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Old 06-25-2016, 07:36 AM   #1
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Question All wrong?

I bought my new 2016 FC28 in December and started browsing these forums. I discovered that brand new out of the box my trailer had the wrong converter (Parallax), possibly the wrong batteries, the wrong tires, the wrong hitch (Equalizer), and probably bought the wrong truck (2016 F150 Lariat with 3.5 eco-boost).
Now we are 6 months and 6000 miles later and just back from 4 days of boondocking at Watkins Glen SP and several hundred miles negotiating the ups and downs of I-68 through the mountains of northern Maryland and West Virginia. Nary a sway, easily maintaining 60 mph up the hills and 55 down the hills with the tow/haul mode on. I leave the converter on all the time and check the water in the batteries every couple of weeks and occasionally add a little distilled water.
So I'll keep a close eye on all the wrong things supplied by Airstream and cross my fingers that I'm not in someplace remote when disaster strikes.
By the way, I foolishly bought a Thetford 18 gallon tote which never came out of the bed of the truck. We went 6 days having taken 2 showers apiece (total of 4) with water still left in the fresh water tank and some capacity still in the gray and black tanks before dumping at our last stopover before getting home. I was glad to have brought both Honda EU2000s since despite the weather forecast it hit high 80s on one of the days at Watkins Glen and the AC was a godsend. I also alternated exercising the two generators on the other days for battery charging, toast for breakfast (after quiet hours expired) and coffee from our Keurig. The only time the generator quit from overload was when we had the toaster on and the Keurig decided it was time to heat the water. We were only running one of the gens at the time.

By the way, if you haven't been to Watkins Glen SP, go! What a spectacular venue.

Richard
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Old 06-25-2016, 07:53 AM   #2
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All Wrong

Great Post. I know there are times i think i got the wrong "thing" whatever it is. Glad it all worked out, and you enjoyed your trip.
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Old 06-25-2016, 07:54 AM   #3
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Hi Richard. Please don't take what you read here on the Forums as engraved in stone. Everyone here shares their opinions on what works well (or not) for them. No one here is selling anything. No matter what you have, it is possibly wrong for someone else.

Like everyone here, I have my opinions and share them openly. I never say that my opinion is better or worse than anyone else's. What most of us do here on the Forums is share our experiences to benefit the group. For instance, your truck could not come close to handling my load. That does not make your truck the wrong truck; it's just the wrong truck for me.

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Old 06-25-2016, 07:54 AM   #4
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Good to hear that things are going well. It's hard to remember that this forum is not representative of all owners. For every complaint posted, there are many others that don't have a problem. Having said that, I did upgrade my converter. I still have the GYM tires and have used them for years on other trailers with good results. After saying that I'm sure I'll have one self-destruct on the next trip!
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Old 06-25-2016, 08:17 AM   #5
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All wrong?

Richard - glad you are having such a great experience with all your brand new (but apparently not all Forum-approved) equipment. I'm sure if I listed my inventory of older TV and AS components that some of it would get panned on the Forum (my old percolator is a prime example.)

I still like to post here on a point of interest to me (like building a pole barn this year for my AS) to see the diversity of opinions. Folks are good to offer opinions and I use these as food for thought. I have used the search function, although it's kludgy, to research past threads on a topic. I always appreciate when someone with real expertise weighs in on a subject, and you can usually tell it's more than a casual opinion or personal preference.

Got any cool pictures? Nice to see when members post photos of the great places they visit.

Safe travels.

Regards - Ron
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Old 06-25-2016, 08:32 AM   #6
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Oh my! You better park that thing before you hurt yourself or someone else. Much of the stuff on the forums is mass hysteria after someone yelled that the sky was falling. You're doing fine, really liked your post.
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Old 06-25-2016, 08:38 AM   #7
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Great post. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 06-25-2016, 08:44 AM   #8
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If you are already adding water to your batteries change the convertor.
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Old 06-25-2016, 08:46 AM   #9
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Thanks for all the supportive replies. I hope everyone realizes it was tongue in cheek, although I would like to see more good news posts.
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Old 06-25-2016, 09:30 AM   #10
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You rebel!!! :-)

Great post! Watkins Glen is really beautiful. Have fun!!
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Old 06-25-2016, 09:47 AM   #11
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Welcome to the forum Richard and thanks for the levity and informed feedback. We too have the OEM converter/charger but tailor its use as needed. Ditto to the earlier comment that you might consider unplugging the trailer at times, if you are having to add distilled water to the batteries.

Are you planning on adding a new converter at some point with a final stage trickle charge? We are, plus solar. It would be nice to be able to leave the umbilical connected IMO.

Thanks again,

Peter
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Old 06-25-2016, 10:10 AM   #12
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Forums = Homogenization of what is CONSIDERED best practice by the consensus of the day.






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Old 06-25-2016, 10:42 AM   #13
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All other things aside...but that Parallax and Marathons should be replaced.

Not doing so is just asking for it.

If I had a penny for every time I said, "I told you so!" I'd have $7.24 by now.

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Old 06-25-2016, 10:58 AM   #14
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Other things you did wrong was to use the shower and the toilet...hopefully you didn't put toilet paper down there! Oh, and the oven (if you have one) is only to be used for storage.

Good luck with your travels...
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Old 06-25-2016, 12:10 PM   #15
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Whitegs, I pretty much come from the same camp you're in (not Watkins Glen), but Camp Mindset.

I called my New Jersey dealer a couple weeks ago about when to change tires.

"Five years from date of manufacture", he said.

Then I mentioned the possibility of changing to Michelin 16" tires.

"Don't do it", he said.

He then related the story of a customer who had replaced the GYM's with 16" Michs and had a blow out with them. The blowout caused thread separation and did $12k in damage to the undercarriage and inside of his new AS.

He made my decision for me, but I applaud you in arriving at your own…by yourself!
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Old 06-25-2016, 12:20 PM   #16
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Thanks for sharing. If you go by some posts in this forum. Michelins 16" are invulnerable. Good to see other perspectives.
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Old 06-25-2016, 12:57 PM   #17
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All wrong?

Tires - Yokohama 15" on steel rims

Oven- Residential

Furnace - Residential wall furnace

Toilet - flush, residential

Electric - virtually NO 12 volt, full trailer inverter, manual transfer switch, 120v LED lighting.

Converter/charger - Iota

Batteries - Flooded cell

Generator - Yamaha 2400

Me resistant to the popular standards? No....





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Old 06-25-2016, 02:13 PM   #18
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We've been similarly Airstreaming wrong for seven years, 1400 nights camping, never had an original equipment failure and just bought our third half-ton truck.

We changed the GYM tires for frequent long distance travel reliability and upgraded the Equal-I-Zer for a Hensley design for safety and comfort. The Parallex converter is okay while the trailer power is being used daily, but don't let it sit around charging while not using power if you like your batteries.
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Old 06-25-2016, 02:45 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dkottum View Post
. . . The Parallex converter is okay while the trailer power is being used daily, but don't let it sit around charging while not using power if you like your batteries.
That has been our experience as well. Many Airstream problems stem from not being actively used as designed IMO -- fresh water tank and pump, holding tanks, etc..

Ditto for our old 25' in the 90's. Bought her used, and traveled extensively for the next few years with the same batteries, OEM converter, bearings, axles, tires, etc.. Had to replace the fridge after 7 years, and the circuit board in the furnace just before selling her.
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Old 06-25-2016, 03:03 PM   #20
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Old Lucy's (2005 Safari 25FB) batteries lasted five years with heavy use and the OEM converter. In the tire department, Old Lucy had three catastrophic failures with her OEM GYM's in the first year. Went to Maxxis ten ply. They had tread separation after 25,000 miles. Went to the 16" Michelins. Old Lucy did another 60,000 miles without any tire issues before we traded her.

Brian
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