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dhroberts · 06-26-2016, 07:28 PM

Picked up my new 2016 Classic in March from Holiday World RV of Katy, TX. Delivery day inspection went well with only several items needing to be fixed including adjusting several of the clips that held one of my louvered window blind coverings.

One 4 day shakedown trip to-date. Some minor issues observed including a repeat incident with several blind clips not holding and the city water inlet valve needing replacement (black cover would not come off).

Visited the coach today in preparation for our planned trip to the hill country of central Texas over the July 4th weekend. To my surprise I discovered that the wall mirror in the bathroom had detached and was laying on the floor shattered. The falling mirror significantly gashed/scratched the door mirror, the toilet lid and the front of the hamper. There was no prior indication that the mirror was in a potentially troubled condition.

Interestingly, all of the mirror's two-sided adhesive tape was only stuck to the now crumpled mirror - that is, no tape was still attached to the walk where the mirror was once applied. Clearly, either the wall was not well prepared for the tape or the mirror not well set.

I assume that the repair will be covered by the Airstream warranty. One concern that I have is that the mirror on the bathroom door is 'built in' to the door and I don't believe that the local dealer is sufficiently skilled in woodworking to do that repair well. Re the door, I may need to visit the Jackson Center factory prior to my two year anniversary when I understand the factory warranty expires.

The purpose of this post is to: a) let all new AS owners know to check their bathroom mirrors; and b) to seek any advice re my situation.

Thanks, Dennis

Zybane · 06-26-2016, 08:36 PM

Unfortunately a known issue, yet AS still doesn't do anything about it. Double stick tape to glossy laminate wall is no good.

One of the first things I did was secure the entire perimeter edge of my 2016 Classic bathroom mirror with some clear silicone adhesive.

66Overlander · 06-26-2016, 08:52 PM

Hi Dennis, I am sorry to hear of the mirror falling and creating other damage. Unfortunately you are not the first to post that problem on a 2015 or 2016 Classic. As far as I know the 2017s still just have the mirror attached with double sided tape.

Based upon those other reports, we when ahead and added a support board below the mirror and mirror clips around the perimeter before ours let go to make sure it never falls. I am attaching two photos of what we did. I found the 3/16" mirror clips worked best. I could not find them in a local store, so I had to buy them on eBay. The local stores just had 1/8" and 1/4" mirror clips.

The support board is attached with brown headed screws drilled thru the wall from the bedroom side. The screw heads mostly hide below the foot locker over the twin bed, but the brown color would blend in OK if you have a queen. Sorry I don't have a photo of this detail.

We got the board from Roettger's Hardwoods in Kettlersville, Oh. They are the company that made the Cherry cabinets in your Classic, so you can get an exact color match. They put a water resistant finish on ours since it is next to the sink and I hope they kept the dimensions from ours in case that got requests to make any more. If not, they should be able to make something to your dimensions and mail it to you. We are having Roettgers make several other custom cherry items for our Classic. When we get them, I will post photos.

You can contact Renee at Roettgers at 937-693-6811 (office), 937-538-0333 (cell) or renee@roettgerhardwood.com.

P.S. And yes, we also added the towel ring you see in the photo on the aluminum wall over the sink. It is one of our best additions so that we do not need to reach over the toilet with wet dripping hands to grab a towel. We got one in the same Amerock Clarendon Collection series and Antique Silver color as the existing hardware so it looks like it belongs and was always there.

beetlebob · 06-27-2016, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 66Overlander

Hi Dennis, I am sorry to hear of the mirror falling and creating other damage. Unfortunately you are not the first to post that problem on a 2015 or 2016 Classic. As far as I know the 2017s still just have the mirror attached with double sided tape.

Based upon those other reports, we when ahead and added a support board below the mirror and mirror clips around the perimeter before ours let go to make sure it never falls. I am attaching two photos of what we did. I found the 3/16" mirror clips worked best. I could not find them in a local store, so I had to buy them on eBay. The local stores just had 1/8" and 1/4" mirror clips.

The support board is attached with brown headed screws drilled thru the wall from the bedroom side. The screw heads mostly hide below the foot locker over the twin bed, but the brown color would blend in OK if you have a queen. Sorry I don't have a photo of this detail.

We got the board from Roettger's Hardwoods in Kettlersville, Oh. They are the company that made the Cherry cabinets in your Classic, so you can get an exact color match. They put a water resistant finish on ours since it is next to the sink and I hope they kept the dimensions from ours in case that got requests to make any more. If not, they should be able to make something to your dimensions and mail it to you. We are having Roettgers make several other custom cherry items for our Classic. When we get them, I will post photos.

You can contact Renee at Roettgers at 937-693-6811 (office), 937-538-0333 (cell) or renee@roettgerhardwood.com.

P.S. And yes, we also added the towel ring you see in the photo on the aluminum wall over the sink. It is one of our best additions so that we do not need to reach over the toilet with wet dripping hands to grab a towel. We got one in the same Amerock Clarendon Collection series and Antique Silver color as the existing hardware so it looks like it belongs and was always there.

Good job. Think I will put the clips on mine. On the door they now have a frame around it. Has anyone bought one from the shop that does the cabinets yet. If so can you pass on the information

gwg · 06-27-2016, 11:38 AM

We had the same happen to us in our 2015 Classic, one major issue is that to replace any damaged wood work the bath needs to be taken apart. Our repair took place at JC as we happened to be out there for Alumapalooza. I will say that service took great care in sanding and refinishing in place. They also placed trim around the door mirror as I assume this was next to drop.

Brannch · 06-27-2016, 04:56 PM

We also bought the 2016 Classic. We picked it up in April and absolutely love it. A couple weeks ago we brought it home to load and found the bathroom wall mirror had fallen off, shattered, gouged the counter top, scratched the toilet seat and the wood. Talk about disappointed......ours was also attached with double stick tape so any of you Classic new owners might want to check to ensure your mirror is attached with clips. The warranty covers the damage but Oh my gosh, how long does it take to get the materials in to fix it. One other thing I've found is the Counter top material scratches very easily. I'm admittedly a "little" OCD so it makes it a bit hard to enjoy the trailer. All in all, I absolutely love it!!!!! I sure hope they don't disappoint me with the time frame for the repairs.

MissingLink5 · 06-28-2016, 06:25 AM

We have a 2006 25' Safari and had the very same problem. A completely different mirror than the ones above mentioned but the same problem. Went to get AS ready for trip and found one of the two mirrors on the floor broken in several pieces. Double-sided tape on the back in a few places. When it gets hot in trailer the tape releases and down it goes. Had to have this new special sized mirror cut at a glass shop and I installed. Think I will now see if I can use mirror clips, however, don't think there is room for them.

time2play · 06-28-2016, 12:48 PM

Same problem here, but not with our Classic. We had 2013 28' Flying Cloud and the mirror in the bathroom also fell and shattered shortly after we purchased it. Yes, it was covered under warranty, but it certainly was a disappointment to discover the shoddy workmanship done when that mirror was installed.

So far, we've had no problem with the mirror in our 2013 Classic

hurlimav · 06-30-2016, 07:09 PM

The same thing happened to our new 2016 Airstream Classic from Holiday World in Katy. We've had it for about 60 days and have been on two very short trips. When we went to pick it up for our next trip (from it's completely covered storage unit), we found the bathroom mirror had shattered, chipping the Corian countertop, and gouging the woodwork.

We will be making it an appointment for repair, but have the concern that it won't be restored to it's new, unshipped, ungouged status.

BetterNowlinLater · 07-01-2016, 11:33 AM

Is the wall behind the mirror clean/clear enough to just remove it when I get my airstream? Might be a nice spot for a shelf or baskets or a picture.

Brenda

RareStream · 07-01-2016, 01:46 PM

The SIMPLE fix is to pull the mirror off carefully with your hands and clean the back of the mirror and wall behind it with 91% alcohol to remove ALL of the old double sided tape and residue. Go to WalMart or an auto parts store and buy some wide 3M automotive gray double-side tape and place several strips horizontally along the back of the mirror a few inches apart.

Now, here's the key: put large blots of clear RTV on the back of the mirror BETWEEN the double sided tape strips. THIS is actually what will REALLY hold your mirror to the wall. Use a goodly amount, but not too much that it interferes with the double sided tape. Make sure you use clear RTV; it is removable by rolling it with your thumb should you ever want to remove it and it will NOT hurt the surface it is applied to.

Hang the mirror back on the wall.

The double sided tape's primary purpose is to hold the mirror in place while the RTV cures (about 24 hours) and even if the double sided tape "lets go" (highly unlikely with the 3M product) the RTV absolutely WILL keep the mirror from falling in the future.

Again, the 3M automotive double sided tape is GREAT stuff and won't likely fail especially if you use enough of it and prep the surface with the 91% alcohol. It is designed to be used on shiny automotive exterior paint in the blinding hot sun while exposed to the rain and elements to hold trim and molding on cars. The "shiny" aspect of the Classic's plastic fake wood smooth laminate wall will not cause the 3M tape to perform poorly. Sure, it's hot in an Airstream bathroom when the A/C is off stored somewhere when not in use, but not NEARLY as hot as on the bodyside cladding of a 1995 black Pontiac sitting in the blistering Arizona sun...which is what the 3M tape was designed to be used on.

However, in the event that the 3M tape DID fail, the RTV again WILL keep your mirror from EVER falling off again. Both of them together are bullet-proof. That fake wood laminate wall is going to come apart before the 3M tape and RTV fails.

This is an EASY fix that WILL work...and you don't need to use ugly dollar store 1950's mobile home mirror clips or do a patch job by adding out of place wood strips to hold the mirror in place.

Hope this helps!

66Overlander · 07-01-2016, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterNowlinLater

Is the wall behind the mirror clean/clear enough to just remove it when I get my airstream? Might be a nice spot for a shelf or baskets or a picture.

Brenda

No, there is a "trough" routered into the laminate that exposes the inner layers of the plywood and approximates the shape of the mirror. Not sure what the purpose of the trough is, but we saw it during the plant tour before the mirror is installed.

BetterNowlinLater · 07-01-2016, 04:11 PM

Darn. Thanks for the info.

BAB · 07-04-2016, 02:28 PM

Has anyone with a '15-'16 Classic found a "fake laminate wall" in their bathroom? All of the bath walls in mine are Brazilian cherry. I know they started using laminate for some of the ends of wall cabinets in the '16 models, and also in the '17's. I have yet to find ANY fake laminates anywhere in my trailer. Maybe the bottom of a drawer? Maybe RareStream has an equally "rare" Classic with laminate walls?

Brannch · 07-24-2016, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brannch

We also bought the 2016 Classic. We picked it up in April and absolutely love it. A couple weeks ago we brought it home to load and found the bathroom wall mirror had fallen off, shattered, gouged the counter top, scratched the toilet seat and the wood. Talk about disappointed......ours was also attached with double stick tape so any of you Classic new owners might want to check to ensure your mirror is attached with clips. The warranty covers the damage but Oh my gosh, how long does it take to get the materials in to fix it. One other thing I've found is the Counter top material scratches very easily. I'm admittedly a "little" OCD so it makes it a bit hard to enjoy the trailer. All in all, I absolutely love it!!!!! I sure hope they don't disappoint me with the time frame for the repairs.

Well, I was a little bit worried about the quality and timeliness of the repairs to our bathroom after it was damaged when the mirror fell from the wall and shattered. I have to say that Foley RV Center in Gulfport, MS did a wonderful job with the repairs. I can't tell it ever happened. If you purchased your Airstream from Foley RV Center.....you're in luck!!!! They honor their commitment. Their work is top notch. Thanks so much. Once again we are happy campers..

Gamehawkers · 07-26-2016, 03:43 PM

I walked into my 2016 Classic and noticed that the sink mirror was starting to pull away from the wall. It is still at the dealer so I had a repair order done. I have not done my walk through yet and I found damaged cabinets too.

Brannch · 07-27-2016, 08:52 AM

Sure glad you caught it before it fell. It makes a huge mess. Thanks to Foley RV Center ours is just like new again. After reading about so many having fallen it makes me wonder why the factory doesn't install the mirror using the mirror clips. It's got to be cheaper than replacing the damage when under warranty.

hurlimanrich · 08-03-2016, 12:59 PM

We are in the same boat with a new 2016 Classic and a detached mirror that fell, shattered and did some damage to the floor, counter and cabinets in the bathroom. So far I've been completely underwhelmed by the service offered by Airstream. The part was supposed to have shipped out two weeks ago and learning today that it was not sent. The mirror detaching happened and we reported it to our dealer on June 30th.

If this is any sign as to what we can expect in terms of service, we are wondering if we made a huge mistake buying an Airstream. We love it, but this is a minor repair and if something minor takes months, would shudder to think what some real issue would require in terms of our time and the length of time it would take to resolve it!

hurlimanrich · 08-03-2016, 01:01 PM

Unfortunately, we didn't catch it. It shattered and did quite a bit of damage: this happened within about 60 days of the purchase with about 200 miles of use.

hurlimanrich · 08-03-2016, 01:03 PM

we are in the same boat: apparently it takes weeks and weeks to get a small repair done. I drive a new German car with German parts, but I would find waiting for a replacement part for over a week or so totally unacceptable.

I am hoping we will be pleased when it is finally repaired. We love our Airstream and were so disappointed that this happened.