We have had Lucy for 16 months now. We have spent 86 nights in her and she has covered 24,000 miles. A number of minor problems had developed, including a couple of pesky water leaks. We were due for wheel hub service, and we wanted a second Fantastic Fan installed in our front bedroom. We decided that Lucy needed to go home.
After a leisurely 3 days on the road, Lucy arrived at the Airstream Factory in Jackson Center on Sunday afternoon (10/21). We got her into a spot at the Terraport and got her bedded down for the night. The hook-ups are all redone and the Terraports have been recently repaved.
Before dawn (0655) the next morning, a ferry tractor arrived and took Lucy away to the Service Building. We got to go over all of our service and repair needs with Jon, the service tech who would work on Lucy. We showed Jon where the leaks were, and also went over our entire list. This took place in the service bay where we could point the different things out to Jon in person. He stated that it would take about 2 1/2 days to complete our entire list.
We spent the morning having breakfast up the street from the Factory at Phil's Cardinal Grocery, where locals gather to have coffee early in the morning. We got several tips on things to see and places to eat in the area. We looked around Jackson Center and took a ride out to Indian Lake. The season is over, but it was still nice to see the lake and the area.
We drove back to Jackson Center and had lunch at the Hobo Restaurant next door to the Airstream Factory. We then took the Airstream Factory Tour. We were impressed with the plant and how it operates. We were told that they are currently turning out 9 Airstreams a day. There are a lot of the new Safari Sports being produced. The tour was conducted by an Airstream employee who has been with the company for 49 years, and had known Wally personally.
By the time the tour was over, Lucy was already back at the Terraport for the night. The leaks had already been worked on which was very fortunate as it began raining and rained hard all night. The leaks were gone and Lucy was, once again, watertight.
Tuesday morning, Lucy was again picked up before 0700 in the pouring rain and taken back to the Service Building. Jon finished up the list of about 20 minor repairs. Lucy also had her wheel hubs serviced.
We spent the day touring some of the neat little towns in the area including Lima and the St. Mary's Lake area. On the way back to Jackson Center, we had a very nice supper at the In Between Restaurant in Botkins which was one of the coffee club's recommendations. By the time we got back to the Factory, Lucy was already back at the Terraport. All the work had been completed except the installation of the Fantastic Fan.
This morning, the little tractor again came and got Lucy and took her over to the Service Building. We spent the morning and early afternoon hanging out in the customer lounge which is very nice and furninished with couches and overstuffed chairs. They have a computer with internet access and free coffee and cookies all day. The Airstream Store is right there and is really neat. We also took a ride to the other side of town and visited WBCCI Headquarters and introduced ourselves.
Lucy was completed at about 1400. We went over all of the repairs with Jon, the technician. Lucy was returned to the Terraport. We will spend another night here before we go on.
The whole Airstream Factory experience was great. Lucy was fixed right by people who know what they are doing. Lucy's technician, Jon, has 23 years experience with Airstream. We could tell that he cares about what he is doing. The cost of the wheel hub service was $30 less than it had been at the dealer last year. We are very happy that we made the trip. We even got four nights of camping with other Airstreams without charge.
Here are a few photos of Lucy's trip home.
__________________ SuEllyn & Brian McCabe WBCCI #3628 --- AIR #14872 2005 25' Safari FB (Lucy) with HAHA 2005 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Olivia) & 2004 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Daisy)
Sounds like a great experience. Not that I want to have to go the factory for service but it would be kind of cool to experience it. It's great that the factory gives service above and beyond...I think that speaks volumes......
__________________ Brian & Donna 08 27' Safari FB SE 03 Avalanche 2500 WBCCI #1199 - AIR #23847 NEU LIFE IS GOOD
What a wonderful adventure! I wish every trip to every dealer could be like that. I am so glad you had such a great experience, and happy that Airstream knows how to treat its customers in such a matter!
Susan
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1984 310 Limited Motor Home "The Rockin' A"
1974 31' Excella (soon-to-be carhauler)
1974 20' Argosy Motor Home
I think they got their $30 worth on that post... I bet y'all can tell I found fistfulls of wet fiberglass this afternoon and am way envious...
Did they find anything above or beyond your list?
The tech found a slight wall separation next to the bathroom door which he screwed tight, plugged the screws and caulked the entire bathroom, walls and floors.
__________________ SuEllyn & Brian McCabe WBCCI #3628 --- AIR #14872 2005 25' Safari FB (Lucy) with HAHA 2005 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Olivia) & 2004 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Daisy)
Thursday morning and Lucy is like new. We packed Lucy up to depart, and had her LP tanks filled on the Airstream Factory grounds just 100 yards from the Terraports. We headed north into Michigan for an appointment with the Hensley Arrow folks to correct a problem with Lucy's HAHA. I'll report on the results there in another string.
__________________ SuEllyn & Brian McCabe WBCCI #3628 --- AIR #14872 2005 25' Safari FB (Lucy) with HAHA 2005 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Olivia) & 2004 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Daisy)
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