2003 International AS - Page 4

Pahaska · 08-18-2002, 11:13 AM

Somehow, the photo did not attach to the previous post. here it is:

uwe · 08-18-2002, 12:06 PM

Hi Robert and Rebecca,
I live close by an Airstream dealer and go once in a while just to snoop around and check the new units.
I completely agree with you on the fact that some of the new units are very poorly built. As a matter of fact, I would not buy one at half the price. ( Not that I can afford it right now, anyways)
I have seen CCD unit's interior parts fall apart on the dealer's lot, literally, no exxageration. And I have spent an hour looking at the AS model, noticing very poor craftsmanship and execution, simply unacceptable to me. Not something I wanted to see, believe me, because I was looking forward to buying a new A/S trailer in a year or so. I think I will keep my old one and buy a new motorhome instead. I don't see a noticeable difference in INTERIOR quality from a SOB trailer that only costs 1/3 of the price of the A/S.
Of course under the skin it's still an Airstream with all the famous quality marks of the past - or is it?

sovereign · 08-18-2002, 08:26 PM

when i buy somthing new , it is because i get tired of fixing things and breakdowns. but with that list of things that are wrong , it would be going back too the dealer and getting somthing else. cause as much as the list price is, it should be flawless in MY opinion. when i got my 77 model in 2000, it was in better shape!

Pahaska · 08-19-2002, 12:58 PM

The manual specifies "To change a tire with a jack, see the label affixed to the underbelly to the rear of the wheels. This label says JACK with an arrow and points to a plate riveted to the mainframe rail where the jack head must be placed."

Whadda ya know. No label. No plate. In fact, there is only one place, about 8" wide, where a jack can even be placed on the frame, in the gap between the grey and black water tanks. There is a cross member at that point

I had the wheels balanced this morning and I had them jack the trailer at that point.

I think the manual was simply zeroxed from previous manuals without ever checking it against the physical trailer.

sovereign · 08-19-2002, 05:05 PM

i wonder if airstream has a process improvement dept? and if any of the quality control,mangement read this forum

**jcanavera** · 08-19-2002, 05:19 PM

I haven't been under mine yet, but since its in the drive at this point I'll look tonight. I think my book also notes something marked "jack".

If nothing is there, maybe we need to call customer service tomorrow!

Jack

gwsullivan · 08-19-2002, 06:16 PM

Mine are right where the manual says they should be--behind the rear wheels.

Pahaska · 08-22-2002, 11:57 AM

Have any other AS/CCD owners tried using the shower head?

All I can get is a dribble from it. I think it needs a lot more flow to get a decent spray. The galley sink spray works fine, so it isn't overall low pressure.

I'm thinking of plugging about half the holes in the shower head to try to get a decent spray.

paul rogers · 08-22-2002, 08:23 PM

hey, iam freaking out here. the reason i was trading in my 2001 trailer (which i am have zero problems with) is because AS is supposed to be the best. am i making a mistake here?

Pahaska · 08-22-2002, 08:46 PM

Where it is good, it is very good. Where it is bad, it is horrid.

The trailer is an enigma. It is attractive and I love most everything about it, but there are glaring inconsistancies.

In my case, it is mostly little things like the shower head. The overall build quality is fine. I love the layout and the galley.

There are a lot of inconsistancies in the owner's manual. It is obviously an unedited zerox job from another model.

The empty weight of the trailer is too high, but there is no attempt to remove unneeded wood from the interior. Everything is 3/4" plywood, often several layers thick regardless of whether it is needed. With their numerically controlled cutters, it would be trivial to remove a bunch of unnecessary weight.

The drawers are unbelievably heavy with steel sides and 3/4" bottom and back. I ran the bottoms and backs of the galley drawers through the planer and got rid of a lot of unneeded wood. Not much I can do aboput the steel sides, though, unless I want to build new drawers.

I think that they need someone to take the trailer and live in it for a period and report back on problems so that they could be fixed before production.

Pahaska · 09-05-2002, 11:18 PM

Just got back from a 1500-mile round trip to Eureka Springs and Branson.

The trailer now has a small beauty mark where an old lady in a big, old car backed into the bumper in a parking lot. I heard it and saw the trailer shake as I was coming out of a Chinese buffet in Poteau, OK. I was too far away and she was long gone by the time I got to the trailer. It's not too bad and I'll probably try to bump it out.

The trailer worked just great with several small exceptions:
1. The "chrome" on the trim on the door is peeling.

2. The two large drawers under the bed will not stay closed when loaded with clothes. There is a single latch on the back of each drawer; there should be 2 latches on these large, heavy drawers.

3. The lid hinge for the bumper storage is attached only with a double-sided sticky foam tape. The tape only adhered to about 1/3 of the hinge at one end and the balance of the hinge came loose. I suspect the mating surface wasn't properly cleaned. I used a knife to remove some foam and used two tabs of "industrial-strength" Velcro to hold the lid in place until I returned home. I'll probably pop-rivet the hinge in place.

53flyingcloud · 09-05-2002, 11:47 PM

John,
Having been to Eureka Springs before...I just wondered where oh where did you find a spot to park>??? lol, it's a nice lil town and I bet you had a great time at both places as well...
Had you looked at on of my pictures of my rear storage area? It shows the 'original tiedown' that A/S USED to use...
Nice to read abt your trip....Somehow we missed each other on the road this summer..Just terminated my 6 week vacation and, 7,000 mile trek...
ciao

rbyrnesanmateo · 09-06-2002, 12:52 AM

Hi John,

I have to agree with you on the shower head. Ours comes out as a dribble as well, and keeps shifting from dribble to the regular flow!

We took the trailer out this last weekend to Santa Cruz and found a few more bugs, and more of the laminate is peeling off -

Anyway, I guess that we've finally contacted the right folks at Airstream customer service, because we got a letter form Dickie Regal, the CEO of Thor Industries, and he told us that he would do whatever it took to make sure that our trailer was fixed.

We will be shipping her back to Ohio in the fall at the end of our camping season. We still have a Yosemite trip on the books.

The folks at Airstream are aware of this forum, we sent them the link, and they have checked it out. If anything comes of it, I couldn't tell you.

Anyway, just adding in my 2 cents worth!

Pahaska · 09-06-2002, 03:25 PM

Thanks rbyrnesanmateo. Looks like we have some of the same problems. Thank goodness, I have been luckier than you. My 1500-mile trip went quite well and the problems I ran into were minor.

I'm going to have to stop up a few more holes in the shower head. It works OK now with both taps on full, butwhen I turn back the hot a bit to get the right water temperature, it's back to the dribble mode.

As you can see from the post above, when I loaded the under-bed drawers, they came out underway, just as yours did. I'm going to email Airstream and suggest that they put two latches on the back of each of those big drawers.

I pulled some laminate from the edge of the bathroom door when my clothes caught on it. I reglued the edging with woodworker's glue and it is solid now. I wonder whether it is the "iron-on" type of edging? I never have found that to adhere very solidly.

I did have the cover on the bumper storage come loose from the foam tape used to attach it. I'm convinced that the cover was oily from the stamping process and hadn't been properly cleaned before applying the tape. I'll probably hav the dealer wrestle with this one.