Extended Warranty and Protective Coating for 2016?

[debbietaylor]

My husband and I are newbies and just purchased a 2016 Sport 22 Airstream. We have never done this before and we are wondering how necessary it is to purchase the extended warranty and the protective coating. Each are a few thousand dollars!! Yikes! Advice appreciated. Thanks.

Debbie Taylor
dananddebtaylor@cox.net

[HowieE]

Generally speaking Extended Warranties are a gift to the dealer and not worth the paper they are printed on.

[PKI]

If you are a do it yourselfer, may not need. If you are a go to the dealer cause I don't understand, then a warranty may be a good thing. I generally never pay for a warranty as if the product does not last, I don't want it around. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. The AS was a product that I expected issues. So the warranty is in the binder. The aluminum looks better shinny so the coating is there too.

If your response is ouch to the $s, keep the trailer clean and learn how to fix it if it breaks. You will enjoy it more if you have those skills. Use the money to travel.

If you need help to keep the trailer in shape to travel and have capital to buy up front, you can save a bit if you have problems. And if no problems.....guess you got your money's worth as that's what its about.

The answer here is whatever you decide. It will be the right thing for you.

Gifts to the dealers might keep them around and they are nice to have. Travel money, however, is a very good thing too.

Travel Safe. Pat

[n2916s]

It is a travel trailer so no engine, transmission or other expensive drivetrain parts to go "boom". If you reed the corrosion threads and how to prevent it with regular TLC and keep the brakes adjusted and the bearings serviced, there really isn't anything that should go wrong that won't show itself during the initial (free) warranty period.

I wouldn't buy either -- just keep it clean and waxed.

Mike

[Gene]

Extended warranties are almost always a ripoff. Somewhere around half goes to the dealer as an incentive to sell the product. The insurer gets such a small premium that it is incentivized to avoid coverage and will.

Sounds like the coating is something over the exterior. It may be a fancy wax job or some spray that does little. Years ago auto dealers used to sell undercoating or a fancy waxing for a lot of money and few positive results. Is this the same? Coating the aluminum sheeting is done by the aluminum manufacturer, but when they build Airstreams, they compromise it, so re-coating at the factory with very careful application might help, but only a modern paint shop would be able to do that. I doubt the dealer would go that far. They will tell you it is wonderful, but ask them to show you what they do. Masking a completed trailer is a time consuming, expensive job, so spraying something that actually helps significantly may not be cost effective. My 9 year old trailer looks the same as it did new—except for some scratches I did, some sloppy resealing I did, and dirt. When I wax it someday, it will then look the same. No special coating either.

Gene

[MarkFinATX]

Did your AS dealer offer the "Lifetime Warranty"? Then try to get you to pay for the "wrap around" protection? Gimmicky IMHO. AS warranty is two years... that'll give you an idea of repair costs before you fork out $'s for a service contract.
Finish? Just buy a quart of Walbernize. Works great. It wipes on, wipes off. Great stuff!!!

[ByronI]

Congratulations on your new Sport! I lived in one full time for four years.

All the advice above is good. I would just add that if you do buy an extended warranty, suggest you go with one of the national companies like Good Sam. The dealer price is usually 2-4 times that of the national companies, and dealer extended warranties usually require you to get service from them (unless you are out of area on a trip). And then it can take a month or two before you get on the repair schedule.

If you plan to travel allot, you could benefit from an extended warranty with a national company. The things that go wrong along the road are often difficult to fix in a timely manner when trying to deal with manufacturer's (appliances and AS) conditions, and especially with your original dealer.

What is so special about their protective coating that makes it better than the factory coating already on your AS? Add a little Walberniz-ing at least once a year and your skin should be in good condition!

[groverpeters]

Originally Posted by debbietaylor

My husband and I are newbies and just purchased a 2016 Sport 22 Airstream. We have never done this before and we are wondering how necessary it is to purchase the extended warranty and the protective coating. Each are a few thousand dollars!! Yikes! Advice appreciated. Thanks.

Debbie Taylor
dananddebtaylor@cox.net

Personal choice but I would save the money and not go with either. I am on a second airstream, 27FB & did not buy for either.

[phann]

I elected to do the Trident coating on my Flying Cloud. It is supposed to protect the exterior, without the necessity of waxing, for up to 7 years. After one year, the exterior still looks great, and I only rinsed and wiped it down twice during the year. The only extra elbow grease required was for occassional black road gunk on the rock shields. I liked it enough to do it again on my new Classic. It was a tad expensive, but worth it to me with my bad back.

[dkottum]

Airstreams are susceptible to filiform corrosion on the panel edges and rivet holes of the shell, as well as exterior accessories such as tail lights and door grab bar, and to underbody frame, axle and steel parts. If you are using your Airstream near coastal salt air or northern road salt, it is a great idea to treat these areas with corrosion protective products such as CorrosionX and/or Boeshield T9 on a regular basis, as well as frequent washing. You can easily use a felt tip clear acrylic touch-up pen to carefully coat the aluminum shell panel edges that are cut and left uncoated at the factory.

In salt environment, frequent inspections, treatment, and prompt repair of filiform corrosion will most probably be much, much better at protecting your new Airstream than dealership coatings. And it costs very little in materials and time. The shell panel surface finish is very durable, waxing keeps it extra shiny and easier to clean.

Every time a seller offers an extended warranty, put that money in your bank. You'll soon have enough to cover your products beyond factory warranties, provide good maintenance, and plenty left over to take a special vacation.

We are using the many thousands of dollars of extended warranty on our winter travel, and routing our return home to sightsee, visit friends and relatives, and through Jackson Center to have a thorough inspection, pressure test of our Airstream shell for leaks, check/repair seals, full system checks, wheel bearing runout and tire rotation. We do the corrosion inspection and treatment ourselves regularly.

[Grapesky]

I have a 2016 too and my dealer never even mentioned a protective coating? They never told me a lot of things. I passed on the extended warranty. Especially from them. I also would go with an outside company for that if you really want it. Can someone explain about the protective coating? And does it have to be done by the dealer? My dealers service is lousy!

[gecko]

We were advised to wax our trailer frequently--up to four times per year if we're going to be near salt water. In practice, we've now settled on about three times annually--once in the spring before we head out from LA to Texas, a second time after staying near very salty water in Texas, and then a third time late in the season. I do touch up waxing along the rivet line in sections throughout the year, too. So far the coat looks great. We also check the roof for seals each spring, and check the underside and other frame components and lightly sand and hit with rustoleum as needed, so the frame also looks new.

We opted out of the extended warranty to first see how servicing with our local dealer went under AS 2 year warranty. We liked the local service guys a lot, so as the end of the 2 years approached, I talked to the owner of the dealership and he was very happy to give us a two year extended warranty for $1000--it was quickly used up in our annual fine-tuning that we let the dealership do for us, so we made out very well because we were happy to have them do the work instead of doing it ourselves.

Now that we're off warranty, I do most of the maintenance work myself, but use the guys to do heavier work like yanking the wheels, wheel bearings, etc and because they're very fair about it, I pay for a once and year wash and wax with them and they do the undercarriage check and spot paint as well as the roof seals check at the same time.

So unless they can show you exactly what they're doing for the extra coating, and point you someone who's had it done and their coach looks brand new after 10 years on the road, you can save those $$$. And as others have suggested, check Good Sam or other national place to find out their cost for extended warranty and how late you can buy it. Usually, one can buy an extended warranty anytime that the vehicle is under the original warranty. You'd do well to see how your dealer treats you under warranty, maybe what they'll do for you for an economical warranty extension as ours did, and then make a decision a bit further down the line when you can make a more informed decision.

In the meantime, have fun!!!

[Gene]

We use wax from Griot's (check online) that lasts and lasts. New waxes have polymers in them that are far superior to Simonize and other older products. After a year, it is still there. If you want to after it gets less shiny, it can be, after a washing, made shiny again with Spray On Wax Griot's also sells.

As Doug says, if you live near salt (from the ocean or on the roads) extra attention should be paid to cut edges which can corrode. Or, move to the high desert where 15% humidity is normal.

Gene

[BFamily]

Congratulations!
We live in Palos Verdes and own a 2014 30ft bunk.
If your service is from one of the local dealers, I would think twice.
This is our second trailer and if you look at our name, you will find a trail of issues.
We just dropped her off again yesterday and the sales manager and our sales person did not have the courtesy to stand up from their desks and offer assistance.
My experience is to use the dealer for warranty issues, but anything that requires attention to detail go to C & G . They are in Bellflower and worked on Airstreams exclusively for decades.
IMHO.

[BFamily]

Oops I meant 2015

[akjam]

We looked into an extended warranty on our 2016 Int 30 but one of the things I found in the few I checked is that you are required to have the regular required maintenance performed on each and every system in the trailer.

It isn't good enough, for instance, for you to replace the AC filters or perform the necessary checks on the refrigerator. It needs to be done by a service center and you need to have the receipts as proof or the claim could be denied.

Based on that, I figured it was better to learn to do the routine stuff myself and save my money in the event I did have a repair down the road.
Good luck with your new lifestyle!
Jim

[wlb.wlbryant]

Originally Posted by debbietaylor

My husband and I are newbies and just purchased a 2016 Sport 22 Airstream. We have never done this before and we are wondering how necessary it is to purchase the extended warranty and the protective coating. Each are a few thousand dollars!! Yikes! Advice appreciated. Thanks.

Debbie Taylor
dananddebtaylor@cox.net

I bought a 2015 Sport 22 and did not buy an extended warranty or coating.
The office lady in charge of selling extras told me of all the horror stories as to why I needed to spend additional money.
I simply said "You mean this camper is so poorly made that it needs all this extra protection? Maybe I shouldn't buy it."
That ended her sales pitch.
Anyway, the owners manual tells you how to care for the aluminum.
Bill

[HowieE]

Originally Posted by wlb.wlbryant

I simply said "You mean this camper is so poorly made that it needs all this extra protection? Maybe I shouldn't buy it."
That ended her sales pitch.
Bill

Great counter.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by akjam

We looked into an extended warranty on our 2016 Int 30 but one of the things I found in the few I checked is that you are required to have the regular required maintenance performed on each and every system in the trailer.

It isn't good enough, for instance, for you to replace the AC filters or perform the necessary checks on the refrigerator. It needs to be done by a service center and you need to have the receipts as proof or the claim could be denied.

Based on that, I figured it was better to learn to do the routine stuff myself and save my money in the event I did have a repair down the road.
Good luck with your new lifestyle!
Jim

Couldn't have said it better myself.

When we were paying for the trailer, the finance guy, obviously disappointed we didn't finance it through them, tried to sell me an extended warranty. "It is an earthquake on wheels", he said. I said no, then no, then no again. He turned to my wife and tried to scare her about how much repairs would cost. I interrupted him and said that trying to divide us was a very bad tactic and we resented it. I mentioned we could buy one elsewhere. It was blatant sexism, though I didn't bother to mention that. He shut up and we completed the transaction. Service at that dealer was very poor and they damaged the trailer. We never went back.

When repairs mounted up, we went to Jackson Center for warranty repairs and they did an excellent job. Since then I have fixed most things myself. Sometimes I go to an RV shop for things I can't or don't want to do. We have 55,000 miles on the trailer and everything works pretty well.

It would be nice to hire a mechanic to follow us with a complete selection of parts onboard, but that is not practical. I carry enough tools to take apart a locomotive (no guarantee I could put it back together) and fix things as they happen. Unlike a car, trailers never break close to home and it is a good thing to get some books on trailer repair, have access to the Forum for questions and bring tools with you. It is good to be able to find RV shops for parts when necessary—the internet will help. Most repairs are pretty simple if you have some mechanical knowledge. Sometimes there are classes available on trailer repair; some are not too good, but anything you learn, self taught or not, helps.

Most of us can learn how to fix things even if we were raised to be incompetent at it. My parents always called a repairman if something broke, but I didn't want to be helpless and taught myself.

Gene

[Moflash]

If you read carefully the warranty on paint protection on automobiles or trailers it will state that if the product fails they will reapply the product.They will not repair the damage.
So really no better than a quality wax.