Microwave and Bottoming Out

[SWH]

In the last couple of weeks I tried to take care of a couple of things on our 2017 AI that I’ve been meaning to deal with. My efforts in each case have only made things worse thanks to the incompetence and lack of attention of my Airstream dealer and a tire shop.

First, when we took delivery of our AI the microwave door was scratched badly because the rubber sleeve that goes over the door lock that swings over on the door when traveling was missing. Last month I finally took it in to get it fixed after confirming with the dealer everything was set to get this done and to do a generator annual service. After dropping it off I got a message from the service rep that they couldn’t find my microwave in their parts department. After I expressed my displeasure because he had told me everything was set, an hour later he said they found it.

Well I picked it up and sure enough it had a new microwave. But it was not the same model that came in my AI. No worries, I thought, maybe this was an alternative model or maybe this is the one they are using now - a very nice looking Sharp model. But the problem is that there is no way to secure the drawer/door when traveling and it slides open around curves and over rough roads. I have a message in to my service rep about it and he hasn’t responded. Wish I would have just left it alone.



Also, no when I plug in the 30 amp service the microwave comes on now even with the battery disconnect turned on (i.e., red light off). I don’t remember this being the case before, so I think that’s wrong as well.

Second, last month I decided to get an alignment and wheel balance to make sure everything was correct because I still felt some steering wheel shake at highway speeds. Took it in, they confirmed it was out of alignment and sent me out the door. But when I got it on the highway it shook worse than ever. Took it back last week for a rebalance. The entry into the tire shop has a bad dip and I was careful to come in sideways. The guy comes out, hops in the AI, drives it back out into the street and comes in straight on back into the lot and into a service bay. Horrible sound as the AI bottomed out. I winced but didn’t do any careful checking before I left figuring it just scraped the guards at the back. Well, his carelessness really did a number on things. Bent the bolts holding the generator, cracked the propane fill cover, bent the holder of the generator exhaust pipe so now the pipe is touching the body of the van... and these are just the things I have been able to notice. I am going to contact the tire shop today to let them know the damage they did and I’m just expecting that they won’t want to take responsibility.



Incidentally the steering wheel shake is better but he said it won’t be perfect because one of my tires is slightly out of round... showed me on the balancing machine.

So now I have an un-scratched microwave that slams open and closed around corners and balanced tires with bad damage to the back underside of the coach... I think that’s 1 step forward and at least 3 steps back...

[SWH]

One question I have for the community is am I right that the microwave should not turn on if the coach battery disconnect is turned on?

[InterBlog]

Sorry for your troubles. I can't speak to the microwave, but the potential for the bottoming-out you describe has given me nightmares, to the point where I have these observations and this advice for all Interstate owners.

Many service people who we are forced to let drive our rigs are oblivious to the special issues posed by departure and break-over angles. I always inspect the area around a service facility for changes in inflection and if any are present, I give them verbal instructions not to tail-strike while they are in possession of our rig. And I always get the name of the person to whom I gave the instruction. That way, if they say "we were never told - it's not our fault" I can then reply "I stood there at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday and told Bob straight to his face what the dangers were."

If I really perceive a particularly high risk, such as a pronounced service driveway inflection, then I might ask them to write the fact of that communication on my service ticket, so that there is no doubt later on. And then if they don't communicate the instruction down the reporting chain, it's clearly their fault. But if the issue is really impressed upon them to the point where it gets written down, they tend to get the message that I (the owner) am really serious, and they will be held financially accountable for any damage. Which makes them less likely to screw up.

[Boxite]

I'm certain your microwave is 120 volts and if you're plugged into shore power it should work regardless of your battery switch.

Never leave a service facility without checking for damage if they've operated your vehicle out of your sight. When I'm in the facility and they test-drive... I go along as a passenger, primarily to witness any discrepancies but also to encourage treating my vehicle nicely. (I'm a former tech for a car dealership and I know what sometimes goes on.)

[Pahaska]

When you plug in to outside power, the Magnum inverter goes into pass-through mode which makes the microwave outlet hot. The battery disconnect switch does not affect this.

On my AI, the microwave outlet and the refrigerator AC outlet are side by side and not well identified. It is possible that the new microwave has been swapped to the refrigerator outlet.

[cazual6]

I concur on both comments about Microwave coming ON regardless if the Battery Disconnect is engaged or not.

[SWH]

Thanks for the replies. Apparently I never noticed that the microwave powers up that way. And, yes, I learned my lesson about departure and break over angles and service folks. He was oblivious to it, and then he pretended like it didn’t happen. If I had even considered that he might leave their lot to pull the coach into the service bay I would have warned him. I’m very mad at myself that I didn’t inspect for damage carefully.

[Tronadora]

Looks like they put in the same model as we have in our 2015. Sigh.

I'm trying to work out a simple and elegant solution to latching it closed... would love to use thin neodymium magnets instead of a latch or a tension rod across the aisle. If anyone has done something clever please post a pic.

[SWH]

It’s a nice looking microwave but I can’t believe they don’t include some means of securing the drawer if they put these in RVs!

[gecko]

Sorry about your troubles. Can’t comment intelligently on the microwave, but do have some helpful experience with alignment.

We tow our 2009 international with a customized low roof 144” wheelbase Sprinter 3500. Alignment on these is quite tricky. We had good experience with two different Les Schwab dealers, our original Sprinter dealer, an 18 wheeler shop in Texas, and an American Tire shop.

The first Les Schwab dealer spent quite a bit of time after checking our front end explaining why he saw that my front end was out but didn’t know what to do because he would have to take it out of spec to correct for the observed problem. I appreciated his candor. (Hood River, OR). We next went to a Freightliner dealer in Portland fir an annual service, and he said that Sprinters are very tricky for alignment and Sent us to the Les Scheab acroos the street that specializes in 18 wheelers—and Sprinters. This guy took it out of spec and we had a very good result showing completely even wear on those tires going forward.

In Corpus Christi, we noticed uneven wear a year later, and the locsl Sprinter dealer was backed up so we went to a recommended 18 wheeler shop. The young man there took 3 hours to perfect his work, and again, no uneven wear and a very even ride for many thousands of miles.

Back in Los Angeles, another annual service at our local dealer, and a request to check the alignment confirmed that the Texas dude had done great work, but we learned that there was a new part that allowed more comprehensive adjustment in case something got out of whack (it never did, so we didn’t add the part.)

The following year, we added a TPMS system that arrived and we installed while again in Texas. Valve problems began immediately and persisted until we had time to address them back to LA. We decided to replace the original tires with Michelin’s to complement the new ones on our AS., and bought them at American Tire near our AS maintenance shop (C&S in Bellflower.) These guys were fantastic, showing me why Sprinter wheels are terribly difficult to get a good valve seal, and worked with me continuously for a week to get the perfect valves. We tried both their stock rubber and steel valves (TPMS manufacturer recommends steel) and the manager even kept the shop open late so that I could traverse the LA basin to get special order steel valves recommended by the TPMS manufacturer for Sprinters. I have a case full of spare valves of different lengths and configurations, but we finally hit the right combo of manufacturers to be able to check tire pressure in the duallies with the TPMS system working well. They assured me that a new Front end alignment was NOT necessary, and so far, they have been right. I can’t say enough good things about this shop, as they always met their appointment times, never complained but were always cheerful, didn’t charge me beyond the initial tire purchase, and went ridiculously beyond good customer service to make sure I didn’t leave until everything was perfect.

The takeaway is that Sprinter front end alignment is quite difficult—Mercedes in general are notorious for it—and you ineed to find someone who is very experienced with Sprinters to get it right. There seems to be an element of the artist rather than just setting to spec in making this work well.

One comment about changing the Sprinter from the Mercedes spec original brand tires to the Michelin’s—the Michelin’s do NOT handle as well,. For whatever reason, there was an immediately noticeable difference in tracking—the Michelin’s wander a little bit where the originals were locked solid. A subtle, but noticeable difference. The Sprinter alignment guy confirmed that the alignment was correct, and explained that the reason you pay more for the Mercedes tires than you would buying the same model of the same brand elsewhere is that they are not the same tire. Each manufacturer makes the tire slightly different for the factory issued tire per Mercedes specs—if I remember right, there’s a slightly different designation on the model number. On the surface looks like just a way to get you back to Mercedes to buy tires, but after all the time we invested and the noticeable difference in ride, our next set of front end tires we’ll pay the extra $$ and see if it’s true.

You tire pro’s out there—would sure love you to chime in on this one!

Good luck!

[SWH]

I’m going to insist they replace the microwave again. Doing a bit more research, while mine is OEM, it is OEM for 2015-2016 model year Interstates. They changed to the Contoure model that added a browning feature on 2017 models (which I think they still use on 2018s), which they listed as one of the 2017 MY improvements - https://www.airstream.com/blog/airst...ate-whats-new/

Also, here is the 2017 parts book clearly listing the Contoure unit: https://www.airstream.com/wp-content...ok.pdf#page173

I think they just gave me a leftover...

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by SWH

I’m going to insist they replace the microwave again. Doing a bit more research, while mine is OEM, it is OEM for 2015-2016 model year Interstates. They changed to the Contoure model that added a browning feature on 2017 models (which I think they still use on 2018s), which they listed as one of the 2017 MY improvements - https://www.airstream.com/blog/airst...ate-whats-new/

Also, here is the 2017 parts book clearly listing the Contoure unit: https://www.airstream.com/wp-content...ok.pdf#page173

I think they just gave me a leftover...

Are you certain that the Contoure unit door will latch closed as you desire? ... because I suspect that if you insist on that unit...it'll be difficult to complain about it's performance later on if you become dissatisfied.

We replaced our OEM M/W which was inoperative when we bought the AS used.... with a Samsung Convection unit which has been very satisfactory except that it needs addt'l exhaust-fan air circulation in "browning/convection/pizza" mode. Others have also mentioned this unit's personality in that regard. I plan to have addt'l ventilation fan installed behind it to exhaust the heat it makes in that mode.
Otherwise, I'm amazed at how useful it is.

[SWH]

Yes, the Contoure model has a latch that swings over on the upper right hand corner to keep it closed.

[Titus]

Some posts say that the Michelins were a huge improvement over the OEM Continentals. I would not say it was a huge improvement but would not describe them as being worse.

I had trouble finding a tire shop that was not afraid to do the alignment. Most could not/would not attach to the aluminum rim - for fear of scratching the rim. The shop I went to had clamps that hooked into the tire tread. They did not need to change the camber, and made only a small adjustment to toe-in. Offset camber bolts are needed if a lot of adjustment is needed.

[AirstreamInc]

Hi SWH,

We're sorry to learn about the issues you described in your 2017 Interstate Lounge Ext. Please call our customer service and technical support team at*1 (877) 596-6111, option 2 so we can learn more and help.

Thanks.

[Mike1997]

As a temp measure for the microwave, might try a bungie cord thru the handle and connected on both sides. Its how I secure my flat screen TV while traveling.

The garage damage is serious. Depending on how you choose to settle, either proceed with repairs and go after shop in small claims court or file on your insurance for vehicle damage. Good luck, keep us posted with your outcome on both issues.

[amirm]

We have the sharp microwave. On the bottom right there is a tiny lever you rotate to lock the doors much like you do with the fridges. I am assuming that is an Airstream addition. If yours is lacking that it should be an easy add-on by the dealer.

On powering on, as mentioned it will do that. You need to push some cancel button or the lights stay on forever, disturbing sleep at night.

I prefer the Sharp to some no-name RV brand microwave.

[SWH]

I will have to go back and check that amirm- I looked pretty closely and didn’t see any such lever. I might be willing to live with it if there is a clean, OEM solution keep the door secure.

[SWH]

Contacted Airstream on the microwave and they determined that the wrong model was indeed sent in error and a new one is being shipped to my dealer tomorrow. Thanks to Airstream for admitting the mistake and taking care of it! Will update on the damage to the rear underside of the coach next week once I get a report from the dealer (dropping it off with them tomorrow or Thursday).

[Acheron2010]

One Hundred and Sixty Five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy Eight Dollars.

And your microwave door will not close?