2006 model year quality.....

[huskyfan]

I'm guessing 2006 was not a good build year.

Here's our story: (can't supply the build month since we are missing the "little metal plate that is riveted to the outside shell. "

2006 25" Safari

On our first trip out we found :

the sensor didn't work (at all)
the black and gray water tanks had the labelling switched
sink in the bathroom was rusted
the shower leaked
the rear escape hatch window leaked
the front window leaked
the door leaked
and assorted small things - missing latches, screws handles, etc

Jackson Center fixed everything but :
the sensor was replaced and still didn't work
the escape window was replaced and still leaks
the front window still leaks

the dealer installed another new sensor and bingo! it works
tried to fix leaks but no luck.

then the back ceiling vent broke. and the bug shield gasket began to come off.

got those fixed.

so 3 repairs visits in 6 months.
and IT STILL LEAKS!!

Probably the shoddiest large purchase item we have ever owned.

On the positive - Jackson Center and the dealer have been pleasant and easy to deal with. And we do love the stylish little guy. (they have personalities - don't they?)

Wonder if this is a Monday/Friday build? Or the year? Or the Safari?
We would like to upgrade but a snakebit about another Airstream right now.

[Minnie's Mate]

From what I gather, there was a period of rapid growth at Airstream. This began somewhere around 2003 or 2004. Some of this was because of the immense popularity of the CCD. They hired a lot of new folks to keep up with demand and there was a lot of "new protocols" for building the CCD that took a new mindset for building the units. These two factors contributed to a lag in quality.

As the work force at JC came up to speed with the new workers and new construction techniques quality began to improve. I don't think it is where it should be, but it is getting better. I think the quality really improved DURING the '06 model year. If your unit was produced during the beginning of the '06 model year, yours was produced during the tail end of the major quality issues.

We were fortunate that our unit was produced during January of '06 so it was near the end of the '06 model year and we got a good unit. I think in general, the quality has got better. There are still issues, but at least they are about average in quality instead of less than average. Will they get even better? I think so. There are rumors that a lot of the cabinetry is going to an automation process where now it is all hand cut and hand built. Machine cutting should improve the accuracy and fit and finish issues. I have hopes that things will get better within the next year or so when these automated cabinetry machines go on-line.

[huskyfan]

We toured the factory in May of 2007 and the cabinets were being machine cut.
Just noticed today!! that some of the little warning labels inside are stuck on upside down!
Have heard Airstream called the "Cadillac of RVs" We've owned a Cadillac. It came off the lot perfect and has remained so. Sure can't be said for Airstream. We are in the process of invoking the lemon law.
I wonder if the Classics are built better? Maybe the workers try harder on the more expensive ones.

[flyfisher]

Originally Posted by huskyfan

We toured the factory in May of 2007 and the cabinets were being machine cut.
Just noticed today!! that some of the little warning labels inside are stuck on upside down!
Have heard Airstream called the "Cadillac of RVs" We've owned a Cadillac. It came off the lot perfect and has remained so. Sure can't be said for Airstream. We are in the process of invoking the lemon law.
I wonder if the Classics are built better? Maybe the workers try harder on the more expensive ones.

I just sold my Classic and will never own another Airstream. What a pile of crap!

Upside down labels? It just depends on how you look at them. Airstream/Thor management obviously view reality and quality differently from you and me.

John

[Gunnyusmc]

Flyfisher you will be missed.
I wish I could sell mine, but way too upside down plus dollars spent too keep it on the road since 2006 prevents it.
You are dead on about lack of customer care and quality.
Good luck.

Don

PS: They were machine cutting cabinets in Oct 2006 when I was at the Mother Ship and the 2007 & 2008 have cabinet issues.

[TIMEMACHINE]

Originally Posted by flyfisher

I just sold my Classic and will never own another Airstream. What a pile of crap!

Upside down labels? It just depends on how you look at them. Airstream/Thor management obviously view reality and quality differently from you and me.

John

John,

Sorry to hear the end result of your Airstream experience. We certainly understand your point of view. Although it seems that we are in a minority as far as the quality of our specific Airstreams, it is still a very large minority and Thor management should consider making changes at Airstream to correct the serious lack of consistent quality.

It's too bad that such an iconic symbol is being allowed to crumble under the weight of corporate profits. So sad.......

John

[craftsman]

I just sold my Classic and will never own another Airstream. What a pile of crap!

John, sorry to see you go but you do seem to have had some serious quality issues with yours. My 07 25' Classic has been pretty good so far. There are things that aren't done well though, mostly the fit and finish. They're cranking them out so fast now that the idea that craftsman are building these things is ludacris. I still like them though and quality does seem to have improved. It's still not where it should be for what they cost.

[thecatsandi]

I cannot blame you. If I had the knowledge now when I purchased my trailer I would have bought a higher end SOB. More room, most likely less money.
The quality of my trailer is not what I expected.

[lewster]

Hi Gang,

I totally understand your feelings and the ill will that you have encountered with your Airstreams, but let me shed a little light on this subject.

Yes, Airstreams are expensive and there are definite quality problems with them, but this is pandemic on EVERY RV unless you go over $250,000. I work on these super busses on a regular basis, and there are similar quality problems even with the most expensive models.

I'm not going to defend Airstream and especially not Thor and my '06 CCD sure isn't perfect, but it is a damn site better than most SOB trailers that are really built like crap. Every time I go into one of these I cringe! Perfection is attainable, but it costs over $1,000,000 in an RV!!

I have done extensive mods to my 19CCD to make it what I want, but I can see your points about how things should be in a new trailer, especially one in the price range of an Airstream. I still think that they offer significant advantages over just about every other trailer out there, but your experience may differ. Just remember, most of the RV manufacturers suffer with the same problems of trying to make a product that will satisfy customers while still turning a profit. It's harder every day with rising labor and materials costs and a less than optimal work force.

Satisfaction is relative, and my '06 CCD is doing just about everything that I want of it for now.

[Wayne&Sam]

Listen, I've met Flyfisher and all he cares about is trout and he has lousy taste in drift boats.



Actually we spent a pleasant evening around a campfire with him and he did have a less than stellar experience.

We, on the other hand, are happy as can be with our '07.

[B4WEDI]

I'm down with the Lewster.
Nothing is perfect, but at least we have something to work with !

[Tim A.]

Originally Posted by flyfisher

I just sold my Classic and will never own another Airstream. What a pile of crap!

John

I hope John told his purchaser what he thought of his Airstream. If not, what will happen when that new owner joins the Forum and sees the above!

Lewster is certainly correct when he says that satisfaction is relative. We also have made quite extensive alterations to our 2002 19' Bambi and have always been very satisfied. Was it perfect on delivery? Heavens no, but perhaps the difference is that I can and do fix almost anything myself.

Our Bambi also has the Shub shower door and it, too, has leaked. That leakage occurred last year and this year and was not a result of bad caulking at the factory. Flexing, age, and possible shrinkage broke the original caulking. Cleaning out the old and recaulking solved the problems. Should the factory have used better caulking? Perhaps, but I prefer caulk which can be removed if replacing the Shub door is ever necessary, so my recaulking was with a product not as permanent as Sikaflex.

[fastrob]

Have been following this link for a while and always wonder what it would be like to have a new rig. As an aluminolic there is just no way I would buy a new one with my beer budget. As a bargain hunter though I always watch for a better deal and an opportunity to upgrade. What year is best, is my favorite question.

But I have to chime in on high end sob's: There is a lot of hype and particle board hidden in them there expensive models.

As with a lot of things, newer is not always better.

And just because you spent a lot of money on somthing does not mean it was a smart purchase.

R

[craftsman]

I hope John told his purchaser what he thought of his Airstream. If not, what will happen when that new owner joins the Forum and sees the above!


I don't think John is under any obligation to tell the purchaser what he thought of his Airstream. What he thinks and what the buyer thinks may be two very different things.

[flyfisher]

Originally Posted by Tim A.

I hope John told his purchaser what he thought of his Airstream. If not, what will happen when that new owner joins the Forum and sees the above!

Tim -

Actually, after 5 trips to the factory, and a number of necessary improvements either done by, or paid for by me (while in warranty) my (now former) trailer is in better condition now than many new units.

What still bothers me to this day is that my trailer was built, shipped and sold to me with MANY obviously deficient defects. (Even a two year old can see a circular drill hole that's made clean through the trailer's vinyl flooring for example.)

Worse yet, Dave Schumann, bless him , made me pay the entire costs, repeatedly, to bring my trailer back to Jackson Center to get it repaired.

And, as if to rub salt in a wound, my trailer was shipped from the factory and sold to me, an unsuspecting customer, with insufficiently greased wheel bearings, and an axle/wheel/tire assembly that took almost 1 pound of weight to get it balanced. Somebody could have gotten killed towing that trailer; several Airstream managers told me they never checked any supplier purchased components (they did tell me the tires at least were balanced but they were not); Schumann would not give me a sinlge penney to remedy these serious problems; and were it not for this bulletin board and another member informing me to check my Airstream's wheel bearings soon after I bought it, I might not be alive to tell this story today.

I owned 2 quality built trailers before buying an Airstream, and I plan to soon buy another quality built one, and this time will buy from a company with honesty and integrity.

John

[lewster]

Originally Posted by flyfisher

Tim -

Actually, after 5 trips to the factory, and a number of necessary improvements either done by, or paid for by me (while in warranty) my (now former) trailer is in better condition now than many new units.

What still bothers me to this day is that my trailer was built, shipped and sold to me with MANY obviously deficient defects. (Even a two year old can see a circular drill hole that's made clean through the trailer's vinyl flooring for example.)

Worse yet, Dave Schumann, bless him , made me pay the entire costs, repeatedly, to bring my trailer back to Jackson Center to get it repaired.

And, as if to rub salt in a wound, my trailer was shipped from the factory and sold to me, an unsuspecting customer, with insufficiently greased wheel bearings, and an axle/wheel/tire assembly that took almost 1 pound of weight to get it balanced. Somebody could have gotten killed towing that trailer; several Airstream managers told me they never checked any supplier purchased components (they did tell me the tires at least were balanced but they were not); Schumann would not give me a sinlge penney to remedy these serious problems; and were it not for this bulletin board and another member informing me to check my Airstream's wheel bearings soon after I bought it, I might not be alive to tell this story today.

I owned 2 quality built trailers before buying an Airstream, and I plan to soon buy another quality built one, and this time will buy from a company with honesty and integrity.

John

John,

Try Newmar: They are a privately held company and are currently gobbling up market share in all categories of RVs that they make. Their Class A diesels are really cleaning up and their attitude is: make it right for the customer. I've seen this from a repair vewpoint, and most buyers are very happy with their product.

[TIMEMACHINE]

I really wish I could be positive about the quality of our Airstream, but I refuse to pretend that it is the same quality that has made Airstream an iconic trademark.

Besides a couple of dozen minor issues we have had repaired in the last 1 1/2 years since buying our 2006 Safari 25 FB/SE, the corrosuion problem has continued to grow. The entire beltline/seam along both sides of the AS are now infected with the malady. The corrosion exists at each rivet hole and along the seam where the upper panel overlaps the lower panel.

There is no way that this condition would not affect the value of our Airstream.

We will be taking the Airstream to C&G Trailer in October, to at least, let them attempt to stop the corrosion, but Rod has already let me know that Airstream Corporate will only authorize to clean/scrape the area and then treat using an anti-corrosion liquid. The scars will be visible after this process with no guarantee that it will not continue to corrode.

We love our Airstream and will continue to enjoy it and all of our friends that we have met on the road and at rallys, but for those who know me, Airstream Corporate had better prepare themselves to either solve this serious problem or face the consequences of a very expensive lesson in California Consumer Protection Laws.

We will get what we paid for one way or another. We would prefer it would be a voluntary correction on the part of Airstream Corporation.

BTW, I am not trying to downgrade the value of an Airstream trailer, I am trying to protect it.

John

[lewster]

Originally Posted by TIMEMACHINE

I really wish I could be positive about the quality of our Airstream, but I refuse to pretend that it is the same quality that has made Airstream an iconic trademark.

Besides a couple of dozen minor issues we have had repaired in the last 1 1/2 years since buying our 2006 Safari 25 FB/SE, the corrosuion problem has continued to grow. The entire beltline/seam along both sides of the AS are now infected with the malady. The corrosion exists at each rivet hole and along the seam where the upper panel overlaps the lower panel.

There is no way that this condition would not affect the value of our Airstream.

We will be taking the Airstream to C&G Trailer in October, to at least, let them attempt to stop the corrosion, but Rod has already let me know that Airstream Corporate will only authorize to clean/scrape the area and then treat using an anti-corrosion liquid. The scars will be visible after this process with no guarantee that it will not continue to corrode.

We love our Airstream and will continue to enjoy it and all of our friends that we have met on the road and at rallys, but for those who know me, Airstream Corporate had better prepare themselves to either solve this serious problem or face the consequences of a very expensive lesson in California Consumer Protection Laws.

We will get what we paid for one way or another. We would prefer it would be a voluntary correction on the part of Airstream Corporation.

BTW, I am not trying to downgrade the value of an Airstream trailer, I am trying to protect it.

John

John,

Try CorrosionX Aircraft formula. I have applied it to the white areas on my '06 19CCD and it seems to be attacking the problem. I'm holding off on posting the results and technique until I gat back to FL and can make a complete assessment of the process. It shows promise! Corrosion Technologies Corporation

[Minnie's Mate]

It's really sad that we are loosing fellow Airstreamers because of quality issues. I really feel we were blessed with our Airstream and the quality we received. Ours is a Safari so it's not just that Classics are better built because they cost more. Maybe ours was built mid-week. Was ours perfect, no, but the issues we have had are very minor. Compared to the quality issues I have read on this thread and on other quality threads, it was perfect at delivery. That may have been thanks to the dealer I bought it from. Kudos to MiddleTN Airstream!

I do have one question, though, for Flyfisher: If your trailer is better than a new one that comes off the line now, why did you sell it and now take your chances with the quality of an SOB? If, as lewster says, the quality of a new Airstream is about par with the quality of any other brand so you may be getting lesser quality in a new SOB than the quality you finally achieved in your Airstream.

[TIMEMACHINE]

Originally Posted by lewster

John,

Try CorrosionX Aircraft formula. I have applied it to the white areas on my '06 19CCD and it seems to be attacking the problem. I'm holding off on posting the results and technique until I gat back to FL and can make a complete assessment of the process. It shows promise! Corrosion Technologies Corporation

Lew,

Thanks for the tip, I will pass that on to Rod at C&G, maybe he can use Corrosion X instead of that other product that has been mentioned but slips my mind right now.

I have purposely not touched the affected areas because I don't want Airstream to have any "easy outs" such as "you damage the skin by doing XXXX".

You will get to see the corrosion up close and personal in a couple of days in Albuequerque.

John