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Old 06-26-2014, 06:59 PM   #1
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interstate airstream winter cover

I have a 2004/2005 Airstream Interstate (Sprinter) and want a high quality winter cover that fits well. Any ideas ?
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Old 06-26-2014, 07:29 PM   #2
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We have discussed the covers on this forum in the recent past and as I recall the consensus was they were of no real use, difficult to install and would likely damage the paint on your Interstate.
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Old 06-27-2014, 04:40 AM   #3
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We bought one for ours, and they are not inexpensive.

Seemed like a good idea at the time, but they are very difficult to keep in place if you have any winds to contend with. Whipping and blowing winds will take it right off.

The casualty on our Interstate, from the ever-shifting cover, was the AIRSTREAM lettering across the front. Pieces of several letters broke off, and the whole thing had to be replaced.

Also, if you have snow/sleet on your roof that melts and refreezes, this turns into a thick block of ice that is very difficult to remove so that you can take the cover off, if you are planning on leaving before the spring thaw.

The cover might be good just for dust, if your Interstate were otherwise in a covered area, but expensive for just that, IMO.


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Old 06-27-2014, 08:15 AM   #4
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The casualty on our Interstate, from the ever-shifting cover, was the AIRSTREAM lettering across the front. Pieces of several letters broke off, and the whole thing had to be replaced.
Naah. Those letters came off of ours after a few years, and we have NEVER used a cover of any kind. Ended up having the residue professionally removed.

Just standard Airstream adhesive dyslexia.
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Old 06-27-2014, 08:19 AM   #5
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The best winter cover for an Airstream or an INTERSTATE is a barn or shed.
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Old 06-27-2014, 08:29 AM   #6
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If you have the space, there are portable structures of thin steel tubing or plastic tubing that you then cover with a heavy plastic. They are portable garages. That would be the only thing I would park my Interstate in if I did not have a garage. Fortunately we have a large garage that is heated ion the winter and conditioned in summer and has a dump location, water and 540 amps.
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Old 06-27-2014, 09:54 AM   #7
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Naah. Those letters came off of ours after a few years, and we have NEVER used a cover of any kind. Ended up having the residue professionally removed.

Just standard Airstream adhesive dyslexia.
Hmmm, we have not had a problem with ours, other than when we were using a cover, and like having AIRSTREAM across the front.

Love that you are an 05. We're the lucky ones, in terms of our engines.


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Old 06-27-2014, 11:45 AM   #8
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....and 540 amps.
Bill, please explain. I thought home amps from a standard outlet are 30. What do you have there?
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Old 06-27-2014, 02:13 PM   #9
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Bill, please explain. I thought home amps from a standard outlet are 30. What do you have there?
Peter
FYI the world standard Type A outlet found in homes are only rated for 15 Amps at 120 Volts. You might find a circuit in your home with Type A outlets and a 20 Amp breaker, but it is a violation of electrical standards and a fire waiting to ignite should you ever try to pull a 20 Amp load through it. Thirty Amp 120 V circuits should have some sort of appliance outlet. In the accompanying photo of a campground outlet the 15 Amp type A outlet is on the right and the 30 Amp outlet is on the left. In order to get 30 Amp service for my AI at our house, I had to have a dedicated 30 Amp breaker installed in the circuit breaker panel and a dedicated circuit run to the outlet.

I too am curious about the 540 Amps, most homes are wired for no more than 200 total Amps
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Old 06-27-2014, 02:32 PM   #10
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You might find a circuit in your home with Type A outlets and a 20 Amp breaker, but it is a violation of electrical standards and a fire waiting to ignite should you ever try to pull a 20 Amp load through it.
I don't believe that this is correct. As I understand it, it is fine to put a 15 amp outlet on a 20amp circuit (assuming the wire is properly sized for 20 amp. The reason this is OK is that 15 amp outlets *can't* draw 20 amps, because the plugs of 20 amp loads have one of the prongs turned at right angles, so it will not fit into a 15 amp outlet. 20 amp outlets have an extra notch to accommodate the rotated plug prong.

(not to go off topic or anything.)
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Old 06-27-2014, 02:33 PM   #11
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The cover might be good just for dust, if your Interstate were otherwise in a covered area, but expensive for just that, IMO.
Actually, still not a good idea. Cover plus dust means that any dust that does manage to get under the cover turns the cover into fine-grit sandpaper.

In a wetter climate, a cover impedes ventilation, and leads to mold.
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Old 06-27-2014, 02:46 PM   #12
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It may vary from place to place but Joemikes point is the Electrical Code law in ONTARIO.
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Old 06-27-2014, 03:14 PM   #13
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The reason this is OK is that 15 amp outlets *can't* draw 20 amps, because the plugs of 20 amp loads have one of the prongs turned at right angles, so it will not fit into a 15 amp outlet. 20 amp outlets have an extra notch to accommodate the rotated plug prong.
I'm also sorry to be completely off topic here, but I'm afraid I may be doing something very stupid and dangerous:
I have a Camco PowerGrip adapter that I use to plug the Interstate into a standard house socket in the garage. The PCI display panel then displays 30 Amps. I don't use any appliances in the Interstate while plugged in - it's just to keep the batteries maintained.
Are you saying this is not recommended?
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Old 06-27-2014, 03:19 PM   #14
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I don't believe that this is correct. As I understand it, it is fine to put a 15 amp outlet on a 20amp circuit (assuming the wire is properly sized for 20 amp. The reason this is OK is that 15 amp outlets *can't* draw 20 amps, because the plugs of 20 amp loads have one of the prongs turned at right angles, so it will not fit into a 15 amp outlet. 20 amp outlets have an extra notch to accommodate the rotated plug prong.

(not to go off topic or anything.)
Lets say you put a duplex or triplex outlet adaptor on your 15 Amp outlet, (they are readily available at any hardware store) and then plug a 10 Amp device into two of the outlets and turn them on. You are now drawing 20 Amps through a plug designed to handle no more than 15 Amps. The circuit breaker will not pop because you have not exceeded the load on the breaker. Several minutes later you will find the 15 Amp outlet is very hot. Maybe even hot enough to cause surrounding materials to reach ignition temperature. A 15 Amp outlet should be on a 15 Amp breaker. The breaker may never blow until the insulation on the wiring melts in the ensuing fire.
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Old 06-27-2014, 03:24 PM   #15
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I'm also sorry to be completely off topic here, but I'm afraid I may be doing something very stupid and dangerous:
I have a Camco PowerGrip adapter that I use to plug the Interstate into a standard house socket in the garage. The PCI display panel then displays 30 Amps. I don't use any appliances in the Interstate while plugged in - it's just to keep the batteries maintained.
Are you saying this is not recommended?
If memory serves, the PCI display is for determining load-shedding. The energy management system will shut off appliances in sequence if the load exceeds the setting that's displayed; such as automatically interrupting power to the air conditioner when you start the microwave, until the microwave shuts off and the A/C can restart. If you have less than 30 amps available, you should manually reset the PCI to 20 amps (there is no setting for 15 amps that I recall). I believe it will automatically reset itself if you fire up the generator, which produces less than 30 amps.

If you leave it set on 30amps, the only downside is that you might trip a house breaker because your Interstate won't automatically start shutting off anything until the combined load hits 30 amps.

In your case, with nothing running but the inverter/charger in charge mode, no harm done.
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Old 06-27-2014, 03:31 PM   #16
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In your case, with nothing running but the inverter/charger in charge mode, no harm done.
Thank you Protag, we can always rely on your judgement.
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Old 06-27-2014, 03:44 PM   #17
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Thank you Protag, we can always rely on your judgement.
I believe you mean "…we can sometimes…" I don't always rely on my own judgment, so why should you?
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Old 06-27-2014, 04:46 PM   #18
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I believe you mean "…we can sometimes…" I don't always rely on my own judgment, so why should you?
I try to choose my words carefully since I frequently get into trouble when I inject my dry (very dry) English humour into the topic and its totally misinterpreted. So in this case I meant what I wrote.
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Old 06-27-2014, 04:52 PM   #19
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Sorry about that. Typo not 540 amps but 50 amps. fat fingers on small keyboards and not proofing before sending. Yes our big garage has 200 amp service of its own and we have a dedicated 50 amp circuit for the m-home side. Originally we had a 40' bus which was 50 amps. I just plug in the 50-30 adapter for the Airstream.
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