Hello from the Great White North

[TheTinman]

Hello
New to the forum. Have been trailer camping for 20 years. Started with a used tent trailer, then a new tent trailer, and then a new 28 foot Cougar trailer that was a hunk of junk. Tired of having the cougar fixed so I upgraded to a 2018 AS Globetrotter in April and have spent about 3 months in total this spring and summer.
Had a few mistakes along the way and did a 3 week trip to Southern California. Not sure if any other GT have noticed that the kitchen faucet will move into the on position when hitting bumps along the highway. Second had some water enter the drawers located under the sink which made the bottom material bubble and now looks like a teenager face with acne. Overhead cabinets had a recall and I had problems with my interstate batteries. Now I know that stuff happens but this is where AS knocks it out of the park. Because of the above events I had to stop at 2 different AS dealers in California and let me say 5 Stars across the board. The customer service at the dealership in Temecula and Paso Robles was amazing, if I was the owners son I couldn't have got better service.
Couple of comments to AS would be nice to label the grey and black tanks as grey and black tanks.
Haven't had chance to get my kitchen draws fix yet but I'm pretty sure you will have to change the material in the bottom of the draws.
The bathroom switches for the hot water tank need to be labeled on and off.
Light switch for the bathroom need to be moved from behind towel rack or vice versa.
The cushions for the kitchen table bed and the pull out couch bed need some type of attachment to stop them moving when you are sleeping on them at night. They slide apart and push off the table or wooden shelf.
Need a fix for the kitchen faucet.
Looking forward to a lifetime relationship with my GT and the AS company.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by TheTinman

Hello
New to the forum. Have been trailer camping for 20 years. Started with a used tent trailer, then a new tent trailer, and then a new 28 foot Cougar trailer that was a hunk of junk. Tired of having the cougar fixed so I upgraded to a 2018 AS Globetrotter in April and have spent about 3 months in total this spring and summer.
Had a few mistakes along the way and did a 3 week trip to Southern California. Not sure if any other GT have noticed that the kitchen faucet will move into the on position when hitting bumps along the highway. Second had some water enter the drawers located under the sink which made the bottom material bubble and now looks like a teenager face with acne. Overhead cabinets had a recall and I had problems with my interstate batteries. Now I know that stuff happens but this is where AS knocks it out of the park. Because of the above events I had to stop at 2 different AS dealers in California and let me say 5 Stars across the board. The customer service at the dealership in Temecula and Paso Robles was amazing, if I was the owners son I couldn't have got better service.
Couple of comments to AS would be nice to label the grey and black tanks as grey and black tanks.
Haven't had chance to get my kitchen draws fix yet but I'm pretty sure you will have to change the material in the bottom of the draws.
The bathroom switches for the hot water tank need to be labeled on and off.
Light switch for the bathroom need to be moved from behind towel rack or vice versa.
The cushions for the kitchen table bed and the pull out couch bed need some type of attachment to stop them moving when you are sleeping on them at night. They slide apart and push off the table or wooden shelf.
Need a fix for the kitchen faucet.
Looking forward to a lifetime relationship with my GT and the AS company.

Congratulations! I am glad to see your not upset with the issues, which shows your experience RVing...they all have problems, it seems!
Couple of comments:
1) Interstate batteries seem to have issues last several years. Many of us have replaced by going to Interstate directly, if that is an option. They are pretty good about replacing when there is a problem, and my dealer even offered me 100% credit to upgrade to AGM's on my older 2014 few years back. Batteries are not the end of the world, but can sure make life miserable to have to deal with them. I recently sold my new "replacment" interstates group 27 12V's on Craigs list...couple hours is all it took to get a buyer for $100 for both. I purchased 2 6V T105 Trojans, but there are several choices out there which I feel are better then the OEM Interstate 12V's...without breaking the bank. Costco/Sams also have great deals on 6 or 12V.s Your new GT should have a 3 stage converter so that should be fine.

2) Gray/Black tanks on my 2017 are colored gray and black...not sure about yours? Black is in the rear and gray is up forward....otherwise, you might want to spray paint the handle of the gray?

Keep us posted on your travels and experiences...!

[dbj216]

Hello from Colorado, the great snow skiing state. Lots of that white stuff around here in the winter too. Snow is a main source of water in Colorado.

It is not acceptable to have the kitchen faucet bump open. I wonder if those new fangled ceramic seals reduce friction too much. Anyway, I might consider a weight of some sort on the thing to keep it shut. By the way, we never tow with the water pump on. We don't want a 50 gallon fresh water tank on the floor if a plumbing failure happens while towing. And a guy can relieve the pressure in the lines before pulling out so if a faucet bumps open very little water comes out. How water gets below the sink I can't figure out.

Lots of folks have had trouble with new batteries in their new rigs on their first trip. Some speculate that if the unit sits on a dealers lot for 6 months or longer, the batteries get way too discharged. This really shortens the life. I bet your new Airstream has a "smart converter" that monitors battery voltage and keeps them charged without over charging.

Glad to hear Airstream dealers are taking care of business. Service after the sale is sooooo important.

Your Globetrotter will last a very long time. My son has a 1969 Globetrotter 21', going strong after 50 years. It is a famous Airstream model name and I'm glad they re-introduced it. I've been in a new Globetrotter and they are so nice! Much better than my son's. Airstream has made a ton of improvements since 1969. Here is a photo of the 69. It was the first year of the new body style. The 68s look much different.

David

[TheTinman]

The dealer in Paso Robles swapped out the batteries no questions asked. Had I had a few more brain cells I would have upgraded to the glass batteries. The one battery had heated up so bad you could smell it three sites away.
The tanks on the GT are labeled main and auxiliary nothing a label maker can’t fix.
I know better than to leave the water pump on but I’m am getting older not smarter.
Great pics of the 69 GT makes me feel better about the price of my AS each time I see a old one.
Heading to Cannon Beach Oregon this weekend to put in some more quality AS time.

[duncans]

I don't know where your systems monitor is in your trailer, but ours is on the wall between the oventop and sink. This is a convenient location, as it is now on my pre-departure check list to be sure to turn off the water pump. Our 2009 also has a frisky faucet.

Hmm, a thread that discusses predeparture check-lists might be interesting...

Enjoy your new trailer. It is supposed to be a fabulous week here in Oregon.

Susan

[jessl_99]

Originally Posted by dbj216

Hello from Colorado, the great snow skiing state. Lots of that white stuff around here in the winter too. Snow is a main source of water in Colorado.

It is not acceptable to have the kitchen faucet bump open. I wonder if those new fangled ceramic seals reduce friction too much. Anyway, I might consider a weight of some sort on the thing to keep it shut. By the way, we never tow with the water pump on. We don't want a 50 gallon fresh water tank on the floor if a plumbing failure happens while towing. And a guy can relieve the pressure in the lines before pulling out so if a faucet bumps open very little water comes out. How water gets below the sink I can't figure out.

Lots of folks have had trouble with new batteries in their new rigs on their first trip. Some speculate that if the unit sits on a dealers lot for 6 months or longer, the batteries get way too discharged. This really shortens the life. I bet your new Airstream has a "smart converter" that monitors battery voltage and keeps them charged without over charging.

Glad to hear Airstream dealers are taking care of business. Service after the sale is sooooo important.

Your Globetrotter will last a very long time. My son has a 1969 Globetrotter 21', going strong after 50 years. It is a famous Airstream model name and I'm glad they re-introduced it. I've been in a new Globetrotter and they are so nice! Much better than my son's. Airstream has made a ton of improvements since 1969. Here is a photo of the 69. It was the first year of the new body style. The 68s look much different.

David

Nice looking dinette. Was that added in to replace galcho? Any photos during construction?

[gypsydad]

Just to clarify my earlier comment on "black" and "gray" tanks. The handles used for dumping on my unit are colored black and gray... I am assuming yours are same?

[dbj216]

Hello jessl_99: I'll PM you about the Globetrotter. We don't want to get off subject on TheTinman's welcome thread.

Hello again TheTinman.

David