My New 2018 Grand Tour

[FlStrmr]

I have to share my tale of woe with all you Airstreamers (think..How The Airstream Grinch Stole My Christmas.) I ordered my 2018 GT on Oct 14, 2017,
delivery estimated at mid December. Since then I've been reading as much as possible, downloaded the Owners Manual, followed the adventures of Wachuko,
heeded the advice of (among others)Protagonist, Boxter, and Lily&Me, and, most recently planned my pre-delivery inspection based on the advice of Sthrngary.
I've got my Dually valve stem extenders, my wife bought me a variety of tools and doo-dads, and I made sure the local Mercedes dealer handles Sprinters. (I'm ready to go whenever it arrives!)
My salesman called last week to tell me my GT should arrive Monday(yesterday) and that they could have it prepped for our inspection at 10am this morning.
Perfect!! We are scheduled to start our Christmas visit to the kids in Tennessee and Charlotte tomorrow morning. Can't wait to show them our new toy.
I called the salesman yesterday evening to confirm its arrival at the dealership.
He said he wasn't there yesterday but that he had been told that it was there and confirmed our 10am appointment.
As we drove to the dealership this morning (about a 30 minute drive) the sales man calls and tells us he has just gone inside our GT for the first time since it arrived and regrets to tell us that Airstream has configured it as the twin bed version rather than the regular bed we had ordered!!
They have confirmed the chassis number on our purchase order and the specs on our original order. Our (their) order was correct and this was the GT that was supposed to be shipped to us (we didn't get somebody else's order).
So, we are now waiting to hear what Airstream has to say and what they intend to do. In the meantime we are packing up our SUV for our Christmas visit a little less excited.

[Pahaska]

I converted my couch to twin beds. Best change I have made. I hated making up and tearing down the couch and the bulky bedding was a pain to store in the daytime.

We love our twin.

[sthrngary]

Let me get straight to the "issue". The order was right and the coach delivered was not the configuration you wanted. Unacceptable. Call Airstream Customer Service now. Do not depend on the dealers communication alone. Keep the dealer involved but take control. Who ordered the unit as a GT, the dealer and Airstream!. Who should have been at the dealership checking on your Unit, the salesmen! Who can do a less then 24 hour turn-around for delivery, NO ONE, no dealership NO WHERE. These coaches once the hit the dealership need a minimum of a half a day to a day to check and double check all assemblies. This dealer got the unit last night and was going to have it ready at 10.00 AM. NO WAY. You would have paid, you would have no real time to check it out prior to leaving the dealership and I am sad to say, you might have had a worse vacation with a coach that had a major problem.

I know you are upset, how would not be. But I believe you just got lucky. Nothing is worse then going on a very important vacation when the heater, Air Conditioning, Refr/Freezer ECT does not work because the dealership said they checked something they did not. Again, consider this a blessing and a gift for Christmas. Make your next delivery with the coach you ordered count by going over it yourself with a fine tooth comb. One more thing, Beds are a personal preference. I had both twins and the Electronic Coach. I prefer the electronic coach with a 3 inch memory foam topper. Again the bed is a personal preference.

Gary T.

Originally Posted by FlStrmr

I have to share my tale of woe with all you Airstreamers (think..How The Airstream Grinch Stole My Christmas.) I ordered my 2018 GT on Oct 14, 2017,
delivery estimated at mid December. Since then I've been reading as much as possible, downloaded the Owners Manual, followed the adventures of Wachuko,
heeded the advice of (among others)Protagonist, Boxter, and Lily&Me, and, most recently planned my pre-delivery inspection based on the advice of Sthrngary.
I've got my Dually valve stem extenders, my wife bought me a variety of tools and doo-dads, and I made sure the local Mercedes dealer handles Sprinters. (I'm ready to go whenever it arrives!)
My salesman called last week to tell me my GT should arrive Monday(yesterday) and that they could have it prepped for our inspection at 10am this morning.
Perfect!! We are scheduled to start our Christmas visit to the kids in Tennessee and Charlotte tomorrow morning. Can't wait to show them our new toy.
I called the salesman yesterday evening to confirm its arrival at the dealership.
He said he wasn't there yesterday but that he had been told that it was there and confirmed our 10am appointment.
As we drove to the dealership this morning (about a 30 minute drive) the sales man calls and tells us he has just gone inside our GT for the first time since it arrived and regrets to tell us that Airstream has configured it as the twin bed version rather than the regular bed we had ordered!!
They have confirmed the chassis number on our purchase order and the specs on our original order. Our (their) order was correct and this was the GT that was supposed to be shipped to us (we didn't get somebody else's order).
So, we are now waiting to hear what Airstream has to say and what they intend to do. In the meantime we are packing up our SUV for our Christmas visit a little less excited.

[wachuko]

Sorry to read the news.

As Gary mentioned, no way they can receive the AI and hand it over to you the next day. My dealer took two weeks to deliver due to other deliveries they had (usually it is just a week)... but at a minimum they need 2-4 days to prepared them.

So you are looking at another long wait for the right one

[FlStrmr]

Originally Posted by sthrngary

Let me get straight to the "issue". The order was right and the coach delivered was not the configuration you wanted. Unacceptable. Call Airstream Customer Service now. Do not depend on the dealers communication alone. Keep the dealer involved but take control. Who ordered the unit as a GT, the dealer and Airstream!. Who should have been at the dealership checking on your Unit, the salesmen! Who can do a less then 24 hour turn-around for delivery, NO ONE, no dealership NO WHERE. These coaches once the hit the dealership need a minimum of a half a day to a day to check and double check all assemblies. This dealer got the unit last night and was going to have it ready at 10.00 AM. NO WAY. You would have paid, you would have no real time to check it out prior to leaving the dealership and I am sad to say, you might have had a worse vacation with a coach that had a major problem.

I know you are upset, how would not be. But I believe you just got lucky. Nothing is worse then going on a very important vacation when the heater, Air Conditioning, Refr/Freezer ECT does not work because the dealership said they checked something they did not. Again, consider this a blessing and a gift for Christmas. Make your next delivery with the coach you ordered count by going over it yourself with a fine tooth comb. One more thing, Beds are a personal preference. I had both twins and the Electronic Coach. I prefer the electronic coach with a 3 inch memory foam topper. Again the bed is a personal preference.

Gary T.

Thanks, Gary. Our desire to use the coach on our Christmas trip created the pressure to accept the coach without the thorough prep and inspection that I would normally expect. You are right that their screw up may be a blessing in disguise if there had proven to be the quality issues you noted. We'll see where we go from here but that time pressure is now gone.

[Lily&Me]

Oh for Pete’s sake!

Who are these people!

So sorry to hear of this disappointment, and hope they get you a proper replacement soon.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

How does such a glaring error not get discovered until delivery, across the country, at the dealership?

This kind of thing defies all logic and reason.

The salesman not being at the dealership on the day of delivery, nor having someone else begin to look the unit over when you were coming for pick up the next day, also is mind boggling.

It does sound as if there was going to be a perfunctory once-over, then send you off with it.

I will be interested to see what Airstream does to resolve this...

Maggie

[FlStrmr]

Heyyy....the good news is I just noticed I got a Rivet!!!! So proud.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by FlStrmr

Heyyy....the good news is I just noticed I got a Rivet!!!! So proud.

Great - before you know it you will have four Rivets! But sorry for you problem with non-delivery. It's very frustrating to be paying the prices for an Airstream Interstate and not get excellent customer service.

[Protagonist]

I've said this before, but it bears repeating in this case… The only functional difference between a disaster and an adventure is how you tell the story when it's all over. When you've got enough emotional distance between you and this fiasco to laugh about it, you'll have a great adventure story to tell around the campfire about how you got your Airstream.

And just maybe a name for your new Airstream when you finally do get the one you're supposed to have— perhaps something like "D'Uddawon" (The other one).

[iaqstuff]

Wish we had gotten a twin. The lounge is a pain. We leave it down and made up - but we had a section of topper cut out so we could get to the electrical beneath.

[Lily&Me]

Some couples like to sleep next to each other....in fact, it is important to them to be able to reach out and touch in the night.

Maggie

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Some couples like to sleep next to each other....in fact, it is important to them to be able to reach out and touch in the night.

Maggie

I can reach from my twin. They are not a long way apart.

[Lily&Me]

Okay, then...

Maggie

[Protagonist]

Perhaps you should have said "snuggle" or "cuddle" instead of "touch"? Hard to snuggle or cuddle in twin beds with a gap in between.

[FlStrmr]

I should add that my sleeping partners include two shi tzus along with my wife. Lots of snuggling. Twins won’t work. Thanks to all for the sympathies and suggestions. Airstream has been in touch and claims this mistake in production has never happened before. Go figure.

[Titus]

And how much better did hearing from Airstream that make you feel?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by FlStrmr

Airstream has been in touch and claims this mistake in production has never happened before. Go figure.

It probably hasn't happened before. Not exactly.

For a very long time, Airstream Interstates were built faster than they were sold. The ones coming off the assembly line were not earmarked for specific buyers, so if they built a twin when they were supposed to build a sofa/lounge, no harm done.

Now they're sold faster than they're made, and many of the Interstates coming off the assembly line are earmarked for specific buyers. Now if they make a twin that was supposed to be a sofa/lounge, it's a big deal.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by iaqstuff

Wish we had gotten a twin. The lounge is a pain. We leave it down and made up - but we had a section of topper cut out so we could get to the electrical beneath.

Lounge is very useful for hauling a group of people or family. Being able to put 7-9 people in seat-belts is a real plus of the Interstate models.

Like several others I've modified my lounge seat into a U-shaped twin bed. Now I have the best of both worlds and drive the whole family to events if needed.

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Now they're sold faster than they're made, and many of the Interstates coming off the assembly line are earmarked for specific buyers. Now if they make a twin that was supposed to be a sofa/lounge, it's a big deal.

Not sure of that! Our local dealer (one of the top in the country,) has six unsold lined up on their lot at the moment. I went through them just last week looking for ideas to customize mine. Whenever I see something new and neat, I start scheming how to incorporate that idea into mine.