09 Airstream leaking

[goosecrew]

My family and I just bought a brand new 2009 Classic 27 foot Airstream. We decided to take it out for the first time last weekend. Initially, we couldn't get the fridge to work, after several hours of troubleshooting with the manual and over the phone, we decided to take it to the dealer. Apparently the circuit board needed replaced, but they repaired it rather quickly and we were on our way after a few hours. We picked a rainy weekend for our first outing, but since we were already commited, decided to go anyways. Come morning, our children and their grandmother woke up with puddles of water where they were sleeping (dinette/sofabed). We found several leaks along the dining/sofa wall and both skylights/fans (one being in the bedroom). We noticed several water stains on the entire wall of one side (full length of the trailer). We also noticed that two small fixed windows had water on the inside glass. My Mother noticed a water stain on the curtain at the dealers, and she asked if it had any leaks, and they told her No. My concerns are: 1.) Is this why the fridge shorted out in the first place? 2.) Will the water that soaked the walls cause mold/mildew/roof stains eventually? 3.) Should they replace entire interior wall including fiberglass? It is at the dealership now, and they said that the leaks were from cracked skylights. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[bolerama]

Our 2008 had a cracked skylight too. The screws were tightened down too hard and cracks formed. We had lots of water coming in on our first trip this summer when we brought it out of storage. We think it cracked over the winter since we didn't notice water the first season. The water was coming in down the walls and out the seams. Our interior walls are aluminum skins, so that's why the water was able to drip out. However, we still worry about how much water was absorbed by the insulation and if it grew any mould. The dealership replaced the skylight, but it's all scratched, which bothers me. My husband inspected it before it was installed. It was new and looked perfect. However, someone must have laid it in a rough surface during the install, and now I can see the abrasions each time I look up. I am really frustrated by the carelessness of handling. However, I don't want those guys up there again, so we'll live with it. I really don't trust them to do the work again.

I hope things work out for you. That sure is disappointing when it's a brand new trailer. I think the there is a "lemon law" in the US. You might look into it.

Best wishes,
Lisa

[Astroboy]

Just like every newly-built house have a leak or two (-- even that is when you're lucky.), I believe every new Airstream (or any other RVs) have a few leaks. Even when you think you have a perfect house or a trailer, that probably means that there are leaks unbeknown to you. That may be worse.

The factory does put the entire shell into a "rain-storm" bay to test for leaks and fix them before they start building rest of the interior.

I've been on the factory tour a few times, and it seemed that the nice friendly hard-working people at the factory do make their best efforts to create a good quality products. I found nothing that would suggest otherwise.

Having said that, there are so many rivets, screws, seams, and caulking. And all it takes is a few tiny tiny breaks or delaminations among out of so many potential spots, and you have leaks in the trailer.

It can be been almost 2 years since your trailer left the factory, the effect of UV in the past year, and the shipping and delivery to Floridawould its road vibrations would probably cause on your AS some few spots of caulking failures...

I think it's just matter of luck whether the leaks result in minor or serious damage.

Just like anything in life, I think AS needs the vigilance of the owner to keep it in good shape.

Without seeing pictures of your "stains", I don't know how to judge if it's minor no-big-deal incidents or damages with serious consequences.

Is it possible residue stains or water by the window on the walls are from condensation? 3~4 people sleeping overnight more than likely to cause drips on the wall in humid weather.

Skylights are easy simple fix. I would prefer not to have the warranty to replace the skylights with the same ones. It would crack again in a few years anyway.

http://www.maximskylights.com/
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f478...hts-53517.html

Classic should have same aluminum interior skins, and I don't know if the interior wall paddings are kind of materials that would soak water.