Visit our Popular Forums

featherbedder · 08-01-2015, 05:56 PM

For the money that AS trailers or spriinters cost ther should not be any problems of any problems that I read about on forums, in my opinion junk or cult. I have had 5 AS 1 argosy all before 1980. I would not even consider pur. another one.

lewster · 08-01-2015, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Thanks Lew - those are good tips on a lithium installation. But the big lithium issue for me is dealing with freezing temps where I live in Maryland.

- - Mike
2013 Interstate Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

Mike et al,

We are trying to acquire some new lithium technology that 'is stated' to work down to -20ºC, which comes out around -4ºF. That includes both use and charging.

Our present lithium formula allows for use below 0ºC (32ºF), just not charging below freezing, as the lithium paste will likely separate from the electrode posts within the battery when charged at below freezing temps.

Regardless, the new formulation will be thoroughly tested in a deep freeze (if and when we get our hands on some cells) to be certain that their claims ring true.

You can be sure that I'll post on the results as soon as they happen!

lewster · 08-01-2015, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73shark

Actually what I meant was could you connect the chassis battery to the inverter to charge the lithium batteries.

The Magnum inverter/charger needs 120VAC shore or generator power to operate the charging system within the unit.

mccrosti · 08-02-2015, 05:58 AM

Well .. I was going to begin a thread complaining about my 72... After reading through this, I think I'll go camping instead...

weirdstuff · 08-03-2015, 10:10 AM

I'm 2/3 through a book by Yvon Chouinard called "Let My People Go Surfing." If you don't know who he is, Yvon Chouinard is a great outdoor adventurer (climbing, surfing, fly fishing etc..), who happens to also be the founder of Patagonia (the company).

Chouinard's commitment to quality puts Airstream to shame.

Maybe we should all chip in, buy a bunch of copies of this book and send them to Airstream.

73shark · 08-04-2015, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UKDUDE

I was struggling with FUBAR (forgive me, I'm a foreigner!) but my Maxxair fan knob also feels like something is slipping. Had to pull down hard to get the gears to mesh.
Please let us know how much.

Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

The movement of the knob up and down (it's just sliding on the drive shaft) is simply to lock (up) and unlock (down) the turning of the shaft. Since it's a worm drive and you're experiencing a problem, there's a good chance that the mechanism is already starting to break.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73shark

Not only was the operator mechanism shot but when taking the fan apart to get to it, I found that one of the arms on the lifter arm had broken off. It was also made from the same brittle die-cast pot-metal. While I could have repaired it, decided to replace since it was $12.

Also noticed that crazing was developing on the smoked hood where the mold sprue was cut off. First hailstorm will probably destroy it.

Parts arrived today. Good news is that they now make the lifter arm a welded steel assembly and they included detailed instructions. Bad news was that the pins on the end of the arms were about 0.015" too big to fit the slotted brackets that they ride in. Fixed that by enlarging the slots w/ a flat file. The operator is still the same old die-cast pot-metal assembly.

To remove the fan you must first remove the interior trim piece (four screws) and cut the wire splices. Then on the roof, remove the four screws that are visible when the hood is raised. It then lifts out. I used a 10' step ladder next to the slider and placed a moving blanket on the awning and roof. Be very, very careful.

The replacement is very easy, especially w/ the included instructions.

Kudos to Airstream as they used 10ga wire to the fan to minimize voltage drop.

Operator mechanism-10-20281K-3CF $10.78
Lifter arm-10-20222KS $12.66
Shipping- $5.05

Good luck w/ yours.

switz · 08-05-2015, 07:02 AM

Note that somewhere along the line in the 2015 model year, the Fantastic fan motor knob no longer has the pull down function to disengage the drive train to lift the cover. It is now a force the entire drive train to manually open or close the lid.

They probably saved a dollar on the motor and increased the price. Once again - paying more for less.....

dkottum · 08-05-2015, 07:35 AM

There are some problems with the Fantastic Fan manual open pull-down knob. If you open the lid and pull down the knob, then go back and turn on the fan, the lid motor will continue to run, and run. Leaving the knob engaged and opening the lid with the motor puts a lot of stress on the components before it quits running. Maybe they decided it worked better without the pull-down manual open feature, just let the motor do the job.

lewster · 08-05-2015, 09:00 AM

Remember,

Fantastic Vent was purchased a few years ago and is now no longer a family owned entity. It is now part of the Atwood group of products. You can thank Atwood for any design/material changes.

Airstream uses IMHO, the far superior MaxxFan® in all Interstate vans which have an integrated cover and vent system that allows you to use them in the rain. In or out fan directions and multi-speed with available remote control.

They are my personal preference and alleviate the need for additional, large, ugly covers for the Fantastic Vent units. They also close FLAT to the roof and are more aerodynamic.

MaxxFan® is made my AirExcel, who also make Suburban furnaces and RVP/Coleman roof air conditioners.

gmillerok1 · 08-05-2015, 09:31 AM

MaxxFan also has great customer support. They sent me a new unit when my the one that came with the Interstate broke, no questions asked. They even updated it to the remote control unit at no cost to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewster

Remember,

Fantastic Vent was purchased a few years ago and is now no longer a family owned entity. It is now part of the Atwood group of products. You can thank Atwood for any design/material changes.

Airstream uses IMHO, the far superior MaxxFan® in all Interstate vans which have an integrated cover and vent system that allows you to use them in the rain. In or out fan directions and multi-speed with available remote control.

They are my personal preference and alleviate the need for additional, large, ugly covers for the Fantastic Vent units. They also close FLAT to the roof and are more aerodynamic.

MaxxFan® is made my AirExcel, who also make Suburban furnaces and RVP/Coleman roof air conditioners.

paiceman · 08-05-2015, 10:47 AM

I find this thread discouraging and somewhat concerning. That said we are three weeks into an 8 week trip out west and have over 4,500 miles on the trailer with over 35 nights in the 2015 30' FC Queen Rear. Issues are - molding came off in the bedroom (glued it back on), HDMI transfer box does not transfer to the bedroom, either Blue Ray or Sat, tongue electric jack grinds excessively, several hinges broke off the interior doors, (used thicker screws and gorilla glue) Ducted A/C when on HP makes a significant amount of noise, but works.

So far that is it, and we could not be more pleased. As a former GM for a mfg company I fully realize the QC issues of ALL products made world wide, not just AS or Thor. It's not an easy task, that said in the number of campgrounds we've visited to date we've seen on other brands every conceivable issue, on new ones. The hardest to deal with are the numerous slides that do not close. I hope everyone gets their issues dealt with. I propose two thoughts, (1) we ordered our AS, we did not order our first one and we had numerous issues with that one. (2) The delivering dealer should catch almost all the issues mentioned in prior posts, ours did.

My Best

Bud

switz · 08-05-2015, 10:53 PM

The issues I found when I spent the first night in the 23D on the dealer lot were so obvious that I wondered if they even did the PDI. They did wash it, though.

We have to do both metal and wood work to correct the shower door opening to close a ⅜" gap water could flood into and onto the "famous" plywood flooring. I figure that the so called end of model year discount will be spent on making everything right by a third party repair shop. Based upon our experience with the Classic, I know the chap will get it done correctly with real parts, not ones from the factory.

rgwatkin · 08-06-2015, 09:52 AM

The lids on my fantastic fans have been sticky since I purchased the trailer new three years ago. I applied 303 multiple times with little to no improvement. I finally called Fantastic Fan and shared the problem with them. They sent at no charge the replacement seals. Now...I have a question to you'all, do you just push the seal into its slot or do you use a sealant to secure it? Also, it is not sealed the ends so what do you do with them?

TheCabin · 08-18-2015, 11:18 AM

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but I just saw this old job announcement:

Airstream, Inc.'s "QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGER Airstream, Inc., a Recreational..." ad powered by Decatur Daily Democrat

73shark · 08-18-2015, 11:26 AM

Who knew they even had a Quality Dept?

Maybe this is to develop one.

hexspeed · 08-18-2015, 01:55 PM

Alternative interpretation -- they have had a Quality Dept but it's not working so the top dog is getting replaced.

Based on my recent tour of the factory, I'm hoping they are just starting a formal QC effort -- would hate to believe that issues obvious to a casual "tourist" would have gone un-noticed by a paid professional.

switz · 08-18-2015, 02:09 PM

Items photographed and emailed to the chap in charge of final Airstream QC on the shop floor did not result in any rectification before the trailer left the factory in January 2014. The issues were pointed out by others in the tour group!

hexspeed · 08-18-2015, 02:20 PM

During our July visit, they made us keep our cameras in our pockets -- were pretty strict about restricting tour members from taking pictures of the trailers being built (although I saw several people sneak pictures inside some of the units). Wonder if your photos documenting quality issues are making them gun-shy about casual photos in the shop.

switz · 08-18-2015, 02:23 PM

It was my trailer, so my photos were allowed of my unit.

hexspeed · 08-18-2015, 03:09 PM

Cool. Nice that they allow you to do that (learn something new every day). Not so nice that they didn't do anything with the results.

For future information, did you have to make any kind of special arrangements to follow and photograph your unit as it was being built? There may have been others in our tour that were doing that.