2022 Interstate GT

[MrInterstate]

Hi all,

This is my first post as a soon to be Interstate owner. I believe in community and I hope to eventually bring value as a member of this forum. Until I DO have experiences to share, I need to draw on your knowledge!

I am anticipating taking delivery of my GT (Silver, 4x4, leveling system) in early November and, simply, I would like to hear your recommendations on what I need to anticipate and plan for during delivery. What suggestions do you have to improve my inspection and orientation activities? What would you have done differently if you had known at the time? Any and all advice is welcome.

Thanks in advance for your feedback and I look forward to being a proud Airstream owner.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Welcome !!!!

You will be *buried* in information on delivery day. If the dealer does a proper job it will go on for a couple of hours. Most folks go into overload mode long before it's over. Trying to do anything more than the "normal stuff" will just send you deeper into overload.

Make sure you understand how all the major systems on the van work. Observe that they operate and understand how to operate them. If possible spend the night "camping" at the dealer. That will give you more time (and a more relaxed atmosphere) to try this and that. In the morning you *will* have questions.

Enjoy !!!

Bob

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by MrInterstate

Hi all,

This is my first post as a soon to be Interstate owner. I believe in community and I hope to eventually bring value as a member of this forum. Until I DO have experiences to share, I need to draw on your knowledge!

I am anticipating taking delivery of my GT (Silver, 4x4, leveling system) in early November and, simply, I would like to hear your recommendations on what I need to anticipate and plan for during delivery. What suggestions do you have to improve my inspection and orientation activities? What would you have done differently if you had known at the time? Any and all advice is welcome.

Thanks in advance for your feedback and I look forward to being a proud Airstream owner.

BIG CONGRATS!!

I only wished someone had told me before I took my delivery to download the Owner's Manual. You have 2 months to memorize every section of it. It is available now. Read & re-read, then repeat until you are sick of it. Why? Coz so many newbie's to AI's or rv'ing in general ask ABSOLUTELY LEGIT & GOOD questions but that are already answered in the Owner's Manuals even though they may not be obvious how/where to get the answers from which section of the manual. They are not the best written manuals in the rv universe but their value lies in those who know how to utilize it. When the Parts Manuals become available for it (soon, maybe?), download it too. Even if you won't be needing parts, you will have a better disection of diagrams of the entire rv systems and subsystems. You would be surprised to hear questions like "where are the pre-wires hidden for my SAT" when they are in those diagrams.

Another Why? to pre-reading certain manuals - because you have ordered an option that is still pretty rare with AI's - the E&P Hydraulic Leveling system, if they are still using it for 2022's. When I took delivery of my 2018, mine was the only one with E&P Hydraulic Levelers in the entire western US, maybe even the entire country (in terms of immediate availability). It was such a unicorn that the dealer did not even know it was installed in it and the tech who did my walk through had no idea how it worked. I ended up testing it myself and teaching the dealership how it worked.

Same is true for pre-reading the VB Air rear suspension manual. Most units that have the E&P will have VB Air. In fact, I think VB Air has been standard now even before 2022's. The VB Air & E&P Hydraulic Levelers work as a system and are co-dependent on each other's functionality. You can not understand your levelers if you have no idea how your VB Air works. No dealer or even official AS videos out there that I have viewed have explained the minutia of how the proper usage of these 2 systems greatly enhance your experience with the AI. You may eventually discover them, like I did. But let me tell you they work so much more wonders than the dealer or AS videos could explain.

Take a video of the entire process so you can review later. As UNCLE BOB stated, no one that goes through it will leave without feeling buried & overwhelmed.

Bring extra batteries, not for AI but for your phone. If it's a proper walkthrough, a fully charged phone videotaping the entire time will run out of juice.

[Lily&Me]

What Alex said, and plan to spend a night or two in or near your dealers lot.

When you get your hard copy owners manual, go thru it again and put little colored tabs at important sections so that you can find them easily when you need them…fuses, winterizing, etc.

Make sure you know how to work everything, and that it all works before you leave the dealership.

Then, enjoy.

Maggie

[uncle_bob]

Hi

If you want to kill time while waiting for delivery .....

YouTube has a range of training / walk thru stuff running from RV's in general down to the various Interstate models. The closer you get to this or that model / year, the less you find. For coming up to speed on fun things like uncoiling / putting back the dump hose, there's info out there.

If you have not done so already, figure out the closest MB Sprinter dealer. If you are lucky there might be more than one. ( = MB auto dealers don't always work on Sprinters .... it's a different franchise ). If there is more than one, ask around about which one folks like better ....

Study up on things like Harvest Hosts. We're big fans, but we got in early with a lifetime membership. That's made the cost / benefit ratio work out very well. We very much enjoy using them for overnight stops.

https://harvesthosts.com

Also on YouTube, you will find a wide range of folks doing this and that with RV's and some running vans. Even if it's not your brand of van, what they run into you also may be interested in. Which one matches up best with your interests is very much a "that depends" sort of thing. We follow along with about a dozen or so.

Bob

[JCS]

Congrats! We have a 2019 Grand Tour Slate Edition, with VB air suspension but no leveling jacks. All the advice has been spot on, just want to reinforce read before you go, watch YouTube videos before you go, take video while there, and also make sure the dealer actually runs the systems vs. talking about how to run them. Enjoy your new Interstate!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

More ways to (maybe) kill some time:

Rent a van and spend a weekend out in it. You will come up with a whole bunch of things to research as a result

Yes, this is making more than a couple of assumptions about how you will use your van. We all have our own approach to this. There are a *very* wide range of things you could be planning to do.

At some point your shiny new toy shows up. Unless you are *very* lucky, the next question revolves around "it doesn't fit in the garage ... where do I park it?". The ideal answer is to store / park it indoors. For many of this, that means paying for storage space. Now is the time to start shopping if you will need to rent space.

We started back in March and made it to the top of the list last week. Van is due maybe by the end of the month ....

Again more than a few guesses there. Our situation may not be your situation ....

Bob

[ScottP]

Originally Posted by MrInterstate

Hi all,

Thanks in advance for your feedback and I look forward to being a proud Airstream owner.

Hey Congrats ~

Suggest you make an appointment for service for 30-45 days post delivery. Regardless if it’s discouraged by the dealer or not. Accumulate your punch-list items for repair. Know you’ll have repair or adjustments necessary, and just think of the process as part of the new ownership experience. Somewhere in my posts, I have a list of suggested ghost service needs to tell the service writer. You’re basically saving a place in line.

PS - a very wise choice buying 4wd. Might suggest you set a monthly phone alarm appointment to exercise the 4wd system.

Smiles, Scott


Oh question? How long was your wait for a 4wd unit? The dealer may have slid you into a configurable production slot.

[Titus]

Any idea as to what 4WD adds to the resale value? I have seldom (never?) found a place I'd go with 4WD that I didn't go with my 2WD. It is still a long, wide, high, and heavy vehicle, even with 4WD. I have driven it once in deep snow and didn't encounter any problems. But I might opt for 4WD if I did a lot of snow driving and if I could recover much of its cost upon resale.

[ScottP]

Originally Posted by Titus

Any idea as to what 4WD adds to the resale value? I have seldom (never?) found a place I'd go with 4WD that I didn't go with my 2WD. It is still a long, wide, high, and heavy vehicle, even with 4WD. I have driven it once in deep snow and didn't encounter any problems. But I might opt for 4WD if I did a lot of snow driving and if I could recover much of its cost upon resale.

Supply and Demand ...

A premium of $30-$40k is what my experience shows (with real transactions).

Hey ... did ya'll see the new van listings and pricing? The increased pricing reflects demand obviously, which helps every ASI owner out there - with bolstered resale numbers (pulling the bottom of the resale market upward)... but $222k NOW and $217k + dealer handling.

wow ... I heard from someone in Ohio Airstream wanted to be in the $240k sell range by 2023, and this is a rapid advance to that target sell price range.

Exacerbated by supply issues of course etc.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by ScottP

Hey ... did ya'll see the new van listings and pricing? The increased pricing reflects demand obviously, which helps every ASI owner out there - with bolstered resale numbers (pulling the bottom of the resale market upward)... but $222k NOW and $217k + dealer handling.

wow ... I heard from someone in Ohio Airstream wanted to be in the $240k sell range by 2023, and this is a rapid advance to that target sell price range.

Exacerbated by supply issues of course etc.

Hi

There still are a lot of examples of folks finding dealers who will knock 10% off on a factory order for a new van or trailer. If you are looking at inventory (new or used) sitting on a dealer lot right now, the asking price will be in the "insane" category.

I'm sure there always is a lot of puffing and chatting about this and that out at AS. There has been that sort of talk at every plant I've ever worked in or run. It's very much part of the "good times are here" cycle. "We could double our prices and still be booked out a year !!!" ... (good luck with that) .. ... still you hear it said.

When it actually gets to next July and new prices come out, the increase might be closer to 10% than to 5%. I doubt it will go over that unless parts prices go through the roof. So far that does not seem to be happening. July is a long ways out .....

What the tea leaves suggest to me is that they are coming out with a higher end brother / sister for the Atlas. It (obviously) would have a higher MSRP. They would have to sell an insane number of them in the first year to move up the factory average .... I suppose that if they sold 100 for $1M each it might be easier ...

Bob

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by ScottP

Hey ... did ya'll see the new van listings and pricing? ... but $222k NOW and $217k + dealer handling.

SCOTTP - Yep exactly identical listing prices in Las Vegas, though I have not harassed my sales rep yet to see if they would budge. Waste of my time. But at least they have a total of 16 new 2022 units (few Atlas, few 24GL & GT, few 19's and only 1-X).

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Alex AVI

SCOTTP - Yep exactly identical listing prices in Las Vegas, though I have not harassed my sales rep yet to see if they would budge. Waste of my time. But at least they have a total of 16 new 2022 units (few Atlas, few 24GL & GT, few 19's and only 1-X).

Hi

Some of that inventory stuff can be a bit misleading. Things like factory demo units (that can't be resold ) often get tossed into the "new on the lot" info.

Bob

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Some of that inventory stuff can be a bit misleading. Things like factory demo units (that can't be resold ) often get tossed into the "new on the lot" info.

Bob

OK. But they are only allowed 1 demo per model that can't be resold (at least in the state of NV). So that leaves my local dealer with 12 Sprinter based vans available (subtracting 4 demos, 1 from each model). But you would be correct that they may have ZERO of the new X in that scenario, which is likely since they only list 1 and probably do not want to lose it so soon.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Alex AVI

OK. But they are only allowed 1 demo per model that can't be resold (at least in the state of NV). So that leaves my local dealer with 12 Sprinter based vans available (subtracting 4 demos, 1 from each model). But you would be correct that they may have ZERO of the new X in that scenario, which is likely since they only list 1 and probably do not want to lose it so soon.

Hi

Well ....

Most dealers get a floor demo unit. A few get to manage a "media demo" as well. That would get them to two rather than just one. Yes, I notice the second X on a dealers inventory a while back and asked how that could be ....

Bob

[Photoshooter]

Use your cell phone to videotape the entire dealer introduction. You will find it invaluable to refer to later as he will no doubt be overwhelmed with data. I still find myself five months later referring to my videos to remind me of what does what.

Secondly I would advise you to check the valve stems on the rear tires to make sure that you can actually put air in the inside tire. My 2021 interstate GT did not have a valve stems that extend it out to the point where we could actually put air in the tires. I had to have the dealer install extended valve stems after the fact. Do not take delivery until the dealer makes that accessible to you.

I also have a 4 x 4 and I would also advise getting a TST tire pressure monitoring system. Lastly, make sure you spend enough time on the inverter system and how your sprinter uses power. Monitoring and using power is the key to everything. Don’t gloss over that. Make sure they go into it in detail so that you understand exactly how you’re using power. By the way, the 110 outlet under the TVs are the only ones that are on all the time if you’re looking to power something like a sleep apnea machine etc. I do.

Also one last thing, you might want to look into getting a rear door spare tire amount. I don’t know about you but I was uncomfortable driving 11,000 pound vehicle without a spare tire and they do not come with one. I had Agile off-road in San Diego do my mount and I’m awfully glad I have a spare. I don’t know where you’re located but you might want to look into that. By the way I bought my sprinter at Airstream of Chicago in Naperville. Highly recommended both for price and service.

Good luck!

PS I’ve had a issue with the galley drawers slamming open when I make right hand turns and airstream advised to have the 5 pound switches upgraded to 10 pound in order to keep them closed. If your drawers slam open, that’s what you need to get done. They will do it under warranty if you insist.