For those of you who are not familiar with my tale of woe, check out Uneasy Airstreamer thread in the Member Introduction forum. I am too weary to repeat my sad tale of my Airstream ownership thus far. Suffice it to say, it has been too leaky to believe.
I am assuming you are now up to date on its history.
And now I will continue. I went to check out my trailer today in the lot where we store it to see if all was dry inside as it should be...and...
WE HAVE ANOTHER LEAK!!!!
We can't use it, we can't sell it...all we can do is pay for it!
Last edited by CanoeStream; 05-16-2007 at 06:10 PM.
Reason: link inserted
It sounds like you financed your purchase... If you bought it from a dealer, go to the bank, tell them you bought a lemon and must return it, cancel the loan, etc. See what they say. Cut your losses and buy an older Airstream.
Anne, sorry to hear this is still happening. I did have leaks over a window and from the toilet exhaust fan that the dealer sealed effectively the first time. I didn't get the skylight option. Other easy sources could be from any of the windows, door, Fantastic Fan, air conditioner and front vent. Are you seeing them from anywhere else?
This is still under warranty in the greatest likelihood. Warranty fix-ups are pretty normal during the first shakedown (literally) season or two. There should be a finite list of causes and it is all the dealer's responsibility. I wrapped up my warranty work just last week after 20 months of ownership and am very happy. Have you had it back to the dealer and are they able to address these issues? How close is your dealer?
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An older coach isn't necessarily the answer. I have a trailer that was refurbished partially by David Winnick, and it leaks. There is vulkem everywhere, and it leaks. I have no idea why, and am pretty upset considering the sizeable amount. I cant camp in it unless it isnt raining. I also need to find somewhere indoors to keep it so it stays dry.
Greetings all,
Just in case you all don't know this yet,...............they all leak, no matter what anyone says. We are in the process of replacing the rear floor area in a 02 22' Airstream at the moment. It has an OSB floor (wood chips glued together) which swells when water is applied. Why Airstream decided to build with this garbage is anyones guess. Anyway, We have a machine called a "Sealtech 430R" that we use to detect leaks. It is basically a very large squirrel cage fan & duct arrangement that sucks air in through one of the ceiling vents & pressurizes (low pressure) the interior of the trailer. Then we spray a soap solution all over the exterior of the trailer & watch for bubbles forming. We used this machine on the 02 & found several leaks in the rear end roof area that have probably been there since new.
Another client brought in his 61 Bambi several weeks ago for an axle replacement & he told me "my trailer doesn't leak". We ran the machine on it & found that virtually every seam blew bubbles. We called it the "inverted sieve". We sealed it up with vulkem & retested & found a few other minor leaks. It is now leak free! We will test it again next year as part of the ongoing routine maintenance. Floor rot destroys these trailers in a very short time!
Colin
__________________ Colin Hyde, Susanne Brown & son Malcolm
WBCCI, VAC 1936
1949 24' Airstream "Limited" along with assorted 50's & 60's era Airstream's
GSM Vehicles Inc. Plattsburgh, NY Quality restoration of Vintage Airstream's & sponsor of Airstream Life magazines "Vintage Thunder" & "Vintage Lightning"
The 1958 SOTR, leaks from Colin - that is because we are polishing it and have not sealed the seams yet - and it'll be parked in a barn until completed too! I know where the leaks are coming in, and if we do take it out, you bet I will have a towel sitting there. I am thankful Colin soaked the new ply in weather seal, and that its real ply - not this OSB stuff. Once we seal it, you can bet I take it to Colin for this test! A few hundred dollar test to prevent lose of a $40k trailer - you bet!
__________________
Rob, Zoe', Stanton, Bryce and Braedon Baker
WDCU 1st VP
Do you Listen to the www.theVAP.com
Plymouth, NY 13832 WBCCI #2820
Courtesy parking W/E Wifi
(607) 334 4960
58 30' Sovereign of the Road: http://sweetsovereign.blogspot.com
65 17' Caravel
54 22' Safari
1959 Buick Electra
what's it cost for this type of diagnostic service?
I wonder if there is any kind of "home-brew" method for pressurizing the interior, for those of us who are (either too cheap, or) too far away from such a machine.
one exception to "they all leak" - my Argosy is tight as a drum... the PO lived in Illinois and it has enough rust on the outside to indicate that it was not stored indoors. The interior is without evidence of any leaks. and yes - i am nearly done in removing all of the exterior rust.
__________________
Donna & Mike
Cowboy up! or go sit in the truck
We use a Seal Tech machine here to find leaks...It pressurizes the cabin and the guys spray a soapy liquid around problem areas from the outside...bubbles appear where the leaks are so it really helps us to narrow down our search and pinpoint the problem area...
You might check and see if your dealer in Canada has one of these or can get his hands on one.
Hello...We did our own home version of the leak test.. Hubby was on the inside of the trailer and I was on the outside with the soapy water.. he had the aircompressor and used it going around the front window where we knew there was a leak but could not track it down.. worked like a dream.. We will use the same method for Costalotta 2 when we start the redo next week..
hmmmm.... just wondering..... Could we turn both of our Fantastic Fans to "in" and pressurize the AS enough for the leak test to work? Wouldn't a great deal of the pressurized air exit through large openings like the refrigerator vents and furnace vent? Or would the fans produce enough air pressure for leaking seams to show with a bubble test? What do you think?
__________________
Wayne
2002 22' CCD
1997 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L
hmmmm.... just wondering..... Could we turn both of our Fantastic Fans to "in" and pressurize the AS enough for the leak test to work? Wouldn't a great deal of the pressurized air exit through large openings like the refrigerator vents and furnace vent? Or would the fans produce enough air pressure for leaking seams to show with a bubble test? What do you think?
I have used a electric leaf blower on a boat, works great.
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In honor of Alki and her battle with cancer we will be participating in the 2008 American Cancer Society Relay For Life. Please click here if you would like to see her page and donate to the cause: 
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