Eric certainly has some valid points, but none of the issues were hidden except maybe the metal shaving. I do not know if due diligence was done on the status of the dealer and dealer network that is a buyer beware issue. This site was doing very well when Eric purchased his unit and available to provide answers to all of his concerns. I am sure Eric toured the trailer before purchase and knew the size of the tanks, bed, layout and his intend use. The refrigerator issue is a OEM issue and goes back to dealer and OEM. In some ways it sounds like a 3 year case of buyers remorse combined with growing pains. I see corrosion problems on my unit but I would see the same on a SOB. I feel bad that Eric did not have the experience he expected and hope he checks back and updates the forum on his new unit and his adventures on the road.
I can't blame Eric for moving on. After all that is why we moved on from an SOB to an Airstream, deplorable service at the SOB dealer after the sale was complete. We did our research (on both dealers and trailers) and found an Aistream dealer with service that matched their sales pitch.
We were at the Hershey RV show this past weekend and I saw several of the ECO units and they are nice little campers and deserve a look by anybody wanting to get into camping that doesn't want some monster toy hauler or 5th wheel. From my cursory inspection they seem to be well built trailers. Although I am sure they had them spic and span to be at the show.
We wish Eric all the best and hope he has a positive experience with his new trailer. And hopfully his Bambi will find a new home too.
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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 think most Airstream buyers have higher expectations of quality considering the reputation and price. Most buyers seem to be enthusiastic buyers and in their enthusiasm and excitement of purchase don't follow through with a rigorous due diligence.On the day of delivery there is so much to take in that you would have to record and video tape it to remember everything.It's only after ownership that you start noticing little (and big) things that aren't quite right.I think Airstream have improved their GC over the last couple of years but considering how many hands touch the product before it's ever delivered to the dealers, it's never going to be without faults. To respond to someone from an earlier post: there are plenty of vintage trailers of other brand 20,30 or more years old being restored. Airstream doesn't have exclusivity on survivability.I think some statements and myths about Airstream have been repeated for so long some people pick them up as part of their vocabulary without even thinking about what they're saying.They are a wonderful product but if you count every rivet and every seam and opening cut in to the skin thats how many chances you have to develope a leak.There are trailers being built by other companies with quality as good and sometimes better than Airstream. They're not Aluminum and maybe don't have the heritage, history and mystique of Airstream but to think that Airstream is the top of the travel trailer food chain is silly. They just have a more loyal ( and sometimes blind) following.
there is my approach to it. If anything is not right, it is my fault and I can only blame myself.
Good luck to you, hope your new trailer works for you.
Cold comfort to somebody who wants to buy a quality product, jump in, and go camping... but I catch your drift.
I think we vintage owners tend to shrug more often when stuff happens and fix it ourselves, but that's apples and oranges to a product being built today, touted as the best today.
If I spent $50,000 on a new BMW I would demand that every feature work perfectly, and leaks or corroding paint? Forget it! There's no reason on Earth that the first poster in this thread - or anyone buying a new Airstream -shouldn't expect the same mileage from their $50,000.
If the quality can't be guaranteed, switch materials. Or lower the price. But don't tell customers it'll be right if it often doesn't turn out that way.
I think the original poster has been hit with the double whammy of unrealistic expectations and quality issues.
Perhaps it's just frustration with the quality issues that has led to the complaining about the size of the bed and the size of the waste tanks. Expecting a 19' AS to have the same features as a much longer AS is just not realisitic.
The quality issues are something different entirely. I think Airstream really needs to step up and address these quality issues and stand behind their products when a local dealer fails to do right by a customer.
My wife and I purchased our first AS this summer and it was brand new. I had always thought Airstreams looked amazing, but I knew very little about the heritage of the company until I was serious about buying and did some heavy research.
The trailer we purchased managed to do something that none of the SOB brands did, it connected with us on an emotional level and made us want to buy it. For me, it represented a perfect blend of style and function. SOB trailers are ALL function.
Long story short... I think Airstream has been able to rest on its laurels for so long because of buyers like my wife and I. Had we not purchased an AS, there would have been no travel trailer purchase because we have no interest in towing around a large white box with cheesy graphics on the outside and kitchy decor on the inside.
Airstream needs more competition like this to keep them honest:
My wife and I are already looking ahead to a larger trailer when we have our second child, and something like that would actually make me think twice about another brand.
I've been thinking about this, so I'll make my second post to this thread.
The word quit has no use to me.I despise it.I never quit.
How about something like this-
"My experience with airstreams small drainpipe and lack of dealer backup has caused me to sell the deplorable chunk of aluminum.I've decided on another brand and will now be enjoying the travel trailer experience."
Isn't that what it's all about? I'm a Suburban man, I won't pull with anything else, savvy?
Enjoy your camping, even if you're laying on the dirt in a tent!
Very cool! No reason an Airstream can't look like that inside, with some ingenuity and a bit of artful remodeling. I always did love European designs. Any idea how much that costs?
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Jim and Sandy
"To know is nothing at all. To imagine, is everything." --Albert Einstein
That's why some of us buy old trailers and rehab them to our personal standards. Ends up costing as much or more than an SOB but you know were every rivet, wire, bolt, pipe, or screw is and why. Not for everyone but it's the best kind of airstream. If there is a quality issue you know where to find the guy that screwed up.
I think part of the problem is the new ones are like SOB's. Use the same quality of materials, likly why they change the warranty period.
Eric thanks for the quick reply to my email. I didn't know that Revolution RV. here in San Diego went belly up. MY wife and i were going over this week just to have a look around. I know they are not the only RV dealer going out of business considering the economy at present. I hope the one in SF enjoys your old Bambi. Maby they will join the forums and give us an update. Lets all have fun and go CAMPING!! Good luck!!
Very cool! No reason an Airstream can't look like that inside, with some ingenuity and a bit of artful remodeling. I always did love European designs. Any idea how much that costs?
It's apparently $55K USD for the 28' version. The dry weight is 4,500 lbs. So it would certainly be competitive with AS in price, design and weight.
I haven't seen one in person, nor do I know if they have any North American dealerships. I link to it showed up on a gadget blog that I check out every few days.
Sorry. It's www.uncrate.com. I have a bit of a gadget problem (nobody tell my wife that I actually admitted to it), so I check RSS feeds from quite a few good gaget sites. Uncrate is not strictly electronics though, and will list all sorts of cool items. Actually, they are partly responsible for me buying an Airstream. They covered the Design Within Reach model, and that got me really into researching AS. They've also covered the Basecamp (which I'd LOVE to have an excuse to own), and the Ford Airstream concept.
I won't get too much more off topic and list the other sites I frequent, but send me a PM if you'd like to know.
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