Escape Quality

Cheers to good health!

drinking-red-wine.gif

Some people will drink to anything!
That being said, I am with you Jim; I'm one of them.

I'm just wondering why a discussion of ETI quality. All RVs require maintenance, some brands more than others. Having divested myself of a Scamp 19 to purchase a 5.0TA, I can honestly state that the 5.0TA is everything the Scamp 19 could never hope to be. Does that mean my Escape has had no problems? No, I've had a door hinge self destruct and this past weekend, when attempting to unlock the door, the key suddenly stopped turning halfway between the locked and unlocked position. I had to replace the lock set which was essentially 4 month old. Is that Reace's fault? I don't think so, I put that squarely on Bauer, the manufacturer. But the Fantastic Fans in my Scamp started to leak before the trailer was 18 months old. After pulling the first out and finding NO butyl tape, I called them and asked why the fan would be leaking. Scamp told me that it shouldn't be leaking because they put butyl tape under every fan. Oh really? They must have missed both of mine. I hate being lied to. And after dealing with several other problems, I came to the conclusion that Scamp is an acronym for Shoddily Constructed And Maintenance Plagued (sorry Donna, please don't jump all over me, my opinion entirely. Or I could mention the two Aliners, the first of which leaked around the door and ruined the floor, or the second which leaked every time it rained resulting in soggy bed cushions. But anyone complaining about the quality of their Escape should sell it and buy another brand. They will then truly understand how good ETIs quality control and customer service really is.
 
I had a casita trailer which I really enjoyed. As a divorced dad taking my daughter across the country we shared a lot of great memories but the trailer had it flaws. The refrig never worked could never get anyone to help at Casita so I just carried an ice chest. Sad, when you pay that kind of money that things don't work but I believe it does not matter if its 10k trailer or a 2 million trailer it will have its issues At this point in life, as long as it does not leak, and maintans its value that's all I care about. My daughter is now long moved on with her life, and I time to move on I decided to buy an escape next year, I clearly understand there will be a lot of issues but I am buying the trailer because of the members here I hope to see you on the road next yr
 
I've had a few problems and managed to fix them.

When my refrigerator wouldn't turn on, Tammy answered the phone on a Sat morning, sent someone out to take a picture of the refrigerator terminal block, and I was able to repair a wire that had shaken loose.

I'm guessing Airstream doesn't work like that.
 
LarryandLiz: Felt as though you were writing directly about me: No RV experience whatsoever, no fiberglass knowledge, VERY few DIY mod/maintenance skills (oil change in car about the most every done!) and live far from ETI Chilliwack.

I want to learn and do all the maintenance required to keep my Escape in great shape.

Will all the maintenance requirements be clearly provided (in a handbook of sorts) when I pick up in a couple of weeks?

Thanks

HI Ellen,

For what it's worth, I too had no (zero, nada, zilch) experience with RV's of any kind when I decided to purchase our Escape two and a half years ago. I am a fairly handy person with tools which does give me a comfort level that you may not have yet, but you'll learn quickly how to deal with your issues. The primary driver for me to go through with my purchase was this Forum. The folks here have helped me learn almost everything I now know about our 19' and its systems. Some things I feel comfortable dealing with; some others require a professional's expertise. Maintenance is pretty easy and straight forward; you shouldn't have any problems there. And if you ever run into something you can't handle yourself, the good folks here will help you make sure that you are an educated customer before you go to a service center. I don't know of any other product has that resource standing behind it.
 
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I just want to make sure Donna knows that the above disparaging remarks about Scamp trailers we're NOT made by me. (This time [emoji12]). I'm already too deep on her sh&t list.
 
10 years with trailers, 8 with sticky and 2 with the 5.0TA. I would agree with Zardoz's original post. Not perfect but the best bang for the bucks I've seen.
 
It's worth a lot!
Thanks Rich and Mary!

I was just telling a friend today how I would have made some big errors on my Build Sheet without the input of this Forum.
It's comforting to know that everyone is here and so willing to help. That said, I do want to learn all I can on my own so as to not be asking at every turn.

Great to know the maintenance is pretty easy and straight forward. And great to know I can post here before going to a service center with a major problem.

Thank you!


HI Ellen,

For what it's worth, I too had no (zero, nada, zilch) experience with RV's of any kind when I decided to purchase our Escape two and a half years ago. I am a fairly handy person with tools which does give me a comfort level that you may not have yet, but you'll learn quickly how to deal with your issues. The primary driver for me to go through with my purchase was this Forum. The folks here have helped me learn almost everything I now know about our 19' and its systems. Some things I feel comfortable dealing with; some others require a professional's expertise. Maintenance is pretty easy and straight forward; you shouldn't have any problems there. And if you ever run into something you can't handle yourself, the good folks here will help you make sure that you are an educated customer before you go to a service center. I don't know of any other product has that resource standing behind it.
 
That was discussed some time ago and a member who builds cabinets etc. pointed out that the veneer used helps prevent moisture from deforming panels ( from memory - it was a long time ago ). Better material for RV application and a whole lot cheaper to buy and maintain.

It may be water resistant, but it's not a wood veneer. It's paper on plywood.

Regards,

Matt
 

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Plasticized paper on luan I think. If it was a veneer, it would absorb moisture, dirt and stains.

Lauan plywood.

But the Escape cabinet and drawer faces are all true oak veneer surrounded by real oak trim, and these are the most handled areas in the trailer. Mine are holding up well: no dirt or stains, polyurethane protects wood very well against incidental moisture. How do yours look? Btw, My boat has lots of wood veneers and the moisture there isn't just incidental.

My point isn't that the paper faced veneer material isn't suitable for the intended use. I'm saying I know wood, and being surrounded by a lot of it, I can tell the difference between the drawer and cupboards (real) and the printed pattern on the bulkheads and moulding from six feet away.

I guess I need a wider trailer ;)

Regards,

Matt
 
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I know it is paper-faced and I am still trying to figure out how someone had VHB tape on it and a whole bunch of heavy items hung up and the paper never came down.
 
You obviously know more than I do about wood and can spell lauan.
I damaged a panel by removing a 3M Command hook without reading the instructions for doing so. Ended up putting the hook back in the same place.
 
Plasticized paper on luan I think. If it was a veneer, it would absorb moisture, dirt and stains.

When I lifted the dinette cushions and bed mattress I found unsealed plywood and framework. When there is condensation on the vinyl it runs onto the unprotected wood.

It will absorb moisture, dirt and stains ..... and also breed mold and mildew. Is this considered 'best' build quality?
 
There is certainly no reason why one can not seal or coat any area it is felt protection is needed, if my condensation was bad enough to start mold, I'd want to find the source. As far as veneer vs real wood, I'd say weight would prohibit such. I'm sure a wood maker would want better materials but he is not a trailer manufacturer who must keep things as light as possible. There are far too many threads around where owners want to not have to tow with a diesel truck. Looking at the Airstream custom wood interiors, beautiful but heavy. It is a compromise one makes.
 
As my bride and I have not yet taken delivery of our Escape 5.0TA (pick up date 11/23/15) I can not comment on the quality control of the Escape products however I have previously had two other fiberglass trailers and two stick built trails. The fiberglass trailers (Bigfoot and Casita) were far superior to the two stick built in structural integrity but all had some quality control issues discovered after delivery. I found Casita very responsive to the minor issues I encountered, Bigfoot not at all responsive as they and our dealer went bankrupt about ninety days after we purchased the trailer.
I received an email from Escape Friday stating that they were implementing a "Customer Management Program" and would be unable to respond to emails, access customer files etc. until after Oct. 2 when the new system had been implemented. It appears from that email that ETI management is addressing customer issues including communication and possible quality concerns. The ETI email was for me a positive assurance that ETI is working towards becoming more responsive to customer inquires and concerns. This is a refreshing change from the lack of communication I (we) have received from Volkswagen regarding our new TDI Jetta and it's not so clean burn diesel engine.
 
Zardoz
Was ETI able to resolve the 4.3 refer insufficient cooling problem ?
"my refrigerator did not meet my performance expectations, and I like many others am subject to the current frame recall. However, each time I raised these issues with ETI, they provided the parts and/or resources necessary to resolve all of my issues."
 
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The trailers are better than stick builts for sure, thats wwhy we all purchased them. But if you dont speak up about deficiencies then escape can make no improvements. We did not like the construction sawdust in cupboards, room for improvement. Still acgreat trailer.
ken
 

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