Better information and the future of Ecotrek

[booster]

Lots of new posters showing up here, which is really nice to see, and welcome to all of them.


Unfortunately, a lot of it has to do with the Roadtrek/Hymer stuff going on, which takes off a lot the pleasantness, to be sure, of having them all here.


Now that Roadtrek/Hymer is no longer going to be controlling so much of the dialogue concerning their units, and particularly the lithium batteries and associated systems, hopefully we will start seeing more accurate and unbiased information on how reliable, or not, they are in the real world. With owners now having to pay for maintaining and fixing them, I would expect there to be a lot more about what is failing and how it is getting repaired at what cost. With all the lack of information of how the systems actually work, and with the long warranty, there has been little that could be done to help or suggest much of anything to those that lost the warranty or couldn't get it honored, so I would hope that changes going forward.



You never know, there may be an electronics wiz out there that now will be able to take a good look at how it works, with input from the repair techs that have fixing them all this time, and come up with some ways to improve reliability without fear of being sued or harassed. That would be a wonderful solution to a very tough situation for a lot of owners, I think, compared to a total replacement.


It will be interesting to see how the hard core fanclub folks handle it if they do start to have problems, as now there is no backup for them if they do have issues now.



Hopefully, we will be pleasantly surprised with reliability and repair/upgrade situations as this all works out as a lot of people have a lot riding on them.

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by booster

Hopefully, we will be pleasantly surprised with reliability and repair/upgrade situations as this all works out as a lot of people have a lot riding on them.

And I would like to add what you stated in another post. Maybe someone will come up with a reliable replacement system (or at least for the weaker links in the system) that will make the Ecotrek's function dependably. That may be the real solution.

I'm also curious as to whether Roadtrek made any significant changes since the 2014 introduction that have made newer Ecotreks less trouble-prone. For example, are the same problems that affected the first models still occurring? If the scope of problems has narrowed over the years, it would bode well for finding solutions to the remaining weaknesses.
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[Smith101]

When I had the Ecotrek added to my Axion in late 2017 my tech, Tony Pineda in Beaumont Ca, told me my lithium modules were version “H”, that they had been in service almost a year and had no problems compared to earlier versions (A—G?). So far so good, although I am a light user. Fingers crossed.

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by Smith101

When I had the Ecotrek added to my Axion in late 2017 my tech, Tony Pineda in Beaumont Ca, told me my lithium modules were version “H”, that they had been in service almost a year and had no problems compared to earlier versions (A—G?). So far so good, although I am a light user. Fingers crossed.

That bodes well for newer Ecotreks and I hope that most experience the same reliability as you do. Could make the huge discounts on dealer's lots a great deal for a new buyer.
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[RossWilliams]

Roadtrek/Hymer has produced a lot of units with lithium batteries. I wonder what percentage have really had problems. Obviously some early adopters did and no doubt there have been changes to fix those problems. But some folks here aren't interested in what works, they are looking for stuff to feed their long-standing grudges.

[markopolo]

Ross Williams seems determined to derail yet another constructive Roadtrek / Ecotrek topic. Don't feed the troll. After almost 13 years on this forum I just decided to put someone on the ignore list for the first time. I'll never see another post from him.

[tgregg]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Ross Williams seems determined to derail yet another constructive Roadtrek / Ecotrek topic. Don't feed the troll. After almost 13 years on this forum I just decided to put someone on the ignore list for the first time. I'll never see another post from him.

Yes, the ignore list is great feature.

I just wish it would also work when someone quotes a member that I have on my ignore list.

Until then, please don't quote the trolls either.

[gregmchugh]

The recent versions of the Ecotrek modules clearly have less issues that earlier ones. It is hard to know when someone has issues and gets a replacement module which of the versions was in their van that got replaced. I wouldn’t be surprised if KS2 had pretty much taken over the Ecotrek development from Erwin Hymer NA and made the changes to improve the modules.

It seems clear at this point that KS2 is going to continue to manufacture Ecotrek battery modules (may need to change the name to avoid legal issues with the brand name) and can provide spare parts to repair existing Ecotreks. The recent versions of the Ecotrek seem to have more off-the-shelf components which were probably used to fix issues with the original proprietary parts developed by Roadtrek. If a battery module still has good lithium cells then they can probably refurbish it up to the current design without much trouble or cost so they may have a viable business keeping the Ecotrek module in service for the time being. I can’t imagine they can make the investment to continue to develop their lithium battery system to keep up with Volta, etc., so they will likely just focus on the business of supporting the current Erwin Hymer NA customers who have Ecotreks? That could be a viable business for a long time until someone else comes up with a replacement system with better performance, cost, reliability, etc. to entice owners to swap out their current system.

[B Eventually]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Ross Williams seems determined to derail yet another constructive Roadtrek / Ecotrek topic. Don't feed the troll. After almost 13 years on this forum I just decided to put someone on the ignore list for the first time. I'll never see another post from him.

You can tgregg are missing out. I consider <redacted> comedic relief.

[booster]

What we can hope happens, along with durability improvements that sound like they may already be better, is that now that the systems will be open and analyzed by knowledgeable people that can figure out how the charging and discharging is controlled and monitored. The better systems out there are controlling the charge sources from the battery controls so can prevent overcharges, etc much more easily than non controlled stand alone equipment.


That said, for reasonable retrofit more versatile stand alone products may be a good choice to improve control and battery life and monitoring.


I think it is going to be very interesting to watch and see how it all shakes out, and what costs are for any upgrades the folks come up with.

[booster]

Originally Posted by markopolo

Ross Williams seems determined to derail yet another constructive Roadtrek / Ecotrek topic. Don't feed the troll. After almost 13 years on this forum I just decided to put someone on the ignore list for the first time. I'll never see another post from him.

You inspired me to do the same. Also the first time ever for me. A one man thread destroyer.

[Knit]

The real funsuckers on any Roadtrek related post are those that only drone on about how much they hate Roadtrek products and management. Lighten up and name one thing you appreciate about Roadtrek or maybe even a slightly positive post at least. Here, I’ll start. My 2013 Roadtrek RS has been a great camper van. A few issues, but nothing different than I read about most other brands.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by Knit

The real funsuckers on any Roadtrek related post are those that only drone on about how much they hate Roadtrek products and management. Lighten up and name one thing you appreciate about Roadtrek or maybe even a slightly positive post at least. Here, I’ll start. My 2013 Roadtrek RS has been a great camper van. A few issues, but nothing different than I read about most other brands.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for a lot of love for Roadtrek here, at least for anything having to do with the recent management or the technology, both of which are fair game for some negative thoughts...

[booster]

Originally Posted by Knit

The real funsuckers on any Roadtrek related post are those that only drone on about how much they hate Roadtrek products and management. Lighten up and name one thing you appreciate about Roadtrek or maybe even a slightly positive post at least. Here, I’ll start. My 2013 Roadtrek RS has been a great camper van. A few issues, but nothing different than I read about most other brands.

You must have missed the entire series of posts that clarified that many/most of us have nothing against Roadtrek, the brand, the products, or anything else Roadtrek especially the employees. The issues were with the management that came in and took over after 2006 and the decisions they made in running the company and technologies. We have a 2007 Roadtrek that we would not trade for anything we have seen and find it very sad that a great company was destroyed by a small group of people who were either totally incompetent, crooked, or both, IMO, so others will not get the chance to experience what we have. A lot of employees and customers, as well as vendors and suppliers, are going to pay the price for something that did not have to happen, and pretending that it isn't happening won't make it go away, or make it any easier for those that are affected.


Bottom line, I think, is that if Roadtrek were to resurface with new management and running the business like it was when it's great reputation was earned, you would find near unanimous support and happiness here, and likely many other places, not hatred that Roadtrek was back.

[gerrym51]

I suspect-but i do not actually know-that Ecotrek was the downfall for roadtrek.

All those ecotrek replacements plus the constant rewiring of things and money and time spent on the ecotrek -gu and inverter system just cost to much wasted money.

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by Knit

The real funsuckers on any Roadtrek related post are those that only drone on about how much they hate Roadtrek products and management. Lighten up and name one thing you appreciate about Roadtrek or maybe even a slightly positive post at least. Here, I’ll start. My 2013 Roadtrek RS has been a great camper van. A few issues, but nothing different than I read about most other brands.

As a fellow 2013 RS owner, I hear ya. My take is that most of the fun sucking is just lingering frustration and anger toward RT’s management, rooted in overzealous marketing claims pushing products with known design flaws. For those of us who are enjoying our RTs and just trying to glean knowledge from this great forum, the repetition does get tiring. For others it’s either entertainment or news, so we just have to put up with it. Arlo out - back to lurking.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by Arlo

As a fellow 2013 RS owner, I hear ya. My take is that most of the fun sucking is just lingering frustration and anger toward RT’s management, rooted in overzealous marketing claims pushing products with known design flaws. For those of us who are enjoying our RTs and just trying to glean knowledge from this great forum, the repetition does get tiring. For others it’s either entertainment or news, so we just have to put up with it. Arlo out - back to lurking.

With the old management gone and the future in doubt and maybe some decent support from KS2 for the Ecotreks if they are no longer in production for RT, it is probably time to look ahead and stop rehashing the past issues with Erwin Hymer NA. Maybe there will be criminal charges, maybe we will find out what really happened, maybe someone will rescue the RT brand and bring it back the way it used to be, and maybe not any of these. The current owners have vans that can be serviced one way or another but it may cost some money that they didn’t plan on needing. Life goes on and not much value in worrying too much about the things you can’t control. At least that is the way I look at it. We still have our 08 RS for sale and it will be interesting to see what price we end up getting for it...

[wincrasher]

My impression is that in the last year or so, Roadtrek got the Ecotrek fairly reliable - that is the batteries, alternator charging, bms and inverter. That the issues were more about user understanding properly how to operate the system.

What I haven't heard, is much success with Voltstart working properly. Also, that many owners really don't use it, so they don't know if there systems work correctly or not, or at all.

Is that where we are at?

[booster]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

My impression is that in the last year or so, Roadtrek got the Ecotrek fairly reliable - that is the batteries, alternator charging, bms and inverter. That the issues were more about user understanding properly how to operate the system.

What I haven't heard, is much success with Voltstart working properly. Also, that many owners really don't use it, so they don't know if there systems work correctly or not, or at all.

Is that where we are at?

That is certainly what it seems to be looking like. According to an owner on the Roadtrek Yahoo board, the Voltstart used an aftermarket remote start as a basis, so maybe now that the inner workings of the Roadtrek system should be available, perhaps someone will be able to come up with a fix for the Voltstart. Pet owners are probably the only ones that really care much about if the Voltstart works reliably or not, but that is still quite few people, as many of them bought the Roadtrek system just so the pets could be safe when left in the van.

[Bud]

I welcome any reasonable (not lies, bs etc.) person that wants to join and VENT here concerning roadtrek. I welcome you.

Bud