2008 Bambi - New Owner questions

[zimode]

Hi all.. We recently purchased (April 9th) a new 2008 19ft Bambi SE.. last years un-sold model.. First of all we love owning a Bambi!! But we had some initial problems with it that we are getting fixed.. We have a couple of questions to see "what the heck is normal" as we did our first couple of boondocking trips.. 5 days & 3 day respectively.. We notice the following and wasn't too sure if this was bacically normal.

The water pump is really loud & shakes the trailer.. but it also cycles on even though we're not using the water.. so it's semi annoying since we can't really just leave it on at night because it would just keep you up..

The other is the refridgerator running on propane.. you can hear it click on then you hear what sounds like a "swarm of bee's" - must be the compressor or something as it runs for about 5-10 minutes then stops.. again you just seem to concentrate on it when your trying to sleep .. we didn't notice it as much on the intial boondock ( 5 days in Yosemite) but this last trip was definitely louder..

We have to take the Bambi in for some other repairs and just wanted to kind-of know if our expectations are out of whack with the Bambi.. We had another TT and it didn't seem that loud on either of the issues.. the Water pump never cycled.. and we didn't notice the fridge either..

any comments are appreciated!!

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, water pump noise / normal. Water pump cycling when not used / not normal. Refrigerator noise / normal electric fan noise.

[TBRich]

Congrats on your new Bambi! Aren't they the charmers?!

The water pump make noise, but should not "shake" the trailer. There's probably some air in the plumbing that can sometimes cause a loud hammering noise when we turn on a facet. This has happened to us a couple of times. We have solved it by running water through the shower head to bleed any air from the system...

The water pump cycling on when you aren't using it is not normal. Taking care of the problem above by bleeding the system through the shower may solve this one, too. Our pump "burps" occasionally when not in use, but it doesn't really cycle... If it cycles completely on when no faucets are open, it would indicate that there is a leak somewhere, probably a small one at a fitting...try hand tightening all the fittings you can reach and if it continues, have the system and the water pump checked by the dealer. In the meantime you can turn off the pump at night and also when you leave the trailer for a day trip... (In fact we do this routinely when we are gone, and when we are hooked up to city water, we often turn the city water off outside while we are gone.)

We can't hear our refrigerator turn on when it's on propane...but we can hear the frig fan in the outside frig compartment go on and off...there's an off/off switch by the door on the pantry side...if it's lit red the fan is on auto and it will go off & on per a thermostat. They can get noisy and many owners have replaced them with a quieter fan. Are you sure you're not hearing the water heater cycle on? We can here that fire up and "rumble" when it cycles on to heat water...particularly noticeable at night because the water heater is under the bed! You can turn the water heater off if that's what you're hearing and it annoys you...and turn it on when you are going to need hot water...it doesn't take long to get hot.

Hope this helps...and good luck! Enjoy your Bambi!

[Lily&Me]

Our water pump will periodically cycle for a couple of seconds on when water is not in use, we were told that this is just the pressurization stabilizing. ??

[zimode]

I think the expression "burps" is probably more accurate.. But it does "burp" through-out the time it's on, probably every 20 min.. will try the "bleeding of the shower head".. (kind-of horror film sounding).. We always turn the pump off, when we're out, but at night for the toilet it's kind-of a pain to turn it on then flush.. anyway should work correctly.. If there's a leak, I rather have it discovered sooner than later..


The Fridge issue is definitely not the fan.. sounds similar to the rumble of the hot water heater, but a higher pitch.. We never leave the hot water on, just fire it up 5 min b4 we want to use it..

Hopefully the dealer can figure out what the heck is going on.. it's good to know what are others' experience so I know what is normal..

I'll let everyone know what the deal is, we're waiting for a part from AS (for a cosmetic issue) and will take back in to get replaced and have them look at the Fridge & Water Pump..

[TBRich]

Good luck with it...it will be interesting to hear what the dealer says about it all. That frig thing is a total mystery to me...

[RDM16CCD]

The link below is to a really great mod to the refrigerators in the newer Airstreams with cooling fans - I've made this upgrade to my 16' Bambi and it makes a great improvement in noise reduction, cooling ability, and power consumption (which is really useful if you do a lot of boondocking).

Take a look - this really works!

Bob


http://www.airforums.com/forums/f425...lly-11811.html

[Ahab]

Our pump will "burp" occasionaly too. We shut it off when not in use while boondocking. The refer fan has a wire which can be disconnected if the outside temps are less than 85°.

[zimode]

Ok.. Here's the scoop on what the dealer did..

1) Water Pump.. They installed a pump silencing kit and bled the lines for air.. Not too sure what the "bleeding of the lines" will do for the future trips..but I have to say the silencer kit really made a "huge" difference...

2) The Fridge.. they re-secured some wiring and it seemed to correct the issue.. I don't know what lines or wires, but it worked..

3) We had some issue with the electric tounge jack as it was binding up and stopping, periodically. They checked all the grounding and the gears and it seemed to work. But while we were there, it actually failed.. which was a good thing.. they took the head of the jack off and found out when the jack was under heavy load (when using it prior to putting on the WDH, it has to raise the back of the TT & tow vehicle) it pushed some wiring up in the unit causing it to short out.. They ordered a replacement jack.. so hopefully that will take care of it..

All in all we think this will be the last of the tweaking of "Lulu" and we'll be set for our longer boondocking trips!!

[Johnco]

Not that our pump makes a hugh amount of noise, but i am curious what the silencer kit that the dealer installed consists of.
Happy to hear you are getting your glitches cleared up, the Bambi is a great little camper.

[Hargett]

Frig. Fan noise --sounds like the same problem i had with my 2008 saf.sport.i installed a quieter fan with an on/off switch.i leave the fan on at all times when the frig. Is on.this keeps the frig. Cooler than having to wait on a thermostat to cycle---these little 12 volt fans have a very long life and are cheap to replace.spent 2 weeks camping in the west with no problems.hargett

[Hargett]

The jacks on my 17 ft. Sport were mounted so far under the camper ---you had get on the ground just to lower them.installed a home made ext. Device that just sticks out at plastic underwrap.looks good --works good.now i just have to bend over slightly to setup. Hargett

[Mikethefixit]

Hargett
Just remember those are NOT JACKS they are stabilizers and are NOT meant for leveling the traylor. They are only meant to be run down till snug.