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Old 09-02-2015, 07:01 PM   #1
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Strong "New" smell/odour

I posed the following question to ETI:

"Is there a distinct strong “new” smell in the trailer after it is manufactured, perhaps from glue to hold down the flooring, or from the foam type insulation on the walls of the trailer? My wife finds that there is a strong smell when the trailer is closed for a period of time."

Rae Warren of ETI parts and service responded:

"There sometimes is a strong odor in the new Escapes caused by the glue that we use for the headliner. This will go away in time."

Our Escape was completed in April 2015 but not picked up by the former owner until June 20 2015. I assume that it sat closed from April to June. Former owners used it (returning from Chilliwack) and on one other excursion, a total of three to four weeks. It sat closed from then to August 24 when we took possession.

My question: Have other Escapees experienced a strong "new " smell for some period of time? As this is the case in our Escape (as it is only 2.5 months "old") how long before the "new"
dissipates? I know some scents/smells bother some people more than others.

Fred Alexander
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Old 09-02-2015, 07:18 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fbalexander View Post
[SIZE=5]I posed the following question to ETI:
[COLOR=navy][FONT=&quot]
I know some scents/smells bother some people more than others.

Fred Alexander
That's the bottom line and those that notice such things seem to really notice them. We spent 6 weeks of the first 8 weeks of ownership in ours. Did we notice any odours at first? Probably, but it was new and we expected that it'd have a new smell. And believe me, after looking at some used units the new smell was welcome. When did it stop smelling new? Haven't the faintest idea. Just not high on our radar.

I'm sure there'll be responses that cover the range and, as always on this sort of question it'll be interesting to see the variety of opinions people have.

Ron
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Old 09-02-2015, 07:36 PM   #3
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I had to laugh and agree with Ron. I was in a used trailer that was closed up for a period of time and the smell, should I say stench, would have dropped a horse. I have seen some comments on this forum about the fiber glass " bleeding off" and I know some are very sensitive to this type of thing but I am sure it will disappear with time. Loren
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Old 09-02-2015, 08:05 PM   #4
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Open all the doors/windows, let it sit in the sun with the ceiling fan on full blast and it'll be fine in a week.
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Old 09-02-2015, 08:11 PM   #5
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My 19 was built in Dec 2014, picked up March 2015, and still had a very strong "solvent" odor in May when we started using it. A couple month of use and it has no odor, any more. As best I can tell, the smell doesn't dissipate if it is closed up and/or cold.
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Old 09-02-2015, 08:29 PM   #6
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My 19 was built in Dec 2014, picked up March 2015, and still had a very strong "solvent" odor in May when we started using it. A couple month of use and it has no odor, any more. As best I can tell, the smell doesn't dissipate if it is closed up and/or cold.
Ours was built in February and picked up 3 months later. The smell still knocks me for a loop 6 months later - but I do have a nose for solvents. I keep the 2 fan vents open while it is in (outside) storage, but I'm projecting next year until I can breath deeply...



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Old 09-02-2015, 08:38 PM   #7
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Mine's at the 1 year mark, I don't smell anything, but then I never did. Maybe I just painted too many cars.
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Old 09-02-2015, 08:41 PM   #8
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Old 09-02-2015, 08:49 PM   #9
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Ours had that new Escape smell for at least the first year, and was strongest after the trailer had been closed up for awhile.
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Old 09-02-2015, 09:20 PM   #10
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I'm wondering if that is what people call "off gassing." My adult children are very environmentally aware and sensitive to issues in new houses. They were concerned about the fumes from glue, rubber and so forth. I did some easing and apparently you can almost burn it out by running the furnace and getting the trailer really hot. I'm wondering if anyone has done that in a new fiberglass trailer.
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Old 09-02-2015, 09:54 PM   #11
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I'm wondering if that is what people call "off gassing." My adult children are very environmentally aware and sensitive to issues in new houses. They were concerned about the fumes from glue, rubber and so forth. I did some easing and apparently you can almost burn it out by running the furnace and getting the trailer really hot. I'm wondering if anyone has done that in a new fiberglass trailer.
I think that it is off gassing from the fresh fiberglass. One of the things we noticed was the same strong smell in the Escape factory. Would be difficult for someone with sensitivities to spend too much time in the factory.
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Old 09-02-2015, 10:16 PM   #12
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It took several months for the fiberglass smell to go away in our 15. We rediscovered it when we started using the air conditioner. Even if you don't use the cooling, turn the fan on in the air conditioner as a lot of smells are trapped in that area as well. After delivery, it sat in the driveway and I opened all of the windows and turned on the air conditioning fan to circulate the air in that area as well. If you have people who are sensitive, you also might want to wipe down the valleys in the window frames, as I found they had trapped a lot of fiberglass dust from cutting the holes in the shell. The stuff tends to be sticky, so a 50/50 iso alc to water helps to get the dust up. I also found it under the drawers and you might remove the grill on the heater and wipe down in that area as well. Just some things we did…
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Old 09-03-2015, 12:21 AM   #13
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Mine had the “new smell” when I got it but I didn't notice it when I made my first trip a couple weeks later. Perhaps the odor dissipated because while parked on its pad the Maxx fan was on auto all the time and the bath vent was open. Heck, I still do that between trips and no odors get trapped.
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Old 09-03-2015, 07:29 AM   #14
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Hi: All... WoW... I thought every one liked "That new car smell". In the business we used to wish that some one could bottle it so we could "Eliminate odours" from some used vehicles. Then they invented Fabreez.
If the offending odour, or out gassing smell is quite strong leave a couple of glass pie plates of white vinegar on the counters while the trailer is closed up. This might need to be repeated a few times!!!
All I really know is I payed a lot of money for that smell... and enjoy it every time I use our 5.0TA. Just yesterday though, I had to stop while walking in the woods to drink in the smell of nature. Cedars, white pines, and moss covered rocks sure beat "That new car smell". Not all smells in nature are pleasant either!!! Alf
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Old 09-03-2015, 08:40 AM   #15
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Open all the doors/windows, let it sit in the sun with the ceiling fan on full blast and it'll be fine in a week.
Doing something like this will dissipate the odours the fastest, for sure. It does take some time though, as some of the odours are partially encapsulated, and need to be forced to bleed out of their 'hiding' spots.

The fact it has been mostly closed up tight since it was built, definitely will keep the 'new' smell around, and those with sensitivities to the odours will notice it more.

For me, I was not bothered by the new smell, and it seemed to have dissapeared in short order. Mind you, after we got ours, it got was used a lot in the first couple months, and got well ventilated.
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Old 09-03-2015, 09:12 AM   #16
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I stand corrected. Just went out to the trailer, after 1 year it still has the new car smell to it. It does sit fairly closed up when not in use.
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Old 09-03-2015, 09:31 AM   #17
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I stand corrected. Just went out to the trailer, after 1 year it still has the new car smell to it. It does sit fairly closed up when not in use.
Yes, same here. We are both very sensitive to odors but the Escape smell doesn't bother us. The odor disappears very fast once we are on a camping trip and open it up
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Old 09-03-2015, 11:03 AM   #18
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Our May 2015 Escape 21 still has the smell of fiberglass off gassing when closed up tight for a while. Turning on the Max fan or leaving a couple of windows open takes care of the smell. The only time it has bothered us was boon docking in cold, wet weather where we were trying to conserve battery power and turned the furnace and Max fan off at night. I wish we had gotten a tilt out window in the kitchen for times when it is too windy to have the awning out (most of the time where we fish). I expect the off gassing to lessen as the fiberglass ages (? A year?)
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Old 09-03-2015, 11:54 AM   #19
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We picked up our 19' in May of this year and we still are experiencing a very strong glue/vinyl/PVC/off gas/ who-knows-what-it-is smell.


We have aired our unit out almost continuously since May but if it sits for even a short period closed up, the odour returns. Hopefully it takes less than a year to clear out.
ETI may want to review the products they are using as it could be the level of VOC's in the glues and so forth, is on the higher side.
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Old 09-03-2015, 02:14 PM   #20
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We had our EggCamper for four years and it still had the fiberglass smell when it was closed up for a while. Like with our Escape, it wasn't a problem even for my odor sensitive wife, and soon left once we opened it up on a camping trip.
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