Picking up new 2008 25 FB SE - Things to check

[eheffa]

Hi all,

My wife & I & 3 kids have had a 23 ft travel trailer for many years & sold it over a year ago. We have made a lot of miles together in our trailer over the years. We live on Vancouver Island. There are no Airstream dealers here. The nearest Canadian dealer has had very limited inventory.

After missing the ability to camp & explore but not missing the cheap stick & staple construction of our old trailer, we were very interested in the better quality of the Airstreams. After much deliberation, we have just bought a 2008 25 FB SE from a dealer in Eugene Oregon (a ferry trip & full day's drive away across the border). We are planning on picking it up in mid-July & plan on camping nearby Eugene for our first night before heading home.

We have also included an Equalizer hitch in the deal. We will be towing with a 2000 Chevy Suburban 4x4 1500 with the 4.10 axle.


My questions:

Are there any quirks or common potential problems or defects we should look for on taking delivery?


Are there any other suggestions people might have for us that might avoid a preventable warranty trip?


Thanks. I appreciate all the useful info on this forum.

-evan

[Airhog1]

Congatulations on your new purchase...George and Martha Sutton are GREAT people and I know you will be taken care of at their dealership. They are one of my fellow Top Ten dealers.

You might want to spend a night or two near by...we have people stay right on our lot for a day or two...that way we can work out any problems before they leave.


G

[cameront120]

Congratulations and welcome.

[jayray5]

Before going on the pickup trip I would have the transmission serviced. Drop the pan AND change the filter. I have a 2001 4x4 burb 1500 and I tow in 3rd gear--not tow haul--because the overdrive will make you crazy with shifts. Congratulations!

[Kintscher]

Welcome.

We are in the Eugene area. There are many close camp grounds.

One that is only a few miles from Sutton's:

Park

and Cottage Grove Lake about 20 miles south is very nice:

Corps Lakes Gateway: Oregon - Cottage Grove Lake

Brad

[Chief]

Airhog1 just gave you some of the best advice you will receive......try and spend the first couple of nights near the dealership. We just purchased an '08 Safari 25 FB SE from him, and they promptly fixed the few glitches we found. There does not appear to be a particular problem common to 2008 models, other that you WILL find something that either does not work or needs tweaking. Better to have it fixed on the spot than to make a return trip.

BTW, we were in Vancouver May 14-17, and I must tell you that it is one of the nicest cities, with some of the friendliest people, that we have experienced in a long time. What a great place to live!

Good luck with the new rig.....hope you like it as much as we do ours.

Chief

[eheffa]

Thank you Airhog1.

That's reassuring. My wife has been pretty worried about sending all this money to a business we found on the internet.

We are planning to stay in the area one night to make sure anything obvious can be caught prior to our leaving the area. Our sales rep has been quite careful to reassure us that they will be going over the unit carefully to try and catch any issues before delivery.

-evan

[eheffa]

Thanks Cameron.

I'm originally from North Van (Lynn Valley).

It's nice to know that there are a few other happy Canadian Airstreamers nearby...
-evan

[cameront120]

There are quite a few of us in this neck of the woods. We probably have enough people to have a rally!

[eheffa]

Hi Jayray,

We were towing a slightly smaller trailer before (23+ Kit Companion GVWR 6300lbs) & towed it across North America (to Newfoundland) & back. I found the Tow/Haul mode worked quite well on the flats but would put it into 3rd or even 2nd gear for the steeper mountain passes & hills.

I had the transmission serviced 23,000 Km (14000 miles) ago. Do you think I should do it again?

-evan

[eheffa]

Thanks Brad,

I had booked a site in the Willamette NF but having looked at your "parks" link have changed to a site in Florence that looks much nicer.

Thanks for the link.

-evan

[eheffa]

Originally Posted by Chief

Airhog1 just gave you some of the best advice you will receive......try and spend the first couple of nights near the dealership. We just purchased an '08 Safari 25 FB SE from him, and they promptly fixed the few glitches we found. There does not appear to be a particular problem common to 2008 models, other that you WILL find something that either does not work or needs tweaking. Better to have it fixed on the spot than to make a return trip.

BTW, we were in Vancouver May 14-17, and I must tell you that it is one of the nicest cities, with some of the friendliest people, that we have experienced in a long time. What a great place to live!

Good luck with the new rig.....hope you like it as much as we do ours.

Chief

Thanks for the good advice Chief,

I'm afraid we won't be able to do two nights but we will stay one to make sure some of the most obvious issues could be addressed.

I am looking forward to enjoying this unit. I can't help thinking this is the nicest floor-plan one could wish for as the day-time living space is oriented to the rear of the unit where the best views & privacy is usually located.

I'm glad you enjoyed Vancouver. It hasn't been the nicest spring here this year but over here on the Island we get a little better weather & might even be just as friendly...

-evan

[Minnie's Mate]

We purchased our Airstream new in 2006 and really have been pleased with it. We have been blessed to not have the myriad of issues some of the previous models have had. The weekend we took delivery I had a mishap with it and dented the side wall. Three weeks later on our next camping trip a deer ran into it crushing the curb-side corner so we took the trailer back to Jackson Center for both repairs. While there we gave them a list of about 4-5 items that were pretty common to some (tank monitors needed calibrating) and a place in the shower that needed more caulk (I could have, but let them do it) and a corner reflector fell of in our driveway (double sided tape used to install it and to repair it, but it has stayed put for going on three summers now) and a couple of places the laminate had come un-glued. Again, nothing to cry over.

You can either do a search (blue bar at top, see search) to find out what the early 2000 models had, but I think a lot of that was just a transition period to higher production requiring newly hired, inexperienced workers, and the new line of International CCD's. There will always be little issues that will bug you to death that something so expensive would have, but any hand crafted item will have imperfections and Airstream is no different.

Good luck with your maiden voyage and welcome to the Airforums. Be sure to post photos of the new Airstream and your travels back to the Great White North!...we love pictures!

[Midamrail]

Hi Evan,

Welcome and congrats! I hope you and your family enjoy the 25' FB floor plan as much as we do.

Spending a night at the dealer is one of the best things you can do. A few ideas:

• • Use every system and appliance, including using the fridge on both gas and electric
  • Check fit and finish everywhere inside and out - look for missing rivets and screws, edges on laminate, inside the storage areas, the vinyl flooring including inside the storage areas, etc.
  • Check the edges of the aluminum segments on the outside for filiform corrosion
  • Watch the shower for leaks, especially around the corner
  • Make sure your hitch and brakes are dialed in correctly
  • Make sure everything opens and closes properly and is aligned correctly (windows, doors, access doors, etc.)

Best of luck, and enjoy!

[Airhog1]

Hey Evan,

I just spoke with George Sutton via email and was assured you would be taken care of very well!

G

[briandg]

We got our 25 from George much the same way as you. We live in Wrangell, Ak. Looked it up on the internet and sent they a check sight unseen. Did not see it for 6 months. They did a good job of getting it ready for us. Remember that they did have a young man wash it and I am sure they said check the tires, he did not and I pulled 150 miles on 40 lbs of air. I should have checked, did they check the torque on the wheels, I should have checked and have them hook up water so you know about the pump and check the city water hook up. Loud and bad pump and a bad, leaking city water hook up on mine. That said I was treated very well and the service was great{tell Tom HI} and I would go back to them.

[eheffa]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

We purchased our Airstream new in 2006 and really have been pleased with it. We have been blessed to not have the myriad of issues some of the previous models have had. The weekend we took delivery I had a mishap with it and dented the side wall. Three weeks later on our next camping trip a deer ran into it crushing the curb-side corner so we took the trailer back to Jackson Center for both repairs. While there we gave them a list of about 4-5 items that were pretty common to some (tank monitors needed calibrating) and a place in the shower that needed more caulk (I could have, but let them do it) and a corner reflector fell of in our driveway (double sided tape used to install it and to repair it, but it has stayed put for going on three summers now) and a couple of places the laminate had come un-glued. Again, nothing to cry over.

Wow. I sure hope our first few weeks & initial trips will be a little less eventful than that...it never hurts to have a sense of humor though.

Good luck with your maiden voyage and welcome to the Airforums. Be sure to post photos of the new Airstream and your travels back to the Great White North!...we love pictures!

Thanks. I'll be sure to post some shots with the new baby.

-evan

[eheffa]

Originally Posted by Midamrail

Hi Evan,

Welcome and congrats! I hope you and your family enjoy the 25' FB floor plan as much as we do.

Spending a night at the dealer is one of the best things you can do. A few ideas:

• • Use every system and appliance, including using the fridge on both gas and electric
  • Check fit and finish everywhere inside and out - look for missing rivets and screws, edges on laminate, inside the storage areas, the vinyl flooring including inside the storage areas, etc.
  • Check the edges of the aluminum segments on the outside for filiform corrosion
  • Watch the shower for leaks, especially around the corner
  • Make sure your hitch and brakes are dialed in correctly
  • Make sure everything opens and closes properly and is aligned correctly (windows, doors, access doors, etc.)

Best of luck, and enjoy!

This all seems like very good advice. We'll try & check all this before we drive it of the lot on the Friday. We have booked a campsite in Florence (a short drive away) for one night. Hopefully, Sutton can still help us on the Saturday if there are any issues that turn up in that first night.

Cheers.

-evan

[eheffa]

Originally Posted by Airhog1

Hey Evan,

I just spoke with George Sutton via email and was assured you would be taken care of very well!

G

I'm impressed.

This is quite a small close-knit community - isn't it?!

Thanks very much Airhog1.

-evan

[eheffa]

Originally Posted by briandg

We got our 25 from George much the same way as you. We live in Wrangell, Ak. Looked it up on the internet and sent they a check sight unseen. Did not see it for 6 months. They did a good job of getting it ready for us. Remember that they did have a young man wash it and I am sure they said check the tires, he did not and I pulled 150 miles on 40 lbs of air. I should have checked, did they check the torque on the wheels, I should have checked and have them hook up water so you know about the pump and check the city water hook up. Loud and bad pump and a bad, leaking city water hook up on mine. That said I was treated very well and the service was great{tell Tom HI} and I would go back to them.

Hmmm, I was planning on bringing my torque wrench & a few tools but it sounds like you had more preventable issues than I would hope to see on a new unit. I can see that it would be well worth staying close by for that first day / night at any rate.

(I'll try & remember to say Hi to Tom.)

-evan