2017 Basecamp Issues

[Gail Miller]

Originally Posted by Camperjen

Attachment 295084
We were camping, trailer was level. A gust of wind blew the door out of my hand, hit the side of the trailer, glass shattered. A fluke? We are home now, we'll call airstream and our dealer tomorrow. so sad[emoji58]

Oh no .... so sorry ... I think you are the third person reporting this happening.

[OTRA15]

Here comes another fleet-wide recall IMO.

So sorry that you BetaBasecamp owners have to go through this involuntary full-scale-model testing program.

[YoungishJedi]

Originally Posted by Camperjen

Attachment 295084
We were camping, trailer was level. A gust of wind blew the door out of my hand, hit the side of the trailer, glass shattered. A fluke? We are home now, we'll call airstream and our dealer tomorrow. so sad[emoji58]

OH NO!!!

It's funny but when the glass is all shattered like that you can see how obvious the door / frame issue is. Just gently opening it you can see how the frame flexes just to the left of the window when the door makes contact.

[sgcullen]

The window shattering issue does not seem to be an isolated incident. I picked up my 2018 Basecamp two weeks ago and immediately hit the road with it - drove from Seattle to Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. On the first morning, I woke up and opened the door. A strong wind pulled the door out of my hand...the door swung open and “POP” the window shattered. I taped it up (Gorilla Tape works miracles) and continued on my trip. I told the dealer (Airstream Adventures Northwest in Covington, WA) that this should be a warranty repair as it is a design flaw. They are still “researching” that. In the meantime, the Basecamp is at the dealer for the window repair, the refrigerator recall fix, some leaks that were discovered (I think through both the refrigerator vent and the rear hatch seal), the shower caddy coming off the wall (why did they use that sticky stuff instead of screwing it into the wall?), and a few rivets that popped out.

[Troutboy]

Great photo! Sorry about the window break.....

[Camperjen]

Originally Posted by sgcullen

The window shattering issue does not seem to be an isolated incident. I picked up my 2018 Basecamp two weeks ago and immediately hit the road with it - drove from Seattle to Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. On the first morning, I woke up and opened the door. A strong wind pulled the door out of my hand...the door swung open and “POP” the window shattered. I taped it up (Gorilla Tape works miracles) and continued on my trip. I told the dealer (Airstream Adventures Northwest in Covington, WA) that this should be a warranty repair as it is a design flaw. They are still “researching” that. In the meantime, the Basecamp is at the dealer for the window repair, the refrigerator recall fix, some leaks that were discovered (I think through both the refrigerator vent and the rear hatch seal), the shower caddy coming off the wall (why did they use that sticky stuff instead of screwing it into the wall?), and a few rivets that popped out.

I ‘m sorry about your window! In an email from Michael at Airstream I was informed that this is “not a design concern” but an act of Mother Nature and high winds. I have an appointment for repair in 3 weeks as this is the soonest the dealer can get me in.

[sgcullen]

Originally Posted by Camperjen

I ‘m sorry about your window! In an email from Michael at Airstream I was informed that this is “not a design concern” but an act of Mother Nature and high winds. I have an appointment for repair in 3 weeks as this is the soonest the dealer can get me in.

LOL. Sounds like corporate buck passing to me. I have owned 5 trailers in my life and not one of them has suffered a broken window due to the door being grabbed by the wind. Granted none of them have glass like the Basecamp. But, given that at least 4 of us have suffered this very serious problem, it seems like they need to admit it and come up with a fix. A good design would account for the bad things mother nature does to us while on the road and protect us from it.

[RocIngersol]

Hello to the Basecamp owners,
I recently purchased a 2018 Basecamp and it’s awesome.
After reading the entire thread of issues with the Basecamp, I have mostly corrected the issues myself and I also provided my own RV main door 90 degree stop to prevent potential glass breakage.
Please see my pictures. I fastened a bracket to the upper door frame and added a key ring.I fabricated a simple removable door stop strap of my own creation (again see pictures).
It works beautifully. It holds the door at 90 degrees open position, then I remove the strap at the door and open door and latch into final position.
Just an idea for all you DIYer’s.

[YoungishJedi]

That looks fantastic!

I'm not very good with rope though. Is there a guide on making something like that?

Thanks!

[Rocinante]

Looks nice. Would that work on the curved back door, which seems to be the one that’s regularly breaking its own window out?

[RocIngersol]

Hello to YoungishJedi & Rocinante,

Relative to the strap I made, the best I can tell you is to look at some paracord knot tying videos on youtube. There are all sorts of creative ideas and how to tie knots.

Relative to the rear door question: The strap won't work on the rear access door; but I have come up with a very simple paracord, key ring and stainless clasp that takes 5 seconds, if that, to secure the rear door open - I had my door slam shut a couple times. Can't provide pictures now but this weekend I will take pics and post. If you can picture it, a key ring goes around the rear door handle which is attached to the paracord, then paracord then routes around the door at the latch area to the outside rear of the base camp to the underside through the bump stop, then the paracord clips to the same paracord toward the door to another key ring which is attached to the same piece of paracord.

I also came up with a way to lock the screen door from opening unexpectedly as we have small pets. It involves purchasing a marine cabinet lock which fastens to the screen door and a catch which rivets to the side wall of the Basecamp near the latch. I also have a fix to extend out the magnets that hold the screen door to. I will post these pictures this weekend. It is simple, buy stainless steel nuts (as spacers) long sheet metal screws. My unit magnets barely held the door as they were positioned to closely to the wall of the basecamp.

Best Regards,

RocIngersol

[RioTravln]

Originally Posted by RocIngersol

Hello to YoungishJedi & Rocinante,

Relative to the strap I made, the best I can tell you is to look at some paracord knot tying videos on youtube. There are all sorts of creative ideas and how to tie knots.

Relative to the rear door question: The strap won't work on the rear access door; but I have come up with a very simple paracord, key ring and stainless clasp that takes 5 seconds, if that, to secure the rear door open - I had my door slam shut a couple times. Can't provide pictures now but this weekend I will take pics and post. If you can picture it, a key ring goes around the rear door handle which is attached to the paracord, then paracord then routes around the door at the latch area to the outside rear of the base camp to the underside through the bump stop, then the paracord clips to the same paracord toward the door to another key ring which is attached to the same piece of paracord.

I also came up with a way to lock the screen door from opening unexpectedly as we have small pets. It involves purchasing a marine cabinet lock which fastens to the screen door and a catch which rivets to the side wall of the Basecamp near the latch. I also have a fix to extend out the magnets that hold the screen door to. I will post these pictures this weekend. It is simple, buy stainless steel nuts (as spacers) long sheet metal screws. My unit magnets barely held the door as they were positioned to closely to the wall of the basecamp.

Best Regards,

RocIngersol

These are awesome ideas! Thanks for the solutions!

[Gail Miller]

Originally Posted by RocIngersol

Hello to the Basecamp owners,
I recently purchased a 2018 Basecamp and it’s awesome.
After reading the entire thread of issues with the Basecamp, I have mostly corrected the issues myself and I also provided my own RV main door 90 degree stop to prevent potential glass breakage.
Please see my pictures. I fastened a bracket to the upper door frame and added a key ring.I fabricated a simple removable door stop strap of my own creation (again see pictures).
It works beautifully. It holds the door at 90 degrees open position, then I remove the strap at the door and open door and latch into final position.
Just an idea for all you DIYer’s.

Super! Thank you for share. When you added the bracket to the upper door frame, did you feel your screws 'bite' into something solid in the door? I assume if you put screws in, near where AS has screws, there is something solid behind that area.

[Gail Miller]

Originally Posted by Gail Miller

Super! Thank you for share. When you added the bracket to the upper door frame, did you feel your screws 'bite' into something solid in the door? I assume if you put screws in, near where AS has screws, there is something solid behind that area.

I have another question: Did you use wood screws or metal screws. I'm not sure what the door's core is. Thanks!

[RocIngersol]

To Gail Miller, yes at the centerline of rivets there is an extruded structural beam ( you can verify via the AS Basecamp part illustration manual if you like) sandwiched between the outer and inner aluminum door skin.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

RocIngersol

[RocIngersol]

Oops, forgot to address other questions,

1. Must use sheet metal screws. Use stainless steel screws as there is little chemical interaction between theses dissimilar metals, and

2. Yes, the screws "bit" into the extruded structure, but put screws at centerline of rivets as shown in my previous post.

Best Regards,

RocIngersol

[Gail Miller]

Originally Posted by RocIngersol

Oops, forgot to address other questions,

1. Must use sheet metal screws. Use stainless steel screws as there is little chemical interaction between theses dissimilar metals, and

2. Yes, the screws "bit" into the extruded structure, but put screws at centerline of rivets as shown in my previous post.

Best Regards,

RocIngersol

Super, thanks so much!

[gouchodon]

Hey all,

Still loving our little basecamp but have a new issue...

It appears that the black roof sealant around the perimeter of the roof and that joins the abs plastic panels has cracked and is compromised. Wondered if anyone else has had this issue? Every seam is affected and It appears the cracks expand and contract with changes in temp.

[Sparkle]

Just used my BC after the refrigerator recall “solution.” The news is not good. Got a new fridge, another battery and the fans. The fans run constantly on power or propane and they are LOUD. They also make the shroud over the propane tanks very hot. On propane, the noise inside the trailer is unbearable. There is a loud constant whining/buzzing sound that never abates. Earplugs didn’t work. I had to sleep with a pillow around my head. Airstream Corporate are you listening? This is not a fix and is totally unacceptable!

[Gail Miller]

Originally Posted by Sparkle

Just used my BC after the refrigerator recall “solution.” The news is not good. Got a new fridge, another battery and the fans. The fans run constantly on power or propane and they are LOUD. They also make the shroud over the propane tanks very hot. On propane, the noise inside the trailer is unbearable. There is a loud constant whining/buzzing sound that never abates. Earplugs didn’t work. I had to sleep with a pillow around my head. Airstream Corporate are you listening? This is not a fix and is totally unacceptable!

Good Grief!! SO, not good!!!! Disappointed in AS ... again!!! I'm still leaning toward pulling my fridge OUT ... using the space for a cooler!