Better late than never- Add my '04 25' Safari to the filiform victim list. I am seeing it in various small areas(under trim strip, by AS emblem, on hinges etc.) I'm going to give the WD-40 a try. Thanks for all the good info. "Ourladybug"
Fun, Airstream's president Bob Wheeler is supposed to respond to a very long list of complaints, suggestions and questions and it's possible he will have something to say about corrosion since that was one of top complaints. We have been waiting more than a month for him, so I expect there's some internal debate at the company how to deal with this and other issues.
Until we see what he has to say, I cannot predict what Airstream will do. Some of us asked the warranty be extended. As an attorney also, I know that would be unusual, but not unheard of, especially when so many people are saying on the Forum they will not buy a new Airstream. Many of them have said they will look for an older one instead.
Keep watching the Portal for new posts from Airsteam Marketing and hope the best.
Gene
Hey Gene,
Here's how I think they are going to handle it. Since Airstream is the Best of the Best the decision will be to reskin all affected units back to model year 2000, restripe and reseal including a compensation voucher for the time the unit is down.
Wait.. I think Im waking now.. The sun shines here a bit later on the west coast... Ok now Im awake
Whats the topic?
Vin
__________________
"Old fashioned service on your late model Airstream"
Here is something I thought everyone would like to know.I have had my Airstream for quite a few years now.I live about a couple blocks from the beach and there is a bay about 1 block from me also behind the house.This is all salt water.Now.I do park my Airstream about 15 miles inland during the summer months because I work a lot so I do not travel then.The season is winding down now and I have gotten my Airstream and it has been parked at my house the last couple months or so.I will keep it here until march of next year and take it back inland again.I do this every year.
When I first got my Airstream I noticed this problem and was kinda concerned as to what it was.It looked to be getting worse over time and I did not like it.
It has now been several years that I have had this vehicle and I do not see any more problems like this anymore.What I mean is that it is not getting any worse.The only areas that had gotten bad is mostly on the belt line area and any spots that were cut into or drilled out.Such as the edges and rivet holes.Other than that everything is totally fine.
Has anyone else went out and looked at their Airstream and noticed it not going any farther than on the cut edges and riveted areas.I would like to see some pics of where some have went all the way thru to lets say the belt line to the windows edge.Now that would be bad.
I dont think you could test a vehicle any more than this being I get lots of salt spray from the Ocean every day along with the florida sun and humidity.So I would vote salt air as not being the problem for sure.This just my opinion on it.
__________________
CHANGE IS GOOD.LIFE IS GREAT!
It just cant get any better than that.
I was at Jackson Center in August of this year to have some warranty work completed. The AS is two years old this November.
I showed Jim Parrot two spots of filiform corrosion on my 2008 International.
One spot (about the size of a squashed pea) is on the right rear taillight housing and one on the door assist handle (about the size of two squashed peas).
He told me that AS did not warrant against corrosion and would do nothing. He did tell me how I might get rid of the spots - spray with a corrosion inhibitor and said that would only leave a small gray spot.
I was at Jackson Center in August of this year to have some warranty work completed. The AS is two years old this November.
I showed Jim Parrot two spots of filiform corrosion on my 2008 International.
One spot (about the size of a squashed pea) is on the right rear taillight housing and one on the door assist handle (about the size of two squashed peas).
He told me that AS did not warrant against corrosion and would do nothing. He did tell me how I might get rid of the spots - spray with a corrosion inhibitor and said that would only leave a small gray spot.
To date I have taken no further action.
I doubt if either one of your concerns are filiform, you are a very lucky man.
"He told me that AS did not warrant against corrosion and would do nothing. He did tell me how I might get rid of the spots - spray with a corrosion inhibitor and said that would only leave a small gray spot."
I guess this explains why CEO Wheeler chose to ignore this issue at the "Town Hall Meeting". During the warranty period, my dealership replaced both tail light bezels and the door grab bar because of this corrosion. According to them, Airstream did not support this. The grab bar is still looking good, but both bezels are now badly corroded.
Quote"He told me that AS did not warrant against corrosion and would do nothing. He did tell me how I might get rid of the spots - spray with a corrosion inhibitor and said that would only leave a small gray spot. I guess this explains why CEO Wheeler chose to ignore this issue at the "Town Hall Meeting. During the warranty period, my dealership replaced both tail light bezels and the door grab bar because of this corrosion. According to them, Airstream did not support this. The grab bar is still looking good, but both bezels are now badly corroded."
I'm not an engineer, just a CPA. I might be wrong, but it appears to me that Airstream adopted a new (cheaper) manufacturing process (shaping pre-coated aluminum) that has turned out to be lacking. The company could spend money and scrap the new process, stand behind their product and warranty this apparent manufacturing defect, or ignore it and save the warranty costs while ruining a great name. It appears they decided on the latter. This forum saved me from a very expensive mistake. We had looked at and fell in love with Airstreams and had decided on a new 28 footer. The corrosion issue caused us to wait and now after seeing that Airstream apparently isn't the company or trailer that it used to be, we have now ruled out purchasing one.
It's a shame, but one has to face reality and make decisions that make sense. We will not spend the kind of money a new Airstream costs for something that will be a source of irritation.
FWIW....if your enamoured as much as you say you might consider a late model used. You should have a pretty good selection out on the left coast.
It's been my experience that the filiform gets to a certain point and then seems to slow to an acceptable rate, some degradation should be expected over time.
I agree completely that the factory should be doing more, go back to coating at the factory, stop using the pre-coated Al-corrosion panels.
REALITY SUCKS......BUY USED!!
__________________
I’m done with ‘adulting’…Let’s go find Bigfoot.
When you have a piece of wood for exterior use that has been coated with something to prevent degradation and then cut it, you are supposed to put a coating on the raw wood. This is done on wood siding and decking for example.
It seems to me (though I'm not an engineer or a carpenter either) that once you cut the aluminum, you leave an exposed edge and then it's easy for corrosion to start. Rivets also pierce the clear coat.
As for the taillights and other parts attached or the aluminum wheels, I have no idea other than they either are not coated at all, or the coating is so cheap as to be useless. Why some corrode and others don't could be caused by different climates, different exposures to corrosive agents, voodoo, or dumb luck.
I work with aluminum, steel, stainless steel and other materials in a marine environment. I can assure you that corrosion is going to happen no matter how the surface is prepared. I have had older Airstream trailers and they had corrosion too. The problem is not the corrosion, but how the corrosion is dealt with. When aluminum corrodes, it produces a natural anodized surface that is very stable and very tough. This anodized surface is usually white in appearance.
The current Airstream production system is to use pre-coated sheets of aluminum skin. They use power cutters to shape the panels. This leaves an edge that is not fully protected. Over time, this cut edge will allow some corrosion to form around the edges of the skin. This is usually not harmful but does distract from the esthetic appearance of the skin.
The “repair” from Airstream is to remove the protective coating and polish the aluminum to make the affected area seam less obvious. While this looks better, it does nothing to improve the skin or provide better protection for the skin. On the early trailers, the skin had a pure aluminum coating that provided outer skin protection. To maintain this surface, the owner had to wash, polish and wax this skin every month. By the early 70’s Airstream went to a clear coat that no longer needed monthly wash and wax. The down side was an outer skin that needed to be striped and recoated every seven to ten years. The current system is even more durable but will eventually need to be striped and re-coated.
I have a 2008 Airstream and it does show some small areas of corrosion under the protective coating. It does not bother me. It is small and hard to see. I’m probably the only person that knows where these little spots of corrosion are. I only need to wax my trailer every six months instead of every month. I’ll take the little spots of corrosion under the protective finish for not having to wash, polish and wax my trailer every month.
Be careful what you ask for, you might get it.
We may as well just take was you so elequently put into words and have it added to the Airstream brochure. This way as your flipping through the pages of options and dreaming of your next airstream... BAM! page 30.. what you said lol
Vin
__________________
"Old fashioned service on your late model Airstream"
Had a 41 year old Safari with NO filiform anywhere, thats what I would ask for.
Pride in what your building, QC.....thats what I would ask for.
Falling back on your ICON status don't cut it, I want an ICON to be proud of.
I'll go put my head back in the sand now....
Bob, I had a 35 year old Safari. We did work on the trailer every year until it was trashed by vandals. The skin did need work. I had looked into having one dented panel replaced and getting the trailer striped and recoated. At 35 years old there were lots of areas that had a white look to them. Since there was no coating left on some areas of the skin, it did not have the apearance of filiform corosion but it's the same process.
You have a 41 year old Safari. Without regular care your trailer should now look powder white. I can only guess that you put the time and effort into maintaining the good appearance of your AS.
When we replaced the trailer we had the choice of going with a vintage trailer or a new one. By the time you figure in initial cost and then add in repair and restoration cost it was about the same either way. I just didn't have the time to put into an older trailer that I did the first time around. We got the new trailer.
I never got into Airstreams because it was an icon. I found my old Safari by accident. I had no idea that people were interested in these old trailers. I fixed the old trailer up and put it on the road. We went coast to coast in it and had a great time. We have an 08 trailer now and are happy with it. It still takes a little work to keep things up in the trailer but nothing like the time I had to spend on the old Safari.
I do find some quality issues with the new trailer. I find that the interior is not as durable as the older trailers. Much of this has to do with what materials are available on the market today. AS has cut some storage areas to lower cost. My little Safari does not have the big window our old trailer had; an other cost cutting measure. (We thought we would miss the big window but in actual use it seems to make no differance.) I was really suprised that I felt at home in the new trailer right away. Everthing is done much like it was 35 years ago and everything works as it should.
Just like our old Safari, the new one is tight and dry. It is light weight and tows easily. It is well laid out and we are very comfortable in it.
I did look at other brands of trailers. Often they were poorly built, too heavy and not well laid out. I could have bought a similar sized trailer for a lot less but after having had an Airstream they were all a bit disapointing. While I agree that AS could do a better job with their current line of trailers, they are still better than most of the compition. What I did find is that once you get into the luxury end of the market, AS does not offer any more or less than other brands. I don't consider my little trailer to be at the luxury end of the market. It's just a nice little trailer that gets the job done.
2009 27' FB Flying Cloud
Fulltimer, so...wherever road takes us!
, On the road!
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 11
Just purchased my Flying Cloud about a month ago and am a full-timer. (LOVE IT!) I am a volunteer nurse and generally follow the disasters as I work with Red Cross and another "Disaster/Community Health" response organization, so I could be in all sorts of weather situations. I've been reading up on all the maintenance needs/issues with Airstreams and am hoping to avoid problems. It's hard to tell what the right advice is to prevent this corrosion issue. Is there a white paper out there on this or any other definitive maintenance schedule? I'm with the guy who asked..."if this IS an AS maintenance need, then what sort of preventive maintenance does AS recommend that I should be doing?" Did I miss a response to that? Thanks so much for any links.
I work with aluminum, steel, stainless steel and other materials in a marine environment. I can assure you that corrosion is going to happen no matter how the surface is prepared. I have had older Airstream trailers and they had corrosion too. The problem is not the corrosion, but how the corrosion is dealt with. When aluminum corrodes, it produces a natural anodized surface that is very stable and very tough. This anodized surface is usually white in appearance.
The current Airstream production system is to use pre-coated sheets of aluminum skin. They use power cutters to shape the panels. This leaves an edge that is not fully protected. Over time, this cut edge will allow some corrosion to form around the edges of the skin. This is usually not harmful but does distract from the esthetic appearance of the skin.
The “repair” from Airstream is to remove the protective coating and polish the aluminum to make the affected area seam less obvious. While this looks better, it does nothing to improve the skin or provide better protection for the skin. On the early trailers, the skin had a pure aluminum coating that provided outer skin protection. To maintain this surface, the owner had to wash, polish and wax this skin every month. By the early 70’s Airstream went to a clear coat that no longer needed monthly wash and wax. The down side was an outer skin that needed to be striped and recoated every seven to ten years. The current system is even more durable but will eventually need to be striped and re-coated.
I have a 2008 Airstream and it does show some small areas of corrosion under the protective coating. It does not bother me. It is small and hard to see. I’m probably the only person that knows where these little spots of corrosion are. I only need to wax my trailer every six months instead of every month. I’ll take the little spots of corrosion under the protective finish for not having to wash, polish and wax my trailer every month.
Be careful what you ask for, you might get it.
I don't disagree with dbl345's posting, but it doesn't take into account why the corrosion occurs most of the time where the aluminum has been cut leaving an untreated edge.
I do miss our "63", it did get regular cleaning and sealing. I thought it's appearance at 41yrs was perfectly acceptable and would be happy if I thought the "03" would survive the years as well.
__________________
I’m done with ‘adulting’…Let’s go find Bigfoot.
I'm not sure what that implies, but...
I didn't exactly "ask for" this, but I did pay a great deal of money for it. This is one of the tail light bezels that was replaced less than 3 years ago. All the well-intentioned explanations of how it happened notwithstanding, the issue (speaking for myself,of course) is either getting Airstream to step up and correct this defect during the warranty period, (obviously caused by inferior materials), or at least take steps to prevent it in the future.
This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Airstream, Inc. or any of its affiliates. Airstream is a registered trademark of Airstream Inc. All rights reserved. Airstream trademark used under license to Social Knowledge LLC.
Wait.. I think Im waking now.. The sun shines here a bit later on the west coast... Ok now Im awake 
Interesting
I doubt if either one of your concerns are filiform, you are a very lucky man.
Hooterville zip code 38dd..
I'll go put my head back in the sand now....
Been there, done that....
Linear Mode
