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Old 10-28-2020, 12:42 PM   #1
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HELP!Stuck drawer, one of many issues

Help!! I took my 2018 Escape 17B on a rough road in Utah and it had some damage to it. Apparently I did not understand that the dirt-road definition I used was not the same as ETI’s. I went as slow and carefully as I could but still over a dozen things went wrong and/or broke. I do know from a long history of driving on dirt roads that sometimes going faster on washboards is better, but not too fast. Ugh! I need HELP!
The top utensil drawer is stuck. I took everything out of it but it won’t open more than a few inches. Not enough to get my small hand into. I took out the bottom drawer, nothing was in the way there. I removed the stove and was able to reach into the drawer and remove the utensils in there and the drawer still won’t open. No damage on any of the utensils to offer a clue. I ran a coat hanger wire down a small portion of the rail, most is not accessible. Nothing was evidently in the way. Here is the link to a youtube video of it: Stuck Drawer.https://youtu.be/e3VBEAAc46c Oh please help me with this puzzle its the one that is driving me crazy the most. I don’t want to saw off the front of the drawer with my Japanese pull saw but am hoping for help from someone wise and informed.
I have ordered a new window latch holder for the window and will need to borrow a rivet tool to install it. Window holder Latch

One of the corners is loose of my Maxx Fan. Here is the youtube video: Maxx Fan, https://youtu.be/4YWqK_00ReY
There were 2 cabinet hinge pins on the floor, a small 2” Phillips screw, broken glass (mason jar), lots of sawdust and cans that burst open the lower cabinets and spilled out of the plastic bins they were in. I think it was the road. All the spice bottles were opened and most had jiggled off their caps and those were in the bottom of the Tupperware they were in. I don’t see any missing hinge pins on the hinges in the entire trailer.
The wastewater outlet outside somehow was twisted on the drive in. Any suggestions for turning it back to its original position. It still works ok as I tested it.
The P trap from the sink that is under the heater in the bottom cabinet is dripping, too. Any suggestions for tightening that? Like does it have to be emptied, even though its blown out/winterized?
I put duct tape on the skylight in the vent on the roof as I’m getting a new AC installed in that location in a couple weeks, that was vibrated off to one side.
The glass cover on the stove came off but luckily didn’t break and the bolts and washers were in the burner area.
The cover of the sink flew off and was on the floor. Dustin at ETI said it needs to be stored during travel.
The inverter is making bad noises but GoPower is sending me a new one. Oh holy cow, this was a drive from a nightmare.
Avoid Buckhorn Rd, I-70 in Utah, exit 131. At least until after hunting season when they hopefully grade it. A clue was the grader parked on the side of the road after I drove 19 miles in and was almost at the campgrounds. My friend who came in from Price, UT on 40 miles of that road said it wasn’t too bad but her T@b trailer also has some damage and sawdust on everything.
Any help you guys could give me is welcome. The stuck drawer is the thing bothering me the most. I expect a few lectures on not exceeding the limits of the trailer, but that comes with the territory. Thanks so very much, ladies and gents!
-Cedar in Western Colorado



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Old 10-28-2020, 12:57 PM   #2
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Well you don't have to worry about a lecture on going down rough roads from me.

Any chance that one of the screws that hold the guide rail has backed off and caused the jam. Can you reach the bottom screws that go vertically into the drawer side and remove them?

Some "P" traps have a drain, some don't. It likely will have a bit of water in it but I just put a rag under it catch the water.

I can tolerate pretty rough roads but I really hate washboard and the vibration it makes does have a nasty ability to shake things loose.

Good luck

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Old 10-29-2020, 08:38 AM   #3
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Hi Ron,
As soon as it warms up enough to go out in the trailer, after lunch, I'll check the rails and see if I can reach the screws. I think that they are pretty tough to get to but will give a look-see.

The P trap has a cap on the bottom. I'll get out my channel lock and see if I can tighten it.

Thanks for the input.
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Old 10-29-2020, 08:59 AM   #4
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Hi Ron,
As soon as it warms up enough to go out in the trailer, after lunch, I'll check the rails and see if I can reach the screws. I think that they are pretty tough to get to but will give a look-see.

The P trap has a cap on the bottom. I'll get out my channel lock and see if I can tighten it.

Thanks for the input.
Hi: PleinAirCedar... Rough roads don't need to be gravel. The highways are in a state in Vermont that broke our utensil drawer loose and spilled all the stuff out. The drawer track was screwed in with 1/2" screws so 1" ones were used to replace them. Then in Newfoundland we hit a washout that broke the coffee maker stored under the sink, flipped the sink cover, cracked the sink surface, and split the battery case. Now that's rough!!! Alf
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Old 10-29-2020, 09:19 AM   #5
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Yeah, you go escape artist!!!! That's what I'm talking about. Those rough roads we travel sure do lead to good places and great views. But picking up the pieces can be a month long Odyssey afterwards!
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Old 10-29-2020, 09:51 AM   #6
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Sometimes a big speed bump you don't notice on a paved campground road is all it takes....
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Old 10-29-2020, 10:48 AM   #7
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Hi Ron,
As soon as it warms up enough to go out in the trailer, after lunch, I'll check the rails and see if I can reach the screws. I think that they are pretty tough to get to but will give a look-see.

The P trap has a cap on the bottom. I'll get out my channel lock and see if I can tighten it.

Thanks for the input.
While you're in the neighborhood, I'd unscrew the drain cap. May as well check for any buildup of crud in the trap. Then I'd wipe the surfaces clean before tightening it up.

If you can get the vertical screws into the bottom of the drawer sides out it should tell you what the problem is. If the drawer still doesn't come out then something in the drawer has jumped up and jammed it. If the drawer comes out you'll be able to see if a screw has backed out and jammed the slide.

Good luck,

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Old 10-29-2020, 05:22 PM   #8
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Sometimes a big speed bump you don't notice on a paved campground road is all it takes....
David, are you sure it was a speed bump. The photo shows a possible culprit. Are you sure the cats didn’t throw a party for all their feline friends when you were not looking and they all got rowdy and trashed the place?

But wow, that’s quite a mess for one speed bump.
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Old 10-29-2020, 05:48 PM   #9
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David, are you sure it was a speed bump. The photo shows a possible culprit. Are you sure the cats didn’t throw a party for all their feline friends when you were not looking and they all got rowdy and trashed the place?

But wow, that’s quite a mess for one speed bump.
Carl, I think what happened was that when we went around a corner the big sliding drawer, heavily laden with pantry items, pushed against the pantry door, it came open and the drawer slid out. The speed bump bounced the extended drawer out of the track and onto the floor, and then just for good measure the plastic bin on the upper pantry shelf, also full, dumped out as well. Amazingly nothing broke, but the cats sure had a good time investigating. Mary was the first one in the trailer when we were parked and she had a few choice words when she saw the mess....

Won't happen again, I added a bolt latch on the outside of the pantry door to keep it secured for travel.
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Old 10-29-2020, 06:16 PM   #10
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Hello Dave, Mary and the cats,
OMG that looks like a nightmare. Did the cat do it?
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Old 10-29-2020, 06:18 PM   #11
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I love that latch for keeping the drawers closed!
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Old 10-29-2020, 06:23 PM   #12
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I hate to be a meanie but gravity stills works. I used one to secure the top of an opening door of a canopy. Drove for awhile and went to open the door and it wasn't latched at the top. Happened several times. Ended up using a heavy rubber band pulling up on it. Stopped it from vibrating to open position and the dead bolt dropping down. Not elegant but it worked.

It's amazing how vibration loosens things up.

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Old 10-29-2020, 06:26 PM   #13
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Ron in BC and everyone else,

Well one problem solved, one more to go (the rest are in progress waiting for parts or replacement items)!
My neighbor who is handy and has a boat load of tools filling his garage and I figured out that if we took out the screws in the bottom of the rail holding the drawer in, the draw would come out, minus the rails. It did. The rail on the side toward the heater was stuck but a little jiggling it managed to work it free of the track. There was a screw holding the track onto the cabinetry that had come unscrewed just enough to block the hardware's wheel progress along it. Screwing that offender back in tightly and replacing the wheeled rails proved it all worked right again.

I am going to buy a short nut driver with corresponding clip-in screw head drivers or whatever you call those thingees... Just in case I end up not being able to resist a back country jaunt.

I have been good at asking if there is enough space to turn around a 40' rig on what ever road I plan to travel on. I figure some folks may think I could do a 5 point K turn with my Escape on a road that is at 30° slope.



Now to solve the problem of why my Maxx fan is still loose.
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Old 10-29-2020, 07:08 PM   #14
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Good guess Ron.
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Old 10-29-2020, 09:57 PM   #15
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Half guess, half experience. I've drawer slides hang up because I used a screw maybe one size larger than the slide was countersunk for. If it protrudes a bit it can cause the slide to stick. OTOH, I've had stuff piled in drawers shift in position and one object stick up a bit and prevent the drawer from opening.

Glad the situation was resolved without drastic measures being taken.

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Old 10-30-2020, 04:52 AM   #16
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My Escape will never traverse non paved roads, not built for it nor am I.......
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Old 10-30-2020, 08:31 AM   #17
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Ron in BC and everyone else,

Well one problem solved, one more to go (the rest are in progress waiting for parts or replacement items)!
My neighbor who is handy and has a boat load of tools filling his garage and I figured out that if we took out the screws in the bottom of the rail holding the drawer in, the draw would come out, minus the rails. It did. The rail on the side toward the heater was stuck but a little jiggling it managed to work it free of the track. There was a screw holding the track onto the cabinetry that had come unscrewed just enough to block the hardware's wheel progress along it. Screwing that offender back in tightly and replacing the wheeled rails proved it all worked right again.

I am going to buy a short nut driver with corresponding clip-in screw head drivers or whatever you call those thingees... Just in case I end up not being able to resist a back country jaunt.

I have been good at asking if there is enough space to turn around a 40' rig on what ever road I plan to travel on. I figure some folks may think I could do a 5 point K turn with my Escape on a road that is at 30° slope.



Now to solve the problem of why my Maxx fan is still loose.
Glad you resolved your drawer issue. I found out a few years ago from experience that the bumps I feel in my tow vehicle from a rough road are magnified multiple times in the trailer - a bit of a bump in the truck corresponds to a huge jolt in the trailer. I lost a six pack of beer once that fell out of the fridge when I opened the door and broke all of the bottles - that was a terrible day! I had another episode where the oven door in my 19' partially fell off and bent the hinges, together with all of the mounting screws on the oven letting loose. After that I decided to slow down on those wash board / pothole roads and drive slower through the Texas gates. Ever since that change in driving tactics (i.e. slowing down on the bumps), I have had no more damage in the Escape!
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Old 10-30-2020, 09:57 AM   #18
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Sometimes a big speed bump you don't notice on a paved campground road is all it takes....
If it weren't for the cat and the plastic box, I'd swear that was our 5.0.

Each drawer is kept in place with tension rods placed at an angle. When leaving a site, after I'm done with my outside duties, and Terry completes her inside duties, I go inside and check that the tension rods are in place and the fridge doors are clicked shut. Terry also checks to make sure I completed all my outside duties. As time moves forward we tend to be a little forgetful.

Enjoy,

Perry
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Old 10-30-2020, 11:14 AM   #19
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If it weren't for the cat and the plastic box, I'd swear that was our 5.0.

Each drawer is kept in place with tension rods placed at an angle. When leaving a site, after I'm done with my outside duties, and Terry completes her inside duties, I go inside and check that the tension rods are in place and the fridge doors are clicked shut. Terry also checks to make sure I completed all my outside duties. As time moves forward we tend to be a little forgetful.

Enjoy,
Hi: Perryb67... "Check mate"!!! Alf
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Old 10-30-2020, 11:54 AM   #20
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I often intone what I heard over and over when growing up. “Easy does it”. I don’t get on much gravel when towing and I hate those tightly ridged washboards but fortunately for us, I’m retired and don’t have to really be anywhere. Especially when pulling the trailer. You’ll get there and there will be some beer left. If not, you’ll have to drink your own. Now there’s a real Halloween horror. Had a good day in a nice timber with my grandson yesterday. Teaching him is a pleasure. He’s 13. Hunting with PopPop in the morning, online school in the afternoon, practicing the base clarinet after dinner.
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