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Old 11-08-2015, 09:25 PM   #1
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Questions about my new trailer....

Picked up a 2016 23' Flying Cloud this past week and have some questions that probably cover several models of new AS.....1) Knobs to open fantastic fans seem like I'm fighting some kind of motor (for lack of better description)....very difficult and instructions are not much help except to say the new ones don't need to be pushed up or pulled down to engage a manual mode; 2) Exterior door is warped at the bottom - not enough to leak but definitely noticeable; 3) Although fresh water is empty and pump turned off, my kitchen faucet spits water periodically; 4) love the new shades (much better than the mini blinds in the Bambi I had) but does anyone have a solution to cover the side gaps? 5) cannot for the life of me figure out where or how my satellite receiver is suppose to hook up in the upper dinette cabinet. Dealer said the outlet for it was "up there somewhere"....
Just curious if any other owners of the new AS's have these problems and possible solutions ;-) Love this community - a wealth of info!
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Old 11-09-2015, 09:59 AM   #2
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Questions about my new trailer....

Welcome! A couple of thoughts:

Perhaps the 2016 model has a different FF, but with ours we can pull down gently on the crank knob to disengage the gears and then easily crank the lid open for ventilation. Worst case, it should be possible to get the FF to open it's own lid and then turn off the fan, either via thermostat or a switch.

We had a similar "air gap" in our entry door. We could see daylight and more out of the lower quarter of the door below the latch (e.g. it was a pretty darn big gap). Have the dealer fix this under warranty at your next visit. They can resolve it for you, as they did for us.

Regarding side gaps on the shades - we choose to ignore the issue, but some folks here have come up with creative solutions that pleased them. Here's an excellent thread with lots of pictures: http://www.airforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128265
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Old 11-09-2015, 02:27 PM   #3
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even with water pump or external city water shut off, pressure may remain in the system... This may be due to a device called an 'accumulator'.. it is a tank that has a 'bladder' inside that fills, like a balloon, compressing the air in the tank, outside the bladder. Once the bladder compresses, it retains some 'pressure'.. so, turning on the water allows some water to come out..
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Old 11-09-2015, 03:52 PM   #4
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I like your dealer' explanation of how to find the cable. Given that level of ignorance you should contact Jackson Center ASAP to deal with the door issue before the dealer screws that up to. Don't expect an answer on the first few go rounds but keep at it.

Advise both that you will cover any repairs here for others to follow.

Yes the accumulator will hold pressure after the water systems have been shut off but that pressure will drop quickly with each following opening of a faucet. Duration of the opening will determine that. The is no reason for the faucet to "Squirt" without some action at the handle. Squirting would indicate to me a failed cartage in the faucet.
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Old 11-09-2015, 10:59 PM   #5
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Thank you all so much for the feedback - just finished reading the Serenity Modifications thread and got some ideas ;-) I agree with HowieE......thinking Jackson Center will be a trip in our future (I was not too impressed with the dealer walk through when we picked the trailer up). Thanks again - looking forward to being a part of this community!
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Old 11-10-2015, 10:45 AM   #6
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Operation

Who was the dealer? Airstream has numerous sales and service training sessions open to all Dealers,they should be able to get you the help you need....and better responses!Newer fantastic fan knobs are different than the older version you pull down to disengage.
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Old 11-10-2015, 10:47 AM   #7
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your satellite hook up should be right next or close to your electrical hook up. One will be marked cable and the other one sat.
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Old 11-10-2015, 11:24 AM   #8
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Regarding the satellite hook up you will more than likely have to pull the blue ray box. For some reason on my two they hide it in there. I had to dig around in the wall where they stuffed most of the wires/cables in order to locate it.
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Old 11-10-2015, 02:31 PM   #9
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Feeling a resistance while turning the Fantastic fan manually is 'normal'. The older models you would pull down on the knob then turn. The newer models do NOT operate like the old ones. Just turn it, it has quite a bit of resistance.
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Old 11-10-2015, 03:17 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BulldogX5 View Post
Thank you all so much for the feedback - just finished reading the Serenity Modifications thread and got some ideas ;-) I agree with HowieE......thinking Jackson Center will be a trip in our future (I was not too impressed with the dealer walk through when we picked the trailer up). Thanks again - looking forward to being a part of this community!
Isn't it GREAT that the recommendation to 'visit' JC is still needed or even deemed necessary.

Bob
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Old 11-10-2015, 09:52 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS View Post
Isn't it GREAT that the recommendation to 'visit' JC is still needed or even deemed necessary.

Bob
Lol - really don't need a good reason to go to JC - would love to see a tour
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Old 11-16-2015, 12:25 PM   #12
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Took the new FC for a shake down trip this past weekend and discovered a few things: 1) The vent is easy to open if you do the switch first - ran across a You Tube video and while the vent is shut, turn it on and then hit the switch by the knob and the vent will open automatically. Then you can turn the fan off but leave the vent open. And speaking of vents....does anyone with a 23' have a vent in the bathroom? My 19' Bambi did, but this one doesn't. 2) Discovered a leak under the sink and by the hot water tank. Lord knows how much water it actually linked under the sink, as it appeared it was running behind the cabinet. I was wondering how I went from 81% fresh water to 0% in 4 days (does anyone know if there is a low water drain under the belly pan? lol - but seriously)
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Old 11-16-2015, 02:10 PM   #13
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You have a bluray player I am guessing and it sits in a cabinet. Hiding within the cabinet is an HDMI splitter and the mysterious satellite cable end for your satellite box. I use the same HDMI cable that goes into the back of the bluray to connect into the sat box, some people buy a spitter, which I tried and did not like.

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Old 11-17-2015, 07:13 AM   #14
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in mine 23 fb I had to take out the radio. 4 screws and then pull gently. You will see all the wiring and cables there. Have fun
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Old 11-17-2015, 08:04 AM   #15
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Between the 2014 and 2015 model year, Fantastic fans lost their "pull down to disengage the gear train from the motor" functionality. It is cheaper to make the motor and gear assembly without that capability.

That leak requires prompt attention to keep the floor from starting the usual rot process from water on it. You might be wise to drain the fresh water tank. That is a white spigot value usually between the two axles on the low side of the water tank. It is carefully positioned so you get as much tire dirt on your sleeve as possible.

The leak is probably not a burst pipe but an improperly squeezed PEX fitting or a loose transition attaching the waterline to the bottom of the sink or the inlet/outlet pipes of the water heater.

I have a 2015 23D and the outside shower fittings are behind the bathroom sink. Access through the rats nest of wires and plumbing will be a challenge at best. Make sure the outside shower valves are tightly closed and the shower head is not leaking.

The 23D has the water heater under the mattress. So there is an access hatch in the mattress support board to see the water heater. Conveniently, the mattress has to be removed to access the hatch. :roll eyes:

A new skill learned from Star Wars is to mentally hold the mattress in the air while working on the valves with two hands to keep from breaking the plastic fittings.

We found the dealer PDI was not done properly on our 23D and we had a lot of issues to correct. We went to a third party Airstream repair/restore facility (A&P Vintage Trailer Works) in Paradise, TX just northwest of the DFW airport. They are also an approved warranty repair facility. Paul Mayeux is very knowledgable.

A&P Vintage Trailer Works | Repair Restore Update Vintage Trailers by A&P Vintage Trailer Works

They have taken care of repair issues and custom modifications on both our 2014 Classic and the 2015 23D. They use the proper parts for the repairs, not the same plastic parts as originally installed that will break again next week. While they specialize in restorations, they also work on the new models.
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Old 11-17-2015, 08:26 AM   #16
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Our new 28' was delivered mid summer with an immediately obvious poorly fitted door, specially at it's lower right corner where we found almost an inch of play between the door and it's frame. Our dealer made a fair effort to improve the door fit however, as they knew we intended to visit Jackson Center for a tour, suggested we seek a fix from the home office.

Enroute to Florida for the winter, we arrived at Jackson Center and took up residence at their RV park where we met other owners who were seeking a variety of repairs including collision damage. Some weeks previously we had arranged a service appointment via email and in the intervening time we encountered 4 other, more simple issues we decided to let them resolve.

Much has been said about the 'mother ship' over the years and we could repeat a lot of positive comments but suffice to say our visit and subsequent repairs were completed fully and properly, the staff extremely helpful and without question fixed/replaced everything we mentioned in one working day.

Our door fit was completely repaired. While we don't know exactly how or what they did we do know it took the efforts of 2 techs and a good part of their working day as our other issues where minor in nature.

Our door is now perfect. Absolutely perfect in fit and finish.

We are fully satisfied and thank the staff at AS for their care, attention and willingness to make good on all of our issues.
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Old 11-17-2015, 09:12 AM   #17
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A proper QC training program at Airstream and a dedicated dealership actually doing the PDI would remove these repetitive QC issues before we actually drive home with our new unit. A poorly fitted door should never have left the factory and was an obvious issue to be found during the dealership PDI.

The dealers do not have the proper incentive to do a proper PDI as they get paid more to do warranty work after the sale. The cure could be the dealer gets no compensation for warranty issues that obviously (like the door gaps) should have been repaired before a customer ever saw the unit. They currently get a fee to do the PDI.

I reside in the Phoenix area and purchased our 2015 23D International Serenity with the factory installed equipment and interior we wanted on the East Coast as no 2015 23Ds were available locally except in the Pacific Northwest. The issues that have been discovered were from the lack of a proper PDI and manufacturing lack of QC. The dealer is over over 2,400 miles away and JC is t least 1900 miles away. Those are not convenient to say the least.

We have found an independent shop that can also do warranty work. The broken plastic pieces like cabinet latches are replaced with brass ones so they are not a future repair like these plastic latches that continually fail. That concept of replacing failed parts with more appropriate ones makes for customer satisfaction and repeat business for more custom work.

They have excellent wood workers and mechanics so the work is done properly the first time and the coach is returned clean enough to camp in on the way home. We did not have that kind of experience locally.
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Old 11-17-2015, 08:34 PM   #18
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Thanks for all good the info Switz! My fresh water tank is reading 0% so not too worried about continued leaking......just concerned where water has gone (behind the cabinet under the sink) that leaked from tubes. Hopefully just ran down and out the front from under the cabinet (rug was soaked). Sent off an email to dealer with a list of all issues/concerns. Btw - does your 23' have a bathroom vent? Mine doesn't and I'm a little concerned about venting condensation from shower.....
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Old 11-18-2015, 03:06 AM   #19
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We have the 2015 23D International Serenity with the old style air conditioner on the roof. The 2016 models have the "duct" system which may have changed what and where things go through the roof structure.

Our bathroom exhaust vent is the black circle behind the rear solar panel and beside the rear Maxxfan. Internally it is just inside the bathroom door.

One pushes up on the cross bar inside the fixture and then pushes the power button to operate the fan. When parked, we usually leave the vent lid pushed up just a little with no fan running to facilitate some air movement in the coach and help prevent condensation.

If you have a 23FB, I have not been in one so can not comment on that model. I downloaded both the 2016 Parts and Owners manuals for the Flying Cloud models and could not find any information for that fan location. Best bet is to call the dealer and hopefully they are smart enough to know where the fan is.
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