Current Management does not support the Escape Family

[stratos175]

This is something I wonder, if any of the people that have concerns about the Escape they have on order have read the forums of other manufacturers?
If not I suggest you do. One of two things will happen, you will feel better about your purchase or you will say dang I did not think it would be like this am I sure I want a trailer?
Now I personally would be OK if less people were buying trailers since making reservations has gotten so difficult. I envy those of you out west where there are way more opportunities and wide open spaces.
Excited, actually going camping this week at Desoto State Park. We don't get to use Grover as much as we would like.

Enjoy the road and stay safe.

Steve

 

[Ooshkaboo]

DATELINE ELKHART, IN. APRIL 1 2023

UmbrellaCorp LLC (NYSE: UBUM) Holdings, parent company of Forest Floor, manufacturers of BlisterWagon, JoyGo, StickLike, SoLamia, CalMiaCabins, Le Akron, SonoGoode, UltraTripe,
as well as countless other somewhat questionably badged travel trailer brands, announced today the acquisition of ETI Industries Inc. from KV Private Equity, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

At the announcement, UmbrellaCorp spokesperson Stanislaus Borgenspoon stated
"The Escape Trailer family is a fine addition to our grotesquely immense warehouse of brands" adding that "The quality inherent in our other products is sure to add a shine to the Escape name wherever one encounters it. "Speaking of encounters, due to the current 16-plus year backlog on deliveries with the newly acquired company, our shareholders are not currently "encountering" their accustomed and expected 12-15% Rate of Return on Investment, at least within the Escape portion (currently 0.08%) of our portfolio.

"Therefore we are announcing today the major expansion of production for the Escape brand. Two new(ish) assembly facilities are planned: one in the former Pineywoods Pressure Treated Wood Products Superfund Site in Del Boca Vista Florida, the other at the abandoned National Guard Armory and Firing Range in Sueños Muertos, Texas."
Mr Borgenspoon further stated "Both facilities are uniquely located: the Del Boca Vista site is equidistant between the local WalMart SuperDuperCenter and the Broward County office of Social Services, which should be a boon to our Team Members, should they ever find themselves in the position of needing either.
"The Sueños Muertos site is near to both an expansive, aged, and unusually well-oiled railyard and military hospital, "a unique combination of benefits if there ever was one.
"In addition, both sites are located adjacent to "flexible labor pools,” which Borgenspoon assured "would fix some of the "labor issues" that have plagued the "legacy plant" since the company transitioned from private ownership some 5 years ago.

In a somewhat testy question and answer period that followed the spokesperson's statements, when queried as to why Forest Floor Inc. didn't incorporate the manufacture of the Escape brand into its existing facilities in Elkhart, Mr. Borgenspoon appeared to mumble something incoherent into the microphone that some interpreted as "In the end I'm going to fire your ass" but others heard as "Indiana don't do fiberglass". He went on to state "As the manufacture of fiberglass trailers is new to our portfolio, the company feels it best that the "unprecedented opportunity of building something utterly unknown to us should be fully enmeshed within a workforce of trainee Team Members completely unfettered with "ideas'' or "experience", who will be learning on the job, in a multilingual setting, alongside the experts from our Elkhart Managerial Teams, from the ground up how to bring the Escape Trailer brand up to the standards of our unique industry".

Reporting from the near future at RVCon Elkhart, in the Axle Center for Mobile Adventure, J. Doe.

Mr. Stanislaus Borgenspoon represented UmbrellaCorp, an OccupyThis company.
Financial shenanigans and logistics for the ETI acquisition by UmbrellaCorp provided by:
Triad Bank of Bermuda, a subsidiary of BlackOps Financial Services.

You should write for the sequel to the movie -Idiocroy, it’s meant to be a comedy, but it’s spot on so far.

I’m sure corporations are building plants triple time in Texas, not just for the low taxes and less regulations but now with the potential for millions of low wage workers coming into Texas from the south…

Escape or anything else coming out of the new plants will not be dropping their prices, the increase profits will be passed onto the investors who have that special low tax rate for investment earnings set up for themselves.

 

[RangerMan]

Escape or anything else coming out of the new plants will not be dropping their prices, the increase profits will be passed onto the investors who have that special low tax rate for investment earnings set up for themselves.


Were I thinking of investing in a company I would only do so with the expectation of a return. That's what an investor does. If a new company moving to the area or a start-up, the area tax and labor environment would definitely enter into the decision to invest.

Without investors, very little would happen.

 

[gbaglo]

Remember the "Trillium" trailer that moved from Winnipeg to Georgia ( I think ) and promptly went bankrupt.

 

[Patandlinda]

Are you aware of Indeed.com? Saw the ad tonight on World Series so I checked:

https://ca.indeed.com/cmp/Escape-Trailer-Industries-Lp

Not great.

Thanks Ross very interesting ! Pat

 

[Telescopist]

I think that anyone buying a trailer, especially a stick built, should be handy enough to do some work on it themselves or know someone who can.

I wrote previously, "I would not recommend anyone buy an Escape who either: 1. Is not "reasonably handy" at fixing things when they break, and/or 2. does not have friends or professional services which are available to help when a problem crops up." So we are in agreement?

Escapes are a breeze compared to the maintenance of a stick built with all the problems that water intrusion can cause.

You may have missed several thread which have to do with the gray water tank issue complicated by the $1000 of spray foam insulation added to the underside of the trailer. Some of the repairs I've had to make haven't been a simply "breeze". That said, I wouldn't trade my molded fiberglass trailer for any stick built trailer out there.

This forum is very helpful also when it comes to repairs such as the issue with the loose connections on the Suburban stove, mine is now fixed and working 100% because I caught it soon enough thanks to this forum.

I agree.

 

[Civilguy]

https://ca.indeed.com/cmp/Escape-Trailer-Industries-Lp

It's interesting that eight very positive reviews were posted by office staff in December, 2020, with five of those being posted on the 16th. It could be interpreted that someone encouraged the office staff to post positive reviews. Many years ago I personally had an employer that asked us to post our presumably-positive job satisfaction online. So, make of that what you will.

 

[Civilguy]

In the final analysis, a travel trailer is not deemed an "essential" item, like a home or a vehicle; those items come with various consumer-protection provisions. While these provisions may not be perfect, they are an order of magnitude better than what comes with an RV. With a travel trailer, any warranty coverage received could be viewed as a bonus, not a prescriptive right.

From what I have read, Lippert apparently exercises a great deal of control by often requiring they supply all or most of the required components to RV manufacturers. It's also been said that after acquiring various companies who built decent products, Lippert value-engineers the products to where they are more prone to early failure. However, if true, none of this is in our control.

That said, Mobil RV techs who establish good reputations are like independent garages in generally being much better options than dealerships. And I certainly agree that being handy is always a big positive. I was always struck by a 2011 posting on RV.Net:

I have come to the conclusion that most of what is manufactured by this industry is, in effect a "kit"......kinda like, "some assembly required". The folks that seem to be the happiest are those who like to tinker and really have a lot of "pride in ownership". There is always something to be tweaked, adjusted, fixed or modified. Great fun if you like doing all that, maybe less so if you simply want something that is turn key 100% reliable. And it does not seem to matter which end of the price spectrum you are buying. Go hang out on the Air Forum ( Airstream ) and you will hear those owners talking about the same issues that is cussed and discussed over on the funfinder ( my choice ) forum.

In 2017 we had a great experience touring the Escape showroom and getting informed by Tina regarding the trailers and their many available options. We then received indifferent service from a different employee while preparing the build list for our 21.

The trailer itself has held up well and appears to have been delivered with generally only minor issues. In particular, it has always struck me that our wiring was well-executed, apparently unlike some other units. Our holding tank connections have held up, but I've generally never travelled with more than a quarter tank or so of fresh water, and we've never used the black tank. So, maybe that's helped on that front. Our dual-pane awning-style bath window has parted ways from the curved trailer body at the bottom, and it's currently sporting some duct tape while serving as a constant source of ventilation. But, I'll figure out some kind of fix one day.

Bottom line, I'd buy another Escape if I wanted a molded-fiberglass travel trailer, and that's probably the only kind I'd want to own. There appear to be some attractive new options which were not available in 2017, and from what I see at a glance the pricing changes since 2017 have actually not been extraordinary. As far as becoming part of a family, I've already got one, thank you.

 

[Chamberman]

It's interesting that eight very positive reviews were posted by office staff in December, 2020, with five of those being posted on the 16th. It could be interpreted that someone encouraged the office staff to post positive reviews. Many years ago I personally had an employer that asked us to post our presumably-positive job satisfaction online. So, make of that what you will.

I experienced this same tactic many years ago. Not to imply that is what happened at ETI. I was working for National Semiconductor around 2006, in one of their semiconductor production fabs. Nat'l Semi was having a lot of morale problems across all of their production sites (worldwide). They hired an outside company to come in and perform anonymous polling & questionnaires to determine where the problems were at. However before we went to the meetings with the private external company we were all privately sent in to speak with the heads of our manufacturing site and we were essentially warned that the very future of the site we worked at could be in jeopardy if the outcome of the poll for our site was seen as too negative by the company heads.

The questionnaires were supposed to be anonymous but when you went to the computer in order to access the questionnaire you had to put which shift you worked on and what specific mfg group you were in. I worked in equipment engineering services and on that shift there were only two of us in that specific mfg group. So needless to say not a lot of anonymity there...

Not too long afterwards someone hung a poster in our cubicle area that said "The beatings will continue until morale improves!"

 

[Iowa Dave]

Regarding the beatings poster. I worked where there was a poster on both sides of a glass in the door in and out of a locker room one side going in showed workers dragging themselves out of the work area and it said “if you don’t believe in reincarnation” and the other poster coming out of the locker room showed workers running toward the door and it said “should be around this place at quitting time.”

One night the greatest Little Rock and roll band from Texas was in town. The night superintendent and the foremen were setting in the lunchroom at dinner time. The superintendent asked when we would be done that night. Both foremen estimated something a little later than the superintendent expected. “Why are you running slow tonight he asked?” One foreman allowed that they had let a few too many people off that night. “For what?” “That concert downtown”. “Who’s playing?” That rock and roll band “Easy Top” was the answer.
Good foremen but a little out of touch with the mainstream.
Iowa Dave

 

[yangstyle]

I wrote previously, "I would not recommend anyone buy an Escape who either: 1. Is not "reasonably handy" at fixing things when they break, and/or 2. does not have friends or professional services which are available to help when a problem crops up." So we are in agreement?



You may have missed several thread which have to do with the gray water tank issue complicated by the $1000 of spray foam insulation added to the underside of the trailer. Some of the repairs I've had to make haven't been a simply "breeze". That said, I wouldn't trade my molded fiberglass trailer for any stick built trailer out there.



I agree.

For some reason I was not able to respond in the normal way to this post so I put both responses here instead of after each quote.

I would say we are in agreement, handy friends are always good to have.

When I said, "Escapes are a breeze compared to the maintenance of a stick built with all the problems that water intrusion can cause" I was generalizing of course and when you generalize you are sure to miss some situations. I don't think there are too many problems with escape in general but of course for the people who have that problem it is a big deal.

 

[Telescopist]

For some reason I was not able to respond in the normal way to this post so I put both responses here instead of after each quote.

I would say we are in agreement, handy friends are always good to have.

When I said, "Escapes are a breeze compared to the maintenance of a stick built with all the problems that water intrusion can cause" I was generalizing of course and when you generalize you are sure to miss some situations. I don't think there are too many problems with escape in general but of course for the people who have that problem it is a big deal.

The actual intent of a message is sometimes difficult to convey via this medium.

As much as I have groused about the way Escape has (or hasn't) dealt with warranty issues, I have gotten a certain amount of pleasure in solving the problems on my own.

 

[cpaharley2008]

Sometimes tackling and solving issues on your own will bring great satisfaction......

 

[Mike G]

Sometimes tackling and solving issues on your own will bring great satisfaction......

Although, sometimes not. Such as, when I try to overcome my personal shortcomings (progress is so very slow!). Tackling trailer issues would be way, way easier!

 

[Gumpdad714]

That is absurd. There should be some type of consumer protection laws that a warranty needs to be honored with reasonable provisions. If no one will do the warranty work because they won’t be fairly paid it isn’t much of a warranty.

You're right. Wish I had known all of this before we purchased our very expensive Escape 5.0. So many issues and problems, and Escape has been completely unresponsive. It's a very pretty, very expensive headache. Silly me, thought with all the Escape family bs, they'd actually stand by their product. I'll never deal with them again, and will tell everyone to stay away from Escape.

 

[Rockhead]

You're right. Wish I had known all of this before we purchased our very expensive Escape 5.0. So many issues and problems, and Escape has been completely unresponsive. It's a very pretty, very expensive headache. Silly me, thought with all the Escape family bs, they'd actually stand by their product. I'll never deal with them again, and will tell everyone to stay away from Escape.

What issues are you have that ETI is not responding to

 

[Gumpdad714]

What issues are you have that ETI is not responding to

2 extensive water leaks, broken refrigerator door, defective awning, defective entry door. They're completely ignoring these issues still supposedly covered by a 2 year warranty that's useless. Just bought my trailer in Sept. 2023. I'd advise anyone who asks never to deal with this company - they just ignore my correspondence.

 

[brroberts]

My fridge doesn’t come open, but, as you know, I made a safety. As to the fridge, have you contacted the manufacturer since they warranty their fridge, not Escape? Same for the window. Seems a mobile RV tech quote on the door and water leaks for ETI’s parts and service would be in line. Also, the door, like the windows is typically Lippert. ETI no longer manufactures their own door. If the tech determines its installation, that could be forwarded to ETI parts and service. If it’s an actual door, then contact Lippert or whomever your manufacturer is.

Generally, when I respond to service positively, I get positive responses. For my Lippert window issues that has not been the case, but for my Max Air fan and any questions to ETI it holds true.

I’ve had both lower and higher quality RV’s than Escape, but Escape has been built as well as the best of them. My knowledge tells me all RV’s have cut corners, and you will have issues. The better ones just have fewer issues. Even expensive RV’s mostly use the same parts as cheap RV’s.

 

[stratos175]

Sorry you are having these issues and from what I have read from others not responding does not seem to be the norm with Escape. Have you tried calling and asking for Samuel or a manager in charge and don't take no for an answer? I would do this and have all of your documentation ready of the times you have reached out to them with no response. Hopefully you get your issue resolved.

 

[Ooshkaboo]

2 extensive water leaks, broken refrigerator door, defective awning, defective entry door. They're completely ignoring these issues still supposedly covered by a 2 year warranty that's useless. Just bought my trailer in Sept. 2023. I'd advise anyone who asks never to deal with this company - they just ignore my correspondence.

I had a wiring issue I was able to resolve on my own, which may have been due to the covid workforce issues. Either way I’m thankful I’m able to make small repairs and modifications myself.
I believe your fridge door wouldn’t stay closed, possibly a latch adjustment fix? I installed a latch at the bottom of mine so it’s secured during travel.
I found it took a little while for me to smooth things out to my liking, same as it would if I moved into a new home.
I had a major issue with my linoleum floor needing replaced, they were the easy part-finding someone to do the work was the hardest part.
I did also have several other minor issues and they worked with me to my satisfaction.

I would call and ask for Jasmine, ask her to send you an email while you’re on the phone with her then check and see if her response is going into your spam box.

If that doesn’t work for you I would sell it, you should be able to recoup most of you money. We all have quite enough to be pissed about nowadays, I sure wouldn’t want to look out at my camper and get angry.
I do hope Jasmine can help you on this so you can get the pleasure most are having with their trailers.