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frozen chosen · 05-28-2004, 10:09 PM

Jamie; I like it. What fan did you use; the Silenx 12mm? I recently installed a PVC tube under the rear bumper to house the slinky, never liked the idea of keeping it in a box in the trailer. The fan thing will be next. Hey, do you have a generator? I just bought a 1000W Yamaha. Beings as how the total amp draw on the trailer is something like 80, it seems this little guy should do. I sure hope so.....

Turtle · 05-28-2004, 10:21 PM

The fan is the factory fan. I thought of the Silenx but I'm satisfied for now. One of the first things I did was a slinky tube. Puzzled as to why it's not standard. I have the Honda eu3000. Needed it for the air conditioner. It's heavy but I just leave it in the back of the truck and pull it out onto the tailgate when I need to run it.

MaShep · 05-28-2004, 10:54 PM

Jamie and Brad... Your modifications are cool! The only mod I've managed is to stick a bandaid over the irritating red battery light and the green pulsing lp light. So far, we've just been turning the fridg off at night. Mammoth was great fun 3 weeks ago! The only new problem so far is one of the lower cabinet latches under the bed broke. The catch came off screws and all.

Turtle · 05-28-2004, 11:02 PM

Ditto on the lower cabinet latch. Happend at home so I was able to fix. Longer screws did it. I like the bandaid idea. We've been using my wifes makeup case for the LP detector. Don't notice the red light.

MaShep · 05-28-2004, 11:16 PM

My dog liked to curl up in that spot... until he accidentally pushed the 'test' button. Thankfully that happened during the day or WOW! I didn't want to trust the doors on the way back, or duct tape it. So I pushed one of the green dinette cushions across the door to keep stuff from sliding through.
Here's a view of the stream...

MaShep · 05-28-2004, 11:24 PM

looking back at the rig... nice to be small enough to get into tight campsites!

Paul&Dee · 09-05-2004, 07:52 AM

We've been one of the 'visitors' to this forum for a couple of years. We live about an hour north of Atlanta. We've never owned an RV, but want to do some traveling when I retire. I wanted something that we would really want to stay in. We've looked at lots of RVs the last few years, but kept coming back to Airstreams.

Headed down to the city yesterday and called Atlanta Auto Brokers to see if they had a 16 CCD we could look at. They did, and it was one they had moved up to their branch in Marietta. We fell in love with it, and after several hours of haggling, wound up buying it.

We will drive the Ranger back to Marietta Thursday (wait for the hurricane to pass thru) to get the hitch installed and bring her back to the mountains. I've been reading the posts on what to look for. Ours has a build date of 11/2003. I hope they had remembered to connect all the wires by then

Don't know if there will be any water available to connect up, but we'll try!

We plan take our maiden voyage up to the Top of Georgia airstream park next weekend. Hope to see some of you there. I'll be the guy trying to remember how to set up the awning.

Paul and Dee

MaShep · 09-05-2004, 10:30 AM

Welcome to the pod group! Looking forward to hearing about your first trip... pictures too please???

Turtle · 09-06-2004, 07:28 PM

Paul and Dee,
I bet one of the first things you'll want to do to your new 16' CCD is the refrigerator fan fix as suggested here http://www.airforums.com/forum...ht=silenx+fans We seem to all be in agreement that the fan is just too loud for such a small trailer. We're leaving in a few days for a 2 week trip that will ultimately take us to Glacier Park, MT. Looking for that first snowfall.

Jamie

sdairstream · 09-08-2004, 02:47 PM

Hello "pod people"

Just wanted to say thanks for your advice and support. After much thought and a 600-mile drive to Illinois we took the plunge and purchased a bamb 16' CCDi. Of course we've got many years of payments, but I decided, "lets get something of value and quality now and keep for many years." I think Airstream was the logical choice there. After hitching up, we towed back to SD w/o any troubles. I can say I wish my truck had a little more under the hood, but I'm still getting used to pulling a trailer.

So far we love our bambi... only stayed one night, in a Wal-Mart lot after a few hours of driving. So many people have said how small the 16 looks, but after growing up camping in VW Westys I can say I feel the bambi is a castle. Such perks as a permanent bed, hot water, a TOILET... what luxuries. Anyway, now our bambi is sitting in the driveway ready for a week vaction to the Black Hills (Mt. Rushmore region) in late September for a little fly fishing, biking, hiking, and lots of relaxing. I am running all the systems to check for faults. So far I've only found:

1) Several screws pulled from their holes. The med. cupboard in the bath was hanging... larger diameter screw fixed the problem. Same issues on the door hinge, the drawer below the sink, and somewhere else (I foget where).
2) Lots of sawdust and screws rolling around after travel... poor factory cleanup if you ask me!
3) Most concerning till reading previous posts... seemed the shower was leaking at the connection to the shower head hose. It would only leak after turning off the shower. Now I see this is only to release excess water. ONE REMAINING CONCERN here... maybe you can help. When the hose fitting is swiveled directly up toward the ceiling I noticed after the water drained out it must have run behind the shower wall fitting, where the hose enters the batheroom. I noticed some water had run down the back of the pipes (in a place I can't see) and drained to the floor behind the power inverter/fuse panel. What a HORRIBLE place for water to leak! So, I ended up securing all the power chords off the floor via a couple "pull-ties." I was mostly concerned with the cords sitting in water. I think I can prevent this by simply swiveling the shower hose fitting 90 degrees towards the toilet. Then, when the water drains out after use it seems to run directly to the floor, not back down the fitting and behind the wall. Does this make sense to you all and any other suggestions? I certainly don't want water all over the back of my trailer where I can't reach it!
4) It seems my back set of speakers is not wired correctly. I must turn the fader to the back and crank up the volume to nearly 100% to get enough volume out of those speaker for any use. The front set works correctly. If the fader is even and I have the volume at a reasonable level up front, I hear nothing in the back. On a side note, the beep heard when changing setting on the stereo seems to work evenly both front and back. What would be wrong here?

I think that is it for now. I will look forward to reading this forum and hopefully posting some pictures soon.

Jim

MaShep · 09-08-2004, 04:57 PM

HiYa: It's sounds like you are getting it all under control. Tho, it's good if you post pictures whenever possible? The shower issues are a bit confusing for me. I think Frozen and Xray know a lot about the wiring for the tunes and TVs at this point, they may have some tips for you.
Just wondering, how do your LP lines look under the rig curb side? It's an issue we've been told has been fixed with the 16's. Ours was too close to the stabilizer.
Check the stability of your cabinets, especially the large rear hanging cabinet. (Ours fell completely off). Also the cabinet door latches under the bed.
Be sure to check the battery regularly, and the lugs on the wheels.
What is the 'birthdate' for your trailer? Aka the day it left the mother ship. ours was July 30, 2003.
Welcome to the little guys!

frozen chosen · 09-08-2004, 07:45 PM

Jim; 1 and 2 are common irritants. I'd take an hour or so with a vaccum and get into every crack and cranny to avoid long term fallout. The showere hose is something I haven't used yet, but Isee wht you are talking about. Seems the swivel fitting should be tight enough that even when poited up, most water should run don onto the shower pan; no gravity reason why it would such back into the wall. The stereo sounds like it is not the wiring (luckily) but either the speakers or more likely the stereo fader. The stereo system is one of the things we enjjoy the most, so I would get it checked out and contact AS if it needs replaced. Did you check out your TV system yet? If not, read the manual as to how it should work and test it. Also don't assume your wheels are properly packed, check that out by pulling the wheel and dust cap, then look to see if the bearings are lubricated. If the outers are, the inner bearings should be good too. A half hour here can save a lot of misery. The few aux. items we have obtained include a 10in. Sharp LCD tv that fits nicely onto the snap grommets at the foot of the bed, 2 Silenx fans to preserve our remaining sanity, a 1000W Yaamaha generator (seems plenty o power w/o an AC, and a circulating electric heater (not sure why we got this....). Unfortunately, the 16's have terminal cutes. This means your wife will become obsessed with furnishing it in a certain style which is totally non-functional. You must say nothing during this process. Preserve your masculinity by greasing fittings, cooking steaks, or hunting. If a neighbor in a 30ft 5th wheel walks by and comments "That sure is a cute little rig", immediately launch yourself at him and beat him within centimeters of his life; thus restoring harmony and balance to the world of 16 CCDdom.

frozen chosen · 09-12-2004, 06:30 PM

Have any of you been disappointed with your battery output? Ours has the lifespan of a mayfly. I drove 3 hours this weekend, and found the charge down to 12.4 after only about an hour, with only the refer fans and a few lights on. I brought it back up with the charger, but when I checked the volts later in the day I read 12.1. I've always been careful with the battery, but no idea what might have happened before I bought the rig. I am planning on getting a new battery, but wondered if anyone has gone with a larger one, or hooked 2 SRM24s up together, or golf cart batts, or whatever. It looks pretty easy to weld a larger metal holder on top of the a frame part of the hitch.

MaShep · 09-12-2004, 10:00 PM

Hi Frozen: Our battery died, we have already replaced it with the same type. OUr first trips, it was fine for several days boondocking. This spring it we found it dead. We didn't think we had left it untended for too long, but took the benefit of the doubt and just replaced it. Seems I read on this forum that many new rigs have had this problem? Considering you take really good care of your new rig, it could be it was in sad shape when you got it?

smccollister · 09-14-2004, 04:10 PM

We've experienced similar problems with our battery on our 16 CCD. We'll probably replace it as well (need to check if there is a warranty on these??). The "fit and finish" on our trailer was generally good - but I'm also wondering if the RV dealer also plays a role with that as well - seems like they should be responsible for a final vacuum, etc.

The one problem we do have is with the Dometic fridge (besides the fan which we are "living with" for the moment). There is a small plastic part on the front face which appears to hold up the stainless-looking panel. That piece appeared to be lose when we bought the trailer and has now fallen off (along with the panel). Anyone know the best way to get a replacement part? Do I go to Dometic or a supplier?

Thanks,

Scott

MaShep · 09-14-2004, 07:58 PM

<There is a small plastic part on the front face which appears to hold up the stainless-looking panel. That piece appeared to be lose when we bought the trailer and has now fallen off (along with the panel). Anyone know the best way to get a replacement part? Do I go to Dometic or a supplier?>

When we took our trailer in for other warranty work, we opened the door and found the fridge panel had broken and fallen off too. We had it all fixed at the same time. Since then, it's been OK.

smccollister · 09-14-2004, 08:27 PM

Hi Linda,

Where did you take your airstream in for the warranty work? (please don't tell me I have to take it to the factory!) :-)

Scott

MaShep · 09-14-2004, 08:36 PM

<Where did you take your airstream in for the warranty work? (please don't tell me I have to take it to the factory!) :-)>

Hi Scott: C&G Trailer, Bellflower Ca. Took good care of our warranty troubles, nice people, and they are held in high regard - especially by Airstream.

frozen chosen · 09-17-2004, 08:13 PM

Here is the set up I used for the refer fan replacement; 2 Silenx fans in series. It works great, ALMOST no sound. This week its winterizing time, and I found its a tight fit trying to install a 3 way valve ahead of the pump. I had to use an auxillary loop of flexi tube, but otherwise its a simple task. The local RV supply gave me 2 hints I have not seen before; 1st that the nylon plug on the water heater is an inch or so above the bottom, so its not a bad idea to siphon the remaining gallon out. and 2; to pull the gasket from the city water inlet and depress some sort of valve which would otherwise hold a column of water going to the main water line. I wasnot able to get the wire screen out to accomplish this one.

Turtle · 09-22-2004, 05:55 PM

I checked my rear overhead cabinet after Linda said her's fell off and thought it was ok, but this last trip we noticed it was sagging. Pried off the bottom orange panel to find all but one of the tiny screws loose or off!!! Bought the required tools to do the fix on the road...argh!!!

My battery life sucks too. I charge it up every month.

Nice fan fix Brad. Silenx fans are the only way to go. Too bad you have to put your trailer to bed so soon.

Thirteen thousand miles so far and loving it.