Suburban SDS2 Cooktop - Tighten Nuts/Replace Pipe - LP Leak

[Sean Murry]

Originally Posted by Bakes99

I ordered the Dickinson from Steveston marine approximately two fridays ago and they said it wouldn’t be available until possibly January. I guess their online store is separate from their actual store front. Just for anyone interested in ordering. I ended up canceling.

Very strange. I ordered mine online while on a ferry between Horseshoe Bay and Long Harbour, so not far from Victoria where you reside. That was a week ago last Wednesday. They emailed next day and said it was ready for pickup, which is what I selected when I ordered it.
I wonder if you cancelled your order, then they got a delivery from Dickenson that they weren't expecting??

[Bakes99]

Originally Posted by Sean Murry

Very strange. I ordered mine online while on a ferry between Horseshoe Bay and Long Harbour, so not far from Victoria where you reside. That was a week ago last Wednesday. They emailed next day and said it was ready for pickup, which is what I selected when I ordered it.
I wonder if you cancelled your order, then they got a delivery from Dickenson that they weren't expecting??

That is strange, I was quite disappointed when they mentioned late January. I canceled but kind of regret it now.. I’m not going to use the current one and not sure I should use propane at all, until it’s replaced. I had really hope Escape was going to step up. Probably unrealistic expectations.

Maybe that was the difference. I was not picking up at the store, but having it delivered.

[kavm]

Deleted.

[Sean Murry]

Originally Posted by Bakes99

That is strange, I was quite disappointed when they mentioned late January. I canceled but kind of regret it now.. I’m not going to use the current one and not sure I should use propane at all, until it’s replaced. I had really hope Escape was going to step up. Probably unrealistic expectations.

Maybe that was the difference. I was not picking up at the store, but having it delivered.

I would hope that in store pick up vs delivery would not be the difference with On Line ordering from Steveston Marine. I have used Steveston Marine for a few purchases and have been very happy with their service.

Anyway for me I think propane for a stove is still a good option. I think convection is not a good option in most situations unless you are always using on shore power. The trailers still have propane furnaces and
hot water tanks. Virtually all RV's use propane safely. In this particular case I think it is really one stove, and one issue with the stove...the loose nuts. Something that we all should have been alerted to.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Bakes99

That is strange, I was quite disappointed when they mentioned late January. I canceled but kind of regret it now.. I’m not going to use the current one and not sure I should use propane at all, until it’s replaced. I had really hope Escape was going to step up. Probably unrealistic expectations.

Maybe that was the difference. I was not picking up at the store, but having it delivered.

Strange, that the online order is filled, but not strange for the delivery date quote of your order.

A friend ordered one several months ago and was quoted about a 3 month wait, possibly June. Then July and lastly August. At that point he gave up and cancelled the order.

I like the stove, especially the flush counter top. We previously had a water mishap and water got down the burners so I undid the burner connections and blew the water out. The connections were tight then and I just re-checked them and they're secure.

Unlike some folks we use the stove for all our cooking. We've had propane in our boats since it first became common in the late 70's. So for the foreseeable future we'll keep using the stove.

Ron

[Sean Murry]

The strange part is that Bakes99 ordered from Steveston Marine and was given a lengthy delivery date. I ordered Online from Steveston Marine less than 2 weeks ago and got it in two days

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Sean Murry

The strange part is that Bakes99 ordered from Steveston Marine and was given a lengthy delivery date. I ordered Online from Steveston Marine less than 2 weeks ago and got it in two days

My friend also ordered from Steveston Marine. He will not be amused to hear that someone ordering online got it in 2 days.

Ron

[LarryLSB]

Originally Posted by Bakes99

That is strange, I was quite disappointed when they mentioned late January. I canceled but kind of regret it now.. I’m not going to use the current one and not sure I should use propane at all, until it’s replaced. I had really hope Escape was going to step up. Probably unrealistic expectations.

Maybe that was the difference. I was not picking up at the store, but having it delivered.

My understanding is that the Suburban problem only occurs when the burners are in use. I went thru mine and feel confident that is the case. The small tubes that are coming lose or cracking under stress are only charged when the valves are on. Still plan on replacing though!

Larry

[AnJ]

Sharing our experience in case it is of use to others…
We contacted Escape about having a cap placed on our propane lines to our Suburban cooktop so that we were able to use the other appliances that use propane without concern over it leaking. Personally, we are shocked that this is not a recall, but perhaps it will become one. Until we come up with a solution or decide to replace our stovetop, we will just cook outside.
We didn’t hear back from Escape within a week, so stopped in there when we were in Chilliwack. They capped the line to the stove for us and suggested that Escape has a $200 Dometic option that we could purchase and install it ourselves, or have them do it for approx. $500.

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by AnJ

Sharing our experience in case it is of use to others…
We contacted Escape about having a cap placed on our propane lines to our Suburban cooktop so that we were able to use the other appliances that use propane without concern over it leaking. Personally, we are shocked that this is not a recall, but perhaps it will become one. Until we come up with a solution or decide to replace our stovetop, we will just cook outside.
We didn’t hear back from Escape within a week, so stopped in there when we were in Chilliwack. They capped the line to the stove for us and suggested that Escape has a $200 Dometic option that we could purchase and install it ourselves, or have them do it for approx. $500.

Interesting, since they made no such suggestion to me, simply refused to do it under warranty. A friend capped mine off after determining it was not safe to use, and a week has gone by since requesting dealer help from Suburban and no response at all there. There is no real point pursuing it since I won't use the stove or a replacement unless Suburban addresses the problem, which is that the flanges create a weak point in the gas plumbing.

I will probably eventually install a stovetop at my own expense but waiting for a recall, first. According to Escape the incidents have been "isolated" and Suburban will inspect and replace if necessary. Since the SDS2 is unsafe whether replaced or not, this is an unacceptable "solution" imho.

[rbryan4]

I see the whole exploding cooktop issue as years and years of goodwill that was built up between Escape and their customers now being blown up along with the cooktop. They should just recall them all and then deal with Suburban. The safety of their customers is paramount - or at least it should be.

[AnJ]

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

Interesting, since they made no such suggestion to me, simply refused to do it under warranty. A friend capped mine off after determining it was not safe to use, and a week has gone by since requesting dealer help from Suburban and no response at all there. There is no real point pursuing it since I won't use the stove or a replacement unless Suburban addresses the problem, which is that the flanges create a weak point in the gas plumbing.

I will probably eventually install a stovetop at my own expense but waiting for a recall, first. According to Escape the incidents have been "isolated" and Suburban will inspect and replace if necessary. Since the SDS2 is unsafe whether replaced or not, this is an unacceptable "solution" imho.

It was implied that Escape is moving more of its resources to production, and away from after production modifications, i.e., the person that capped it was the same one that would also install the new cook top. We did not have an appointment and our trailer is no longer under warranty, but they did not charge us for it, which we appreciated.

We too contacted Suburban without a response.

We are also hoping that they turn it into a recall. We have dogs and young kids underfoot and this sort of thing could potentially cause a fatality. I feel terrible for the people who have had incidents occur.

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

I see the whole exploding cooktop issue as years and years of goodwill that was built up between Escape and their customers now being blown up along with the cooktop. They should just recall them all and then deal with Suburban. The safety of their customers is paramount - or at least it should be.

They claim it is "isolated incidents" but those who have inspected their cooktops have found problems about 50% of the time (a guess, but I've seen only a few reports of no problems and I am not sure all of those took it apart far enough to know.)

At the very least they should send out a "don't use until Suburban's repair people inspect it" without admitting any fault of their own.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

According to Escape the incidents have been "isolated" and Suburban will inspect and replace if necessary. Since the SDS2 is unsafe whether replaced or not, this is an unacceptable "solution" imho.

Inspect and replace? This is insidious because explosions happen before owners even realize there is a problem. The staff at Escape clearly don’t camp in their own trailers. The fact that they are minimizing these events and are ok with even one explosion in their trailers is frightening. The Suburban SDS2 was in use for about 4-1/2 years. Based on the mode of failure and the number in use it stands to reason that more incidents will occur. That next pothole might be all it takes. Really hoping no one else gets hurt. I don’t know how someone like Karl can sleep at night knowing that there is even a slight chance someone else might get hurt inside one of their trailers. Putting their head in the sand is not a solution. Escape and Suburban know there is an issue and they are exposing themselves to significant liability.

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

They claim it is "isolated incidents" but those who have inspected their cooktops have found problems about 50% of the time (a guess, but I've seen only a few reports of no problems and I am not sure all of those took it apart far enough to know.)

At the very least they should send out a "don't use until Suburban's repair people inspect it" without admitting any fault of their own.

With Escape v.2 most everything appears to be an "isolated incident" or "the first time this issue has been brought to our attention", or "You didn't winterize your trailer properly".

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by Telescopist

With Escape v.2 most everything appears to be an "isolated incident" or "the first time this issue has been brought to our attention", or "You didn't winterize your trailer properly".

Considering I found mine because I checked- I wonder how many are actually safe for the moment? And I might not have checked if the heat shield hadn't fallen off and interfered with the drawer.

[LarryLSB]

Originally Posted by Bobbie54

Considering I found mine because I checked- I wonder how many are actually safe for the moment? And I might not have checked if the heat shield hadn't fallen off and interfered with the drawer.

and unless you check the FB group or the Forum, you might not even realize that there have been issues. At the very least, Escape should have notified by snail mail, every owner that has a trailer of theirs with this cooktop installed. Very simple stuff, I'm truly amazed that it didn't take place. I just ordered a single burner Martin stove to use with the outside QC, and a propane sniffer to cover me until I can decide what to replace it with, or until there is a recall.

Larry

[rubicon327]

Just trying to close the loop on some of these cooktop threads for anyone doing future searches. Below are links to the Suburban SDS2 cooktop recall information on the Escape website, as well as, a video discussing the recall. Another thank you to those that reported this issue to the appropriate agencies. It's the reason a recall was initiated and hopefully it has prevented anyone else from being injured.

**June 14, 2022
We would like to formally notify USA Escape customers that Suburban has registered a NHTSA Recall #22E-035 for the SDS2 2 Burner Drop-in Cooktop.
In accordance with the United States NHTSA requirements Escape Trailer Industries has also logged a NHTSA Vehicle Recall #22V-388
In accordance with Transport Canada requirements Escape has logged a vehicle recall 2022-281 (Canada does not have a separate equipment recall requirement)**
https://escapetrailer.com/recalls/
https://escapetrailer-5474298.hs-sit...ooktop-1?ecid=
https://escapetrailer-5474298.hs-sit...rop-in-cooktop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WGsk0iJ1LQ

[Bobbie54]

Maybe the first post could be edited to reflect the recall.