Quesions/Issues with a brand new escape 19 foot trailer

[wcardoen]

We bought a brand new Escape trailer (Escape 19) a few weeks ago and are experiencing the following major issues:
a.On our first trip our furnace (type Dometic) broke down. Instead of producing hot air only cold air was released.
We brought it to a local mechanic (to be fair: the bill was paid by Escape - warranty) but on a new trip (2nd night) we have the same issue.
The local mechanic's comment was that the Dometic furnace is of poor design.
I have seen similar comments w.r.t the Dometic furnace before. What did other people do wrt Dometic furnace. I am just thinking of ditching it all together.

b.My camper is my office. I use Starlink for my work. My Starlink relies on the 120V outlet of my camper.
When the solar panels start charging the batteries, the power on the 120V outlets turn on and off and the
lights come on automatically (without asking for a disco)! So, in a period of 2h my power from the outlets was on and off at least 5 times. Work becomes impossible (because of the unreliability of the power). Any suggestions.

Let me be polite: I am extremely frustrated with this brand new Escape camper.
Note:
1. before we had a 17 feet Escape trailer. We were happy with it (that's why we bought a larger one)
Not so with the latest product. I will NOT recommend it. If I had known this before I would have gone for better quality work.
2. To the Escape management: in these times only excellence will survive!!!

 

[Durango1]

Very sorry about your issues.

The simplest hack on most furnaces is to remove the ducted tubing from the actual furnace outlet to the inside grill. It is the first thing I do in all my campers. Did your mechanic do this? (It's worth a try and you can always replace it.)

 

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Not sure what kind of batteries you have, but on the furnace, you can try removing the round defuser on the front of furnace. many have had this solve issues. it seems that the furnace at night when it cools off and battery voltage drops in some cases it will slow the fan down enough that it will not have enough speed for sail switch to stay active. you can remove that very easy and try it a night. small screwdriver to release pins on round plastic. This seems much more common on lead acid batteries because of lower voltage.

I can't help you on disco lights.

 

[brroberts]

If it’s blowing air, while duct changes may help-mine did, the issue seems to be ignition. Is the thermostat set correctly, is the propane pressure correct, is the board or igniter faulty, is office plugged, are intake and exhaust clear? That’s where I would start.

As far as the disco goes, many of us have had loose connections at the batteries, battery switch, and in the power center. If you are lucky, that might fix your furnace too.

 

[Ron in BC]

Sorry to hear of your issues. The furnace issue isn't a surprise, there's been many problems reported previously but the power issue is a bit unusual.

Furnace: Many have reported problems and as mentioned some have removed the flexible duct and many others have replaced the sail switch multiple times. A couple of years ago ETI said part of the problem was lack of air flow and recommended drilling some ventilation holes on each side of the "floor" that the furnace sits on. That worked for my friends brand new unit.

I'm lucky in that I've never ever had a problem with several that I've owned but despite that, so many folks have that I've installed a backup diesel heater. It was supposed to be for use when the propane furnace failed but it works so well it's the first to be used.

Power: I installed an independent, isolated 110V plug. This lets me have power when I've shut down the entire power in the trailer. Since power is critical for your work you might consider installing one of these unless you find a quick solution to your current problem.

Ron

 

[MullensE19]

We bought a brand new Escape trailer (Escape 19) a few weeks ago and are experiencing the following major issues:
a.On our first trip our furnace (type Dometic) broke down. Instead of producing hot air only cold air was released.
We brought it to a local mechanic (to be fair: the bill was paid by Escape - warranty) but on a new trip (2nd night) we have the same issue.
The local mechanic's comment was that the Dometic furnace is of poor design.
I have seen similar comments w.r.t the Dometic furnace before. What did other people do wrt Dometic furnace. I am just thinking of ditching it all together.

b.My camper is my office. I use Starlink for my work. My Starlink relies on the 120V outlet of my camper.
When the solar panels start charging the batteries, the power on the 120V outlets turn on and off and the
lights come on automatically (without asking for a disco)! So, in a period of 2h my power from the outlets was on and off at least 5 times. Work becomes impossible (because of the unreliability of the power). Any suggestions.

Let me be polite: I am extremely frustrated with this brand new Escape camper.
Note:
1. before we had a 17 feet Escape trailer. We were happy with it (that's why we bought a larger one)
Not so with the latest product. I will NOT recommend it. If I had known this before I would have gone for better quality work.
2. To the Escape management: in these times only excellence will survive!!!

I had the same problem, my fix works flawlessly. The problem is there is not enough air flow to trigger the sail switch. I removed slinky air duct, air doesn’t move well through it. I replaced it with a smooth air duct elbow that you would buy to put a floor vent in your house for heat. This fixed issue 100%