I have had several issues with my slide on a 2000 limited. I have had it to three differen't Airstream dealers and they have all called the factory for help in aligning the slide. Finally the last dealer said that he believes the slide has had a problem since it was made. He told us to take it to the factory and see if they could do something with it. By the way the problem is # 1 it walks out at the bottom while traveling, for this they replaced the drive motor, that as I understand , has some type of electronic brake. #2 the inner rubber seal that scrapes the water off the slide as it is retracted has not touched on one side since we have had it.The gasket was replaced and at this time we were told that we probably needed to take it to Ohio. #3 it has always sat heavily on the carpet but as yet, has not caused any wear problems. # 4 The trailer must be absolutely level with the stabilizers down for the door to operate correctly. If the wind is blowing and the trailer settles at all on the stabilizers the door will not latch. I must keep adjusting the stabilizers on the slideout side.
At this time we have not had the opportunity to take it to Ohio due to the weather.
We love our 30' SO and have had no problems with it ...knock wood. I too have found that leveling is semi-critical to getting the door to close / latch effortlessly. We like the way it opens up the living area. Our beagle camps out under the dinette and as we are all on the veritcally challenged side it makes the trailer seem huge. My wife and I can walk out of the trailer without having to stoop to avoid hitting our heads on the door header.
__________________
Carl, Elaine & Bailey Beagle
2006 30' Classic W Slide & Limited Package Katarina
1987 34' Excella 1000 Double Door Savannah
2006 GMC 2500 HD 6.6 Turbo Diesel Crew Cab 8' Bed AIR #14487 WBCCI #7429
I have had several issues with my slide on a 2000 limited. I have had it to three differen't Airstream dealers and they have all called the factory for help in aligning the slide. .
I wonder if it's an issue with your trailer being a 34' unit? We've had great service on ours with this season being our fifth. I know leveling is important and my dealer warned me day one to make sure I only opened and closed the slide with the stabilizer jacks down. Did you ever move the slide unit without the jacks down?
I am also aware that there was some initial issue with the gaskets on the early slide units. I was up at Jackson Center in the summer of 2001. I met a fellow who was having his slide gaskets changed out. They had brought a fellow over from the factory to do the change since he was more familiar with the process. Supposedly it was a retrofit to bring his gaskets up to par with what was now being put on the new trailers. I wonder if you are still dealing with the original design?
Finally I'm curious regarding the slide moving. Did your slide unit come with the wings and blocks that are used to lock the slide into place. When that system is engaged, I cant see how the slide could move.
All in all, we've really not seen any major problems reported here on the Forum with the slide out units. The most common issue is the potential of water pooling on top of the slide unit in a wind driven rain. I know I agonized long and hard and got lots of advice to not go with the slide. As it has ended up I've been extremely happy with the slide and the space it gives us. In hindsight I would have a slide without reservation.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500,'08 Vespa GTS 250
I was just out at the local dealer and he had 2, 2008 30' slide outs in stock. With the AV package they are listing out at $91,xxx. Quite a chunk of change.Even backing out the AV option the list is still $18K higher than the equivalent 2004 model. Now there have been some improvements, hickory cabinets, higher capacity frame, disk brakes, door bell, vista views.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500,'08 Vespa GTS 250
oh well that's why the LOL is on that line/post....
i suspect editing the specs page is harder than just dropping the floor-plan pix.
beside it was 6-8 months AFTER the 28 s/o was dropped before the website noted the change.
BT had a 34 s/o at the rv show here. it was the WORST constructed new trailer i've ever seen.
took a bunch of pix (very depressing to look at) but haven't taken time to post them yet....
it seems all of their 'design' efforts are currently focused on back door units.
cheers
2air'
Quite a few of the units he had were the "back door" models. Like everything else the orders will dictate whether the slide out continues to be offered. If it doesn't sell it will disappear. Maybe it will make mine more valuable???
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500,'08 Vespa GTS 250
We’ve gone from a classic 30 to a classic 30 slide… could not be happier… three major reasons for upgrade: more lounge room, more countertop, better weight distribution… (being able to use the coach while ‘in-transit’ was also a real plus- some s/o are not useable unless extended)
OK, before you start flaming me on why 14% tongue weight to gross is ‘optimal’… I am speaking from my own anecdotal experience The s/o tows like a dream compared to the 30 (somewhere ‘round 7%)…
Ditto on leveling… dead-nuts… front to back, side to side… stabs down.. we’ve had no problems at all…
We must not have experienced a real thunderstorm, because water has never been an issue… the 2” continuous rubber gasket acts like a squeegee when retracting….
My opinion on why the slides are slow movers is the towability- you need a superduty/three quarter ton vehicle *minimum* to move these coaches… (let the flames begin) if you’re a pickup person, you’ve got a lot to choose from… but if you need seating for 6+, good luck
If they are in fact discontinuing the 30 s/o, that’s a real shame…
We must not have experienced a real thunderstorm, because water has never been an issue… the 2” continuous rubber gasket acts like a squeegee when retracting….
My opinion on why the slides are slow movers is the towability- you need a superduty/three quarter ton vehicle *minimum* to move these coaches… (let the flames begin) if you’re a pickup person, you’ve got a lot to choose from… but if you need seating for 6+, good luck
That top gasket while doing a great job when the slide is either fully extended or fully retracted probably suffers from the tolerances that occur in building a trailer. Fractions of an inch are enough to cause that gasket to squeege that top on some slideouts to not getting quite enough contact. I know on my unit, it's not gallons of water. It's a very small amount that really doesn't show its precence until that slide moves in as it's being retracted. As the angles change in retraction, the water starts to move off the top.
Bottom line, this only happens when we get wind driven rain that gets under the protective awning, and I've learned that when I experience one of those storms, I just use a long handled squeege to pull what little is up there off. Considering I've had this trailer for 4 seasons, I may have had to do this 3 times.
It looks like Airstream has been cognative of the hitch loads and the current specs put the hitch weight at 100-150 lbs. less than my 2004 model. This trailer tracks better than my '01 27' Safari and in strong cross winds it stays behind the van almost like it was on the same rail. I've had a hard time determining if the improvement was based on the fact that I went from a Reese Dual-Cam hitch to an Equal-i-zer, or the increased hitch weight or a combination of both factors.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500,'08 Vespa GTS 250
That top gasket while doing a great job when the slide is either fully extended or fully retracted probably suffers from the tolerances that occur in building a trailer. Fractions of an inch are enough to cause that gasket to squeege that top on some slideouts to not getting quite enough contact. I know on my unit, it's not gallons of water. It's a very small amount that really doesn't show its precence until that slide moves in as it's being retracted. As the angles change in retraction, the water starts to move off the top.
Bottom line, this only happens when we get wind driven rain that gets under the protective awning, and I've learned that when I experience one of those storms, I just use a long handled squeege to pull what little is up there off. Considering I've had this trailer for 4 seasons, I may have had to do this 3 times.
It looks like Airstream has been cognative of the hitch loads and the current specs put the hitch weight at 100-150 lbs. less than my 2004 model. This trailer tracks better than my '01 27' Safari and in strong cross winds it stays behind the van almost like it was on the same rail. I've had a hard time determining if the improvement was based on the fact that I went from a Reese Dual-Cam hitch to an Equal-i-zer, or the increased hitch weight or a combination of both factors.
Jack
with my sherline tongue scale:
910lbs ready for winter, no LP, no batts, small amounts of antifreeze in tanks/lines/WH
1320lbs ready for a weeklong excursion, full fresh water tank, full LP's (30#)
They just weren't big sellers. Overall the slide after it's initial introduction was a pretty good product. Lots of folks want an Airstream for an Airstream's sake, not the fact of it having a slide. I think they thought the availability of a slide would gather additional owners. When you add the slide cost on top of the premium you pay for an Airstream, it probably wasn't a great motivator for folks to come over to the Airstream side. We went to the slide for the extra interior space it offered. This was done after we had already owned a Safari.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.,'03 GMC Savana 2500,'08 Vespa GTS 250
Quick Links
.
Even backing out the AV option the list is still $18K higher than the equivalent 2004 model. Now there have been some improvements, hickory cabinets, higher capacity frame, disk brakes, door bell, vista views. 
Linear Mode
