New Escape 19 Dometic Furnace problems

[cpaharley2008]

Is there a filter on the furnace to keep dust off the sail switch? Between this and the duct replacement it seems to be an easy fix.

[steve dunham]

From what I’ve seen it is a combination of low quality parts coupled with a poor design
Escape is not the only trailer brand having repeated issues with the Attwood furnace
Our furnace is non functioning as we speak and will be repaired in the Spring
It may come down to changing out the furnace to a different brand that is more reliable
Trying to repair a furnace in the middle of the night when the temps are in the sub freezing range just ain’t going to cut it .

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Is there a filter on the furnace to keep dust off the sail switch? Between this and the duct replacement it seems to be an easy fix.

There is no filter in these furnaces that I am aware of.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

From what I’ve seen it is a combination of low quality parts coupled with a poor design
Escape is not the only trailer brand having repeated issues with the Attwood furnace
Our furnace is non functioning as we speak and will be repaired in the Spring
It may come down to changing out the furnace to a different brand that is more reliable
Trying to repair a furnace in the middle of the night when the temps are in the sub freezing range just ain’t going to cut it .

My father was on a very cold trip recently with the trailer. At my advisement he took his Mr. Heater Big Buddy portable as a backup just in case. This is with the older 8012-II furnace that has been reliable...but you never know.

[Chotch]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

From what I’ve seen it is a combination of low quality parts coupled with a poor design
Escape is not the only trailer brand having repeated issues with the Attwood furnace
Our furnace is non functioning as we speak and will be repaired in the Spring
It may come down to changing out the furnace to a different brand that is more reliable
Trying to repair a furnace in the middle of the night when the temps are in the sub freezing range just ain’t going to cut it .

Are there options that would be a direct replacement with a better track record?

[cpaharley2008]

another reason to install an electric wall heater, in case of propane failure you will have heat as long as there are hookups, which you should have in winter camping.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Chotch

Are there options that would be a direct replacement with a better track record?

Don’t know ! Our only criteria is to have a furnace that satisfactorily heats our trailer and is reliable . Since our furnace has not worked since about day one it hasn’t met either of our criteria . Our 2013 Casita has a Suburban furnace which has worked perfectly for over 5 years so we will probably start there .

[padlin]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

another reason to install an electric wall heater, in case of propane failure you will have heat as long as there are hookups, which you should have in winter camping.

Many carry a cube heater, but it's to save our propane when we have hookups.

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

another reason to install an electric wall heater, in case of propane failure you will have heat as long as there are hookups, which you should have in winter camping.

One reason we purchased this camper is we like to cold-weather camp where there are no hookups.

This spring I plan on blowing out the area where the sail switch resides. Also, someone said to add some stiff tape to make the sail a little larger. When we get the replacement sail switch I'll probably give that a try with the old switch.

Enjoy,

Perry

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Our 2013 Casita has a Suburban furnace which has worked perfectly for over 5 years so we will probably start there .

Unfortunately it appears the smallest furnace in this style that Suburban makes is 20,000 BTU and quite a bit larger.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Unfortunately it appears the smallest furnace in this style that Suburban makes is 20,000 BTU and quite a bit larger.

Where we live we’ve had temps in the 30’s into June and starting again in early September
Many of the County and National Parks in our area do not have electricity
We have a very short camping season and a reliable / working furnace is a necessity
Purchasing a trailer that can be only used 2 months out of a year is a poor investment IMHO
I am not blaming Escape , just like with the refrigerators that wouldn’t cool the problem is with Dometic
Just changing parts does not answer / solve the reliability problem so If we have to install a different / larger furnace so be it .
What irritates me is that Dometic has almost monopolized the RV industry , produces a lousy product and then sticks the end consumer with the headache
Again I am not blaming Escape but only hope that Escape can find a solution to the problem
The time , cost & irritation to rectify this issue should not get shoved onto the end user IMHO

[Tam2004]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

From what I’ve seen it is a combination of low quality parts coupled with a poor design
Escape is not the only trailer brand having repeated issues with the Attwood furnace
Our furnace is non functioning as we speak and will be repaired in the Spring
It may come down to changing out the furnace to a different brand that is more reliable
Trying to repair a furnace in the middle of the night when the temps are in the sub freezing range just ain’t going to cut it .

Our trailer repair people don't think there is an alternative to this furnace -- if you find there is -- we all would like to know (including ETI). The furnace/ thermostat were the only complaint we had after picking our trailer up in September 2018 as many of you know from our 5 week saga across the US chasing the furnace issue while traveling. Many of you felt that furnaces are not complicated so we should hang in there. We finally managed to get a new replacement - with the help of our trailer repair place. I honestly think that if the furnace fails in the first few days of ownership - it should be replaced and the manufacturer of the furnace deal with this. BUT we sure learned a lot through all of this. The manufacturer makes it hard on support so many places do not want to take anything under warranty and so it is just an issue that is unresolved in the bigger picture sense. We had no problems with any of our old furnaces. We hope that will be true with our new replacement - it seems good. But now we have parked the trailer for a couple of months. Though occasionally we do go out and test it.

[EdColorado]

“The manufacturer makes it hard on support so many places do not want to take anything under warranty...”

That’s because Dometic pays very, very little to the shops to do warranty repairs.

Had the A/C compressor on a Class C replaced under warranty. Dometic allowed one (1) hour labor. The shop says it takes two people two hours to complete that job and asked if I would be willing to pay for one hours labor. Given my limited options; I said I would.$120.
I thought that was OK considering I got an entirety new unit.

Ed

[steve dunham]

The closest Dometic service center is approx 200 miles from our home .
When I contacted them the first thing we were asked is
“ Did you buy your trailer from us ?”
When I said no the answer I got was “Well drop it off and we’ll get to it when we get to it”
Anyone who bought their trailer from them automatically goes to the head of the line , everyone else has to wait . According to the service center they lose money on Dometic warranty work .
It appears that the problem is in my lap and I will have to solve it on my own
Doesn’t seem right but it is what it is .

[EdColorado]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

The closest Dometic service center is approx 200 miles from our home .
When I contacted them the first thing we were asked is
“ Did you buy your trailer from us ?”
When I said no the answer I got was “Well drop it off and we’ll get to it when we get to it”
Anyone who bought their trailer from them automatically goes to the head of the line , everyone else has to wait . According to the service center they lose money on Dometic warranty work .
It appears that the problem is in my lap and I will have to solve it on my own
Doesn’t seem right but it is what it is .

And that is precisely what the local dealers do.
Camping World was th only dealer that would even talk to me so the extra labor charge I paid wasn’t really on option.

Ed

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Tam2004

Our trailer repair people don't think there is an alternative to this furnace -- if you find there is -- we all would like to know (including ETI). The furnace/ thermostat were the only complaint we had after picking our trailer up in September 2018 as many of you know from our 5 week saga across the US chasing the furnace issue while traveling.

It is not a direct replacement, but a choice is to bite the bullet and go with a Propex or something similar. This would be a custom install with all the challenges that come along. Might be worth it though for peace of mind in knowing you have a very reliable propane heat source. I know this isn't something that owners of new trailers want to hear, but unfortunately Dometic doesn't seem to be interesting in engineering for reliability.

https://www.propexheatsource.com/heaters/

[EdColorado]

And there was a very heated discussion recently about the Wave catalytic heaters that does not need to be rekindled here.

My personal experience with two of them has been positive. Wife, dog and I are all alive in spite of the oft told horror stories.😉

If the Dometic in my 21 becomes more of a PITA than I care to deal with, I’ll just go with another Wave 3.

Ed

[jeffrow]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

The closest Dometic service center is approx 200 miles from our home .
When I contacted them the first thing we were asked is
“ Did you buy your trailer from us ?”
When I said no the answer I got was “Well drop it off and we’ll get to it when we get to it”
Anyone who bought their trailer from them automatically goes to the head of the line , everyone else has to wait . According to the service center they lose money on Dometic warranty work .
It appears that the problem is in my lap and I will have to solve it on my own
Doesn’t seem right but it is what it is .

I hear you Steve..... I had a conversation with Dave at Escape about this after having to drive back 4 hours to Escape to have 2 major mechanical systems replaced days after picking up my new 21.

With so much consolidation in the component industry coupled with engineering every penny possible out of the cost it bodes badly for the rv manufacturing industry as a whole. The manufacturer shifts the burden of warranty repairs onto the customer right into a service industry unwilling to perform warranty due to inadequate reimbursement rates.

I have never had an issue getting warranty work performed by any franchised dealer on my cars. The manufacturer provides adequate reimbursement and the industry as a whole knows the value of keeping the customer happy.

A manufacturer like Escape or Airstream trying to market themselves a premium product faces a real issue here. They are forced to put the same crappy water heaters and furnaces etc as the the low end of the market.

[Tam2004]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

The closest Dometic service center is approx 200 miles from our home .
When I contacted them the first thing we were asked is
“ Did you buy your trailer from us ?”
When I said no the answer I got was “Well drop it off and we’ll get to it when we get to it”
Anyone who bought their trailer from them automatically goes to the head of the line , everyone else has to wait . According to the service center they lose money on Dometic warranty work .
It appears that the problem is in my lap and I will have to solve it on my own
Doesn’t seem right but it is what it is .

We take our trailer to an independent shop. They went to bat for us to get the furnace replaced - but said they won't do any ongoing warranty work as they get paid so little. With as little going wrong with the Escape in entirety - we consider that reasonable. If it gets to be a lot - maybe will pursue Dometic reimbursement - which they said they would do - but I kind of wonder. I didn't even bother with the amount we paid out of pocket on the trip as it wasn't a lot with Dometic sending us parts.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by jeffrow

A manufacturer like Escape or Airstream trying to market themselves a premium product faces a real issue here. They are forced to put the same crappy water heaters and furnaces etc as the the low end of the market.

Why? They could use manufacturers like Truma. Oliver offers the AquaGo model as an on-demand water heating option and Airstream uses the Combi model on the BaseCamp which does both water and space heating. There are also other furnaces like Propex that I mentioned in an earlier post. Advanced RV in Cleveland is bringing in quieter Houghton Belaire A/C units that are designed in Australia as an alternative to the Dometic and Coleman freight trains. Microwaves made by Contoure or many others. Norcold for refrigerator. If an RV manufacturer really wants to they don't need to use anything made by Dometic.