bracket further left. Whether it's enough to correct the issue at hand is another question.

www.escapeforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=19931&d=1478809212
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Old 02-02-2017, 04:24 PM   #33
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... Whether it's enough to correct the issue at hand is another question.
I don't have a dog in this fight, so I don't want to keep pushing the OP's original concern, but if a highway patrolman can't pull up behind the camper and read the entire plate number or clearly see the year decal, then I don't feel the issue has been resolved enough. I got pulled over and given a verbal warning one time in our car because one of two bulbs lighting the rear license plate had burned out, so one side of the plate wasn't as easy for the officer to read as the other side. Give me a break! So I replaced both bulbs figuring that if the one had burned out, perhaps the other one might be about to go. I don't like blue lights flashing in my rear view mirror. Again, not my camper, not my problem, just my opinion, for what it's worth. I'm out....
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Old 02-02-2017, 04:33 PM   #34
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Originally Posted by Donna D. View Post
I don't think there was any thought given at that time about dual 6volt batteries on the rear. When did ETI start that option?
It was available when I got my 2009 17B, but I knew nothing and solar just looked too technical after reading FGRV, so I didn't get it.
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Old 02-02-2017, 06:36 PM   #35
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With no photo yet of a current single-battery 17', I don't know that the dual batteries are the issue. On the first Escape 17' I saw over a decade ago, and baglo's as seen in his photo, the single battery is on the left side along with the plate, so having another battery on the other side wouldn't change anything.

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Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
My BC plate is 5" X 8".
Suggest moving here.

So I was mistaken about B.C. trailer plates, but I did confirm that all three of my trailers (with plates issued between 1995 and 2005) have regular 6"x12" Alberta plates. I was not offered a choice of plate size when registering any of our trailers; I doubt there is a choice here.

It's usually only motorcycles and off-road vehicles that get a smaller plate (and motorcycle plates seem to be 4"x7" in most states plus Ontario, and 5"x8" in at most other provinces); baglo's BC plate didn't look motorcycle-sized, so I didn't realize it was smaller than standard. The normal size (6"x12") has been standard across North America for cars and trucks since about 1956; it is used for commercial trailers even in B.C. I couldn't find any indication online that anything other 6"x12" is used anywhere in Canada other than B.C.

The smaller size in B.C. for "utility trailers" - not as small as expected for motorcycles in the U.S., but the same as for motorcycles in B.C. - explains why it fits on baglo's first-generation 17', even though the holder is centred under the tail lamp on that trailer.

It looks like even an 8" wide plate would not be properly visible on Howard and Kim's trailer, judging from their photo; a trailer with the holder placed this way is likely to be problem even in B.C.

It certainly seems to me that it would be nonsensical to design a trailer for sale across North America that doesn't fit a standard plate... but fortunately the fix in this case is probably just to screw it on in the right place (or make that adapter). It needs to be fixed, but doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

This mounting challenge isn't unique to the Escape 17': the Jeep Wrangler has a plate holder that wraps around the corner of the body to hold the (12" wide) plate out far enough to the left so that the inboard end clears the tailgate. Too bad the Wrangler's corner radius is unlikely to match the Escape!

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Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
Or, actually, don't the plate holders have slots that would allow the screws holding the plate to be shifted to the left?
Yes, and the one on my motorhome has very long slots, but from the photos the slots in this particular bracket are not nearly long enough for this to work. They are usually just long enough to accommodate slightly off hole positions. For the same reason, plates normally have elongated mounting holes... but again, no where near enough to fix the issue.
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Old 02-02-2017, 06:54 PM   #36
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license plate on 17B "work around"

Hi. Here are a couple of pictures of how I dealt with this. I bought a piece of aluminum that is 3/4" wide and 1/8" thick. I drilled two holes in it that are the same distance apart as the two holes in the license plate. I then drilled two more holes in it that were 3" offset from the first two. I then used the bolts that were provided for the plate to fasten the piece of aluminum to the license plate bracket, after having inserted two other bolts from behind the piece of aluminum into the second two holes. Then I placed the license plate over these two holes and put washers and nuts on to hold the plate in place. We'll see how it holds up!

Thank you all for your input.

Howard
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Old 02-02-2017, 07:15 PM   #37
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That is a fine looking job and very sturdy. I'd say it is a life of the trailer solution. One important consideration in our area is the fact that the license plate is illuminated at night. Burned out bulb, even one out of two, if there are two, is probable cause to get stopped by the police. And nobody needs that hassle. Good Job.
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Old 02-02-2017, 08:36 PM   #38
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Hi. Here are a couple of pictures of how I dealt with this...
Looks good!

Thanks for the update, Howard.
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Old 02-03-2017, 06:10 AM   #39
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Nice work on the fix Howard.

When I look closer it appears that the revised positioning of the bracket by ETI is just enough to solve the problem. There is one digit to the right of the right hand side plate mounting hole. When you look at the alignment it looks like it will now show the whole plate. Of course with the battery box there protruding off the rear it will still be obscured unless you are looking from directly behind or slightly left.
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Old 02-03-2017, 06:32 AM   #40
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Nice job!!
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