When we first got our 2019 Escape 19 the propane tank cover was so tight between the jack and the cargo box that it jammed into the lid on the box making the box lid very difficult to open without removing the tank cover. I was also concerned about wear to the gel coat on the lid of the cargo box. I contacted Escape and after some back and forth I was assured that they would be coming up with a solution and would get it to me eventually (that never happened). Note that I looked at a 2017 E19 trailer and it had a different jack with a smaller head and although it was close, the cover fit without interference. It also had a different Cargo Box Lid that was slightly smaller.
As I did not want to leave the cover off and I did not want to leave the interference causing other damage I decided to do my own fix. With the newer jack installed in 2019, turning the jack does not create more clearance on the back side and in fact makes it worse as it would be wider in that direction. As the tank cover is thermoplastic I decided to heat it and reshape it around the jack head as follows.
1. Remove the tank cover and tanks.
2. Remove the top access cover off of the tank cover.
3. Clamp something stiff along access cover hinge line so it does not distort when reforming the front of the cover. I used a piece of aluminum extrusion I had handy but a piece of wood would work as long as it does not block the opening and the reforming of the front around the jack head.
4. Wrap the jack head with a cloth to insulate it from the heat of the cover as it is being heated and to provide the shape you want the cover to take.
5. Put the tank cover in place without reinstalling the tanks.
6. Using a heat gun heat the tank cover from the inside in the area of the jack head. It is best to have a helper doing this as you want to reform the cover with the heat on. My wife ran the heat gun.
7. Once the plastic in the area of the jack head is hot enough to start plastically deforming apply forward pressure on the tank cover in the area of the jack head to mold it around the jack head. Note that it is necessary to wear thick gloves as the plastic needs to get quite hot to permanently deform. I checked the plastic on the black jack head shroud and it did not get too hot to touch with bare fingers.
8. Check clearance on jack head and cargo box lid to ensure the cover allows clearance to open the cargo box and not press hard on the jack.
9. If there is still interference, repeat heating and molding steps as required to get clearance. We did it three or four times.
In the end the cover was reformed (i.e.: pushed in) at least 3/4 inches to provide acceptable clearance tolerances). The entire process took about an hour including gathering tools and reinstalling the tanks and clean up. The final look is not noticeable unless you are aware what was done. I went out and took pictures this morning to show what it is like now. Note that it is Canada so I had to clean a bit of snow off the area but you will still see some snow and ice in the pictures. I would not do this job in the cold as it would be difficult to get the plastic hot enough. Overall it was a fairly simple fix if you are a bit handy and have access to a heat gun. I spent more time figuring out what I was going to do than doing it.
The first picture shows clearance with the jack head. The tank cover reshaping extends down to the point where it cleared the jack head without reforming.
The second picture shows clearance with the Cargo Box Lid.
The third picture shows where the cover edge also rubbed hard against the wiring harness down at the frame so I heated the area locally and formed the plastic so it no longer rubs with the sharp corner of the lower edge hard against the wire insulation.
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