Delivery Day, Overnight & Payment Timing

[dog_and_cat]

I have read a ton of very useful posts on this forum and feel super prepared to take delivery of our new Airstream next month. I have a question regarding the timing of when you should sign the final paperwork.

I will certainly not sign anything until we've done a complete review of all of the systems and a thorough inside/outside inspection. Any major issues will have to be fixed first. We expect to spend the night at the dealership.

I'm curious if your dealer allowed you to spend the night in your Airstream prior to signing the paperwork or did you have to sign the paperwork after the inspection but before an overnight stay?

It seems that ideally it would be:

1) inspection/walk-thru
2) correction of any issues found
3) overnight stay to identify issues missed on the walk-thru and general Q&A
4) correction of any issues found overnight
5) paperwork & payment

That seems like the right sequence to but I'm interested in what your experiences have been and what is reasonable to expect/demand from the dealer.

Thanks in advance.

[jcanavera]

My dealer did all the things you stated. In addition I got about 3 hours of an employee's time going through the operational side of the trailer. We stayed overnight with a full hookup and all the discrepancies we found overnight were corrected the following morning. (leaking shower enclosure). We signed the papers and arranged for our loan while the work was being done. The dealers service folks showed us the work they performed after the trailer was pulled from the service bay. In addition I negotiated a new hitch and receiver so our vehicle was prepped for the hitched receiver along with the trailer. They hooked up the trailer (showing us how to do this at the same time). They test drove the tow vehicle out on the Interstate to verify my existing brake controller was adjusted correctly and that the trailer hitch was performing properly. I accompanied the dealer during the test drive.

Biggest suggestion is that you truly use the trailer fully. Refrigerator, cooking, shower, furnace and air conditioning etc. This included setting up all of the awnings and taking them down.

FYI the dealer also included chilled champaign in the fridge and glasses!

Jack

[JMynes]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

My dealer did all the things you stated. In addition I got about 3 hours of an employee's time going through the operational side of the trailer. We stayed overnight with a full hookup and all the discrepancies we found overnight were corrected the following morning. (leaking shower enclosure). We signed the papers and arranged for our loan while the work was being done. The dealers service folks showed us the work they performed after the trailer was pulled from the service bay. In addition I negotiated a new hitch and receiver so our vehicle was prepped for the hitched receiver along with the trailer. They hooked up the trailer (showing us how to do this at the same time). They test drove the tow vehicle out on the Interstate to verify my existing brake controller was adjusted correctly and that the trailer hitch was performing properly. I accompanied the dealer during the test drive.

Biggest suggestion is that you truly use the trailer fully. Refrigerator, cooking, shower, furnace and air conditioning etc. This included setting up all of the awnings and taking them down.

FYI the dealer also included chilled champaign in the fridge and glasses!

Jack

You had a great dealer! I want to buy my next Airstream there.

[B. Cole]

Here's a tip I've heard at other forums.
Now, keep on mind with these, that these trailers arnt loaded into helicopters at the factory, and transported 1,000s of miles to dealers, like from Jackson Center ,Ohio Airstream factory to a dealer in Seattle Washington.They are transported or towed by drive away companies.
Sometimes chunks of ice in winter fall off bridges and hit the roofs.
Or they hit road debris and tear up the undercarriage.Or hail damage, etc.So, a ladder and a automotive creeper, will possibly come in handy for inspection.The dealer has both, because once you pull it away, it's yours..
Old ex trucker, I've seen it all.
Just sayin...

[Cyclist]

We bought and paid for ours in the fall (with financing arranged at the time) and the dealer agreed to store the trailer over the winter for free until the spring when we sold our house and bought a truck. They also agreed the warranty would not start until we picked up the trailer - in this case it was June.

The trailer was already prepped for us and we spent a full day going over the systems including hitching and a test drive with one of the technicians. We stayed overnight with water and electricity. We had no issues during the inspection but the next day after we left, we went to a nearby large abandoned parking lot to practice backing up. We heard a loud bang and couldn't find the source - until I checked the bathroom. The mirror had fallen and broke after a retaining clip had slipped. The dealer immediately went into overdrive locating a new mirror and we were good to go next morning as we were top priority (again spending the night at the dealer). We did spend the next couple of weeks camping nearby in case there were any issues. The only one was the dealer installed solar panel wasn't charging so we had a short trip back for a quick fix. Otherwise, we had no problems.

[dog_and_cat]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

My dealer did all the things you stated. In addition I got about 3 hours of an employee's time going through the operational side of the trailer. We stayed overnight with a full hookup and all the discrepancies we found overnight were corrected the following morning. (leaking shower enclosure). We signed the papers and arranged for our loan while the work was being done. The dealers service folks showed us the work they performed after the trailer was pulled from the service bay. In addition I negotiated a new hitch and receiver so our vehicle was prepped for the hitched receiver along with the trailer. They hooked up the trailer (showing us how to do this at the same time). They test drove the tow vehicle out on the Interstate to verify my existing brake controller was adjusted correctly and that the trailer hitch was performing properly. I accompanied the dealer during the test drive.

Biggest suggestion is that you truly use the trailer fully. Refrigerator, cooking, shower, furnace and air conditioning etc. This included setting up all of the awnings and taking them down.

FYI the dealer also included chilled champaign in the fridge and glasses!

Jack

Thanks. That's how I want my pick-up day to go. Maybe cold beer over the champagne but it's the thought that counts!