2005 Airstream Skydeck

[israndy]

OK, got the new AC shroud after letting the old one blow off the roof while my mechanic was mid repair on it. He says the AC now works, just in time for winter.

Got a replacement fresh water sensor from the friendly folks at CatCon Products. But the issue with the sensor giving an error continues. I let them know and they are sending me a new one pre-configured for my RV, no cost. I have not had this kind of white glove since I had a Fantastic Fan issue.

I have 11 windows fogged that need to be repaired, so I punked out and ordered the kit where you drill a couple of holes and spray cleaner between the windows and then put in a one-way seal that prevents the window from building up pressure in the summer heat, without drawing moisture back in.

I had a broken Clearance Light so I found one on Amazon that is a perfect fit.

I believe I mentioned in another post that I finally fixed the bathroom sink by taking it apart and soaking it in vinegar. It was clogged with lime to the point that the water pump couldn't get a drop thru. In another post I also mentioned that I found the replacement switch for the step that had come loose. Will install this weekend and finally have a step that retracts when I close the door in a parking lot, seems so unsafe for the default to be leave it out...

Replaced the missing cover for the patio light that they folks at Thin Lite sent me to a dealer for. They only sell a tiny selection of products. Kind of like finding a neighborhood shop on the internet. But Thin Lite have dealers all over the place.

Got out my wet/dry vac and went to town under the rim around the Sky Deck. I had pounds of compost from years of stuff blowing into the deck. It's like a pickup truck that you cannot clean easily. I wanna check out the space under the rear faring, if it is anywhere as bad as the front was I have a long way to go. Cannot figure out how to get in there.

Ordered the Jensen antenna thinking it was the same as came on the Sky Deck originally, but the connection wasn't even close. Anyone recognize this connection? I want an FM antenna that connects to this thru the fiberglass sidewall.

[israndy]

I was posting a bunch of Qs to Airstream today. They helped with the key issue, as I posted, but I thought I would document the other questions.

The bottom of my Airstream Grab Bar is missing and though they said there is no stock of the kind of grab bar I have, they did point me to the manufacturer.



The manufacturer is Fleming sales Co and their part number is 6000LE.

The Sky Deck has safety rails that are raised during the setup and lowered for transport. They hold the benches and door and grill from moving in the wind. The driver's side actuator is frozen. Airstream informed me that the vendor part number is 85151-609 and it is made by Motion Systems Corp. I sent them email, apparently they do sell replacement motors, but I am not sure of the exact model, I hope they can figure it out.

I also asked my mechanic to look into the leaky washer reservoir. Will be needing that during the upcoming rainy season.

-Randy

[PSchw]

I got the same antenna connection hanging around on mine.
The motor is also in stock at www.airstreamsupply.com.
I made small cooper pipe and with blow air I clean edge between roof and deck cover. I seam to have a few leak on the roof one right in the front and 2 around the stairway cover. There is no way to get to it on the passenger side maybe I have to take the whole deck apart.
Peter

[PSchw]

Got my new floor in looks great.

Wife does not let me take more picture as we just pick it up and we have a mess in there.
The floor goes all the way through to the bedroom including inside the closets new Capet on the walls too. They also resealed the stairs.
I may spend January in CA near Los Angeles for a job but bring the Skydeck. How far you from LA Randy?
Peter

[israndy]

Well I spent the morning hours scouring that website and I cannot find the lift motor. I do find the mechanism, the actual lift portion, without the actuator:
POWERLIFT ASSY-SAFETY RAIL 390SD

I am not having a problem with my mechanism, little rusty, just need a replacement motor or actuator. Waiting to hear back from Motion Systems. If you see the motor on their site PLEASE post a link.

That is a nice floor, I am not unhappy with the peal and stick tile look linoleum, very easy to clean, won't absorb smells (like mold).

I have more leaks on the passenger side too, but I was in QUITE the downpour while picking up the RV and never saw anything inside. Perhaps they re-caulked it enough at the dealer, but I have lots of damage to the wall fabric, gonna give up on it smelling better by airing it out, and move on to removing it. If I had to remove the top it seems pretty easy, just phillips head screws. Would need a lift of some sort to take it off evenly, my mechanic thought 3 guys would be all it took.

You resealed the stairs, meaning you sanded off the old varnish? I need to do that too as my wood has water staining, I hope I can sand off.

I am in SF so going to LA as a walk, but I will be there in January for the Quartzite show, actually it's in AZ, but I pass thru LA on the way. Going to LA this weekend for the Pamona show, will be scary trying the grapevine, but I am sure there is nothing too wrong with the brakes, I just had the dealer looking at the RV.

[israndy]

OK, found the replacement lift motor. Got a hint from Airstream themselves and the folks they sent me to had the part still:

Motion Systems Corporation
600 Industrial Way West
Eatontown, NJ 07724
732-222-1800

"A 12VDC 6000 motor would be a 73463-400. They are $111.15. Also in stock and would ship in a day or two."

When it arrives I'll get it in and update everyone. Just wanted to put a note in for others who have this issue.

-Randy

[israndy]

Last week we had our first rain. Was quick, but enough. My mechanic is concerned that I get the RV covered as it has lots of water stains on the walls and a recent mold test revealed that it does have mold somewhere.

I bought a 40' x 20' tarp and unfurled it. I also bought some snap clamps to hold the tarp to the safety rails. I thought it would be held taught. It was naught. I checked in after the first rain and it had pulled the one safety rail that has no motor down and then acted as a pool liner and filled with rain water. I ran and got 2x3 to prop the safety rail up and some flexible pipe to raise the tarp. Used 25 feet of 1/2" plastic plumbing pipe, each end stuck in an umbrella stand at each end of the roof.

Sadly this didn't keep the next rain from collecting. With the seats up there was just too much open space and once part of the tarp dips the rain runs to it and then more collets there. So I put the seat backs down and tossed the snap clamps. I centered the tarp on the lowered roof and tied it to the wheels on one side and bungied it on the other. Rain returns tomorrow, we'll see! Perhaps this RV is just meant to be inside, except for the 12'6" height.

My mechanic saw all the areas with old sealant. He thought that might be where it's coming in. The guy I bought it from had it outside in the rain for weeks before I picked it up so I didn't expect a leak issue. I did find the lapping that covers the break from the flat side wall to the curve to the back and front is coming apart. It's a riveted in strip that has foam adhesive helping to keep out the moisture. There is one in each corner of the RV and three of them I can see inside. The worst one is likely above the door. It's only 4-5" long but it's right at the end of the roof gutter. All the rain that lands on the roof could go past this opening depending on how level the RV is. It's where most of my leak damage is, fabric is stained BLACK. Guess I'll know more as the rainy season arrives.

-Randy

[israndy]

Originally Posted by PSchw

Got my new floor in looks great.
They also resealed the stairs.

Do you know what color they used to reseal the stairs? I am thinking of doing that myself and I have less experience than the guys you paid.

I am continuing to try to figure out that ice maker, although I will likely be dumping my water tank soon, snow this weekend on the mountain tops. I took the RV for a night of camping as most of my experience so far has been boon docking. It gave me a chance to get my batteries all topped up and to try running the fridge on 110v. I have had the fridge running on gas and had to cool in an afternoon. I left it all night and it only dropped via ambient temps dropping overnight. So no ice making. The other ice maker didn't get cold either. I have lots of troubleshooting ahead of me.

Also discovered that none of my coax seems to be hooked to the entry in the power compartment. I ran coax from the campsite which tested good with my TV. Then I went to the three outlets, bedroom, windshield, and the basement area with the water pump. Just got snow on the channels that worked directly connected to the camp. Did I mention I have troubleshooting to do. Need to stop all the binge watching I am doing.

-Randy

[PSchw]

Not sure what they used for sealing the steps but looks OK some clear stuff. My coax does not work either. I used the one form the outside TV this will work in the bedroom i also have a extra coax cable which was used for the Dish and that is what I am using it for. If you have a Dometic fridge there is a recall on it but you have to pay for the repair. Mine does not go below 40 degree and mostly is around 40 to 50 degree. The freezer is doing fine.
You know a good place to stay for a months close to LA north side? I am being there in January.
peter

[israndy]

I have not explored LA. I am usually only there for a night so I stay somewhere expensive, or I camp in a parking lot. I am pretty cheap so I will find an RV dealer and then settle in about 6 pm on the street out front. Slides in.
When the crew arrives I often have until 8 am to hit the road before anyone notices I am there.
That only works if you are moving every day. If you are looking for a base from which to operate, to commute from, you will likely want services. I cannot recommend a place as everything I have looked into is expensive anywhere near LA.

Although you may just want services one day a week to refill and to dump. Then you just need a place to sleep the other 6 nights. I believe there are forest lands that are open to the public. The only guides I have found were for actual campgrounds. People post about "wild camping" but I have yet to find a guide. Sometimes I read anecdotal stories that end in "if I say where this pristine place I stayed is, others will ruin it". But there has to be a nook to stay down there that is off the beaten path. I have seen state parks with as little as $10 a night: Campground Directory and National Forest Campgrounds or California State Parks

Also check out Federal recreation, camping and tour reservation information - Recreation.gov

There is even a section on this site dedicated to finding great places to stay cheap: Boondocking - Airstream Forums

Thanks as always for the comparison notes between our units. I will let you know of any successes I have in fixing up the RV. I did get a new washer reservoir and replacement lift motor that I will install next time I am up. One step at a time.

-Randy

[TerraYacht]

re: fogged windows. My 2005 windows have gotten a lot worse over the past few months of mostly storage. My moho repair people in Hayward, Allied Trailer, said he has a referral to a window guy who removes the window, opens it and cleans the film off, then reinstalls it. I may call them in early spring but would consider using your link if it works well.

[P21932]

For Window repair I can highly recommend Dave Root...he did the window in my 2005 396 door and I am thrilled with the result. Quick, professional and a 3yr guarantee on the winfow. He is in Oregon but makes trips to California on occasion.

[israndy]

Originally Posted by P21932

For Window repair I can highly recommend Dave Root...

I may end up going that Root (). I did get the kit for cleaning the windows. It's $200+ and comes with a spray gun and directions. Had to go to home depot to get the cleaning supplies. BUT, it turns out the kit isn't for tempered glass. I was at the Pomona RV show the week the kit arrived and ran into a guy there who cleans LAs glass (like Dave does for Oregon). He explained that you cannot drill a hole into tempered glass. The tempering process is like vulcanizing of rubber. Changes it into a different material. So normally glass will bend and not break, tempering makes it break more easily, but also break into non-lethal pieces. So no shards or daggers on the ground after breaking.

When I complained about the tempered glass the kit guys then sent me a link to their extended directions to drill thru the frame of the window. Very delicate. If you touch the glass while drilling you will be looking at that scratch forever. But the same method will work for cleaning tempered glass at that point. The problem is it is now raining (Finally) in California, so I am gonna have to protect the RV while the window is out. The LA guy said he protects the window with carpet tape while it's out.

Oh, I also saw cameras mounted on the 4 sides of the RV that gave a top down view of what's around the camper. So you can back in w/o worry that you are going off course. Sweet!

-Randy

[israndy]

This makes me very happy:



-Randy

[PSchw]

Wow that is a nice license plate.

[israndy]

Originally Posted by PSchw

I still have the ice maker.
Peter

I finally figured out how to remove the ice maker. Just have to unhook the waterline and unscrew the adapter at the end and the waterline feeds back thru the ice maker just fine.



Looks like there is a LOT of space under the steps that could be taken advantage of. This is why the Nomad unit had ALL of the understeps converted to storage.

I took it home and plugged it in, thinking my problem was the short duration of generator run that never let it get cold. A week later in a 35 degree garage it was 70 degrees inside. I can see how it's not going to make ice like that. I may just need to hook it up to water or bypass the water switch. Gonna be doing some more troubleshooting.



What did you find with yours? Did it cool at all? If you still have it and are coming this way I would love to take it off your hands. It would be nice to have ice in the time it takes to cool the fridge. I would run it times when I don't wanna wait for or even run the fridge. So I like the ice maker idea.

For now it is starting to snow so I am gonna empty the waterlines out and fill with anti-freeze. I did find a wine chiller at Costco that is the exact size of the ice maker, and it's $200. If repairs on this are going to be more, I will likely go that way.

-Randy

[israndy]

Alan, those pics you posted on the Registry thread show you have ALL the side antenna that mine is missing. I assume the one you have next to the rooftop stereo is for that stereo only. There is another above the driver's window with a coil in it, is that for the CB? Lastly there is a TINY one above the passenger side window, any ideas what that is for?

Peter and I are both missing the roof antenna, if you get a chance I would love a close up photo of that so I can shop more for that.

-Randy

[israndy]

OK, so I realized that people may not be reading this thread as, although they may have issues like mine, they don't have a 2005 Skydeck like Peter and I have. So I started creating new threads that were easier to find.

BUT... if you are like my friend Fred, who originally went with me to Missouri to see the RV, you ONLY read *this* thread and you are missing all the other posts about the Skydeck. Sure right now you could just read the other current threads, but thinking of this as an archive to be accessed in the future, I will link to what I have been up to, so the threads are not lost in the mists of time:

Fixed my bad generator wiring, the lever to allow the captains chair to rotate, fixed the entry steps, figured out interior and exterior lighting, removed my old bedroom TV, fixed the locks and got replacement keys, and replaced the broken microwave.

Looking for entrance handle pieces, missing travel bars, oversized travel cup holders and replacement axel caps.

Thinking of installing a camera on the upper deck.

Looking for help with my cracking and leaking fiberglass roof and leaking rain water that lead to stained wall fabric and fiberglass delamination along with the sagging headliner and my rusty propane tank and my rusting chrome mirror arms, I broke the over-door awning, and need help removing the old University of Miami bus wrap and the Invisibra that was on the front. Yes, this appears to have been owned by the UofM football team, but I don't know ANY details other than what was left in the paint:


This is a picture of where the bus wrap they
put on the RV bled into the silver paint.

Helped out with questions on batteries and a few others not worth linking.

Also check out the first Sky Deck post, registery of Sky Decks for thoughts from owners and where they are now, and the Airstream diesel pushers that are for sale.

[poppit]

Originally Posted by israndy

PSchw, I mean I scoured the internet and I never saw that. Saw a lot of them:

Attachment 240782

Attachment 240783


Attachment 240789

Attachment 240790

Attachment 240791

Wonder if there is a database of these somewhere..




-Randy

Hi Randy the red one in the photos above use to be mine if it is the one you have it may still have red cushions in the dinette area. I do hope it is not the one you have as it leaked from the roof corners. It was a great old girl I used it for hiring out to shows sold it to stingrv rv in the uk , they did some repairs and a respray and sold it to some in Holland, it ws soon back up for sale they got it back lost touch after that. I do hope it is not this one I was told there is only 6 still running. I had it in 2009-or 10

[israndy]

Wow, first time talking to an old owner. So you took the hit, or you also bought it used and the guy before you took the hit?

Mine is not red and tan, mine is red and metallic grey, plus it was in the US, not the UK. Cannot imagine how hard it must be to import one across the pond.

I too think about renting mine out, once I get it all ready for use I will likely not be in it every weekend so why not. I don't know of another in California.

It really is hard to say how many were made. I believe I have to send an email to Airstream and see if they have a figure. I only just found out that the tow vehicle was one of only 200 such color Honda Insights ever made.

I got the Skydeck as I wanted to be able to go outside but not by leaving the RV. When Country Coach came up with the Veranda that is what I wanted, but they started a 1/4 $mil and went up, way up. Even now they are similar in price despite taking the company out of business.


2009 COUNTRY COACH VERANDA 300 Concord, OH $268,000

Hopefully the Sky Deck will stay valuable and I can recoup some of the cost of fixing this one up... I still have all the features of a fancy diesel pusher with all the space of the Veranda, just not the fancy appointments.

-Randy