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Old 12-07-2003, 07:53 PM   #221
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Tick/Tock....Tick/Tock....YAWN....but I can't sleep.....sigh....

I've been charting out a path and an alternate path in case there is any lake effect snow.

From what I gather, Chicago to Piqua (which is about 30 miles from Jackson Center) is between 265-325 miles.

It's going to be a long week or two!

Eric
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Old 12-07-2003, 08:02 PM   #222
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Warranty Work

We're making good progress on correcting our quality problems.

Our unit was at North Dallas RV. Pat and Randy worked with Dave Schumann on our long list. It too a couple of weeks to get the parts and do the work. Pat and Randy paid lots of attention to details.

Our freezing-refrigerator problem was a bad controller board. The gas line and the stabalizer jack screw rubbing was repaired using a hose section over the gas line to prevent the direct rubbing.

The only remaining big item is the flooring, which we are arranging. Airstream has agreed to replace the flooring.

Overall, we're happy to have found Randy and Pat at North Dallas RV. it is a 4.5 hour drive from home, but well worth it. From the number of AS units there, Pat and Randy must be doing work for lots of the forum readers.

We're glad to have the lady back, and we're ready to head out again.

73/gus
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Old 12-08-2003, 11:12 AM   #223
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Looks like we found our first quality issue, albeit minor. I opened all the curtains and window shades yesterday. In closing things up Patty discovered that one curtain panel on one of the windows on the slide out unit shows evidence of dirt or hand prints and the velcro patches on this panel and its mate are identical. (In other words both curtain panels have hook patches and no latching patch which means the panels cannot be secured together).

Jack
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Old 12-08-2003, 07:46 PM   #224
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Sorry to hear about the problem Jack. Are you gonna take it back to the dealer before spring?
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Old 12-09-2003, 07:23 AM   #225
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Maybe. Patty is going to see if she can clean it first. As far as the velcro goes, we will tend to keep the curtains open since we have these neat shades on the Classic. On the Safari the curtains were a must. So the fact that the velcro isn't correct is not really a big problem.

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Old 12-09-2003, 07:45 AM   #226
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Quote:
Originally posted by jcanavera
Maybe. Patty is going to see if she can clean it first. As far as the velcro goes, we will tend to keep the curtains open since we have these neat shades on the Classic. On the Safari the curtains were a must. So the fact that the velcro isn't correct is not really a big problem.

Jack
I stopped my wife last weekend when she started to close the curtains in our Classic for exactly the same reason. The day-night shades are all that is required for privacy and if we don't touch the curtains, they will stay clean a whole lot longer. The velcro could be missing for all I care.

I did close the curtains in the bedroom on a night that was predicted to go below freezing, just as additional draft protection. Ordinarily, they will stay open all the time.
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Old 12-09-2003, 11:41 AM   #227
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Smile Yabba dabba dooo!!!!

Congratulations Eric!!!

Santa delivered early... or just on time for Chanukah!

Can't wait to see pics

Enjoy your full week with your new baby and drive safe.

take care
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Old 12-10-2003, 08:07 PM   #228
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Hi All,

Finally home from the maiden voyage. To refresh memories (Since I'm new here), my 2004 AS Classic 30foot Slide Out (traded our 1996 AS 21 foot Sovergn) arrived at the dealer on Nov. 14th. Had solor & a Henley Arrow Hitch installed and picked her up on the 19th. One night spent on the dealers lot without a glitch, and we were on our way to a favorite camp spot for two weeks. Must admit we were nervous about towing the additional length, but that soon faded away. She followed beautifully, even thru some pretty nasty weather coming home.

We did run into a couple of problems which I'll list below. These issues I believe I can most likely correct myself.

1. Black water tank sensor not registering at all.

We were told at the dealer that the monitoring system had- had a loose wire fixed at some point. I regretted not asking them more about this, but I just assumed they had corrected the problem... Whatever that was. My guess is that it wasn't recallibrated properly, which I think I can do myself. If anyone has any guidence along these lines I'd appreciate the input.

2. In preparation to return home the 'Slide Out' would not close properly. Must admit this one had me panicing for awhile there! The whole room was slightly tilted, creating a good size gap between the slide out & the trailer itself when closed. Fortunately we discovered that there are levelling bolts beneath the slide out (While open) on each side. A few turns of a wrentch on the left one lifted that side, which enabled the slide out to close as it should. Hopefully that was a one-time deal, but it's good to know those bolts are down there!

Aside from those issues, She's a real dream. We also upgraded the A/C, and found the heat pump very useful. It switched perfectly from HP to furnace when temps. dipped below freezing. We were able to get the 2003 'Cashmere' color scheme, which we like very much. Our previous AS had the cloth couch, which held up to pets & camping dirt beautifully, so we chose the cloth again. I installed a small flat screen LCD TV in the bedroom during the trip, which works out real well. It's pretty yummy back there.

Came home to a household furnace that's bit the dust, which makes me think my Airstream is the place to be these days!!

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Old 12-10-2003, 08:52 PM   #229
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Thumbs up

Congrats on the Airstream, Mike!

Sounds like you got yourself a very nice trailer ... and the problems seem minor. You'll get them settled out.

Who was your selling dealer?
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Old 12-10-2003, 08:53 PM   #230
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Hey Mike, congrats on the new coach! Great to hear the probs were minor. Do you have any pics to share?

Eric
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Old 12-11-2003, 08:00 AM   #231
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Mike, there is a small booklet that should be in your Airstream folder that documents the procedure for calibrating your sensor panel. When you first turn on the panel, the unit flashes a sequence of lights. That initial pattern tells you whether the unit was calibrated or not.

The first words out of the dealer's mouth was do not open or close the slide out unless the trailer is level and the stabilizer jacks are down. I'm not sure by your description whether you met those two criteria prior to your problem. I haven't really looked for any other adjustments at this point. I've had the slide in and about about 10 times either at the dealer's lot or at home in the drive. All seems well at this point.

One other trick my dealer told me was to look at the slide out from the outside before I extend it. The gap between the slide and body of the trailer should be equidistant on all sides. If not it means you either aren't level or you have a stabilizer jack improperly set.

Patty has also talked about a small flat panel TV on the wall in the bedroom rather than using that pull down shelf. Any problems in securing that to the wall? What did you use?

I'm curious about your heat pump performance. Did the heat pump initially have to warm up a cold trailer (<40 degrees)? I upgraded to the 15K air conditioner but don't think that the heat pump has enough volume to keep our unit stable once you get into the 35 degree or below range much less bringing a cold unit up to a comfortable state.

Congratulations!

Jack
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Old 12-16-2003, 08:22 AM   #232
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Ok...here is the long awaited info on the fit and finish info on my new 2004 Safari SS production dated 12/03.

Got there yesterday morning and took a look around....the inside had one or two very small things that will be easily and quickly resolved by the dealer. The unit appears far better assembled than my '03. The darn camper is just plain beautiful in every aspect. It is more beautiful that I could have ever imagined. The photos I posted and the photos that you can find on the web just don't do these new units justice.

Now for the not so good news. The dinette bases were soaked. Somewhere water got into the unit. Funny thing is that there is no trace of water except by the dinette seat bases (which makes me think that the A/C that was piled with snow might have let some water in when they washed it as the ice dam could have created a lake around the A/C unit on the roof). The seat toward the back was the worst while the one toward the front (side dinette) was not as bad. I do not believe it was a factory issue Q/C issue at all. I am leaning toward the dealer possibly not winterizing it correctly or something. Actually, I spoke with a few folks at Jackson Center while I was on the factory tour and the travel trailer production manager started to look into it...he actually knew my unit as it just left the factory about a week ago...

At any rate, here is what the deal is as of right now....

The dealer and Jackson Center are going to find out what went wrong and fix it. There is no doubt in my mind that this will happen. As a matter of fact the production manager and the customer service manager both were on the phone to the dealer to see where they were at and trying to assess where the water came from and resolve the issue. Keep in mind the unit passed the water inspection test just about a week ago before the dealer got it.....

The dealer also said that since I came down, I could leave my Bambi there at no charge until this is resolved and here is the really nice part...when the problem is found and the unit repaired, the dealer is going to have the unit brought 300 miles to my house! I was pretty floored!

Based on the info Kimili posted (and thanks to Brandi for reminding me), I did NOT sign the papers to take delivery. This will all be done after the unit is fixed and Q/Cd.

The water thing does bother me a bit, but I trust that between Jackson Center and the dealer (approx 25 miles apart) that this will be resolved. But I have to say, the unit other than that as far as I could tell is pretty flawless.

I want to stress to you all that we watched the QC folks on the line. The woman that was going through the units has a bible size book she goes through. The unit passed all inspections last week when it left to go to the dealer. When more info becomes avail, I'll post it.

Airstream as well as the dealer are not finger pointing, but both assuming charge to find an fix the issue.

I can't wait to get the new twinkie home...she is a real beauty.....words nor pictures will do it justice. I feel this is a small problem to overcome.

Here are two pictures of what was found.

BTW, Don the tour guide said it looked as if they left the door open when they washed it. I think that is most likely the case or something like it. At any rate the dealer did not feel comfortable with me taking the unit and I am glad that this happend now rather than when I got it home.

Until we have more info, there is really nothing I can say except that I am extremely please with how this is being dealt with by the dealer and the folks at Jackson Center who by themselves got involoved in this and I am extremely pleased with how the interior looks and works (which was one of my issues with my '03). I think if I don't wreck it, they may burry me in it someday!

Eric
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Old 12-16-2003, 08:23 AM   #233
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Here is a pic of the dinette seat closer to the back.....
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Old 12-16-2003, 08:24 AM   #234
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...and of the one closer to the front....
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Old 12-16-2003, 08:35 AM   #235
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Wow, from the pictures obviously water was on the floor and wicked up into the fabric. My bets are on the airconditioner and possibly water not draining through the provided drain. I'm guessing snow or ice in the drain cause it to come in right through the throat of the A/C unit, hit the floor and gravity angle migrated it to the dinette. Especially if you see no water trail or find wetness higher up.

I can't see this trailer getting through the water test with the A/C unit mounted and then something like this happening. Its probably a freak thing. The good side to this is its up in factory land and they can replace the fabric.

Thanks for the factory pictures! I'm sure you will get some answers to this pretty quick. I'm sure your dealer will not want to hold this on his books too long. Kudos to Brandi for keeping you sane in the process....you know how us guys are with our trailers!

Jack
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Old 12-16-2003, 08:51 AM   #236
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Eric .. I think you may be right about the water coming in through the AC.

I'm impressed with the way your dealer and the factory are handling the situation. Also, it sounds like the factory is taking the QC situation seriously. Those are all positives in a negative situation.

I'm sure everything will work out to your satisfaction and you will have many many years of enjoyment.
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Old 12-16-2003, 08:56 AM   #237
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Oh my , Sorry to see that , I will go make a check of my snow covered trailer . If it was snow ice backing things up I dont want the same thing. Rest assured Airstream will make it right , I have delt with The dealer You purchased from , on My Safari And they will back You up. Of course I think You should request complete new dinnete not just cleaned and dried.
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Old 12-16-2003, 09:01 AM   #238
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I agree with you both. Impressed all around. I just can't see the shell leaking, the shell has been and still is IMHO the best built part of the trailer. They even seal the inside seams as well, so it has to be a window, door or vent left open or the A/C unit. Worst case, a water line, but if you really think about it, the unit was winterized and the liquid would not be frozen and would have had a different texture than water.

Pork, I may have been inside your trailer. I didn't recall who the dealer was that you went through, but Don had said to me if I knew or had the VIN and it was on the line, I could have taken you some snapshots of your unit. Heck if it was on the line, I might ahve anyway! Was yours a Classic Limited?

It was pretty bad with loosing sleep just before going to get it, but now that I've been in it, I'm just beside myself in anticipation of it arriving here in the drive! It is one well constructed coach and the inside, it is truely the Rolls Royce of interiors. I loved my Bambi and it was hard to see it go as we drove off, but this new Safari is just plain comfortable and has lots of space for stuff!

Eric
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Old 12-16-2003, 12:21 PM   #239
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Originally posted by Silvertwinkie
Pork, I may have been inside your trailer. I didn't recall who the dealer was that you went through, but Don had said to me if I knew or had the VIN and it was on the line, I could have taken you some snapshots of your unit. Heck if it was on the line, I might ahve anyway! Was yours a Classic Limited?
Eric ... no, we ordered the Classic ... no Limited .... couldn't justify the extra thousands for that level of trim.

I don't think it will be going on the line until the last week of this month .. but you never know.

I'll have mine fumigated just in case your were in it.
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Old 12-16-2003, 12:56 PM   #240
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Some quality nits and nats

[I tried to post this earlier, and got timed out. So if this is dupe, forgive the wasted bandwidth...]

If you all are still interested in 2004 quality issues, here's some additional info.

We received our 2004 28' Classic in mid-November. So far, we have found very little to grouse about, other than the following:

I was poking around the floor for one reason or another, and took out one of the drawers under the closet next to the fridge.

First of all, it was obvious that somebody's make-ready activity didn't extend to hidden areas, because there was all kinds of sawdust and wood trimmings still in there (the exposed, living part of the trailer had obviously been vacuumed by somebody - from what I saw underneath the cabinets, though, I'm beginning to believe that may have been done by the dealer, not AS. No objective evidence of that, though...)

Anyway, I got to looking at the drawer glide rails, which telescope into a little plastic bracket which is attached to a vertical piece of particle board behind the drawers. In every one that I have looked at so far (10 brackets), the brackets have been attached using only a single 1/2" screw. The brackets, I might add, have holes for 4 screws. The poor attachment allows the bracket to swivel in a vertical plane if the screw that's in there is even half-way loose (they all were). At any rate, these are not impossible to fix, but they're a pain in the butt if you're old and decrepit.

I'm more than a little distressed that it's the hidden stuff that got short quality shrift. Somebody's not doing their jobs, I think.

Another little thing: the couch has a pull-out drawer under it. You'd have to look at the latch it uses to see what I'm really talking about, but suffice it to say that the hole for the latch in the drawer was oversized, such that the latch assembly would pull out of the drawwer and fall on the floor. I was able to fix(?) it by bending out the latch-holding metal clip so that it could grip the sides of the hole, but again - here's a hidden feature that somebody didn't care enough about to do correctly.

And finally, there is a trim strip that goes under the toespace under the kitchen drawers under the range. It had never been tacked down and was sliding around loose.

We live 80 miles from the dealer, so these are things I'll need to deal with myself. If we were closer, I'd have taken it back in a minute.

Lesson learned: crawl through the trailer, poking into every nook and cranny, before you take delivery. And be prepared to leave it there if you spot something you don't like. (There's got to be some way to become emotionally univolved when you're picking it up from the dealer, but darned if I know what it is.)

TTYL
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