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Old 01-04-2017, 10:18 PM   #21
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Probably good advice about going over it more carefully. I made the mistake of showing up in a relative hurry, without my keen eyed wife, and with an attitude focused on making sure I understood the mechanicals and towing fundamentals instead of the fit and finish issues. That's definitely on me.

At the same time, it's funny that some people think I'm being picky and others think I'm being too lax. I suppose such is the varied consumer base of Airstreams. I'm going to continue to just keep my list rolling and go after this stuff during the warranty period, as well as doing some of the changes myself.
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Old 01-08-2017, 05:33 AM   #22
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For the money we pay, we have a right to not expect the (lets be kind here) factory indifference reflected in these pictures. I look at my little AS as a little gem...as something special. So this kinda factory indifference re QC to me is not acceptable. Stick to your guns, Ohmman. You saved and agonized too long to accept these flaws that, I assume, will gnaw at you for a long time instead of you getting used to them. jon
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Old 01-08-2017, 05:43 AM   #23
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"Factory indifference" is a very polite way of referring to these problems.

But for cleaning up the caulk, I would expect all of them to be fully corrected by Airstream.

You shouldn't sit in your beautiful, expensive new rig, look at any of this, and be frustrated.

Insist that they be fixed to your satisfaction.


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Old 01-08-2017, 06:19 AM   #24
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Probably good advice about going over it more carefully. I made the mistake of showing up in a relative hurry, without my keen eyed wife, and with an attitude focused on making sure I understood the mechanicals and towing fundamentals instead of the fit and finish issues. That's definitely on me.

At the same time, it's funny that some people think I'm being picky and others think I'm being too lax. I suppose such is the varied consumer base of Airstreams. I'm going to continue to just keep my list rolling and go after this stuff during the warranty period, as well as doing some of the changes myself.
IMO, none of this is your fault. And you are not being picky/lax at all. This type of "luck of the draw" QC is not acceptable. And factory is to blame, not you the consumer.
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Old 01-09-2017, 09:34 PM   #25
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Cognitive dissonance

I have a sneaking suspicion your buying experience was similar to mine. In your head you thought because Airstreams are considered by many, to be the best trailers, you would have an experience similar to buying a Lexus. You willingly paid a premium per square foot and you expected a high quality fit and finish. But your reality is a FIAT (fix it again Tony) experience. There in lies the cognitive dissonance.
My spouse and I have been full timing it in our 2015 19' International since Thanksgiving 2015. We have used our warranty at several dealerships and the factory to take care of many similar issues. We have also come to accept and believe it or not, appreciate the quirkiness of our Airstream.
Keep doing what you are doing. Get as much as you can repaired by the dealerships before your warranty expires. I hope you too, get to the point where you appreciate the little things that unite us, even if they seem like frustrations at first.
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Old 01-09-2017, 10:19 PM   #26
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I have a sneaking suspicion your buying experience was similar to mine. In your head you thought because Airstreams are considered by many, to be the best trailers, you would have an experience similar to buying a Lexus. You willingly paid a premium per square foot and you expected a high quality fit and finish. But your reality is a FIAT (fix it again Tony) experience. There in lies the cognitive dissonance.
My spouse and I have been full timing it in our 2015 19' International since Thanksgiving 2015. We have used our warranty at several dealerships and the factory to take care of many similar issues. We have also come to accept and believe it or not, appreciate the quirkiness of our Airstream.
Keep doing what you are doing. Get as much as you can repaired by the dealerships before your warranty expires. I hope you too, get to the point where you appreciate the little things that unite us, even if they seem like frustrations at first.
Thanks for this. I'm the owner of two Teslas. People may not know this, but that fledgling automaker also has its fair share of fit and finish issues. The drivetrain and overall experience is excellent, but the details are, well, not as excellent. I've been through it, and it's the same thing - service center visits, typically met with a smile and a serious willingness to fix the issue. We'll see if Airstream meets the same service standard, or if I'll have to learn to "appreciate the quirkiness." I'm pretty easy going so I bet I can learn either way..
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Old 01-11-2017, 06:10 PM   #27
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A question - is this corner panel in the bathroom supposed to be matte/not clear-coated? It looks weird.


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Old 01-11-2017, 06:54 PM   #28
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I think that may just be a reflection from the white shower.


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Old 01-11-2017, 07:06 PM   #29
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I think that may just be a reflection from the white shower.


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It's definitely not. It has a different finish. The pics should show how it changes right at the seams.
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Old 01-11-2017, 07:18 PM   #30
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The corner panels will have more of a matte finish appearance because of the forming process. That's not a defect.

It's always best to inspect the product before buying it, but you know that. The thing to do now is to take it back to Airstream Service at your dealer or Jackson Center and explain what you want to see. They can either fix it or explain why they can't.

Forum advice is often excellent but it also invites non-Airstream owners and those who love to trash talk the brand to weigh in. You'll have to sort that out.
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Old 01-11-2017, 07:22 PM   #31
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The corner panels will have more of a matte finish appearance because of the forming process. That's not a defect.

It's always best to inspect the product before buying it, but you know that. The thing to do now is to take it back to Airstream Service at your dealer or Jackson Center and explain what you want to see. They can either fix it or explain why they can't.

Forum advice is often excellent but it also invites non-Airstream owners and those who love to trash talk the brand to weigh in. You'll have to sort that out.
Thanks, that's all I needed to hear, especially from a member with your long time standing. I'm fine with it, so long as it's the norm. There was protective plastic peeling around the edges that I had to trim, and I thought maybe it was a sign of something else. Glad to hear it wasn't.

As an active participant in the Tesla community, I'm used to filtering out the trash talkers. No worries on that front.
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Old 01-11-2017, 07:41 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ohmman View Post
A question - is this corner panel in the bathroom supposed to be matte/not clear-coated? It looks weird.


Was the protective plastic film peeled off during the PDI?
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Old 01-11-2017, 07:55 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ohmman View Post
A question - is this corner panel in the bathroom supposed to be matte/not clear-coated? It looks weird.



Mine aren't like that (2012 27FB Flying Cloud). Agree - it looks odd. Yours is still under warranty, yes? I'd talk with your dealer or the factory. Get it on record so you can have it dealt with when you're ready but report it during the warranty period.

I've loved both my trips to the mothership. I'm geeky that way.
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Old 01-11-2017, 08:52 PM   #34
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Steve, my corner segments certainly have more of a matte appearing finish than the flat panels on the outside, the most concave part of the interior corners are behind cabinets.

However, Adventure.AS asks a good question. Does the panel have the plastic protective film removed? All Airstreams are assembled with this plastic left on the inside, perhaps it was not removed on this panel before delivery? If not your dealer did a really poor pre-delivery inspection and preparation. And that's not unusual.
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Old 01-11-2017, 09:42 PM   #35
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I just went out and checked. The plastic is not intact on that panel, but it's definitely different from the others (including the concave panels above the bed). You can see here the remains of protective plastic on the neighboring panels, but the "off" panel (top left) has nothing on it. It is rough to the touch instead of smooth like the other panels in my trailer.

I will take your advice and add it to my list.

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Old 01-12-2017, 11:34 AM   #36
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Since the trailer was new, the compound-curve (bowl-shaped) panels on the outside of our 2002 Bambi have had a different surface sheen and texture than the panels with a simple curve. That has made no difference in the durability of the surface coating and that coating has remained in place for 14 years.

The trailer has "mouse fur" inside, so I can't provide any comparison there.

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Old 01-12-2017, 12:03 PM   #37
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mattskav posted: "What you have is not out of the ordinary, it's important to remember that these are hand built, *very* low volume units. Personally I don't compare ours to a car with 6-sigma quality, more like high end house work... "

and was agreed with by SueMac... and the concept confuses me.

I don't agree at all with that perspective.
If an item is "very low volume"... then there's more time for craftsmanship. It's the "high volume/high production rates" that might be expected to suffer sub-standard quality, in my opinion.

At my workplace, we found "6-sigma" to be a complete waste of our time. It was a great excersise for the administrative personel....it gave them the appearance of attempting to "improve productivity"...(after-all, their job was to produce paper and look busy), while the actual workforce was directly involved with training the customer.... 6-sigma had nothing to do with us who were required to deal with federal training requirements of pilots. It took up valuable time and was totally intrusive for us down in the trenches (simulators) who were directly involved with production of product (recertification of pilots), a strictly-regulated, FAA-prescribed activity. We considered it pure, administrative B.S. and reduction of time-off for workers who already had long hours.

As for the issues in this thread....
... the formica is poor workmanship and should be repaired, as should the exit window trim and the poor fitment at the upper window. The sink drain is not an issue at all. Simply scrape/remove the excess sealant. I agree.. It at least shows there's sealant applied.

The curved panel may be installed inside/out. As for the clear plastic coating... I believe that is a protective surface for installation purposes and should have been removed prior to delivery. However, the curved section is either inside/out, poorly-finished, or excessively stretched during mfr. I'd have the Mothership replace it.
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Old 01-13-2017, 06:30 AM   #38
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The rear bath in my 2017 23FB has the same finish on the corner panel. I figured it was like that due to the forming process. Not a big deal to me in the bathroom. To be honest, I didn't even notice it during walk through.
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Old 01-13-2017, 08:38 AM   #39
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It's not a defect, part of the forming process. Most of us have cabinets that cover that interior segment (which is not the same part as the exterior segment). Mine does, Steve's does, I think the front of the 22 Sport has cabinets there too? Where there are no cabinets you will see this concave segment and it looks different. Here's a quick look at the Colonial Airstream website of a similar Airstream, about the 15th photo.

http://www.colonialairstream.com/201...883/index.html
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Old 01-13-2017, 09:30 AM   #40
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Very helpful, all. Thanks for the input and responses (photos are very helpful in this case!)
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