When will it end- 2010 Classic?

[thecatsandi]

replace the parallax. get a multi-stage charger.

[tuffr2]

I had SOB for 5 years of heavy use. Actually lived in it for 6 months with zero problems. I have been looking at A/S trailers as top quality. Now I am having 2nd thoughts.

If A/S trailers would cost 20k then problems would be easier to understand. But the cost of a Classic is 75 to 85k. That is not chump change.

Seems A/S owners need to put pressure on the builder to greatly improve quality. To me it is not a game trying to figure out what will break next or where the next leak will be.

My view if A/S trailers went from cool to they are junk. Now I am not sure you could give me an A/S POS.

[masseyfarm]

No close relationship, whether warm or cold, is satisfactory without a lot of input on your behalf.

Get used to it or get out.

Dave

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

My view if A/S trailers went from cool to they are junk. Now I am not sure you could give me an A/S POS.

And you've inspected in person how many, what model AS's?

All I can speak to is the 25' 2004 Classic we bought in 2005. It had many QC concerns that greatly diminished the chance that perceived quality would at some time intersect the price-point trajectory.
We are in the 8th Season, I am fairly confident that could happen this year.

Been fun though.......

Bob

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

All I can speak to is the 25' 2004 Classic we bought in 2005.

Been fun though.......

Bob

correction......2003 bought in 2004.

As Kirmit sez....."time's fun, when your having flies."

"honey have you seen the bowl?"

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

I had SOB for 5 years of heavy use. Actually lived in it for 6 months with zero problems. I have been looking at A/S trailers as top quality. Now I am having 2nd thoughts.

If A/S trailers would cost 20k then problems would be easier to understand. But the cost of a Classic is 75 to 85k. That is not chump change.

Seems A/S owners need to put pressure on the builder to greatly improve quality. To me it is not a game trying to figure out what will break next or where the next leak will be.

My view if A/S trailers went from cool to they are junk. Now I am not sure you could give me an A/S POS.

You are making a statement, not asking a question. I sure would not try to convince you to buy a trailer you think is junk. The solution seems very simple. Buy another SOB.

As far as the post that originated this thread is concerned, I have the exact same year and model trailer. I had some similar problems. This is what I did about it. I looked at each problem, did some research here and other places and found a sensible fix for each one. However as far as I can remember, I did not come here and post what a piece of junk my trailer is. I have had truck campers and/or travel trailers most of my life including three different trailers over the last 20 years. Every RV will have problems to be dealt with as long as you have it. If you don't find yourself repairing little things as time goes on, you are letting it go to pot.

To be quite honest, I believe you would be a fool to buy an Airstream, if you truly feel as you say. Do yourself and perhaps us a favor and buy another SOB.

Ken

[Gene]

tuffr2,

Our experience was very frustrating. My wife, who quickly fell in love with it, started to think about selling it after a year of constant problems and dealing with a really bad dealer. On our 1st trip to JC, one or two things broke every day. We had had many problems before that and the dealer had damaged our trailer. But they treated us well at JC and we settled into it. After a 2nd warranty trip to JC, I have fixed most things myself and upgraded a lot of the poor quality items in the trailer.

Owning an Airstream can be a challenge. Some owners have few or no problems (or they have low standards) and some of us have a lot of them. As many have said on the Forum, the dealer network is weak, but you are a fairly short drive away from JC, so that is not a major problem. We live 1,400 miles away, so it was a long drive.

Forum members have challenged the company to improve QC at the factory for years. I spent 1 1/2 hours with the company president telling him what I and others thought about material selection and build quality. Some things appear to have changed, but there are still problems.

We like our trailer. We have made it ours and I am able to fix and upgrade it. If you don't have those skills and if you can afford to hire others, things can be fixed. RV's are high maintenance items and they never break near home like cars and trucks because of the way they are used. The trailer looks cool, tows easily and fits into our design desires. We have well over 40,000 miles on it and it is still in good condition.

You might look for a recent model. Someone else will have dealt with the initial problems and eaten the depreciation. But, there are RV's with better reputations for QC—some are super expensive, some are not. You can sometimes get a used Newell MH for around $300K—check their website; they are supposed to be the best. Check the internet for RV reviews—there is a site for that and although the sample it not too large, it may help you. I can't remember the name, but Googling will find it.

Gene

[MrUKToad]

It's about getting a good dealer, isn't it? Mine has been excellent and has sorted a few minor issues without fuss. It's a shame that not all dealers achieve, or even want to achieve, such high standards and more of a shame that not everyone can get to those good dealers.

I hope you get your quality issues sorted, Eric and Lisa; as you say, though, maybe a trip north is what's required.

[xrvr]

If you do not like your AS or do not think you would like owning one then either sell t or do not buy one. I sold my last one after owning several..I was suffering from SAD or slow AS death from all the hassles of ownership. Happy Happy now!! Jim

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

My view if A/S trailers went from cool to they are junk. Now I am not sure you could give me an A/S POS.

Interesting observation from someone who has never owned an Airstream, of course I have found fault with many of the SOBs I have looked at but never felt the need to call them a POS. I respect others right to chose and make decisions, meeting the owners so I can call them friends is much more important than insulting their choice in accommodations. Tuffr2 if life works out in my favor I will never have that privilege with you.

I don't think is anyone is going to give you a Airstream so you can cross that off your bucket list.

[ZoominC6]

My suggestion is to NEVER trust your Airstream repair to anyone, dealer or not, who doesn't fix it right the first time. NEVER trust your Airstream to someone who doesn't know Airstreams, CW or another in S Ft Worth.
In Comanche, TX is a dealer, Bayer Motor Co, Inc. with a gentleman named Steve Woods, 1-800-843 5230, who has excellent service techs and he sells numerous Airstreams. While it may be a trip for you, it sounds as if you need to get it done right and would be worth dropping your baby off there for a few days worth of TLC and evaluation. We bought our 2004 Classic 30' Slide Out from Steve in 2004, then worked with Roger Williams in Weatherford while he had an excellent Airstream dealership. Williams crew even modified our trailer to our interior design specs and the relationship was wonderful even after moving to Virginia. I would travel to Weatherford for future mods until Williams closed his dealership. On a recent trip to TX we were camped near an electrical storm and the hard start capacitor on our AC blew. I called Steve Woods and he assured me he had a new capacitor and even an air conditioner if we needed one. Thankfully we did not. Steve's crew worked on our rig while I went into Stephenville for lunch and he was finished upon my return. I pulled out and went back to our campsite on Lake Grapevine happy once again with Steve and his service. Don't mess around with bad dealers and those that don't have the capacity to specialize in Airstreams. It can be a "Pay me now, or pay me later" kind of thing otherwise. Travel to the factory for repairs and mods can be an enjoyable way to vacation and get things repaired as well. You get to sleep in your rig on the property each night as well. Think about it and good luck.

[Alumaholic]

I have read and reread this thread several times.
Don't want to sound unsympathetic, but all your Airstream "issues" except one seem within the realm of routine maintenance.
When I purchased my new/used Classic, I replaced the converter/charger right away before it cooked my new/new batteries.
Should that have been necessary in a late model? Obviously not.
But, I knew it had to be done right away.
The other things you mention are all in the category of routine, watchful, maintenance and repair of any travel trailer that is going to be drug, bouncing down the highway at 65-75 mph.
One serious chuckhole can bring down a cabinet, or an overhead door in any tag along trailer.
One particularly bad stretch of Interstate in Mississippi in 1996 ripped mirrors and cabinets out of our 1976 Safari with amazing efficiency.
I hope all newbies will read this thread to fully appreciate how much owner involvement is required to keep any tag along trailer ship shape.
I have owned two SOBs and four Airstreams. They all require constant attention.

[masseyfarm]

Like Ken says - - - - - - You have to work at it. (some owners call it a hobby)

Dave

Dave

Originally Posted by Alumaholic

I have owned two SOBs and four Airstreams. They all require constant attention.

[dznf0g]

I consider it a lifestyle supported by a hobby and cash. I live in other delusional worlds as well. But It's fun and I am happy over here in my own little world......

[Alumaholic]

In our case, it's more of an affliction.
My wife brought the affliction with her to the marriage.
Her parents had a 60s Airstream26' in which my wife and her brothers and sisters camped all over SE and SW US and a good deal of Mexico.

[n2916s]

In fairly short order you learn what tools to carry. A handful of various shark bite fittings, rescue tape, safety wire, some marine epoxy putty.

Then you deal with the problems. As you get better at it, it is even fun.

I put a lot more work into my stick home in a given year and it doesn't get dragged across I10 in Louisiana...

I will say that paying close attention to your hitch set-up and keeping your running gear balanced will preclude a mess of the problems you are having.

Shiny side up!

Mike

[Jim Clark]

I am in the camp of it easier to fix the minor problems than to tow the the trailer to have an RV tech tighten a screw. The OP stated they had owned a boat and had no problems, I have owned several boats and still do and I know of no boat that is in perfect shape and doesn't need something done or tweaked.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by MrUKToad

It's about getting a good dealer, isn't it?

Good point. When the trailer arrives at the dealer, the dealer is supposed to go through it and fix things they missed at the factory. They get paid to do that. It seems obvious that the place we bought it did not do that, or only did a cursory job. This contributed to the many, many problems we had.

You have to follow the Forums pretty closely to figure out which dealers to go to and which to avoid. There aren't many to start with, so if you subtract the bad ones and the mediocre ones, you don't have many to choose from.

It seems that bad dealers hurt Airstream sales a lot and the company should be doing a better job of making sure the dealers are doing what they should do.

Gene

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Jim Clark

I am in the camp of it easier to fix the minor problems than to tow the the trailer to have an RV tech tighten a screw. The OP stated they had owned a boat and had no problems, I have owned several boats and still do and I know of no boat that is in perfect shape and doesn't need something done or tweaked.

I agree...up to a point.

Our AS and boat are both the same age.

AS a lot of time & dollars spent repair/fixing/improving thing's.
End result...pretty darn good.


Boat, no QC/build issues, with ours. NO issues in 10 active Seasons.
The most dollars/time has been spent on spit and polish, so we look good do'n it.
Plus the Lake is just 100' away so it's hard to resist..


Both very fun though...

Bob

[Jim Clark]

Gene, one of the reasons I used Foley Rv was because Rick Foley is an Airstream Dealer, Chevrolet dealer and a Airstream owner. I met Rick at the first CanOpener and when my Safari was damaged he actively solicited my business. I was told by his sales manager that Rick owns 3 classic Airstreams. What this meant to me was that when I saw a problem with the work being done I could call the owner and he knew exactly what I was talking about. BTW as Foley RV progressed with the panel replacement work they sent me updated photos. I feel that they are a good resource to use in the Gulf Coast Area. We need a strong dealer network to keep our trailers serviced and repaired.

Jim