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Old 05-25-2017, 10:04 PM   #1
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2022 25' Flying Cloud
NCR , Ontario
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Issues with our New 2017 22FB- less than one month old

We just bought a new AS 22BF. We have never had a trailer before. We have had it for less than a month and have already found the following issues. As well when i call AS support, it always goes to VM. Does AS not have real people in customer service?
  1. the black water level always reads 0, the other levels are fine. how do we fix this. our dealer is a 7 hour drive away form our home
  2. we did not receive a starter kit as documented nor the owners manual.
  3. we have no manual for the fridge, water heater, furnace gas system.
  4. the tv does not play through the rcvr speaker. the tv also has no audio output to connect to rcvr AUX
  5. the rcvr claims to play dvd movies but there is no hdmi/dvi output even though the TV has a hdmi cable plugged in going into the wall
  6. limited heat comes out of the furnace. when we look behind the microwave, we see that the AS factory installer pinched the heat pipe and it is severely squeezed.
  7. there was a lot of garbage left in our trailer under and behind the sink and furnace. along with saw dust and a spider, we found two candy wrappers, metal filings and metal punch outs
  8. we opened up the area under the closet. that area also had junk left over from the factory installation. does no one do a QA? does not inspect and clean these "hidden" areas?
  9. we see 12 Ga wire used, this rated for 20A. why was 10Ga wire not used as it is the std for 30A in N American home wiring
  10. poor labeling of the fuse panel. the label was in small font and twisted 90 degrees and not aligned with the actual fuses. Is it that hard to produce a properly spaced and readable label for the fuses?
  11. we like design of our trailer, but the workmanship is very poor.
  12. the owners manual that was mailed to us ( as none was in the trailer), seem poorly written and light on information. As new trailer people, we had many unanswered questions
  13. given that you have been is business for so long we expected better drawing of the internal systems, The gas drawing is useless, The water drawing is very hard to read and shows many lines together making it hard to understand what goes here.
  14. the TV antenna on the roof touches the AC unit. why was it not positioned so that they were not touching. we expect the two to wear each other and produce noise on the road
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Old 05-25-2017, 10:22 PM   #2
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Damn. Hate to see this, especially with you being so far from support. Maybe Airstream or your dealer can get someone closer to you? Definitely give them hell till you get these things resolved. I've only bought vintage so I am used to those issues and worse. Buying new is different though. Good luck.
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Old 05-27-2017, 07:04 PM   #3
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We are new 22FB owners also and like you our first AS or any RV for that matter. We have not had the problems you had with quality control issues. The shower control valve fell off driving it home, minor, they did not tighten the set screw on the stud. No trash issues or poor workmanship detected so far. All manuals and instructions in the AS delivery bag, including manuals for items not on or intended for our unit.

I agree with you on the owners manual, very disappointed in many aspects of it. Illustrations show twin axels, generic content, not clear on some routine maintenance procedures and explanation of low point drains, bypass valves etc. An automobile manufacture would never publish a manual this weak. Mine is only 90 pages. The manual in my car dedicates 90 pages on how to secure a baby seat.

With all the above said, we love the brand, features, design and potential for great enjoyment.
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Old 05-27-2017, 07:27 PM   #4
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A proper exceptance inspection is required. If more new owners would insist on doing one and all issues found repaired prior to writing the check Airstream might get the message.
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Old 05-27-2017, 07:30 PM   #5
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This strongly "smacks" of a dealer-delivery failure. The dealer should have properly prepared and instructed you on all the features, and also should have insured that you had all the documentation for your trailer.

It's true that the factory workers are careless about leaving behind trash in hidden areas. I really hate that lack of work-ethic. Airstream! Thor! Are you listening? For goodness sakes! CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES!

My 2008 showed the same practices of hidden trash beneath/behind cabinets as well as electrical wiring thrown "willy-nilly" behind/beneath furniture.
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Old 05-27-2017, 07:53 PM   #6
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Hello....I assume you bought your AS at Can-am in London. A phone call to Andy Thompson will help you get instructions, pamphlets, etc.

I found it better to email the factory with your questions. They will eventually get back to you and when they do, you'll have a person you can stay in contact with for future concerns.

If you have the Clarion M303 radio in your unit....turn the TV on with sound coming out of it. Turn radio on to AUX and turn sound volume WAY up till you hear TV sound coming out of AS speakers. Then turn down volume on TV till you only hear AS speakers working.

As for the junk left behind by the factory workers..not satisfactory, but normal for the RV industry. Get your vacuum out , enjoy sucking up the mess and an hour later you'll have a spotless AS that you're making your own.

Yes, you have some other issues that others here may be able to help you out with....but none of them should bar you from enjoying your new airstream.

And I'd say be thankful...you haven't told us your new AS leaks....that's a major issue.
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Old 05-27-2017, 08:17 PM   #7
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Bad stuff there... it started to sound like a Red Skelton skit.. or Jack Benny...
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Old 05-27-2017, 09:28 PM   #8
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You had a lot of issues. Answers in the quote. My opinion only. May not work for you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by waninae39 View Post
-- snip -- when i call AS support, it always goes to VM. -- snip --
(call your sales person and your dealer's service manager. Folks do get in touch with JC service. Keep trying. Leave a number. Assign the problem to your sales person. AS wants better dealer performance. Be nice, but work the system. Do not get mad. Get effective. You can do it.)
-- snip --[*]"the black water level always reads 0, the other levels are fine. how do we fix this. our dealer is a 7 hour drive away form our home"
(call the dealer service department and have the service tech walk you through troubleshoot - sensor module bad ... they can send a new one ... wire disconnected ..... needs to be connected/plugged back in ..... bad level sensors .... need to be replaced by dealer)[*]"we did not receive a starter kit as documented nor the owners manual."
(May be a dealer option - ask your sales person. If you have document, they should provide.)[*]"we have no manual for the fridge, water heater, furnace gas system."
(Should have been a packet in coach. Call your sales person.)[*]"the tv does not play through the rcvr speaker. the tv also has no audio output to connect to rcvr AUX "
(See prior post that explains how to do it. Note, the HDMI plug can pull out of TV when the TV is positioned for viewing. Make sure it's firmly inserted.[*]the rcvr claims to play dvd movies but there is no hdmi/dvi output even though the TV has a hdmi cable plugged in going into the wall
See above - it will, or failed unit - doubt it. Have had remote issues and had to run the DVD in manual mode.)[*]"limited heat comes out of the furnace. when we look behind the microwave, we see that the AS factory installer pinched the heat pipe and it is severely squeezed."
(Yes, we had same. Position the duct to allow flow. Seems like a better spec would be insulated hard duct, but ......$s. Don't forget to complain if you go to JC.)[*]"there was a lot of garbage left in our trailer under and behind the sink and furnace. along with saw dust and a spider, we found two candy wrappers, metal filings and metal punch outs"
(Yes, we did too. Clean it and worry about stuff that does not work and where you are going next. Stuff will continue to vibrate out, but quantity reduces over time.)[*]"we opened up the area under the closet. that area also had junk left over from the factory installation. does no one do a QA? does not inspect and clean these "hidden" areas?"
(Think it hides and vibrates out under travel, but poor QC.) [*]"we see 12 Ga wire used, this rated for 20A. why was 10Ga wire not used as it is the std for 30A in N American home wiring"
(Likely acceptable for short run or fused to wire rating. But verify. It's your coach. Keep it safe.)[*]"poor labeling of the fuse panel. the label was in small font and twisted 90 degrees and not aligned with the actual fuses. Is it that hard to produce a properly spaced and readable label for the fuses?"
(Rant some more and then change out the assembly to a multi-stage unit and go traveling. The smiles you get will help overshadow the frustration.)[*]"we like design of our trailer, but the workmanship is very poor."
(Agree - there could be better quality. Option specs seem to be improving. Hope manufacturing performance does too.)[*]"the owners manual that was mailed to us ( as none was in the trailer), seem poorly written and light on information. As new trailer people, we had many unanswered questions "
(There is a generic manual that covers general RV issues. It is written by the same guy who wrote the AS maintenance manual advertised in the magazines. Not a perfect document, but it helps. Keep asking questions.)[*]"given that you have been is business for so long we expected better drawing of the internal systems, The gas drawing is useless, The water drawing is very hard to read and shows many lines together making it hard to understand what goes here."
(Yes - agree ..... a bit of study, analysis and some assumptions help. The more you learn the system the more sense the drawing will make...or not.)[*]"the TV antenna on the roof touches the AC unit. why was it not positioned so that they were not touching. we expect the two to wear each other and produce noise on the road"
(Likely can be adjusted. Call dealer service and see how. Convinced the aftermarket antennas that are enclosed are a better solution, but stuff that is not adjusted at pick up is a pain. Dealer responsibility. Seven hours is a Thursday drive. Get a Friday service appointment. Don't leave until the coach is fixed. Have a long telephone call with service manager before you go and be nice, but firm. Call a week before you go to confirm your apointment. Develop a relationship. Work it. They are people just like you. [/LIST]
The adventure will outweigh the frustration. Go for it! Pat
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Old 05-28-2017, 04:36 AM   #9
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Sorry for all your problems. You are also dealing with two issues. You are new to trailering and you have a new Airstream with some QC problems.

Regarding the wiring, the only wiring required for 30 amp service is the wire feeding power to the Airstream. All 120 volt circuits within the Airstream are 20 amp (#12 wire) or 15 amp (#14 wire).

I think when you are talking about fuses, I believe you really mean circuit breakers.

There really is a lot to learn. Learning is good.

Good luck and have some fun. It will get better.

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Old 05-28-2017, 11:28 AM   #10
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So sorry to hear. I am thinking one of the causes is that I heard Airstream had try to double their yearly build quantity - from what they have done for decades. My guess is that they did not adequately prep for increasing like this; and quality has suffered. Have been a number of people complaining about new AS quality. Sad yo hear. Actually - one of the good reasons to buy a slightly used AS - price and bugs worked out.
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Old 05-28-2017, 11:51 AM   #11
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This is terrible and gives me pause as I plan to buy an A/S this year. The follow-on responses to your report make it sound like getting a 'good' AS versus a "poor" AS a game of chance. Please, pretty please copy and paste your report to Airstream Customer support at this link:

https://www.airstream.com/service/customer-support/

I sure the factory closely follows all the reports of quality defects in their product. Their price point is too high not to turn out a high quality product CONSISTENTLY.
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Old 05-28-2017, 12:02 PM   #12
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when I bought my 1st AS (a79) 20 years ago from a dealer who was retiring . He said all a streams made after 1980 are crap. I've had 10 since then from a 64 to my last 79 and while lurking here for the past few years and hearing about all the stupid crap folks put up with, I believe the man was right.
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Old 05-28-2017, 12:27 PM   #13
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You're not alone. I have a 2017 25FT FC that has been back to the dealer for a number of issues.

1. Bad AC unit, dealer replaced.
2. Inop bathroom door handle, dealer replaced.
3. Water heater leaked due to cross threaded fitting, dealer fixed.
4. Inop switch on awning LED lights, dealer replaced.
5. Delaminated cabinet door, dealer replaced.
6. Seams coming undone on couch cushion, I plan to have it fixed by a seamstress.
7. Small crack in shower, dealer sealed it up.

I'm not excusing the HORRIBLE quality control from the factory but my advice would be to not let these issues take away from the experience. Just like a new house, you will have issues from a product made by humans. It is however, disappointing they charge what they do for a new AS and then release a subpar finished product.

Best of luck getting everything resolved!

If your ever in Virginia, be sure to check out Highlands Haven Airstream Park! Here's a couple pics of the sunset the other night. Stunning!
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Old 05-28-2017, 12:43 PM   #14
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Here, Stuart. I rotated your photos for you:
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Old 05-28-2017, 12:50 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waninae39 View Post
  1. the black water level always reads 0, the other levels are fine. how do we fix this. our dealer is a 7 hour drive away form our home
  2. the tv does not play through the rcvr speaker. the tv also has no audio output to connect to rcvr AUX
  3. the rcvr claims to play dvd movies but there is no hdmi/dvi output even though the TV has a hdmi cable plugged in going into the wall
The monitor issue will probably need to be addressed by the dealer.
The TV is not intended to play through the radio. The radio plays DVD movies to the TV through the HDMI connection to the TV, with sound coming through the radio speakers.
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Old 05-28-2017, 12:56 PM   #16
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Thanks Terry! My neck was getting sore. Thanks again for the advice on the route up here to Highland Haven. Glad I didn't listen to google!

Quote:
Originally Posted by overlander63 View Post
Here, Stuart. I rotated your photos for you:
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Old 05-28-2017, 01:06 PM   #17
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Issues with our New 2017 22FB- less than one month old

This is why we so strongly recommend working with the nearest Airstream dealer, at least for service, when buying new. Also have to say, no way would we buy a new Airstream unless the dealer was within an hour of our home. We spent a lot of quality time at our dealer getting stuff fixed under warranty in the first 2 years. We know them all in the service department, and they all know us. They do good work, but can't imagine what it would have been like if they had been hours and hours away instead of less than 45 minutes.
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Old 05-28-2017, 01:06 PM   #18
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It is too bad you did not start out with something from another manufacturer. Your Airstream problems would seem like a piece of cake. With that said...we bought used and have never had any problems with our trailer. All the issues were worked out by the first buyer...it's just the way it is....I do keep up on all regular maintenance...It never ends.
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Old 05-28-2017, 01:29 PM   #19
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Sorry to hear of your troubles. Thanks for posting this.

Send a complete issue list in writing to Airstream and your dealer. Include as many photos as you can.

Quote:
Originally Posted by waninae39 View Post
[*]we see 12 Ga wire used, this rated for 20A. why was 10Ga wire not used as it is the std for 30A in N American home wiring
You should have 10 AWG copper wiring from the 30A inlet to your A/C power panel. All AC branch circuits have either 15A or 20A OCPD, those can be 12 AWG.

I recommend that you get an AC outlet polarity tester - ~$10. Check every outlet, including ones normally hidden. We leave the tester plugged in an outlet near the door - for a quick check once we connect at a park.

We also found one breaker connection loose. It caused heating, and the AC breaker would repeatedly trip. Recommend you have a licensed electrician properly torque all the wires in your circuit panel: breakers, neutrals, and grounds.

For all warranty items, demand that Airstream:
- replace all issues with ALL NEW parts. Accept no substitutes. If there is the slightest - and I mean slightest - rub on the A/C shroud, insist on a new one.
- deliver everything that is missing.
- clean out of all places you find that had junk left over from the factory installation.

Take the time now to document 100% of your trailer. Run everything, open every compartment, take out drawers, and look inside. Take photos behind panels, like under the sink.

Publish everything on the forum under tag #qualitycontrol.

Eventually, you should get close to what it should be.

73/gus
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Old 05-28-2017, 01:36 PM   #20
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Quote:
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I recommend that you get an AC outlet polarity tester - ~$10. Check every outlet, including ones normally hidden. We leave the tester plugged in an outlet near the door - for a quick check once we connect at a park.
That is one of the things that should be included in the Goodie Box of a new Airstream.
Also included with Sport models should be:
Sewer adapter and hose clamp for it.
Remote control for both radio and television.
Faceplate storage box for the radio.
Tools to remove the radio.
Crank handle for the stabilizers (T-slot, not 3/4" hex)
Awning rod.
Airstream door mat.

This is a list for all Sport models, other models will have other/more items included.
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