Corrosion problems with new Airstreams

[GettinAway]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

It seems people get different responses from Airstream on warranty issues. Perhaps it is who you talk to, how you talk to them and the positions of the planets. If I get stymied with someone at the bottom at any company, I go right to the top and that has usually worked for me.

But there is a strange thread about a leaker Airstream ( http://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/...ml#post1157314 ). It is hard to tell exactly what happened, but this is a story that sounds like a total breakdown between customer, dealer(s) and Airstream.

Gene

Gene,
I think you gave me the name of the president of Thor, or AS in a previous post. That was who I sent my original email to.
I had talked with customer service on the phone, but my first written correspondence was to the president. I did not hear back from him directly, but I did receive an email back from AS right away.
They drove out from JC specifically to install the light bases for me, and take care of anything else I could think of.
I might have been able to take care of this w the local dealer, but I didn't buy from him. I opted to save $7K and buy a older new unit 200 miles from home. That obviously didn't help me with the local dealer.. All the work done this week by the JC guys was done at my local dealer though.
I asked them if they were going to do anything else while they were here, and they mentioned some service training programs they were going to do here in St Louis and Springfield, MO. That way they got a little more productivity out of their trip...
Jeff

[fmr.capt.evi]

Originally Posted by GettinAway

Well I can't get a picture up of my new castings under the lights. Photobucket is not letting me into my own account??
I did want to report that Dave and Tim from Jackson Center came out to St Louis and worked on my 23FB FC late yesterday and this morning. They put the new castings under all 11 running lights, and they look very good.
There were some other issues I was having (furnace, black water sensor, propane tank cover, interior lights, and of course the white corrosion around the running lights.)
They fixed everything. My AS looks like, and operates like, I had hoped it would!!
I still have a bit of the corrosion around the rivets and edge on one corner panel, but they treated it with Corrosion X and Boshield. It is pretty hard to find at this point.
I will try again later to post a picture of the new light base. It has all the corrosion covered for now..
I really can't complain at this point. They (Dave and Tim) made a trip out from Ohio to St Louis to try and make sure I was satisfied. They are both great to work with.. First class!

Jeff

Did they give you the impression that they came to STL just for you?

[GettinAway]

Originally Posted by fmrcaptevil

Did they give you the impression that they came to STL just for you?

No doubt about it. I asked them if my AS was the only reason they came out.
It was.. They did do some service training with the local dealer, I believe to help make the trip more practical. Then they went down to visit a new dealer in Springfield, MO. But, the main reason for their trip was to fix my trailer.
I am impressed.

[Snaken49]

Folks I own a 2010, 28' Flying Cloud (purchased new). I noticed shortly after my purchase a small area of possible skin corrosion next to the right rear taillight assembly. I initially passed it off as some over spray of caulk or sealant that dried hard.

The AS is stored under an open shed so it doesn't get much rain on the rear. But I recently washed it and noticed water still dripping out from under the assy. after two days in Texas heat.

After getting instructions from my local AS repair shop I removed the right taillight assembly housing. and found that it had been holding water for quite some time. The lower portion of the housing was thoroughly corroded. It was not completely sealed with either putty or parbond and it was in direct contact with the aluminum trailer skin causing a breakdown in the clear coat. This directly contributed to a curved 7" area of skin corrosion on the right rear panel.

Unfortunately the left taillight shows evidence of the same problem. My local repair shop has referred the situation to AS warranty shop. After looking at this thread dating back to 2007 it seems that this a repetitive situation that could be prevented by slight modification of design, assembly procedures and materials. Hopefully JC will step up and do what is right. Will keep you posted!

[Snaken49]

Well folks on the bright; after reading all 92 pages of this thread to learn what to look for and most of the others dealing with corrosion I made a thorough inspection of my AS.

Happy to report that there is NOT a spot of corrosion anywhere else on the AS!

The running lights are those new LEDs installed without the back pads but seem to have sealant around the base plate. So the light base may not be in direct contact with aluminum clear coat. I did add clear parbond to keep water from entering the light through the lens.

I must also add that I had a 25' Safari FB for 3 years before up sizing to the 28' FC and it did NOT have any corrosion on it when it was sold.

[dkottum]

Good news Snaken49. Those who live in areas with no ocean salt or winter road salt exposure are fortunate. The rest of us better get stocked up on CorrosionX or Boeshield, treat troublesome areas (cut edges, rivets, fitting, and steel frame components) the day we bring it home and regularly after. (Easy to do.)

Airstream and it's dealers ought to recommend this as routine maintenance but they don't. They do shrug their shoulders when it happens.

doug k

[sierrafun]

Doug,

Not sure if you know the answer to this but for those of us who don't yet own Airstreams, is this corrosion issue still a problem on new 2012 & 2013 models?

[dkottum]

This is and has been a problem since Airstream started using the Alcoa prefinished panels, then cutting and drilling the panels for assembly, over 10 years. Most will say it's a cosmetic not structural issue but can get pretty nasty looking without maintenance.

Every RV has it's own issues relative to body shell materials, this is Airsteam's. Hasn't kept us from enjoying our new Airstream though, it's a maintenance thing.

doug k

[Snaken49]

Sierra,

I've read every thread on corrosion posted in this forum since 2007 and from a statistical standpoint it looks like 30 AS per 1200 or 2.5% produced have some form of corrosion issues fairly quickly. This is a very low number compared to total production. Of course not everyone experiencing problems posts in this forum. The most common examples are:

- Around rivets
- Seams
- Grab bar on door entry
- Door hinges
- Running lights
- Taillights

On newer models the running light installation issue has been addressed by the installation of a gasket on the running light base before mounting it against the coated aluminum skin at the factory. This prevents the base plate from destroying the integrity of the coating at install or from road vibration.

On almost every model the taillights are installed with a thick bead of putty on the edge of the assembly that is in contact with the aluminum skin and then thoroughly sealed with Adseal. However since the rear led lights are not mounted to the taillight frame with sealant water can still penetrate to the inside of the housing. I would recommend that you seal around this area with clear bead of Adseal or Parbond. (let me know know if want a pic posted of this area)

As stated in my previous post this is my second AS and the first had zero corrosion or any other material defects evident after 3 years of operation. My current AS also has zero corrosion other than where the taillight assemblies destroyed the integrity of the aluminum coating.

I have looked at least a hundred new and used AS from Texas to Florida and by and large they were corrosion free. Overall corrosion issues on AS can be controlled by good preventive maintenance. It is a small price to pay for the overall quality and durability of an AS. I would never replace my AS with on from some other brand (SOB).

[grabob]

Can anyone tell me by looking at the attached pictures if this is "filiform" corrosion?

[Moflash]

2.5% ??? How did you arrive at this.
I think you are way off the mark.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by grabob

Can anyone tell me by looking at the attached pictures if this is "filiform" corrosion?

Strictly speaking No......

Your corrosion started after the clearcoat pealed away.
A PITA none-the-less.

Go back a few posts.....well quite a few actually.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f142...tml#post606944

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f142...tml#post607273

Either procedure will work, some have other solutions.

Bob

[ddog2008]

Originally Posted by dkottum

Good news Snaken49. Those who live in areas with no ocean salt or winter road salt exposure are fortunate. The rest of us better get stocked up on CorrosionX or Boeshield, treat troublesome areas (cut edges, rivets, fitting, and steel frame components) the day we bring it home and regularly after. (Easy to do.)

Airstream and it's dealers ought to recommend this as routine maintenance but they don't. They do shrug their shoulders when it happens.

doug k

What is the "routine"?

[ddog2008]

what is the 'appropriate' eraser?

[ROBERT CROSS]

"what is the 'appropriate' eraser?"

If by eraser you mean procedure....

These are two that I have used.

Go back a few posts.....well quite a few actually.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f142...tml#post606944

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f142...tml#post607273

Either procedure will work, some have other solutions.

Bob
[/QUOTE]

[dkottum]

"What is the routine?"

Regular inspection, repair, and treatment as needed to keep the trailer free of corrosion. Frequency would depend on where you live and travel. If you live in the Arizona desert you may never see corrosion on your Airstream. If you live on the Florida coast you may see it in a month of ownership.

doug k

[GregU]

I just visited the Camper Clinic Airstream dealer in Buda Texas and looked at about 40 new 2013 Airstreams. I saw all models and lengths. All now come with a chrome looking "beauty Band" that covers the belt line seam and all belt line rivets. It is an inch or so wide and covers the entire belt line including the door. The strip is simlilar to the belt line strip used on some older models of Airstream and on the Eddie Bower edition. It was on all models from Flying Cloud to Classic to International Signature.

I am disappointed that Airstream has chosen to cover up the problem instead of working on a solution to solve it. I wonder how long it will take for the filiform to work its way past the strip? Also, the strip prevents any of the treatments shown on this thread since you no longer have access to the rivets and seam edges. On one new 2013 Sterling Internationals I saw, the stick on "chrome" strip had already separated from the base plate that was screwed of riveted to the belt Line area.

As for the filiform on my 2008 23' CCD, I have moved my AS from a storage area with gravel floors to one with raised, sealed concrete floors and 15' ceilings. The new storage area is so much dryer than the gravel floored area and the rate of growth of filiform seems to have slowed dramatically. I know from experience that you do not want to store an automobile in humid areas in an enclosed gravel floor storage shed. Your car can rust from the inside out due to the trapped moisture in the gravel that acts just like a hot house in the blistering Texas sun. I suspect the same corrosive actions contribute greatly to the filiform corrosion issues some of us are having.

Conclusion- keep treating where you can and store your AS in the driest site you can afford. You can treat the seams then install and seal the new belt line strips. The new strips appear to be available for all models and lengths of AS.

[GettinAway]

I wish I could find a nice "inexpensive" indoor storage area. Mine sits outside on the asphalt driveway. I get little brown dots on the aluminum. I think they are droppings from the bugs eating tree leaves. Or maybe a sap of some kind. When wet, they are a little easier to remove.
FYI, I haven't seen any advancement of my corrosion this summer. (Since I started treating it, and AS came out and put the new bases around all the running lights.)
Jeff

[rodsterinfl]

I was reading a "chemist corner" tech help on filliform or branching corrosion. Interestingly it mentioned a counter agent of ammonia ????? The article said that chloride was the main agent of the corrosion acting with water. Just a thought.

[dkottum]

My greatest concern for corrosion was the clearance light frames "digging" into the clear finish and starting corrosion (common problem on these models), and the fact that 7 of the 11 LED lights had visible water condensation in the lights shortly after I bought it.

I went to my dealer in Minnesota with the problem and the service dept refused to consider it as a warranty issue and was very rude (the end of my business with them).

I contacted Airstream about it and they offered to replace the plastic base and lens assembly with the Classic base which is cast aluminum, as well as the lens/LED fixture. Not as a warranty item specifically, but as a "good will" gesture. My sense is they are careful about replacement of standard parts which I paid for, with higher grade products from their premium model. That's fair enough and I was happy with the gesture.

As I was headed that direction anyway, I went to the Service Center in Jackson Center and they replaced my Flying Cloud plastic fixtures with the much better Classic bases and lens assemblies. There are two different Classic bases, one for the flat sides and another for the curved upper lights.

They sealed all the lenses completely, and the three rear upper bases completely. The other bases they sealed top/sides but left bottom edge open to drain.

If you have a 2011/early 2012 FC or Int'l inspect your LED clearance lights. The later models have a rubber gasket that prevents contact of the plastic base to shell. The early LED bases have a high probability of corrosion.

doug k