Trailers for sale with recalled Suburban SDS2 cooktops

[Chamberman]

I've been seeing a lot of trailers for sale with the flawed and recalled Suburban SDS2 two burner cooktops. For possible new owners shopping for a used Escape, this is the cooktop that is prone to exploding when the aluminum gas delivery tubes crack. This cooktop was standard in a few years of Escape trailers built prior to 2021. I'm not certain if any 2021 models had the cooktop. Many sellers are probably unaware of it or have forgotten about receiving the recall notices a few years back. At any rate, I see very few sellers making note of this issue so I thought I'd bring it up. Maybe there should be "sticky" public notice on the Classifieds forum for potential buyers that are likely unaware of this issue.

We bought our 2019 Escape last spring and the seller gave us the recall letter he received years prior. Airxcel is the owner of the Suburban brand. I contacted Airxcel last summer and they were more than happy to work with me to get it replaced. Although they specify that they want it replaced by a certified tech, I was able to work around this requirement and get compensated for the new cooktop that I installed myself. They would not reimburse until they received the old recalled cooktop, but they sent me the return shipping label so there was no cost to us.

There are threads about this issue on this forum and there's even some repairs that can be made to make these cooktops more safe. However, in talking with the Airxcel support rep last year I could tell that they really want these cooktops to be taken out of circulation ASAP and they're willing to compensate you, so take advantage of it?

 

[Eggscape]

You make a very good point as these stoves need to be replaced.

 

[Bobbie54]

One option was replacing with a newer Suburban- do you know these were or were not replaced? Definitely something to check, though. (And I wouldn't want the replacement Suburban.)

 

[brroberts]

They were installed in 2021 models until at least the fall of 2021. My September build, October delivery was scheduled with the cooktop. I took cooktop delete, and installed my own Dickinson.

 

[Chamberman]

One option was replacing with a newer Suburban- do you know these were or were not replaced? Definitely something to check, though. (And I wouldn't want the replacement Suburban.)

I can see trailers for sale right now with pictures showing what appears to be recalled SDS2 cooktops. The later Suburbans are a different design and the top covers are different.

I should clarify this. Last year when we were looking for our replacement I looked extensively at Suburban to see if they had a replacement cooktop with glass cover that would drop into the original hole in the counter. The Dometic 2 burner's were going to need a larger hole. I could find a few that appeared to be the same design, but in researching further it appeared that dated photos were being used and recalled SDS2 pictures were used. Even now when I do a search I find the 3031AST and 3032AST which are both the recalled part #'s.

We ended up going with a new Dometic 2 burner and I just opened up the hole in the counter.

 

[Bcescapist]

We had ours replaced during the recall. The replacement looked the same as the original.

 

[Chamberman]

We had ours replaced during the recall. The replacement looked the same as the original.

Okay that's interesting info. I stand corrected, so there was/is an identical looking revised replacement for the SDS2. I wonder if the part and model #'s are the same with the only differentiating thing being the serial #? You would hope not because that would be quite confusing.

I expect that most owners that have upgraded the cooktops due to recall would tell potential buyers that they have done so. Beyond that if an original looking SDS2 style cooktop is in place then I guess its up to the new owners to be informed and do their due diligence on checking into whether or not the cooktops are original or upgraded.

 

[JohnK-ESC]

From information I gathered in 2022, the only change to the new replacement Suburban cooktop was stainless steel material replacing the aluminum gas manifold. The Suburban gas manifold still lacks supporting structure which In my opinion created the problem in the first place. The Dometic replacement cooktop incorporates structural support for the gas manifold while the new Suburban cooktop does not which in why I chose the Dometic replacement.

John

 

[Chamberman]

From information I gathered in 2022, the only change to the new replacement Suburban cooktop was stainless steel material replacing the aluminum gas manifold.

That's bizarre! If the only changes Suburban (Airxcel) made was to change out the aluminum tubes for stainless tubes in current production models that seems like a change that could've been made to the older recalled cooktops at an authorized service center in like 10min time. Instead they waged a full-blown recall program that had to have cost them a lot of $$$. I would think that there must've been more changes to the newer models.

 

[Perry Butler]

That's bizarre! If the only changes Suburban (Airxcel) made was to change out the aluminum tubes for stainless tubes in current production models that seems like a change that could've been made to the older recalled cooktops at an authorized service center in like 10min time. Instead they waged a full-blown recall program that had to have cost them a lot of $$$. I would think that there must've been more changes to the newer models.

The problem wasn't really the tubes. The problem was the controls would get loose, and the tube would be vibrating down the road, hangin from only the burner, eventually breaking at the burner. There were no star washers or loctite to keep the controls tight.

Enjoy,

Perry

 

[JohnK-ESC]

The problem wasn't really the tubes. The problem was the controls would get loose, and the tube would be vibrating down the road, hangin from only the burner, eventually breaking at the burner. There were no star washers or loctite to keep the controls tight.

Enjoy,

Perry

You're right Pery about the problem not being the tubes. But no amount of locktite or number of star washers would have prevented what I saw when I removed our Suburban and looked at it upside down. Had the tubes been properly suspended and anchored at the supply hose end they would not have cracked and separated the way they did at the burner valve end regardless of either the presence of or lack of star washers and locktite.

John

 

[Perry Butler]

You're right Pery about the problem not being the tubes. But no amount of locktite or number of star washers would have prevented what I saw when I removed our Suburban and looked at it upside down. Had the tubes been properly suspended and anchored at the supply hose end they would not have cracked and separated the way they did at the burner valve end regardless of either the presence of or lack of star washers and locktite.

John

The problem on ours was they were suspended by the looseness of the two controls. The star washers and/or locktite would have been fine for our stove and the couple of stoves I was sent pictures by their owners. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

It really doesn't matter though since we installed a Dickinson stove before the recall happened, and most others have replaced theirs. Of course the few left are just a disaster waiting to happen.

Enjoy,

Perry

 

[JohnK-ESC]

The problem with yours as with mine was that they were not suspended at the supply hose end. Had they been properly suspended at the supply hose end no locktite or star washers would have been needed. Water under the bridge for you. Enjoy your Dickinson.

John

 

[Perry Butler]

The problem with yours as with mine was that they were not suspended at the supply hose end. Had they been properly suspended at the supply hose end no loctite or star washers would have been needed. Water under the bridge for you. Enjoy your Dickinson.

John

Sorry, I don't agree. All it needed was loctite and/or a star washer. I said this in my previous post. The other tube was solid in place and needed no suspension with the controls solidly fastened. In fact, suspension would have added another point of failure. I can agree to disagree.

Sold the 5.0 a year ago, and now own a Bigfoot 25RQ.

Enjoy,

Perry