John (Timemachine) how close to the ocean is your trailer stored? Even though I'm in OC I'm at about 1200 ft. and the climate is more like Hemet than HB.
John (Timemachine) how close to the ocean is your trailer stored? Even though I'm in OC I'm at about 1200 ft. and the climate is more like Hemet than HB.
We are 300 yards from PCH. It has spent half of its short life on the road or at service centers far more inland, 20 to 80 miles from the coast at a minimum. I would say we have done a fairly good job of washing it on a regular basis with the same specialized mild detergents I use on our black cars. The AS was bought inland and exibited the corrosion even at the original pick up. At the time I thought that the areas I first discovered were just "tape residue" still present after a very poor PDI. I guess I was wrong.
John
__________________ Travel is in my blood, adventure is my passport, aluminum is my favorite construction medium, and therefore, an Airstream was my destiny.
These issue are a more than just a bit disturbing since We are currently in the middle of dealing for a new AS. I ask both dealers that I am working with for a purchase of an AS 25 FB and both of course said they don't see these kinds of corrisive issues you guys are talking about. However,,,,a third dealer I talked to who is no longer an AS dealer told me one of the reasons they don't sell AS anymore is the quality controll issues you guys are talking about. The only way AS will fix it is to put pressure on them. My puchase has been put on hold. We need to rethink AS as a retirement option. As much as I hate to think about it We are going to start shopping for SOB. It's really got me bummed out since this is all I have been thinking for a number of years. Sorry for the rant and raveing but when you want something special...and you find out its maybe NOT so special...well,,,you know what I mean. Thank you for listening.
These issue are a more than just a bit disturbing since We are currently in the middle of dealing for a new AS. I ask both dealers that I am working with for a purchase of an AS 25 FB and both of course said they don't see these kinds of corrisive issues you guys are talking about. However,,,,a third dealer I talked to who is no longer an AS dealer told me one of the reasons they don't sell AS anymore is the quality controll issues you guys are talking about. The only way AS will fix it is to put pressure on them. My puchase has been put on hold. We need to rethink AS as a retirement option. As much as I hate to think about it We are going to start shopping for SOB. It's really got me bummed out since this is all I have been thinking for a number of years. Sorry for the rant and raveing but when you want something special...and you find out its maybe NOT so special...well,,,you know what I mean. Thank you for listening.
Although we have some issues, we would do it again. Don't give up the ship yet. There is nothing on wheels that is without some problem or defect. I still believe that an Airstream is worth the price if you use it. If it just sits and it is used once every couple of months, well, then it is not worth the price, but that is true with anything. In a year we have traveled to 25 states and about 15,000 miles. Oceans, mountains, deserts, lakes, rivers, big cities, little towns, no towns. (and we are not retired) And doing it in an Airstream just feels good. And the people you will meet, especially other Airstreamers, well, I can't say enough about how many wonderful friends we have made. It is not about money and any Airstream is no more perfect than you or I.
Please don't let our drive for perfection ruin your dream, we are addicted to aluminum and that's OK, even with a few irritating defects.
John
__________________ Travel is in my blood, adventure is my passport, aluminum is my favorite construction medium, and therefore, an Airstream was my destiny.
just thinking about the first dose of midwest road salt/sand and rocky mnt sand followed by more salt...
the na, mg and ca salts are leave chloride on the skin..
cheers
2air'
Mine travelled in Oct 04 and I bought it Dec 04. Robertsaurus unit also travelled during the summer/fall. Both of ours have below average problems, although Lakewood has a little more humidity than where I live. Both of ours went through a very wet winter the first year we had it. Mine has never seen salted roads since I've owned it. In fact the bottom of the frame and trailer was delivered in very clean condition.
A high interest topic! Leave town for a day and look how many posts! I have yet to get out to my Safari but will take a look. We had a snow fog last week and they went crazy with road salt again. Hoping for a good rainstorm now but it looks dry for the coming week.
Wonder how many of the respondents to Twink's survey store inside vs. out?
Sacrificial anodes are immersed in marine applications and have electrical continuity with the surface being protected. Sure, the entire Airstream could electrocute with miswired shore power. Unresolved issues -- could low electrolytic voltages lack oomph at a distance from a zinc and face other capacitance/conduction issues between panels? I haven't heard convincing arguments that sacrificial anodes work for our babies. See http://www.airforums.com/forums/f4/w...air-19735.html. And Corrosion.
So far then I see 14 or 15 units. Some barely a year old. This has got to be a problem. If this was not a problem 15 folks would not all be saying the exact same thing.
Anyone else out there that has a newer Aistream that has anything looking like any of the white spider marks anywhere on their Airstream (see Airstream Issue or see the picture in post #20), please post and let us know.
To me, it's just plain not acceptable for a unit of 5 years or less to look this way. I do expect some wear and tear and aging, but this is totally unacceptable. Those of you who have a warranty still, please share with us the solution that Airstream proposes. To date, the current fix is to add sheets of alum over the existing, replace parts that can be replaced or cover up the issue with trim pieces. The issue though is that it comes back no matter what they do. There is a root cause that is NOT being addressed.
One or two units, I could accept (like Airstream said, they are hand built), but nearly 15 units, all having the exact same issues, posted less than 36 hours ago?? Folks, (if the average Airstream price paid was $50k) this represents about $750,000 in hardware that has a MAJOR flaw in it, just from what's been posted to date! It seems to me, and mind you, I'm no expert here, but, it seems to me that whatever is causing this to happen, is not being addressed since we have units from 2002 all the way through 2007 reporting here-- that's 6 model years! Me, I seem to have been blown off so far, but I'm not giving up. How Airstream responds to folks with this issue (both in and out of warranty given how common this appears to be) will determine if I ever own another Airstream again.
Please continue to post if you haven't already and see the issue happening to your Airstream!
Thanks!
__________________
Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 11/91
just thinking about the first dose of midwest road salt/sand and rocky mnt sand followed by more salt...
the na, mg and ca salts are leave chloride on the skin..
cheers
2air'
Hi 2air
I believe our As was towed to our dealer in So Cal from the factory in early March of 2006. It was made in late February. I have no clue if the travel took it through salted roads. I did see it when it first arrived, before the PDI, and I did not see signs of road grime on the aluminum or the plastic covers over the rock guards. I am fairly sure it wasn't washed before I saw it that day. Although it has been in lots of rain, it has never seen snow on the road.....and in California that requires a trip to the mountains in the winter...that is when we are in the desert.
Should I be using one the the previously mentioned products to slow this process down?
John
__________________ Travel is in my blood, adventure is my passport, aluminum is my favorite construction medium, and therefore, an Airstream was my destiny.
__________________
Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 11/91
i like t-9 and even use it to coat the exposed iron under the ford 2-3 times/year...
but plan to try some acf 50 soon too...
marshall reports no negative effects on the sealants using acf...
i've not seen any issues from t-9 either, but i don't intentionally use it on rubber/plastics/acrylics
cheers
2air'
for those that have watched a/s construction; seen how the finished panels are stored and handled...
it should be 'clear' why the alcoa finish is breached at many regular locations...
imagine a stack of plywood palets delivered; then each piece cut, drilled, nailed with very few finished edges or trim pieces...
now imagine no additional surface finished applied to the boards....
Here are some interactions I had with both Airstream and Alcoa on this subject. Keep in mind there were at least 2 phone conversations with Airstream between these emails that took place and that my website link with the photos is over 2 years old and my unit has in fact gotten worse (updates to follow in the spring). I did take the site down after Randy saw the pics, but after repeated attempts to get resolution, with no success, the site went back up and will continue to be updated with pictures of my unit and any new unit I find that has this so that others know what to look for prior to buying a new or newer Airstream. Additionally, I do know that the forum link in the Alcoa communications do not work, but they did back in 2007 prior to this site doing normal maint and site changes. Also, if you take a look at the Aloca link, they claim they had a treated sheet of alum in the salty south Florida sun. Funny, my unit has never been anywhere near salt, yet mine is not showing the same results Aloca is claiming. For the record, I never heard from Randy again after he was going to check with Chris about what they did when I was there, nor did I ever get a response from Dave Schumann (two attempts made, one by email, one by phone-- message left). I do not recall if I posted any of this info earlier, and since none of this is listed under non-disclosure and was not indicated to me to be private or confidential in any way, here they are, FWIW (I apologize in advance if any of this is repeat info):
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 9:37 PM To:t***@airstream.com Subject: Photos of problem.... Randy,
Attached are the photos we talked about before the holidays. There are several pictures where the corrosion is showing up. These are compressed. If you can't get them decompressed, I've also placed these on my quasi private website for you to see at www.silvertwinkie.net
Once you've seen the pics, I'll take them off the site.
The unit has been indoors most of the 3 years I've owned it since new. I don't know what might be causing it or how to stop the existing from spreading. I seem to get 1-2 new ones every month or so. I had the unit at the factory back around 2005 where some of the corrosion was addressed in the cast alum tail lights and all 4 rims, but as you'll see, it's not only come back in those areas, it's also come back all around the body now too.
Any suggestions or help you or Airstream might be able to provide I would appreciate! In case this support ticket is no longer open, one of the pics has the VIN number on it.
Thanks!
From:
"Randy" <r*****@airstream.com>
From some of the photo’s I would suggest cleaning the area and then applying a cover such as clear finger nail polish to help prevent the spread. I am checking with Chris to see if we can pull past records to see what was done at the service shop.
Randy Airstream Customer Relations
Here was my interactions with Alcoa:
Contact Message
===============
Country USA
Subject Alcoa coatings on Airstream RVs
Message
I own a 2004 Airstream and the aluminum shell, wheels and other areas are showing signs of fill form corrosion. Airstream is saying
that the coating you place on the panels, prior to them getting the
aluminum is cracking, and I so far cannot figure out why this is
happening or get an answer as yet from Airstream. Your web site
showcases the success of Airstream and Alcoa and even says on this link
that the coatings don't fade, peel or crack:
Do you have any insight as to what is causing this to happen. My unit
started corroding after only a year after production. So far there
16-17 units reporting this same corrosion issue from between the 2002
model year up to an including the current 2008 Airstream model year.
Thanks in advance for your assistance.
thanks for your comments. We've passed them on to the
manufacturing team to inform them of this situation.
Your best bet for specific answers on your product will continue to be
your Airstream dealer.
Regards
Alcoa
__________________
Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 11/91
PS- In the spring, am considering creating a totally separate message board dedicated solely to two things, the Airstream build quality and this corrosion issue where folks can enter pics, data, etc. We'll see if time permits this.
__________________
Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 11/91
Although we have some issues, we would do it again. Don't give up the ship yet. There is nothing on wheels that is without some problem or defect. I still believe that an Airstream is worth the price if you use it. If it just sits and it is used once every couple of months, well, then it is not worth the price, but that is true with anything. In a year we have traveled to 25 states and about 15,000 miles. Oceans, mountains, deserts, lakes, rivers, big cities, little towns, no towns. (and we are not retired) And doing it in an Airstream just feels good. And the people you will meet, especially other Airstreamers, well, I can't say enough about how many wonderful friends we have made. It is not about money and any Airstream is no more perfect than you or I.
Please don't let our drive for perfection ruin your dream, we are addicted to aluminum and that's OK, even with a few irritating defects.
John
Thank you for your encouragement. One of the reasons for AS as a retirement vehicle is the PEOPLE and the heritage of the make. I was a little down last night when I wrote my reply but it has become clear that my exspectations are higher than NORMAL?..LOL.
We have not given up on AS by any means, just exspanding our options,,,O..but then I remember shopping for SOB in the past and comming back to AS.
I live in a 4 climate invoirment with very hot and dry summers and cold (below zero) winters with wonderful springs and falls in between. Storage of our unit will be under a carport so it will be protected from rain, snow, and sun but of course in open air when not in use. We plan on using our RV a lot. Of course it might set more in winter but winter camping will happen a lot.
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but it has become clear that my exspectations are higher than NORMAL?..LOL. 
Hybrid Mode
