Things I like to see on New Airstreams

[scamp]

Get rid of those interstate junk batteries and put a real deep cycle A.G.M.battery like concord sun x tender ,and put a real converter with real three stage charger and maintenance charge(equalization), also aluminum propane tanks.

[lewster]

Originally Posted by scamp

Get rid of those interstate junk batteries and put a real deep cycle A.G.M.battery like concord sun x tender ,and put a real converter with real three stage charger and maintenance charge(equalization), also aluminum propane tanks.

Interstates are now come equipped with a Magnum MMS-1012 1000 watt sine wave inverter/charger. This has one of the best battery charging systems fully integrated into the unit, which is far better than any converter made. And the are also equipped with Lifeline AGM deep cycle batteries. Looks like they listened a bit for these coaches.

In addition, you never equalize AGM batteries!

[TheCabin]

A build design that assumes components will be upgraded and fixed. For example, conduit between circuit box and controls and major components. This will allow for easier change in wiring if necessary and addition of future sensors. Electrical center on standard rail structure (like server racks) so it would be easy to replace converters.

Access ports to tanks for future changes and current repairs.

DITTO on wifi repeater.

Split A/C so blower is quiet fan inside and inverter driven compressor located outside of shell.

Write a new owners manual that is not a bunch of copied pages from decades ago. With all the new changes in components, each trailer will have a manual tailored to it. A document management system would make this a trivial task with great results.

[AtomicNo13]

No Hensley hitch, don't want to be stuck with that!

[Arcticfox]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

A random idea that may or may not be good

At the barber shop they have a shop vac wired in a cabinet in such a way that they sweep hair up to the bottom of the cabinet where there is an opening - they step on a small pedal and the vacuum sucks up the hair

You could make a similar setup for AS maybe -

I store my small 2.5 gallon shop vac under the main bed in front - perhaps it could be simply a small duct built for that door below the bed and wire in a button to touch with you foot - then you could perhaps lift the bed and detach the vaccuum for portable use

I know this sounds kinda crazy I guess - I've been thinking about something like this for a few months - it may be silly - but often I just want to seep up a bit if dust and dirt very quickly


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Actually i'm liking this idea as this type of unit is available now right off the shelf. It is very light weight and easy to power. More important it is an issue that my GW complains about all the time as she still have not found a good place to store a dust pan and this eliminate the need for one.
Good Idea!

[dkottum]

I don't know why a few folks act like the Hensley/ProPride design is poison even though those who have actually used on know it's the sweetest thing that has happened to bumper pull towing.

Integrating the design elements into the coupler with an easy latch/unlatch system would truly set Airstream apart from the rest as indeed the safest, most comfortable towing travel trailer in the market. It would also allow many potential customers with marginal tow vehicles to be completely comfortable with this wonderfully stable (and possibly exclusive) Airstream trailer.

[millertimeUS]

Great thread!

Ditto on a rot proof subfloor, imagine how secure this would make a new buyer knowing it was impossible to get floor rot with an undetected leak.

Leaks happen but the associated rot could be avoided with rot proof flooring unless Airstream makes too much off the repairs, just my honest observation.


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76 'Airstream Tradewind

[Arcticfox]

Originally Posted by dkottum

I don't know why a few folks act like the Hensley/ProPride design is poison even though those who have actually used on know it's the sweetest thing that has happened to bumper pull towing.

Integrating the design elements into the coupler with an easy latch/unlatch system would truly set Airstream apart from the rest as indeed the safest, most comfortable towing travel trailer in the market. It would also allow many potential customers with marginal tow vehicles to be completely comfortable with this wonderfully stable (and possibly exclusive) Airstream trailer.

Gee Doug you always know how to push buttons.... (ducking for cover...)
Mind you as a Pro-Pride user myself, I can attest to the superior nature of this type of hitch!

[TinTin]

This would be number one on my list:

Originally Posted by millertimeUS

Great thread!

Ditto on a rot proof subfloor, imagine how secure this would make a new buyer knowing it was impossible to get floor rot with an undetected leak.

[LucaBluPlus2]

One seemingly simple solution that I would love to see on new Airstreams would be drawers, as opposed to cabinets under couches and beds. While I realize it would steal a bit of space, it would be a fair trade off for not having to get on my hands and knees to access the contents.

[m.hony]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

A random idea that may or may not be good

At the barber shop they have a shop vac wired in a cabinet in such a way that they sweep hair up to the bottom of the cabinet where there is an opening - they step on a small pedal and the vacuum sucks up the hair

You could make a similar setup for AS maybe -

I store my small 2.5 gallon shop vac under the main bed in front - perhaps it could be simply a small duct built for that door below the bed and wire in a button to touch with you foot - then you could perhaps lift the bed and detach the vaccuum for portable use

I know this sounds kinda crazy I guess - I've been thinking about something like this for a few months - it may be silly - but often I just want to seep up a bit if dust and dirt very quickly


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

Not crazy at all-
Many RV's have had a central vac for many years. Most of them have a trap door in the toe kick you operate with your foot and then sweep the dirt and debris in. I have seen this feature in many motor homes (including Airstreams) and fifth wheels.
There is no reason why we can't have this feature in Airstream trailers.

[cory_can]

I'm liking the vacuum idea....it's on the retrofit shortlist. Looking at the Intervac with LED Vacport.

[Arcticfox]

Originally Posted by cory_can

I'm liking the vacuum idea....it's on the retrofit shortlist. Looking at the Intervac with LED Vacport.

That's a good find Cory - Well done!
http://www.intervacdesign.com/index.html

Considering we have the same trailers (different years), were would you think is the best place to install it?
Cheers
Doug

[timhortons]

1) LED Lights Throughout, Good AGM Battery from the factory. This water check business is mickey mouse.
2) A more rot resistant floor, with a clear way to take up and replace resurface floor sections
2) Servicability, it's not clear to me how you repair cabinetry or laminate parts, if a section could be unscrewed and replaced., window seals can be fixed, etc. Maybe some interior panels could be aluminium.framed.
3) Black and Grey Tanks on the 16'
4) Is the panel underneath screwed or riveted ?, replacing a tank should mean opening up and popping in a part, not a rebuild.
5) A better answer on long term Au Care, filiform, film removal, replacement, polishing of late model AS.
6) AU frame. properly engineered.
7) Dietary Program for Weight Reduction. Trailer is getting fat.
8) Factory Genset compartment and better solar hookups
9) Reeningeering and simplifying the whole electrical system, fixable level monitors that work, powerful light inverters, overvolt protection, etc. Can get rid of cableTV and Phone wiring, if they still exist.

[cory_can]

Originally Posted by Arcticfox

That's a good find Cory - Well done!
http://www.intervacdesign.com/index.html

Considering we have the same trailers (different years), were would you think is the best place to install it?
Cheers
Doug

I'm looking at a few options but since my AS is now in storage I'm doing it a bit "blind" without being able to use a tape measure.

Preliminary I thought of mounting the unit in the very back of the wardrobe but I'm not sure I like that spot for mounting the vacport. We use the very bottom of the wardrobe (at the floor) for water and wine bottles ...they fit perfectly in there

Second thought was rear hatch and having the vacport dead center in the rear (we have twins). The rear hatch is huge. However, most floor debris is in the front so we have to sweep it back or carry a huge hose.

I'm thinking under the front dinette seat and have the vacport on the front side by the vent. The dirt is brought in through the door so that's the best location IMO. There's lots of space for hose storage and a hose port can also be easily installed. My rear dinette seat is mostly full of 4xAGM batteries and an inverter

[Arcticfox]

Thanks Cory under the dinnette also is my thinking... We have our unit in storage in Vegas right now so I don't have access either. I will keep these links and look closer at this when we head south in January
Cheers
Doug

[SteveSueMac]

I hope Airstream doesn't make any of these changes. Why? I believe I bought the last trailer I'm ever going to buy in my 2012 27FB Flying Cloud. They do all this stuff - I'm gonna HAVE to buy a new one!

Now dear friends at Airstream - I want you to think about Moore's law. How is it that in the world of high tech, they're able to double power and halve cost every 24 months but in the world of RVs, the same is not true?

Please make all these changes and charge $30K for a 2016 27FB Flying Cloud. You can do this - and I'm all in of you do...maybe for 2 (with one as a gift :-) ).

I'm really not kidding...

[AtomicNo13]

I have had 3 brand new Hensleys....
All broke welds, all failed and left me stranded, yes I serviced them very regularly.... The company took care of the problems, but that took lots of time, and the possibility of killing me and or equipment loss was great. Old fashioned hitches have never let me down.

[Rocinante]

My short list:
* Be more honest about likely tongue weights so it's easier for customes to choose a properly spec'ed tow vehicle.
* Better QA at the factory to ensure that trailers don't go out the door with obvious goofs that cause DSAT with new customers within the first few weeks of use. I've already posted my list, as have many others. There's even a thread on this topic.
* 4-stage converter - please, for the love of God, get this done. Any decent salesperson could sell the heck out of this feature.
* Agree with many others regarding the plywood flooring. It should be Coosa or aluminum so its lighter and I don't have to live in fear of a leak destroying my investment.
* Different insulation in the walls of the trailer so the seemingly inevitable leak doesn't make as much of a mess in there...and maybe it would be a better R-value for the thickness.
* Some kind of insulation between the storage compartment and the bed so we don't get condensation between the mattress and the plywood in cold weather. This seems particularly important in FB queen models.
* Connect the AC input on the Inverter so we can get AC power from the inverter sockets when plugged into shore power.
* Better tank monitors. I have the Micropulse, which is complete crap (no pun intended). Maybe the SeeLevel monitoring system in the 2015 trailers is better. Let's hope so.
* Propane tank monitors so I know how much I have in each tank. My 2014 does not have this, nor was it an option.
* Build the battery case big enough to take the 6V AGM golf cart batteries as an option.
* Offer an Airstream propane grill to go with the LP gas port on the front of the trailer. I'd buy it in a minute if the quality was good and the price remotely competitive...especially if there's a convenient place to store it.
* Find some way to get the stupid window gaskets to stop sticking to the windows, making it very difficult to open them. I'm sure there's a better gasket material out there somewhere.
* Ok, ok, I'll say it: 16" wheels across the board, and no more ST tires. At the very least, we'd have to find something else to talk about on the forums.
* Oh, and disc brakes!

[SteveSueMac]

Just came up with an idea for us poor souls (***) who don't have a covered storage option.

How about a portable hard cover that can be locked in to place over the entire roof. Even better if it were somehow permanently mounted to the roof - maybe in two "roll tops" that lock in the center line of the roof and can be rolled out to curb and street sides (and locked in place) so rain, snow, sun and hail aren't going to have a chance to torture the trailer?

(***) this is the purest definition of first world problems and the phrase "poor souls" is thoroughly inappropriate from someone who is blessed enough to own an Airstream :-)