2017 Basecamp Issues

[Trae and Ann]

Originally Posted by Gail Miller

One of my copper tubes, coming from my LP gas bottles, was crimped. My Basecamp is at the dealer now getting that replaced and the new axle. You might want to check your copper tubes and make sure one isn't crimped. Someone else mentioned a crimped one. Of course, if your other LP things are working, that's not the problem with your refrigerator. Just a thought though.

Been having issues with ours cooling too couldn't get it under 52 for 2 days. But make sure nothing is touching the metal on the top shelf. Pulled everything back and it finally got to temp. I am not 100% sure that fixed it but still playing with it. Takes forever to cool down though for sure.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Having the LP "plumbing" outside the trailer is probably a good idea for safety. It *does* expose them to road debris. They don't break when hit, they do sometimes get crushed...

Bob

[JuniperRoad]

Thanks for the replies so far! Our dealership is perfectly willing to fix this, and agrees there is a problem. We have trips planned over the next month and are willing to try the fan solution so we can use the unit rather than have it sit at the service department.

Yesterday, on shore power from our house, our fridge got up to about 52 inside. It was a hot day (90) and I think the venting is insufficient, or perhaps something works less well after several days of operation. We're keeping track so we can find trends.

Mostly I'm trying to narrow down if not-so-cool-fridges are a common problem with the Basecamp, or if perhaps we have a faulty fridge.

Our LP lines look good, and burners work fine. It's just the fridge can't seem to cool well.

Would love to hear more....thanks!

[Lmnhead]

Originally Posted by JuniperRoad

Mostly I'm trying to narrow down if not-so-cool-fridges are a common problem with the Basecamp, or if perhaps we have a faulty fridge.

Our LP lines look good, and burners work fine. It's just the fridge can't seem to cool well.

Would love to hear more....thanks!

We have only used our BC refrigerator twice so far, but it seemed to lean too cold rather than too hot. It froze some lettuce and a head of cauliflower, although liquids did not freeze. I need to put a thermometer in there to see exactly how cold it is.

[FricknFrack]

Originally Posted by JuniperRoad

Thanks for the replies so far! Our dealership is perfectly willing to fix this, and agrees there is a problem. We have trips planned over the next month and are willing to try the fan solution so we can use the unit rather than have it sit at the service department.

Yesterday, on shore power from our house, our fridge got up to about 52 inside. It was a hot day (90) and I think the venting is insufficient, or perhaps something works less well after several days of operation. We're keeping track so we can find trends.

Mostly I'm trying to narrow down if not-so-cool-fridges are a common problem with the Basecamp, or if perhaps we have a faulty fridge.

Our LP lines look good, and burners work fine. It's just the fridge can't seem to cool well.

Would love to hear more....thanks!

Yep same problem exactly as you describe it. This is our first camper and first experience with a propane fridge and I just assumed it was a limitation of all propane fridges being on gas but seems like there's a problem after reading all these posts. Freezer freezes but top door shelf and counter above it do get hot as u describe on gas. We were plugged in this weekend up in West Yellowstone and worked fine. [emoji848][emoji849][emoji58]

[Bborzell]

This should not be this complicated, but while our fridge cools to 38-40F on AC, it can't get above 56 on propane.

Airstream says that there have been a "few" such complaints and that dealers have created "fixes" such as adding fans. There is not a service bulletin at this point and my local dealer is unaware of the issue.

AS customer service rep suggested that this can be an issue when the trailer is parked in higher temperatures. I see it as a design flaw.

I am now awaiting a call from AS to get me details on the "fix". My dealer is telling me that they are three weeks out, but that they woukd try to work it in before we leave for a 6,000 mile cross country trip in a bit over two weeks.

Reliability has not been Airstream's strong suit with the Basecamp.

Oh, I crawled under the trailer up near the propane hoses/tubing and discovered a vent that had pulled away from the bottom of the trailer. Two of the four sheet metal screws had pulled out. I suggest folks look at theirs.

[Bborzell]

Originally Posted by Bborzell

This should not be this complicated, but while our fridge cools to 38-40F on AC, it can't get above 56 on propane.

Airstream says that there have been a "few" such complaints and that dealers have created "fixes" such as adding fans. There is not a service bulletin at this point and my local dealer is unaware of the issue.

AS customer service rep suggested that this can be an issue when the trailer is parked in higher temperatures. I see it as a design flaw.

I am now awaiting a call from AS to get me details on the "fix". My dealer is telling me that they are three weeks out, but that they woukd try to work it in before we leave for a 6,000 mile cross country trip in a bit over two weeks.

Reliability has not been Airstream's strong suit with the Basecamp.

Oh, I crawled under the trailer up near the propane hoses/tubing and discovered a vent that had pulled away from the bottom of the trailer. Two of the four sheet metal screws had pulled out. I suggest folks look at theirs.

Meant to type "below" 56F

[xrvr]

The fridge on my Avion and last AS neither cooled worth a damn. Both dometics. Both junk, one reason I'm selling everything.

[Rocinante]

Just so we're clear. If your fridge on propane cannot get to and stay at 40F, you have a faulty fridge or cooling system. Something is definitely wrong and you need them to fix it.

You don't care about service bulletins. You don't care what's going on at corporate. You don't care whether this is happening to anybody else. You have a "busted" fridge and they need to fix it, regardless of what it takes to get that done.

Maybe the burner is out of alignment. Maybe the venting system for cooling the system when it's on propane is insufficient. Maybe the fridge is actually broken. You don't care.

You point at the fridge. You say, "Not working correctly on propane. My food would be too warm if I used this fridge while camping, and I would get food poisoning. Not acceptable." You point at the warranty. You say "Fix it, please." You smile. You persist. You don't accept the unit back from service until they can verify the fridge is cooling properly when on propane. You make them take care of you. Never give up, never surrender. Squeaky wheels get grease. Get yours.

[Gail Miller]

Originally Posted by Bborzell

This should not be this complicated, but while our fridge cools to 38-40F on AC, it can't get above 56 on propane.

Airstream says that there have been a "few" such complaints and that dealers have created "fixes" such as adding fans. There is not a service bulletin at this point and my local dealer is unaware of the issue.

AS customer service rep suggested that this can be an issue when the trailer is parked in higher temperatures. I see it as a design flaw.

I am now awaiting a call from AS to get me details on the "fix". My dealer is telling me that they are three weeks out, but that they woukd try to work it in before we leave for a 6,000 mile cross country trip in a bit over two weeks.

Reliability has not been Airstream's strong suit with the Basecamp.

Oh, I crawled under the trailer up near the propane hoses/tubing and discovered a vent that had pulled away from the bottom of the trailer. Two of the four sheet metal screws had pulled out. I suggest folks look at theirs.

One of the vents behind the LP cover or a vent on the bottom (underbelly)? Mine is in the shop now, so I can't go look. I've looked all under mine and don't remember a vent under it... there are a lot of sheet metal screws in thin sheet metal, such as the mount for the sewer hose storage. I see all those just working their way out in time :-(

[Rocinante]

Loctite makes an interesting product called "Threadlocker" that you can use to help ensure screws don't losen themselves and work their way out. There are two varieties, depending on what you want to accomplish. Maybe one of these can help increase your confidence levels on a few of the screwy connections you mentioned above.

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/threadlockers.shtml

[Troutboy]

I don't have a base camp, I have a 23d. In order to get my fridge to work well on propane I had to modify it to get more airflow through the space. On the 23d, it does not have a roof vent, it has a side vent.

Like yours, the inside was getting really hot as well (a closet). I add three computer fans to increase air flow and it works great now.

I tested it again this weekend. It was super hot, in 90's. Fridge could keep food at 33 easy with fans on. With no fans on, it best it could do is 48. Air flow is key, and they dint design these things well enough. One simple noisy fan is not enough.

[Bborzell]

Originally Posted by Gail Miller

One of the vents behind the LP cover or a vent on the bottom (underbelly)? Mine is in the shop now, so I can't go look. I've looked all under mine and don't remember a vent under it... there are a lot of sheet metal screws in thin sheet metal, such as the mount for the sewer hose storage. I see all those just working their way out in time :-(

Gail...

The vent is a small, maybe 4x4" piece screwed on by each of four corners on the underbelly. It is close to the gas lines about 2 feet, if I recall correctly, from the propane tanks.

I think that Loctite Thread Locker is a good idea generally. In this case, it appears to me that the person who affixed the vent to the underbelly simply stripped two of the holes out. I am taking the trailer in for a fridge cooling (on propane) fix and will ask for slightly larger sheet metal screws along with the threadlocker that I will give them.

...Bob

BTW, Airstream sent me photos of the fix for poor cooling on propane which is either adding two fans to the fridge vent (the one on the actual fridge as opposed to the one in the very front behind the propane tanks) or adding insulation to the fridge. The latter fix makes little sense to me. Both fixes are dealer derived. AS is sending me the fan kitbwhuch I will take with me to the dealer fir installation.

Airstream says that they have heard of only a few instances of poor cooling with propane and have not worked on a fix themselves. I find it a bit odd that AS is not directly assessing this issue which appears to be caused by a lack of sufficient airflow in the cabinet that encloses the fridge. It might be an issue that crops up when 1) it is hot outside, and 2) the trailer isn't moving.

Obviously hot and parked in a desert setting with no shore power is not likely to be an unusual set of circumstances for many Basecamp owners. On the other hand, maybe AS has heard of few such reports because most are switching to propane for travel and typically park in places that have shore power.

In any case, if anyone wants a copy of the email I received from Airstream on the fan fix, send me a PM with your email address and I will send it to you. Too many pictures to post here.

[switz]

A single fan in an open space pulls air around itself, not from the back of the space. We corrected our 23D refrigerator cooling by blocking off the top hatch and putting three exhaust fans in the metal. Thus all the cooling air is pulled in at the bottom vent and exhausted out the top. No problems with achieving a cold interior in the refrigerator.

Fans are wired to come on with the freon based 12Vdc DanFoss compressor in a Vitrifrigo DP150iL refrigerator.

[jodesile]

Originally Posted by FricknFrack

Just saw that Airstream is advertising the 'new' 2018 BC with an 'Upgraded electrical system including a multi-stage converter and an improved battery disconnect feature.'

What exactly is a multi-stage converter n why doesn't MY NEW 2017 BC have one? I don't even have my 2017 BC a half year n there's already a new & improved 2018 version? [emoji58]

Interesting... I have electrical problem with my 2017 BC... wouldn't last more than 1-2 days without power (even though I have a solar panel and use few power)... that may be the problem (been to service twice!!)

[jodesile]

Originally Posted by JuniperRoad

Hello all!

We took delivery of our 2018 BaseCamp two weeks ago and love the size and design. Right away we discovered an issue with the fridge not cooling, while the freezer compartment works just fine. The dealership took a look and installed a second fan in the vent compartment to help move the fridge exhaust out faster.

Well, this solution works fine on shore power, but not on propane. We've discovered that on propane, our fridge will cool to a max of 58 degrees (day or night). Switching to shore power, it cools down to 35 or so in several hours.

When on propane, the flame shroud seems to generate so much heat it interferes with the fridge. It also heats up spots on the counter inside, above the fridge, which is annoying more than anything. Removing the tank cover and even the fridge vent to increase airflow (just as a test) had no impact on the fridge temp.

Anyone else having trouble with proper operation of the fridge when running on propane? We'd love to know if this is common or not and some ideas on fixes or hacks, before we take it in for service. We boondock exclusively, so this issue is critical for us.
thanks!

I have the same problem with my 2017 BC... wouldn't be cold enough or just wouldn't work on propane... been to service twice... told them that they have to replace the fridge with a new one...

[switz]

Replacing a problem model refrigerator with an identical problem model refrigerator seems like kicking the problem down the road like a can. When the warranty expires, the problem is still there no matter how many times the unit was replaced, but now the owner gets to shell out cash.

Seems like a different manufacturer refrigerator might be a more useful solution.

That is the same solution used by Airstream for the very cheap plastic cabinet catches as well. Replacing all the cheap plastic ones with brass ones that were less expensive fixed the issue permanently at far less cost and aggravation.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Hardware...=3,41399,41405

Just saying.

We replaced the Dometic refrigerators in both the 2015 23D International Serenity and 2014 Classic with units built by Vitrifrigo in Italy for the marine industry that use a freon based DanFoss 12Vdc compressor. They were expensive but work with the trailer out of level and cool down within a half hour. The name of the game is to keep the food cold.

http://www.suremarineservice.com/ref...mpressors.aspx

[Troutboy]

Switz, Does that fridge also run on propane and AC?

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by Troutboy

Switz, Does that fridge also run on propane and AC?

Great fridge, but runs on AC and DC. No propane. Vitrifrigo is a great upgrade if your battery bank is big enough.

Under warranty, I'd make the dealer fix the one you have or keep putting in new ones until it cools properly as designed & built.

[BkroadTravlr]

My Basecamp, delivered in Feb. seems to have the same fridge problems. As it's gotten hotter, 95+, the unit has had more trouble cooling below 50 degrees, even on shore power. What is Airstream doing about the issue. I don't trust my dealer to know what to do about it. Is there a service memo out from the factory?