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Old 06-05-2019, 10:04 PM   #1
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Recent Issues with 2018 19' Escape

Our 19' Escape Trailer was picked up in March of 2018 and is the first trailer that my wife and I have owned. We love the trailer but have had a few issues this year. The main overhead light began acting as a strobe light recently and then weakened to a faint glow. I contacted Escape Trailers and although it was past the warranty period, Dave Reace was good enough to send me two light replacements. I broke one of the plastic shade cord connectors so had to order replacements from United Shade as Escape doesn't carry them. This past weekend we camped at a power only site and noticed a leak at the top of the mud flap near to the water heater. I had earlier replaced the electric element and anode but saw no leaking from the threads. We turned off the water supply to the heater and the leaking stopped. Also, the furnace heat stopped in the middle of the night and we were unable to get it to work. Propane gas was O.K. and the kitchen range worked. I have made an appointment with a local RV Dealer (who did the winterizing of the trailer) for later this month to make any necessary repairs. Will let you know how things go.
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Old 06-06-2019, 05:44 AM   #2
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I was aware of the the light issues in the Escape and I believe that have changed lights to a better model. The water heater element as does the anode rod does need teflon tape when reinstalling. The heater may need to be cleaned and there are videos here
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Old 06-06-2019, 12:54 PM   #3
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I was aware of the the light issues in the Escape and I believe that have changed lights to a better model. The water heater element as does the anode rod does need teflon tape when reinstalling. The heater may need to be cleaned and there are videos here
Thanks for the information. I agree that the lights are likely to be a problem and require replacement at some point in the future. I was careful to use Teflon tape over the threads when replacing the heater element and the anode and no leakage is coming from the threads. In fact, the whole water heater section remains dry. I looked at the youtube video and the fan was on for well over 1 minute before quitting so the sail switch would not be the problem. Maybe the circuit board needs to be replaced & if so, I will see if it is still under warranty. I was not aware that the furnace heater needed to be cleaned and the video doesn't explain what needs to be done. I will look into this.
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Old 06-06-2019, 05:17 PM   #4
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Also, the furnace heat stopped in the middle of the night and we were unable to get it to work. Propane gas was O.K. and the kitchen range worked.
By chance were you camping at altitude, say above 6,000 ft? On our current trip every time we have tried to use the furnace above 6,000 ft. the fan will start, I will get a brief ignition then the flame will go out and the furnace will attempt to relight to no avail. I spoke to both Dave and Reace and their conclusion is that it is an altitude issue and other than adjusting the gas pressure there is not much else to do. I may look into replacing the gas regulator just to see if that helps.

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Old 06-06-2019, 07:12 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by sjnuss View Post
By chance were you camping at altitude, say above 6,000 ft? On our current trip every time we have tried to use the furnace above 6,000 ft. the fan will start, I will get a brief ignition then the flame will go out and the furnace will attempt to relight to no avail. I spoke to both Dave and Reace and their conclusion is that it is an altitude issue and other than adjusting the gas pressure there is not much else to do. I may look into replacing the gas regulator just to see if that helps.

Steve
This reminds me of the trip my family and I took in a rented U-Haul CT13 in the '80s. We rented it in Michigan and traveled into the Rockies west of Colorado Springs. The furnace fired once but afterward wouldn't ignite any more, and we spent a cold night (snowing) with all 4 of us huddled in the one bed. Back down to Colorado Springs in the a.m. to the U-Haul dealer, where the tech found nothing wrong. Back up the mountain, again the next night no furnace. Back down in the morning. The tech figured out the problem: the spark gap was too close for it to catch in the thinner air. He adjusted the gap... problem solved.



No idea if your furnace is similarly made, but thought I'd tell the story.
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Old 06-06-2019, 08:21 PM   #6
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By chance were you camping at altitude, say above 6,000 ft? On our current trip every time we have tried to use the furnace above 6,000 ft. the fan will start, I will get a brief ignition then the flame will go out and the furnace will attempt to relight to no avail. I spoke to both Dave and Reace and their conclusion is that it is an altitude issue and other than adjusting the gas pressure there is not much else to do. I may look into replacing the gas regulator just to see if that helps.

Steve
We live in Calgary, Alberta which is about 4,000 ft. in elevation. We stayed at a campground an hour's drive south west of the city in the foothills so it might have been close to 5,000 ft. However, we have camped there before & had no problem with the furnace so I don't think the elevation is the problem.
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Old 06-07-2019, 12:07 PM   #7
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Camped at Mesa Verde this April. Around 7500 ft. and we ran the heater every night without any problems
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Old 06-07-2019, 02:43 PM   #8
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We camp at a campground @ 9000 ft and one over 7000 ft quite a bit and have always used the furnace there with no issues. Classic 2015, but altitude has never caused any issues with our furnace operation.
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Old 06-07-2019, 04:31 PM   #9
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We camp at a campground @ 9000 ft and one over 7000 ft quite a bit and have always used the furnace there with no issues. Classic 2015, but altitude has never caused any issues with our furnace operation.
Ditto.
We were camped at 9,200’ for several chilly nights. The furnace on our new 21 worked fine.
After hearing about all the sail switch issues, before this trip I vacuumed everything and installed computer filter material to cover the furnace air intake. It was only a 7 day test, but the trouble prone furnace worked just fine.

Ed
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Old 06-07-2019, 10:19 PM   #10
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So far our sail switch has caused problems twice, about a month apart. We travel with a black cat. Both times the sail switch pivot has been jammed with black hair, suspiciously the same color as our cat. We know we have a sail switch problem if the furnace comes on and we do not hear a click in the first 10 seconds. The shut down time is around a minute, more or less. Our trip to and from Osoyoos involved a couple 7000 ft elev campsites, they were not a problem.

We do not know what year or month the access panel was added for outside access to the sail switch. We met a late 2017 that did not have the panel, our Oct 2018 does have the panel. Maybe, someone can inform people when the change over occurred.

The trailers with the panel have a 10-15 minute job to clean the sail switch. We need to put a screen over the inside fresh air supply. We know our source of fine particles that clog...
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Old 06-08-2019, 08:07 AM   #11
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What a novel Idea. Why not make a filter for the air intake like in your home. Might work if does not restrict air flow too much. Lowe's sells register filters which may be pieced together to make a filter. Worth looking into.
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Old 06-08-2019, 08:27 AM   #12
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What a novel Idea. Why not make a filter for the air intake like in your home. Might work if does not restrict air flow too much. Lowe's sells register filters which may be pieced together to make a filter. Worth looking into.
Eddie
Several people have come up with different filter solutions.
This is the product that worked for us so far during a short 7 day test.
We travel with a constantly shedding long hair dog.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 06-08-2019, 08:39 AM   #13
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Several people have come up with different filter solutions.
This is the product that worked for us so far during a short 7 day test.
We travel with a constantly shedding long hair dog.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks for the filter info. I will give it a try.
Eddie
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Old 06-08-2019, 11:04 AM   #14
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Thanks for the filter info. I will give it a try.
Eddie
Do a search using ‘sail switch’ and you will come up with multiple filter ideas. Some of which you may prefer over mine.

Enjoy your travels

Ed
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Old 06-08-2019, 05:04 PM   #15
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I purchased an extra sail switch while at Chilliwack, I figure it would be great insurance as once I have it, I'll never need it.....!!
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Old 06-09-2019, 07:38 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by Upfisk View Post
We do not know what year or month the access panel was added for outside access to the sail switch. We met a late 2017 that did not have the panel, our Oct 2018 does have the panel. Maybe, someone can inform people when the change over occurred.
The first talk of these furnace access panels on the forum was May 2018. You can bet it was right around that time that ETI started adding them.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f7...oor-12971.html
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