Fiberglass cracking at frame

[peakay-ESC]

Our 17B will be a year in two weeks. We've taken 3 separate two week trips in that time; nothing off road. Took the storage box off yesterday to clean behind it and noticed these cracks and fiberglass pretty much peeling off at the frame. Have been in contact with another owner who had a similar issue over a year ago and ETI did pay to fix it since under warranty. Looking to see if others have seen this issue.
The way we see it it's likely also cracked between the trailer body and frame but is unseen. The other owner told us ETI wouldn't pay for the frame to be removed to get it fixed so he only had what was seen fixed and the repair shop wouldn't warranty it because they felt it wasn't a complete fix.
We're still under warranty so are confident ETI will pay for the fix (waiting for them to call back) but we're worried about it happening again if it's the same fix as the owner we talked with and even if it's a fix with removing the frame (is that even possible from just the outside?) what caused this and will it happen again....whether "partial" or "full" fix? Looking for any feedback from others who may have had this happen and what may have caused this? It's on both sides. And no it's not damage from road debris or driving fast over bad roads.

The shine of our Escape is diminishing as every time we get under it or look deeper there seems to be a problem. And we spent over an hour at Escape before pick up going over the trailer....the problems we found then they fixed. the 3 problems since weren't seen as they were hidden or in the case of this, happened since we started using it. Thanks for any feedback.

 

[h2owmn]

Oh, I am so sorry you are having to deal with this! It's disheartening to find this when you were so excited to receive your trailer.

I hope Escape will make good on this. Heartbreaking.

 

[Ron in BC]

In the first photo there appears to be a white layer of some material under the gelcoat. What is it?

My friend has a 2023 17B that's now seen a few forest service roads. I'll take a look at his next week and see if anything similar is happening.

Ron

 

[7Gentex]

Wonder if ETI "dropped" it on the frame during the initial mounting.........?

Appears there would have to be a lot of movement between the frame and body to get that kind of damage / spider cracks.

Looks like the body was let down on the frame nose first, and hard.............?

 

[BC_Camper]

Wonder if ETI "dropped" it on the frame during the initial mounting.........?

Appears there would have to be a lot of movement between the frame and body to get that kind of damage / spider cracks.

Looks like the body was let down on the frame nose first, and hard.............?

I agree with 7Gentex, it looks like the shell was dropped onto the frame when being mounted. Picture look like a fair amount of damage was caused. Escape needs to have this repaired properly or get you a new trailer. Really unfair to have to deal with these issues on a new trailer at their price.

 

[Centex]

I can certainly understand your distress, that does indeed look bad and much more than 'cosmetic', I won't even speculate about the cause.

Withholding further comment pending your report of ETI's response and follow-up, I can only hope a satisfactory permanent solution is found.

Good Luck!

 

[GinoandLinda]

Hope it gets resolved to your satisfaction. I can only imagine the frustration you are experiencing.

 

[Donna D.]

Oh gosh. It looks like the body to frame bolts are either loose or a bunch missing and the body is slamming up and down on the frame.

 

[7Gentex]

........ Took the storage box off yesterday to clean behind it

This part seems a bit..................something..........:whistling:

Speaking of which, those pics got me to go out and look at mine to make sure!

All OK , my E19 does have body to frame mounting points maybe 6" or so rearward from the front body edge. Appears it would take really loose mounting bolts, or a heck of a blow to do that kind of damage.......?


Good luck with repairs. Seems you would have to separate the frame and shell somewhat to repair the body.........

 

[Chamberman]

Wonder if ETI "dropped" it on the frame during the initial mounting.........?

Appears there would have to be a lot of movement between the frame and body to get that kind of damage / spider cracks.

Looks like the body was let down on the frame nose first, and hard.............?

Yup,

This is exactly what I was thinking when looking at the pictures.

 

[Dave Walter]

This definitely seems repairable. I am no fiberglass repair expert but it seems to me that you could not do more than a cosmetic repair to this damage without taking the body off of the frame. Even if I had to pay the extra myself, I would insist that the repair be done correctly.

 

[Escape Trailer]

Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. We will work with you to find a satisfactory solution to this problem. Thank you kindly. Warm Regards, Samuel @ Escape

 

[peakay-ESC]

Thank you Samuel. We haven't heard back from Jasmine who my husband talked with last week about the fiberglass issue. We are pretty disappointed at this time as we've had multiple quality issues in just a year's time that my husband has either fixed or we've had to contact Escape for a fix/parts. This issue though has really upset us considering the money we've spent on this (advertised!) quality trailer and it being only a year old with only 3 short term trips so far. We look forward to someone from Escape returning our call as we were told. Thanks. Kim

 

[Escape Trailer]

Thank you Samuel. We haven't heard back from Jasmine who my husband talked with last week about the fiberglass issue. We are pretty disappointed at this time as we've had multiple quality issues in just a year's time that my husband has either fixed or we've had to contact Escape for a fix/parts. This issue though has really upset us considering the money we've spent on this (advertised!) quality trailer and it being only a year old with only 3 short term trips so far. We look forward to someone from Escape returning our call as we were told. Thanks. Kim

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns. I sincerely apologize for the issues you've experienced.

I've just spoken with Jasmine and she assured me she'll be in contact with you today. Our Aftersales team will reach out to you shortly to work on fixing the fiberglass issue and any other concerns you may have.

Thank you for your patience and for choosing Escape. We're committed to ensuring your satisfaction and making this right.

 

[kathytony1985]

Good Luck

I sure hope they do take care of everything. We met you guys at Keystone Lake in Oklahoma and you shared your frustrations with us at that time. You should get a new trailer for all the issues you have had. Maybe they will do it as a goodwill gesture.

 

[Jim Bergie]

I have owned an Escape 17B (2008) since 2010 and have had zero problems and have been an “Ambassador for Escape since 2010 - showing our trailer (garage kept) to many prospective buyers. I would hope and expect that Escape that will make peakay “whole “ and do the right thing. A story that could be told that Escape “ made an over reaching effort” would be great advertising!

 

[bnorman53]

Oh that's not good. Hope ETI will get that fixed for you. I have a 17B with a cargo box also. I'll have a check to see if it has any thing going on. Good luck.

 

[gshadel795]

We had some fiberglass cracking in our roof and the trailer was just under a year old, so under warranty. Escape told us to find a place near us that fixes fiberglass. We did, gave Escape the bill and they prompty sent us a check to cover payment. Overall great customer service.

 

[MVA]

Management test

Managenent is tested when problems arise. Under ETI version 1, R & T stood behind the product when there were issues. It costs money in the short term, but breads brand loyalty and makes business sense in the long term.

With the new ETI president, it will be interesting what their decision will be in this circumstance. Clearly it appears that they have not done well in this situation. Individual staff can make mistakes; management needs to correct them. If this was my trailer, I would have no assurance that the integrity of the shell is sound. Hopefully this situation is not an indication of ETI going the way of Thor.

Please keep us informed on how this resolves.

 

[TheNiceFamily]

With the new ETI president, it will be interesting what their decision will be in this circumstance. Hopefully this situation is not an indication of ETI going the way of Thor.

Oh, my. I feel like perhaps some perspective about this quote might be in order. I 100% take your point about accountability on ETI's part. From what I can gather so far from this thread, they've done a good job at acknowledging the OP (despite a few challenges) and are doing their best to resolve. As others have said, the end result remains to be seen.

My "oh my" reaction comes from your comment about ETI going the way of Thor. Comparing a company that deals direct with the public and produces, I'm not sure but, maybe 500-750 trailers a year to a monolithic corporate entity producing 40,000 RVs a year is a bit(!) of a stretch.

I know I'm a bit of a fan girl and, it's somewhat unwarranted because I've yet to take delivery of our 17B but from everything I read from owners, including representatives of the ETI owners such as Samuel and Kosta and Linda +++, makes me ever so grateful to be dealing with the anti-Thor.