NEVER LET YOUR SPOUSE COME WITH YOU FOR SERVICE! Well, wait a minute – that title didn’t sound quite right! I meant come with you for AIRSTREAM service!
Last Feb, We bought an Ebay special 1977 25’ International. Despite all the warnings and good advice from the Forum, we got stuck with a bit of a lemon.
I had new brakes and wheel bearings installed (personal fetish) so that we could tow it on down the road with some confidence. We discovered the hard way while camping in Manatee Springs State Park, FL that neither waste tank valve would hold water (much less anything else!!!)!!
The biggest problem we uncovered was that the water lines had been destroyed by the PO who allowed the system to freeze up.
When we got back to Cincinnati, I pulled the water heater and had the tank tig-welded but I had not put the whole jigsaw puzzle plumbing system back together again.
Anyway, we let the old girl sit around all summer while we worked ourselves to death (Kacy starting her new private law practice – me keeping GE running single-handedly!) Finally, we decided to fix one of those minor little items the PO FORGOT to mention, the waste tank valves. I didn’t feel like stretching out under that belly pan for a week cutting away smelly #$%@**-soaked insulation
to get at the drain valves so I decided to haul the beast over to the new AS dealer across the river in Burlington, KY. Plapps Outdoor had been selling fishing boats etc. for several years and had recently expanded into AS and SOB trailers. I wanted to encourage the local boy with some business. At least that’s what I told my wife. That’s the excuse I was going to stick with!
The day I planned to take the AS to the service center, I encouraged Kacy to come along for just A LITTLE BREAK from her overwhelming workload! JUST A LITTLE BREAK!!! She finally agreed. While I was standing around kicking tires with Service Guy Lee, Kacy disappeared.
Can you see where this is going? About 10 minutes later, I hear a call. - “Bob, come over here. Why don’t you just trade in that piece of junk for this cute little Bambi”? Well, that was the farthest thing from my mind. I was going to have a ‘VINTAGE” AS if it bankrupted us!!! (Did I mention the multiple dents in the skin, the frozen TV antenna, the smelly curtains, or the rusty fridge??)
Well, it happened! Let’s bring this boring and long-winded tale to an end. In three hours we had traded the ’77 International for a BRAND NEW!! 2004 Safari 25 foot Dinette right off the lot! I am SOOOO happy. No repairs staring me in the face for the next 25 years.
I have read about the late 2003 / early 2004 model year quality problems but Jackson Center is only 2 hours up the road from Cinti. Worst case scenario, I may have to drive north for some fix-um-ups while UNDER A WONDERFUL WARRANTY so that’s not a big deal. As a matter of fact, Plapps dealership already looks like a good one.
We have not taken delivery yet because I asked to have 2 Fantastic Fans installed. While the unit was still sitting on his lot, it got scratched across the front end. Duane Plapp called me personnaly to tell me that delivery would be delayed. He had sent the Safari back up to Jackson Center to have the panel repaired or replaced before he was going to release it to me. No squabbles, no discussion. He just took care of it. That’s a great attitude for a dealer!!!
Can’t wait to play with all the new gadgets in our new “Silver Flame” (you’ll understand the name when I post the pics.) REALLY can’t wait to hit the road, even for a weekend.
Bob & Kacy