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GettinAway · 12-19-2013, 04:49 AM

I put about 20,000 miles on my motorcycles this last year. Those tire retreads are one of my greatest fears.
I hope the compressor was covered under a warranty of some kind. Didn't you buy from a dealer? Did he give you 90 days? Hope so.
Hope this is the last of the gremlins on your new trailer.

**moosetags** · 12-19-2013, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GettinAway

I put about 20,000 miles on my motorcycles this last year. Those tire retreads are one of my greatest fears.
I hope the compressor was covered under a warranty of some kind. Didn't you buy from a dealer? Did he give you 90 days? Hope so.
Hope this is the last of the gremlins on your new trailer.

We did buy it from an Airstream dealer, and we got the seven months remaining on the two year factory warranty. In checking with Airstream, we found that they do not warranty the appliances, as the appliance manufacturers warranty their products for two years.

In checking with Dometic, we found that their two year warranty applies only to the original owner and does not transfer when the trailer is sold.

There is always a Catch 22. New Lucy is having a really rocky start.

Brian

switz · 12-19-2013, 08:05 AM

Weasels

Antique Pedaler · 12-19-2013, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moosetags

In checking with Dometic, we found that their two year warranty applies only to the original owner and does not transfer when the trailer is sold.

There is always a Catch 22. New Lucy is having a really rocky start.

Brian

I've had my experiences with Dometic......like the time they charged me $35 for a plastic refrigerator knob.

When the hinge on another refrigerator broke, I ended up getting Randy at Airstream to intercede. With him, a Dometic guy, and me on a conference call Dometic ended up sending me anew door as a good will measure.

Kosm1o · 12-20-2013, 03:53 AM

You gotta wonder why companies don't warranty beyond the first owner. What is the logic in that? they either stand behind it for 2 years or they don't. Total crap IMO. When I bought my truck from GM it came with a 100k or 5 year powertrain warranty. First thing I want to know, is it transferrable? Yes. Doesn't matter how many owners.

JamuJoe · 12-20-2013, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moosetags

We did buy it from an Airstream dealer, and we got the seven months remaining on the two year factory warranty. In checking with Airstream, we found that they do not warranty the appliances, as the appliance manufacturers warranty their products for two years.

In checking with Dometic, we found that their two year warranty applies only to the original owner and does not transfer when the trailer is sold.

There is always a Catch 22. New Lucy is having a really rocky start.

Brian

Brian,
Although AS does not actually warranty appliances, they did replace my range hood (fan/light switch problem) and reimburse me for Dometic thermostat repair during my warranty period. They also replaced all of the poorly sealed clearance lights (see the thread on filliform corrosion) with Classic fixtures even after my warranty period. I would make another pass at both AS and Dometic customer service and discuss brand reputation. Both have latitude with 'goodwill' repairs.

Cheers,
JamuJoe

**moosetags** · 12-20-2013, 07:37 PM

We'll give Dometic a try. Our new unit is in and will be installed on Monday morning.

Brian

Gene · 12-20-2013, 10:30 PM

Hope the troubles have ended. It is always a bummer when a somewhat new trailer has problems and you start wondering what's next? Late model A/C's seem to be giving problems, though what I read about are ones that leak.

Gene

switz · 12-21-2013, 08:49 AM

Some of us may remember Betty Furness's add for Westinghouse products a few decades back. The reverse seems more appropriate at times today:

The quality goes out before the name goes on!

**moosetags** · 12-21-2013, 12:41 PM

Everyone is telling me that a Domectic ac/heat pump rarely goes bad in only 18 months. Leave it to me to end up with a rare bad one.

Brian

dkottum · 12-21-2013, 03:47 PM

Length of service probably depends on his much the a/c is used. With Minnesota summers and Arizona winters we only turn ours on for a quarterly check. The heat pump is too loud to use, a small space heater works better. One of those things we lug around "just in case".

**moosetags** · 12-21-2013, 08:42 PM

For the week or so that it worked, we used both the heat pump or the air conditioner just about the whole time. Old Lucy's air conditioner and heat pump were used extensively during the eight years that we had her, and the compressor never failed.

Brian

switz · 12-22-2013, 08:11 AM

Planned self destruction seems to be in many items today. It is a true art form to have the unit/item fail the day after the warranty expires.

Wazbro · 12-22-2013, 10:04 AM

Not using an a/c can often be worse for it then using it all the time.

If the PO only used it when they first got the trailer or not at all and it sat unused for 16-18 months then the seals and parts that need lubrication could have dried out and that could have caused the unit to fail.

Something that quarterly check can help prevent.

**moosetags** · 12-22-2013, 10:12 AM

New Lucy's original owner lives in the Florida Panhandle. That would lead me to believe that the air conditioner and the heat pump were used regularly. What I don't know is how often he used the trailer.

Brian

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Airtandem · 12-22-2013, 10:38 AM

Brian, did you ever call the PO before you purchased new Lucy? Could it be that he had problems and that was one reason for trade?

**moosetags** · 12-22-2013, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airtandem

Brian, did you ever call the PO before you purchased new Lucy? Could it be that he had problems and that was one reason for trade?

Yes, we did and he told us that all systems were working perfectly. He had owned a 2010 Bambi which he traded for the 23FB that we now have. It turned out that he liked the 19' Bambi better. So, after 14 months, he ordered a 2014 19' Bambi, and traded in the 2012 23FB.

Brian

SchuHouse · 01-01-2014, 08:48 AM

Brian
Sorry to hear about your woes.
Thank you for posting on my kicking the tires thread. You got me thinking, we were leaning towards a 27' but after reading your post and thread I am now considering smaller. We like the idea of being able to move and not be too stationary. My question is other than your recent mechanical troubles do you prefer the space of your 23' or did you like the 25' better?
It's only the two of us but we would like to occasionally host our two grand children, not sure if that would make the 25 a better bet. Alternatively not yet owning a proposer tow vehicle the 23' seems to allows more options.
Rick&Deb

**moosetags** · 01-01-2014, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SchuHouse

Brian
Sorry to hear about your woes.
Thank you for posting on my kicking the tires thread. You got me thinking, we were leaning towards a 27' but after reading your post and thread I am now considering smaller. We like the idea of being able to move and not be too stationary. My question is other than your recent mechanical troubles do you prefer the space of your 23' or did you like the 25' better?
It's only the two of us but we would like to occasionally host our two grand children, not sure if that would make the 25 a better bet. Alternatively not yet owning a proposer tow vehicle the 23' seems to allows more options.
Rick&Deb

Hi Rick and Deb,

Like everything else in life, there are trade-offs. The jury is still out on our new 23FB as we have only spent about 14 nights in her. I think the 23 will work for us as we are usually traveling with a truck camper that provides us with a second refrigerator. The refrigerator in the 23 is the 5' single door model. The 25's 7' double door refrigerator was really nice on our long trips.

Like you, we travel with just the two of us and we don't have any pets. We have used the couch section of the 25FB to sleep a small grandchild. In the 23, we would have to set-up the dinette bed, but we have not done that yet.

As far as the towing of the two, The only difference that I really have noticed is the 6" reduction in width. I don't even bother using the add-on tow mirrors when I tow with the Suburban.

As far as weight goes, our 25 weighed in at 7,400#. I have not weighed the 23 yet, but I am estimating that it will come in at around 6,000#. I notice that the Suburban can feel the weight difference. When towing with the diesel truck, I don't notice any difference other than the width. We are probably some of the very few people that have two different tow vehicles for their Airstream. Right now, we are camped in South Carolina with the Suburban.

As far as tow vehicles go, the 23 is probably better suited to a half ton tow vehicle. The 25 would probably feel more comfortable with a 3/4 ton tow vehicle. Our Suburban tow vehicle is a 3/4 ton.

So, to answer your question, which we like better, the answer is it depends. In our "here and now" the 23 is great and meets our needs and expectations. If we ever do away with the truck camper, we would definitely consider returning to a 25FB.

Brian

**moosetags** · 01-03-2014, 04:12 PM

We towed New Lucy from South Carolina down to Tampa yesterday. It got a little chilly here last night. We went to turn on the gas furnace and, guess what, the FURNACE option no longer appears on our Dometic thermostat. It now show from OFF to COOL to HP to FAN and back to OFF. We know that we have a gas furnace as we used it two weeks ago, after the ac/heat pump compressor quit.

I guess when they installed the new roof unit, they must have mis-wired something. Or, is there some simple adjustment that I am missing??

Brian