shock and awe

[Genebuilder]

So where is the trailer, Zoe? Y’all are being spoofed…

[Jimingram55]

Unit has been at RV One in Greensboro, NC while repairs have been made.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Jimingram55

Unit has been at RV One in Greensboro, NC while repairs have been made.

Hi

So it got there after RV One took over and pretty much the entire service department went elsewhere. That can't be helping in this case.

Bob

[dznf0g]

Did you contact ford? Or are you letting insurance company handle? I used to perform the preliminary inspections for these types of cases for an automaker. This one would require a much more extensive expert investigation, but it would be worth getting ford involved.

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by Genebuilder

First pic is totally destroyed truck. Third pic is singed truck hooked to a trailer which one is yours?

look at the picture on post 1, the wrecked truck is elevated on a flatbed with the Airstream on the ground being towed behind the flatbed. The third picture above shows the rear end of the same truck, now on the ground, probably at the storage lot.

I had to revise my post after going back to post 1... easy to miss!

[Foiled Again]

To the OP. This is awful, but if you got out alive and didn't get severely burned that is the best news possible. I think the dealership definitely let you down, and the factory ran a close second.

Unfortunately, this kind of crap is industry wide, and you could easily jump into a worse situation with any other brand. Even switching to a "legendary" Prevost motorhome might be as disappointed.

A "Great Truth" I learned from this forum in about 2007-2008 is this:

Airstream does not manufacture trailers, they ASSEMBLE trailers. Ditto for the vans.

I'd bet a modest amount that a decent propane supplier could assemble aluminum 40 lb. tanks to be identical to Airstream specs. (Wouldn't be surprised if some outfit in Elkhart Indiana does this for 10 other brands of trailers already.) And it is highly likely that the couch isn't wholesaled in the USA from Elkhart too.) Can your insurance Company assist with the research?

It isn't personal, ask me about re-coring my refrigerator 3 times to fix the problem. Maybe we should all buy cheap junk trailers and recycle them at 2-3 years old.

[atxsunshine]

Originally Posted by Genebuilder

First pic is totally destroyed truck. Third pic is singed truck hooked to a trailer which one is yours?

It’s the same truck. My guess is the bed didn’t catch as much as the rest of it because there wasn’t much to burn like seats and carpet etc. it spread and caught to the AS

[Bueno]

“The aluminum truck burned to the frame, from the front bumper to the rear, burning and melting everything in between. We retreated to a safe distance and watched the carnage.”

Was your truck a gas engine or diesel engine? Have they determined the cause of the fire? That sounds like a very scary situation.

[Jimingram55]

The issue with the 2018 Ford F250 DIESEL is a moot issue. I've been paid fairly by Auto Owners Insurance company and replaced with a half ton gas Tundra.

The volunteer FD arrived in time to put the fire out and by that time, the fire had spread to the bed if the truck. The AS never caught fire, it was the heat from the truck fire that scorched the front of the AS and did the damage.

I plan to speak with JC this week and plan on scheduling a RV inspector that operates in the vicinity of RV One to review its current condition.

I find most of your comments helpful and those comments are appreciated.

[ROBERT CROSS]

It appears it may have been a concern even before it hit the dealer showrooms.



Bob
🇺🇸

[fastrob]

jimingram55,
Are you thankful? I would be, you are very lucky to have escaped unharmed..
The Airstream, like the Furd is replaceable, they make them every day.
I call them Stealerships, don't matter the brand, like people, damn few good one's out there, except you and me of course, wink, wink, nod, nod.

[DonRich7878]

Originally Posted by Genebuilder

It’s interesting to read nothing about your tow vehicle and how that was handled. New vehicle? Ironic that aluminum truck burned to the ground, aluminum trailer intact.

No fuel in truck? No explosion?

No mention of wiring issues. Sofa inside melted but batteries, wiring, plastic window shields all OK? No aluminum buckling if front from heat intense enough to melt sofa inside. Propane tanks empty? Intense heat would have set them off.

Worth of an evening news segment. Like to hear more….

While Diesel fuel will burn plenty hot enough to melt aluminum, it doesn't explode like gasoline. It sounds like the tanks were damaged in the fire, but all modern propane tanks have a safety pop off valve to prevent explosive rupture of the tank.

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by DonRich7878

While Diesel fuel will burn plenty hot enough to melt aluminum, it doesn't explode like gasoline. It sounds like the tanks were damaged in the fire, but all modern propane tanks have a safety pop off valve to prevent explosive rupture of the tank.

Gasoline vehicles don't explode either. That's a Hollywood sensational "fix".

They my go "woof", but most of the lines melt way before the tank burns, releasing any pressurized vapor during a fire. Only vapors burn, liquid gasoline won't. You could literally put a burning match out in liquid gas if the temperature were low enough (very cold, don't try this at home).

[civeng99]

Originally Posted by Jimingram55

Here are some of the pictures of the fire. We chose to drive home from Roanoke in a rental the next morning with as many personal belongings that we could carry. The AS was moved from storage to the dealer 2 weeks later.

It's a 4 day round trip from where we live if we were to visit the trailer. To this point in time, we have not yet made that trip.

We aren't looking for pity but there seems a lack of compassion with some of the remarks and questions.
Our purpose in writing was to solicit solid advice on our situation and don't find a litany of "what happened" questions helpful.
Some of the questions are difficult to answer since we haven't seen the unit since the end of May.Attachment 424018Attachment 424019Attachment 424020

Hot diggity. Have a buddy whose brothers F350 burned like that. Crazy enough a short circuit in the heated drivers seat.

You’re safe. Easy to say when it’s not you but…

[AirParkOnly]

I doubt this is going to be re-assuring in any way, shape, or form. But, you are not alone. I experienced a similar about of seeming unreasonable back and forth between the dealer, myself, and Airstream directly when my refrigerator in a brand new Globetrotter that was not properly mounted/secured completely fell out and damaged a lot of things in the process.

I feel for you. My loyalty is constantly being tested.

Why the buyer has to be the one to initiate and negotiate big repairs (under warranty or otherwise) between the dealer and Aistream and keep them talking and being aligned is mind-bogglingly depressing.

You have my sympathy and my empathy.

[DrivingDan]

Makes me think of how people freak the few times that an EV has caught fire, whereas it happens to gas cars so much it’s unfortunate but not otherwise not notable.

EV griping aside like others sorry this happened. I saw an interview on YouTube recently with the Airstream CEO - RV Insider? Some RV trade mag, anyhow he was talking about the ‘5 Rivet Service’ and how the priority was to get all the dealers certified with this. I don’t know about the program but having worked for CEO’s for many years the way he was talking I could tell that in CEO-speak that service was a known problem that they were focused on fixing.

Otherwise from the factory perspective - I also have always worked alongside production lines. The real problem for them is that they have a queue their filling, it’s probably not that the don’t respect you as an existing customer (probably very much not so), but just that they can’t do everything and the line is set up for efficient construction. So to ‘slip in’ parts for you would probably stop up the entire line, since they have it optimized for building units in one go. They put out a YouTube video recently where you can see this production line.

So the real problem is that maybe they need to have a repair inventory. But I bet that there has been so many changes over the years that doesn’t make sense. OK what about a group dedicated to meeting these kinds of orders? Probably not enough business to be viable.

Long story short - I would guess the problem isn’t that the don’t want to help, but the just don’t have a good solution to get the parts you need.

Evidence for this is we we went shopping at our nearby dealer the other day. He told us that the back hatch is a 9 month wait, because it’s popular and they don’t have the production line set up yet. So they have to do them individually … illustrating the point that it takes time, money and effort to set up any new production.

[fastrob]

Been thinking about this, goes to my roots, as a thrifty soul.
Get a Vintage Airstream, if it is big enough tow it with a 12 valve Cummins diesel, cheaper than new but by no means inexpensive to do it right.
Still have my old Tradewind and 12 valve but mostly use the Class B Promaster, comfortable, panoramic driving view, 20mpg, stealth, parts availability pretty good. I can park, camp anywhere.