Have to Slam the Door on a New AS?

[SteveSueMac]

Itorgy - I didn't mention in reply #4 that the fix at the factory included removing the door, removing the skin of the door, replacing the mechanism and lock (including new keys), moving the striker and a hammering to bend the door. It has worked perfectly since. Why they didn't get this right at the factory is a mystery - such an expensive way to do business...

We shouldn't have to work out many (if any) bugs like this - but once you do - it is pure joy! Good luck!

[AWCHIEF]

Jackson Center needs to be aware of all QC issues. How else are they expected to know they have a problem? If they get a enough complaints on a certain problem they can hopefully see a trend and take action to fix the issues before sending trailers out the door.

[Cyclist]

Originally Posted by Dan Rossbach

How do you do that from the inside?

Dan: See CWF's comment - I do something similar. I pull the handle in and slightly up and it works fine.

[Fly at Night]

The Airstream dealerships refer to this as "the bank-vault slam." Considering the price of a new Airstream - they couldn't have come up with a better term!

[Mrjkq]

My 2016 must be closed firmly with a good slam or it only catches the first stop. My first night in the trailer I woke up the following morning & to my surprise I could see light coming in through the door jam, I gave it a slight push to realize it was totally unclosed. Being very security conscience that was a shock.

[Fly at Night]

Originally Posted by Mrjkq

My 2016 must be closed firmly with a good slam or it only catches the first stop. My first night in the trailer I woke up the following morning & to my surprise I could see light coming in through the door jam, I gave it a slight push to realize it was totally unclosed. Being very security conscience that was a shock.

Same thing happened to me. Tried to lock the door from the outside and it wouldn't lock. So, gave the door the ol' NHL hip-check, and the door was then totally flush and was able to lock it.

So, I slam away. Obviously, it was made for this.

[Mrjkq]

Originally Posted by Fly at Night

Same thing happened to me. Tried to lock the door from the outside and it wouldn't lock. So, gave the door the ol' NHL hip-check, and the door was then totally flush and was able to lock it.

So, I slam away. Obviously, it was made for this.

I guess that's why Patrick in his videos claims it closes like a bank vault door.

[ltorgy]

Originally Posted by Mrjkq

My 2016 must be closed firmly with a good slam or it only catches the first stop. My first night in the trailer I woke up the following morning & to my surprise I could see light coming in through the door jam, I gave it a slight push to realize it was totally unclosed. Being very security conscience that was a shock.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, I finally took my new AS back to the dealer and they fixed the problem. Now I can close the door with a firm close (one hand only) rather than a slam. Very refreshing and I won't wake up the neighbors at any park we are camped at when taking the dogs out. Certainly worth checking with your dealer about this. I actually watched a video made for dealers by AS that specifically addresses the issue of the hard-to-close door. So apparently, it's common enough to make a how-to video for all of the AS dealers.

[AWCHIEF]

The door on my Safari takes a firm push to close. Like I suppose all Airstreams it can be sensitive to parking pad level and stabilizer tension. The old Bambi II was so warped and twisted out of shape that it took a hard slam to get the door shut all the way and still could see light around the edges. I do sometimes forget how easily the Safari door closes compared to the Bambi II and close it harder than necessary.

[m.hony]

After adjustment at Jackson Center my door is somewhat easy to close.
Paul, the mechanic, worked on it for half a day.
He worked on "the list" for 2 1/2 days.
Then another mechanic adjusted my Equal-i-zer hitch. I got a better understanding of how it works and how to adjust it from him in the parking lot behind the service center.
Jackson Center is da bomb!


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[Revery]

It needs to be adjusted, we recently purchased our 2nd AS in the last 12 months, a 28' FC and after the first trip, which was 5600 miles I noticed the door had become very hard to close, took the dealer two service stops to get it right but just got back from a short trip and it is good now. Our first AS was a 23' which never had a door issue, just cabinets falling apart. Problem I have now is still stuff falling apart, couple of trips ago the fresh water tank fell off in the middle of the freeway, then toilet broke and on the recent trip the cabinet in rear bedroom with TV on it fell off the upper support, forward ceiling fan starts and stops all by itself and the grey tank sensor won't register. Workmanship seems to be horrible on the new ones. It's frustrating but still fun and fortunately we have a great dealer and they just keep patching 'er up. Hopefully they will have fixed all the weak links in a few months, so when we are ready to do a lot of real long distance trips it will be solid. Every time they fix it they reinforce the work so it won't happen again. Anyway tell your dealer you don't want to pull the handle off the inside just to close the door "so fix it".

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, we were on the road for 3 1/2 months and sometimes my door closed easily and sometimes it needed a little more effort; This is just the nature of the beast. Trailers flex, and almost daily, we were parked/camping somewhere else.

[Msmoto]

A little silicone sprayed on the door seal has helped mine close easier, yet it still requires a firm closing.

I suspect this means it is sealing well, less air entry....?

[Julie-Bob]

The door on our 2009 25FB Classic gets hard to open and close I get out the wd40 and lub the lock inside the door and wow. I can open with one finger. Magic.