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uncle_bob · 07-18-2018, 06:47 AM

Hi

Every model trailer ( and even some builds of trailers) are a bit different. At least on the trailers I've seen and seen pictures of, there is plenty of ventilation for the converter / charger. The stock uint does have some issues, but not the ones most people point to. Simply replacing it likely took care of your issues. If you still have the old one shake it - does it rattle?

Bob

jsfranchek · 07-18-2018, 09:58 AM

Bob: Thanks for the reply. As you asked, I just got my old converter and shook it. No rattle of any kind. Why do you ask?

uncle_bob · 07-19-2018, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsfranchek

Bob: Thanks for the reply. As you asked, I just got my old converter and shook it. No rattle of any kind. Why do you ask?

Hi

Mine had a voltage regulator chip (LM-317) fastened to a large / unsupported heatsink. Eventually vibration broke it off the main pc board. When I pulled the converter, it rattled around loose inside the enclosure.

Bob

jsfranchek · 07-20-2018, 10:03 AM

July 20, 2018 - I had kind of hoped that Airstream would monitor and having heard their name mentioned, would have reached out....Nope. Well anyway, does anyone have any thoughts on this design issue with lack of air flow for the inverter/converter? I am left to speculate as to whether the one installed is appropriate for the 2016 26U trailer but it did work from install date in June to the end of the trip on July 11, 2018. Any thoughts? Airstream - Are you listening? Thanks.

UncleBad · 07-20-2018, 10:06 AM

I am still waiting for my return call... was busy the first time they called.

uncle_bob · 07-20-2018, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsfranchek

July 20, 2018 - I had kind of hoped that Airstream would monitor and having heard their name mentioned, would have reached out....Nope. Well anyway, does anyone have any thoughts on this design issue with lack of air flow for the inverter/converter? I am left to speculate as to whether the one installed is appropriate for the 2016 26U trailer but it did work from install date in June to the end of the trip on July 11, 2018. Any thoughts? Airstream - Are you listening? Thanks.

Hi

Airstream is not an active "conversation" part of this forum. Even the "please call us" messages may or may not be directly from them.... ( various posts have indicated it's done by a third party).

On the trailers I've seen, airflow is more than adequate for both the inverter and the charger.

Bob

UncleBad · 07-20-2018, 10:50 AM

I was told their “social media team” is responsible for monitoring and handing off to technical support... at least they are participating.

uncle_bob · 07-21-2018, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleBad

I was told their “social media team” is responsible for monitoring and handing off to technical support... at least they are participating.

Hi

Yes, this is a swerve off the inverter topic by a very wide margin

Based on comments from Airstream employees, the "social media team" is an outside contractor. Other than one thread (where there was genuine input from Airstream), all I have seen is a canned "please call / contact us" message.

There are a number of forums (for other products) where a range of employees from the main company *do* participate. They are posting real content in multiple threads on a daily basis. In some cases it's done on a "designated" basis ( = I'd bet they get training / pay). In other cases the factory people are just involved because they have an interest ( and are allowed / encouraged to identify themselves as employees). Obviously the first approach is more in tune with the marketing message of the company. The second approach can be *far* more interesting ....

Truth in lending - my entire career was spent in "stealth" mode on forums as far as the company I worked for / ran. There was no social media engagement on any forums. If something came up, we handled it with email or phone calls to the person involved. Indeed that was (mostly) in a different era. I can't see that they are doing it any different today.

Lots of ways to go, none of them perfect.

Bob

UncleBad · 07-23-2018, 02:36 PM

Airstream - still waiting on the call back on the inverter...

uncle_bob · 07-23-2018, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleBad

Airstream - still waiting on the call back on the inverter...

Hi

I'd suggest that them catching the reference in this thread is pretty unlikely. Don't wait to long, give them a call ....

Bob

AirstreamInc · 07-23-2018, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsfranchek

We were at the 4 corners rally in Santa Fe last June when our electrical power went out on our 2016 26U. Our battery level read over charge and we could get no power to anything. Hence PANIC set in. We had taken delivery in February 2018 from Colonial in New Jersey and this was a first "long" trip. In April we had replaced our batteries with new $750.00 sealed batteries. When the power went out I called the local New Mexico Airstream dealer and they were ZERO help. I telephoned a local on-site repair company and they replaced our converter/inverter. The general consensus of opinion was that the original inverter/converter equipment was insufficient for the trailer and should be replaced. The general consensus at the rally of the 25 or so other Airstreamers agreed. We replaced (for several hundreds of dollars) it with a TCRU Series Model 55TCRU. What TCRU means I do not know. In doing the repair, the local repair guy said that there is insuffucient cooling area in the designed space for the unit and so the fan runs all the time. Additional holes were needed to open the area for air circulation. I have not done this and sought help from the mothership. They were so busy they told me that they could not see me until October so that even though I was passing by on my way back to Massachusetts they could not accommodate us. They said that the inverter/converter that was installed the Parallax Power Supply Model 55TCRU was MAYBE not the right unit despite the fact that it was working. I am very disappointed in Airstream, and completely puzzled by the whole (in my view very complicated) electrical system. Any thoughts?

Hi jsfranchek,

Please send us a direct message with your contact information and the last 6 digits of your VIN so we can share it with our Customer Service and Technical Support team. We look forward to helping you get this resolved.

You can also reach Airstream Customer Service and Technical Support at customer_support@airstream.com

Thank you.

UncleBad · 07-23-2018, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

I'd suggest that them catching the reference in this thread is pretty unlikely. Don't wait to long, give them a call ....

Bob

Yep - was more of a rhetorical post... I have called them twice and left two messages...

uncle_bob · 07-24-2018, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleBad

Yep - was more of a rhetorical post... I have called them twice and left two messages...

Hi

... and the same canned "let's start the process from scratch" message has popped up yet again.

Bob

UncleBad · 07-24-2018, 01:50 PM

I received a call back from Jeremy of Airstream technical support today. He was very nice and very knowledgable.

I walked through a bit of troubleshooting with him and we determined that the inverter is indeed "bricked".... my term not his.

Troubleshooting steps we took:

1 - determine state of inverter at start with shore power connected
- green LED showing on inverter, nothing on inverter display, no LED on remote inverter switch in kitchen
- he noted that the inverter display should probably be displaying something at this point

2 - disconnect shore power

3 - determine state of charge for batteries
- AGM batteries at 100%

4 - enable inverter view remote panel
- no change on remote panel when button pressed - green LED on remote panel does not light up

5 - inverter status at this point
- no more green LED on inverter, nothing on LED display

6 - Attempt to reset inverter
- bottom reset switch would not move (located on the bottom of the inverter where power comes in, its a little rocker switch I could only feel, not see).

He did not mention any other fuse, etc.

He asked that I tell my dealer if they have any questions about the inverter to have them contact him and he will make sure it is covered under warrantee.

I asked about inverter upgrades. He stated that AS will cover the labor to replace the inverter or a replacement that I provide but obviously not the cost of the newer/different inverter. Sounds fair to me.

While I had him on the phone I also asked why the 50 amp service AS units do not have a forward generator connection as do the 30 amp units. He stated that the 30 amp transfer switches are readily available and that the 50 amp transfer units are more complicated and would require some redesign of the internal electrical systems of the AS and that 50 amp transfer switches were either hard to find or not generally available (i forget). It also has to do with the problem of then possibly having TWO 50 amp connections in-bound to the trailer and possible back feeding into each other, etc. Made sense at the time.

Hope that helps someone.

Good news is that my inverter will be covered, I can supply a new/different one if I choose and that I was finally able to get on the phone with them! Overall I am happy with the support and time he spent with me - now to find time to get Indecision to the AS dealer in Scottsdale!

uncle_bob · 07-25-2018, 07:29 AM

Hi

Glad they finally got back to you !!!!

If you *do* decide to go to a Victron Multi 2000 or Multi 3000 .... it may / may not fit in the same space as the original inverter. I .. umm... errr... had to do some mods to get a 2000 into my trailer. Turned out mods (chopping off part of the case) to the Mulit were easier than mods to the trailer ....

Bob

UncleBad · 07-25-2018, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

If you *do* decide to go to a Victron Multi 2000 or Multi 3000 .... it may / may not fit in the same space as the original inverter. I .. umm... errr... had to do some mods to get a 2000 into my trailer. Turned out mods (chopping off part of the case) to the Mulit were easier than mods to the trailer ....

Bob

Looks like Victron has a compact unit. Anyone have experience with it? Being compact must mean limited capabilities when compared to the full-size units.

I assume it works with my AGM’s and would also work with their solar controllers.

Victron MultiPlus Compact 12/2000/80-50 120V VE.Bus Inverter Charger https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0053XY8NY..._E.hwBbFD09B34

uncle_bob · 07-25-2018, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleBad

Looks like Victron has a compact unit. Anyone have experience with it? Being compact must mean limited capabilities when compared to the full-size units.

I assume it works with my AGM’s and would also work with their solar controllers.

Victron MultiPlus Compact 12/2000/80-50 120V VE.Bus Inverter Charger https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0053XY8NY..._E.hwBbFD09B34

Hi

That is the Mulit 2000. It works great ( = it's what I have). It's lots bigger than the stock inverter. In my case the key parameter was it's height when mounted flat on the floor. It was just barely to tall ( like 5.05 vs 4.95 inches maybe) to fit. A little fun and games with a saw took care of that .... probably had an impact on the warranty ... who knows ...

The one Amazon shipped me came in damaged. I wound up driving over to PKYS to pick one up.

One consideration - it's a 2KW inverter. If you want the full 2K out of it, you will need to run bigger wire to the battery. In some cases that's not a big deal. In my case / the way I ran it ... it was a bit of a pain.

Bob

UncleBad · 08-06-2018, 08:20 AM

Returned the AS to the Mother Ship (AS of Scottsdale) this past Thursday. Decided to stick with stock inverter until we start using the AS a bit more and decide if we really need an upgrade.

Our first warranty list was much smaller than I expected. I asked one of the guys in the shop how we compared to others. He said “We can tell when a trailer was made on a Monday morning. Looks like you got a good one.”

sandollars · 08-06-2018, 09:19 AM

Well, THAT's encouraging... Business major here.... This means 1 in 5 trailers AS makes have "Made on Monday issues..."

blkmagikca · 08-06-2018, 02:19 PM

While I realize that my setup is in an older AS, I have the Xantrex FS-3012 converter/charger/inverter (3000-watt).
https://www.amazon.com/Xantrex-Freed...verter+charger

This fits in place of the old single stage converter/charger, along with two size 4D AGM batteries.

Along with 540-watts of solar it all works fine for me for boondocking.