What would you change on the Interstate?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by avanti

Adding an accumulator to your water circuit downstream from the pump is likely to make a major improvement in reduced noise. This is pretty easy to do.

Finding room for one under the Interstate's galley near the pump is not so easy to do. If anyone manages to find room to mount it, by all means post pictures!

But in my case, it appears that the main reason for the noise is that the pump is fastened down directly to the Interstate's original metal floor, and you can't insert any kind of vibration dampers between pump and floor without raising the pump so high that it hits the drawer it's nestled under. I don't really hear any "water hammer" effect that an accumulator would solve.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Finding room for one under the Interstate's galley near the pump is not so easy to do. If anyone manages to find room to mount it, by all means post pictures!

But in my case, it appears that the main reason for the noise is that the pump is fastened down directly to the Interstate's original metal floor, and you can't insert any kind of vibration dampers between pump and floor without raising the pump so high that it hits the drawer it's nestled under. I don't really hear any "water hammer" effect that an accumulator would solve.

Hmmm. On my older Interstate, the pump was way in the back, where there was more room. Note, however, that you don't have to install the accumulator in-line with the pump--it will work just as well if you just T off a stub, feed it into one side of the accumulator, and cap off the other side.

My interstate definitely had pronounced hammering. Maybe the newer ones are better.

[TimCar]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

...I'm sure JC is following this thread and will do what they can to make modifications. ..

I'm thinking that no one from Airstream reads what people complain about else issues like the sink cover would have been fixed long ago.

We are still on the fence on buying an AI or any B Van, but for the Interstate, the one common thread that amazes me is the problem with the sink cover turning on the hot water, creating a possible flood of the grey water tank. (At least I hope that it would just be the GW tank…)

Reading here and elsewhere tells us that this problem is a rite of passage or something you learn to live with, but this should have triggered an immediate re-design, a letter of apology from the President of Airstream and a lifetime voluntary recall. This way if the current owner is willing to live with this design Faux Pas, the next owner could have it fixed for free. I know that we can take a mental note to remind us to check, but what about when the kids/grand-kids/friends accidentally do this? Putting sticky notes or grinding down the handle on a $150K purchase seems like the wrong way to fix this one.

And for what it’s worth, we are not that picky/snobbish, more along the lines of practical. Our current way of camping is an 18x17 Northwest Territories Tent, a Mr. Buddy tent heater with a 20# Propane tank, a Queen sized air bed and sleeping bags.
If it wasn't for age and rain, this would suffice us for the next 10+ years..

[avanti]

Originally Posted by TimCar

I'm thinking that no one from Airstream reads what people complain about else issues like the sink cover would have been fixed long ago.

Well, remember, Airstream isn't Airstream and hasn't been for many years. Airstream is Thor, which is a very large business. Airstream products are not designed by lovers of life on the road. They are designed by professional designers who know what will attract buyers. This almost always results in attractive designs and quality finishes, which are the strong points of the Interstate compared to the competition. But, a lot of details inevitably fall between the cracks, details that smaller upfitters are more likely to get right. I think you are correct that Airstream literally doesn't care about issues like the sink. They realize that most purchase decisions are made at dealer showrooms, not by carefully reviewing the Internet as you wisely are. In that context, the folding sink thing is very impressive, and the flooding problem isn't even on the radar.

The Thor design process gives you a lot to be proud of -- we were certainly proud of our Interstate. But, I suspect they are significantly less popular as second B-vans than as first ones. I don't regret our purchase of an Interstate one bit. But, we went another direction for our second van.

[Ron_CA]

Yep, you definitely have to pay attention to the faucet. Haven't overflowed ours yet :knock on wood:, in fact the percentage of owners who do may be quite small.

Remember, all the negatives posted here are tiny compared to all the good times, which often will go unposted. I agree that the sink/faucet design should have been fixed allready, but I knew it existed going in, and if you can't live with it, don't.

[gmillerok1]

I replaced the noisy standard pump with a variable flow pump below. It is much quieter and is pretty much is a direct replacement. Now I don't wake the neighbors.

Flojet R4515743A 3.7 GPM VSD Pump

Originally Posted by InterBlog

How about quieter water pump? I don't know how they are in the newer Interstates, but ours sounds like a jackhammer operating on a Manhattan sidewalk. Initially we did not know if this was normal or not, so we checked the forums and, yup, it's a common complaint among RV owners of all types. My husband read me a post where one guy got so fed up with his entire family being awakened every time someone used the commode in the middle of the night that he somehow wrapped his pump in a memory foam mouse pad and spliced shock-absorbing segments into the water lines to dampen the sound. Yes, it's fun to tinker - and very practical as well.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by gmillerok1

I replaced the noisy standard pump with a variable flow pump below. It is much quieter and is pretty much is a direct replacement. Now I don't wake the neighbors.



Flojet R4515743A 3.7 GPM VSD Pump

I did the same based on your experience and posting over on Yahoo Group. It has been a great improvement.

Thanks,


- - Mike
2013 Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by avanti

They realize that most purchase decisions are made at dealer showrooms, not by carefully reviewing the Internet as you wisely are. In that context, the folding sink thing is very impressive, and the flooding problem isn't even on the radar.

When I was shopping for a Sprinter-based Class B, I stunned the sales staff at two dealerships by lying down on my back and sticking my head under the van to find out where all of the under-body components were: water and waste tanks, propane, spare tire, generator, etc. "What are you doing?!" they asked. "Verifying," I replied.

And in one case, when I asked to look under the hood, the salesman didn't even know how to open the hood! When I asked why he didn't know something so basic, he said that most of the people who come in to shop for a motorhome are only concerned with the interior. I left almost as soon as I heard that— just after I demonstrated to him how to open the hood.

One of the reasons I bought my Interstate, as oposed to any of the other brands that I viewed, was the saleslady at Foley RV, Claude Ann Doolittle. Every question I thought to ask, she had the answer, all courtesy of a spiral-bound notebook full of hand-written notes that she had taken during her factory tour of the Interstate assembly line. I'd much rather buy from someone who knows more about what I'm buying than I do, who can actually answer my questions.

At the other dealers, I knew more about the vehicles I was considering than did the sales staff, due to my own pre-visit online research. If they won't bother to learn about what they're selling, that does not bode well for service after the sale, either.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

I did the same based on your experience and posting over on Yahoo Group. It has been a great improvement.

Thanks,

- - Mike
2013 Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

Thanks for this... this is information I can use. I wasn't so concerned about waking the neighbors as I was about remaining silent and unobtrusive while boondocking where we perhaps shouldn't be. Not turning on the generator - no problem, we can get by on battery in many scenarios. But it's very difficult to boondock without using the water pump. It can be done but it's a royal pain.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by avanti

Airstream products are not designed by lovers of life on the road. They are designed by professional designers who know what will attract buyers. This almost always results in attractive designs and quality finishes, which are the strong points of the Interstate compared to the competition. But, a lot of details inevitably fall between the cracks, details that smaller upfitters are more likely to get right.

Very well-stated. I think people get into trouble when they assume that all the engineering on the inside will be on par with the bling on the outside. Life is never like that - it never delivers everything in one convenient package, whether we're talking about people, vehicles, jobs, or whatever. It's up to us to create the final package that we wish to see. And that's OK because it's fun.

[Bikerbill]

TimCarr, while we DID own a 2014/13 Interstate and we did have the issue with the sink cover, we simply place a nice sticker on the inside bottom of the glass lid reminding us to TURN OFF THE SPIGOT properly before closing the lid. It was never a problem for us.

As for moving from tenting to motor homing and whether or not to buy a Class B or??? Why not buy used and try it and either modify the used unit to your needs or trade/sell off in a year or so and move up from there.

Class B is not only the Sprinter chassis used by Airstream. Class B is also the Chevy chassis used for many years before the Sprinter came out by m-homes like Roadtrek.

We had our Interstate for less than a year and I bit-the-bullelt and moved over to the Roadtrek. YUP. Expensive but I did not like the Suburban propane heater and I hated the half-door for the bathroom. Never made sense why they did the half-door on the AI. Other small things but the BIG difference I wanted was to get the E-trek Roadtrek. 5000 watt inverter, 8-6 volt batteries, no diesel-propane generator under the body but one attached to the Mercedes engine that charges when you drive or idle. And 2 doors to the bathroom. And we did our unit w/out ANY propane. Diesel heater with hot water and an electric induction stove. All 115 volt appliances are powered with either shore power cord OR the 5000 watt inverter. YES, roof air, fridge, microwave and the cooktop can all be on at the same time without having to be plugged into a campground. How long the batteries last depends on how much you are drawing. You quickly learn and will learn that you may have to start the engine and idle it to charge the batteries. Takes maybe 45 minutes.

As I said it was an expensive switch to move up one model year and to the E-trek. But there are other options without the E-trek itself.

Look around. Go to shows. Monitor the various Facebook pages for Sprinter RVs and the various message boards i.e.: this one. Much can be learned from others and this will make you a more informed buyer when shopping with RV dealers. Generally I knew more than the salesperson when shopping for these or my prior RV's over the last 25+ years.

[Lineolated]

Gmiller and Mike
Wow - we didn't know that Flojet had a variable speed water pump. We've added it to our to-do list. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
DJ

[TimCar]

Originally Posted by Bikerbill

TimCarr, while we DID own a 2014/13 Interstate and we did have the issue with the sink cover, we simply place a nice sticker on the inside bottom of the glass lid reminding us to TURN OFF THE SPIGOT properly before closing the lid. It was never a problem for us.

As for moving from tenting to motor homing and whether or not to buy a Class B or??? Why not buy used and try it and either modify the used unit to your needs or trade/sell off in a year or so and move up from there.

Class B is not only the Sprinter chassis used by Airstream. Class B is also the Chevy chassis used for many years before the Sprinter came out by m-homes like Roadtrek....

Thanks for the feedback and opinion.
I have read with great interest your posts and thoughts about your Interstate and your road to Roadtrek, very good food for thought.

I started off looking at the Sprinter Diesel as a perception of longevity.
I mean Diesel Trucks are known for being able to reach much higher mileage than gas motors, although I am now learning that that perception is also misguided.

My boss was once quoted saying
"Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time.
Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind.
But brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product."

Airstream overall is a very good Brand name.
I'm just not sure if they are ahead or behind right now...


.

[xrvr]

The original AS class b was a ford chassis. The B190. Other mfg used dodge and Chevy as well. All based on the mfg vans. Jim

[Bambino1]

Nobody has mentioned an upgrade to the stock speaker setup, which is pretty lacking. I'd be curious to know what people have done to enhance the audio in their Interstate.

[Kwils25]

Originally Posted by Bambino1

Nobody has mentioned an upgrade to the stock speaker setup, which is pretty lacking. I'd be curious to know what people have done to enhance the audio in their Interstate.

I agree, that's on my upgrade list for next year.


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Bambino1

Nobody has mentioned an upgrade to the stock speaker setup, which is pretty lacking. I'd be curious to know what people have done to enhance the audio in their Interstate.

With the amount of hearing loss I've experienced over the course of my life, it wouldn't make much difference to me. An average auto stereo system and a good auto stereo system both sound the same to me.

But if you're talking about upgrading from an auto stereo system to a small home stereo system…

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Bambino1

Nobody has mentioned an upgrade to the stock speaker setup, which is pretty lacking. I'd be curious to know what people have done to enhance the audio in their Interstate.

Correct. I'm driven batty by what I assume are the OEM Sprinter speakers in the very front of the dash. I had a four inch mini Radio Shack portable radio circa 1975 when I was a kid, and I swear the sound on that thing was better than what's in the front of our Interstate.

In my blog post describing the Interstate privacy screen that we fashioned out of coroplast, readers can see that the cardboard mock-up is stamped with the phrase "Genuine GM". That's because my husband purchased an extra dash insert for the Interstate so that he could have something to practice on for the purpose of making cuts so that the dash will accept new sound system equipment (that idea may appear wasteful but the dash insert was only about fifty bucks and we don't want to run the risk of ruining the only one we've got).

We have not yet decided what we're putting in, or what the Sprinter nose can even accommodate. I've asked the question, "Do we even bother to mess with this? Or do we simply buy a standalone baby Bose and plop it on the dash or floor between the two front seats?" Decisions pending.

[InterBlog]

Here's a quasi-behind-the-scenes change that I would ask Airstream to make, and perhaps they've already made it on newer Interstates: Train the tradesmen and mechanics not to install components haphazardly.

I realize that time is money, but perception is also quality. It might take them ten or fifteen extra minutes to install lines and wires in an orderly fashion as opposed to making them look like a jumbled snake pit, but there would be several advantages to this. Number one, it would communicate a better sense of workman-like pride which would enhance consumer confidence. Number two, it would make it much easier for owners and mechanics to do line tracings associated with future repair and upgrades. And number three, it would allow for much easier refinement of the Interstate.

Attached is a case in point. This is the view of the lower left side of our galley cabinet. The sink is toward photo top, the white thing to the right is the fresh water tank and its metal shield / keeper structure, the blue label peeking out on the floor is the water pump, and the electrical runs mostly to the bottom front of the galley cabinet where the main electrical switch array is located.

This strikes me as the best available void space to develop into a dirty laundry storage area. It's too awkward a configuration to use for storage of heavier items. It's far away from my nose when I'm sleeping or sitting. And it's got sufficient cubic footage that I could build in structures to protect the water and electrical components from damage while accommodating what I need. With some simple modifications and safety improvements, I could store a week's worth of dirty laundry here for two to three people.

But look at the inefficiency of the install. There was no reason to elbow out that Pex as far as they did and now it constricts the opening unnecessarily. Much of the wiring is in conduit but the conduit is tacked randomly to the rear wall and the floor. If I wanted to develop this area, I would first need to re-do everything that rightfully should have been done neatly in the first place. My potential work has been tripled for no reason. Argh...

Anyway, there's that particular rant, FWIW.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Number two, it would make it much easier for owners and mechanics to do line tracings associated with future repair and upgrades.

Whatever happened to the "best practice" of attaching adhesive labels to both ends of any given electical run, to identify what it is? Anybody who has seen the electrical spaghetti in the back of a home entertainment center knows that labeling your wires helps to ensure the right wire goes to the right place. It isn't difficult to apply the same concept to a vehicle where you've got a lot more wires going to a lot more places.

Not only would it help the owner, but it would help the mechanic that has to work on it later. The time saved on the back end more than justifies the extra time required on the front end.