What to look for on a brand new AS

[Mikebrady62]

Run 4 Beer,
Sorry for your bad experience!
Are the batteries not under warranty at this point? Other post have mentioned batteries as well but nothing on replacing them at the dealer. I will have to address this a head of time since the trailer is a 2019 model made in 2018.

[Mikebrady62]

Thank you all for taking the time to help us out! What a fantastic community we are joining. We are so happy to be a part the AS family. I hope I will be this helpful once I know more about AS.
You all will certainly make our experience a better one than without your help.
We are looking forward to seeing/meeting you in our travels!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

PDI depends very much on how good a dealer you have. For us it very much was *not* a "sign and drive" sort of thing. They spent over 2 hours walking through the trailer. In addition to that they spent another 30 minutes or so on the hitch (which they installed).

The next day (after trying to remember this and that), I'd guess we bugged them for another hour or so (5 minutes at a time). Was that stuff they missed or we simply didn't catch? Hard to tell.

Indeed this was after reading everything there was to read on the trailer. Every forum post on that model / that year was carefully gone over ahead of time. We had spent a day looking specifically at these trailers and asking all sorts of questions *ahead* of this process.

From what the tech's said, they spend a solid 2 days going over a trailer before the customer arrives. If you intend to do a *thorough* go over on the trailer, it probably will take you longer than that. Probably best to give the dealer a heads up if that is your intention so he can adjust the scheduling on the lot to accommodate. This time of year, I doubt there is a lot of traffic to deal with, still best to let them know.

Bob

[Runs_4_beer]

Originally Posted by Mikebrady62

Run 4 Beer,
Sorry for your bad experience!
Are the batteries not under warranty at this point? Other post have mentioned batteries as well but nothing on replacing them at the dealer. I will have to address this a head of time since the trailer is a 2019 model made in 2018.

It wasn't really a bad experience. I called the dealer, told them what I saw. They said to bring the trailer by. Within an hour, they had new batteries installed. The dealer was great. From their perspective, I don't think they would have been able to tell unless they popped the tops from the battery. They could have probably directed me to Interstate for warranty, but they took care of it.

[daleyocum]

Originally Posted by Mikebrady62

Run 4 Beer,
Sorry for your bad experience!
Are the batteries not under warranty at this point? Other post have mentioned batteries as well but nothing on replacing them at the dealer. I will have to address this a head of time since the trailer is a 2019 model made in 2018.

Now that you know about batteries and will quite possibly get yours replaced, know that Airstreams have a significant parasitic drain on the battery even when it’s in store mode. The battery will typically be dead in a few weeks (again.) The first thing to do if you are going to store it for a while is to either put it on trickle charge or at least install a battery disconnect switch (or disconnect the battery wire.)

Some remove the battery for the winter and put it on trickle charge in their garage. This thread might be of interest.

If you are not going camping in it right away, be sure the dealer has winterized it.

[cazual6]

Your walk should be no less than 4hrs. If it less, then you will miss something.

Open/Close. Fill/Dump, turn ON/OFF everything at least two times.

Take someone who owns an AS with you, maybe from this forum.

[DAHBABY]

Whatever you do, make sure to take the kitchen sink cover off before you travel. We didn't and by the time we got home, our vinyl floor was gouged. The sink cover is stored in the clothes closet. Also, check the edges around the table top, ours were very sharp and they fixed them when in for service. Good luck, we love our 2018 Serenity.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by cazual6

Your walk should be no less than 4hrs. If it less, then you will miss something.

Open/Close. Fill/Dump, turn ON/OFF everything at least two times.

Take someone who owns an AS with you, maybe from this forum.

Hi

In the world of education, there is a lot of data on just how long people can focus on a lecture. Anything over about an hour and the typical person's "capture rate" has dropped. At two hours, you have lost most people. By four hours .....

If you are going to do something like this for four hours, do it in four chunks with an hour or two of "rest" in-between each section.

Bob

[Dave18134]

Look for water damage. Particularly on the floor plan you have chosen, there is a well-known issue with water leakage at the junction of the rear trunk and the wall. Look for places where the vinyl flooring has lifted. Take a moisture meter and check carefully under the dinette and near the front door. look for any dark stains on the vinyl floor that won't wipe off with a damp cloth. They could indicate mildew under the vinyl. you are buying a 2019 late in the year so it was been stored outside in all types of weather all year long.

[Mikebrady62]

Originally Posted by Dave18134

Look for water damage. Particularly on the floor plan you have chosen, there is a well-known issue with water leakage at the junction of the rear trunk and the wall. Look for places where the vinyl flooring has lifted. Take a moisture meter and check carefully under the dinette and near the front door. look for any dark stains on the vinyl floor that won't wipe off with a damp cloth. They could indicate mildew under the vinyl. you are buying a 2019 late in the year so it was been stored outside in all types of weather all year long.

Dave 18134,
Thank you for this input!
Is the water coming in from underneath or the back of the trailer from what you have seen on this?

[Dave18134]

There are many threads are on the forums that describe water damage at the rear of these front bedroom trailers. Airstream's design relies on a caulk joint where the rub rail strip meets the body. if there is any Gap in that caulking, water can drip behind the rub rail and be diverted to the subfloor. Others have documented gaps in the seal between the top of the rear trunk and the wall of the Airstream where water can also slow to the interior and subfloor. Finally water can also enter along that route and be trapped under the floor above the insulation because of a waterproof vapor barrier that is on the insulation.
The first photo below shows the rub rail and the second shows the top of the trunk and a gap in the seal.

[Dave18134]

Here is a link to my thread the problem we found
http://www.airforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203284

[cicho69]

Originally Posted by drano

We bought a 2020 Flying Cloud:
Connections to water heater were barely finger tight. Spayed everywhere.

Screws mounting black water hose storage tube were over tightened breaking the mounts. Lost the whole storage pipe on the road trying to get it home.

Cabinet doors so out of alignment they bang into each other and would not close.

Under the mattress was over a cup of aluminum and sawdust.

Walk through was a joke.....dealer did not know thIs model.

Lack of care and attention at factory and lazy dealer

I agree.
My 2020 was also dirty, shavings of aluminum & sawdust all over. First time out camping, found the bath door couldn't be opened from the inside (wife locked inside). Main cabin door not adjusted and had rubbed a gouge in the lower threshold. Battery cables loose. The louvered screen in an upper vent was aligned poorly and only screwed in 1/2" from were it should have been seated.Winterizing valve was installed backwards, screws loose in panels and cabinets,etc etc. Very poor QC at the factory. Dealer walk through was also a joke. I had just sold a LTV Serenity and its quality was far superior. AS really disappointed me in their workmanship & QC!!!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

On a typical RV, it will sit on the lot for who knows how long. A variety of people will track through it doing who knows what. A full and thorough cleaning *is* the dealers responsibility. That's how the delivery process is set up. If you have this and that here and there, the dealer let you down.

Bob

[ORtraveler]

Originally Posted by eagletoo

2 days prior to pickup, have the dealer turn your refrigerator on. Then upon arrival, switch the fridge to propane.

Bring a flashlight so you can see leaks and imperfections under the trailer, into the various cabinets, under the bed platform, etc. You are looking for leaks and assembly line debris.

Go slow and be methodical. Lots of checkoff lists here in the forum. “Orientation” is the key search word.

Don’t let the orientation person rush you. He/she probably has other customers/duties to take care of. Tough noogies.

I wish we had carefully checked the underside of our Sport16. Ours is covered with corrosion all over the underside, connectors, nuts and bolts. We taking it in for service to hopefully address all of this. Other than the corrosion we’ve had no issues after 66 nights enjoying our Airstream.

[hunnerdog]

Find one that is two to five years old in excellent condition. You'll save a bundle and the original owner will have handled all the problem that it will take you the next two years to get corrected.

[stevejones]

Download the manual for your trailer from the AS site and read through it a couple of times before pickup. That way you’ll have a general understanding from the get go and may have questions about something you read.

During your walk through and “training”, if you can, have a second person take video with your phone for later reference. You will (should) get a lot of info in a short period of time so being able to watch later may be helpful for something you forget.

Check opening, closing, and locking of door. It is handmade and can be easily out of adjustment. From inside make sure the deadbolt and upper lock engage properly. If it does not work perfectly have dealer adjust. Be aware though that the dealer doesn’t necessarily know how to properly adjust it. Ours had to be worked on four times (two different dealers and two different techs at JC) before it was finally right. Vern, our favorite tech at JC got it perfect!

Have them fill fresh water tank using a water filter while you watch. Make sure there are no leaks while filling. We had a 2019 Flying Cloud 25 FBT loaner from Ultimate Airstreams that leaked from the fresh water fill. Once tank is full turn on water pump and run water out of a faucet and make sure works. Have them show you where the pump is (probably under wardrobe) and make sure there are no leaks in area of pump after it has run some. Flush toilet and make sure water supply behind toilet doesn’t leak.

They should supply you with full propane tanks. Open tank valves and check for leaks. Unless you have some sort of LP detector, use your nose and sniff around the bottles and lines for propane smell. Make sure all gas appliances work.

Ask if there are any recalls on your trailer and ask for a shop ticket showing they have all been taken care of. You may want to call AS before hand to see if there are any recalls rather than trust the dealer. You’ll need your VIN # for that.

You may want to bring an outlet tester and with shore power on test each outlet for proper wiring. Then with shore power disconnected turn on the inverter and make sure your TVs work. If you have a multi tester check the voltage at the inverter outlets. Should be around 120.

Most likely the dealer will fill your tires to 80 PSI. This will give you a real bouncy ride for trip home with an empty trailer. You may want to bring a tire pressure gauge and let some air out. I run at 65 PSI.

Congrats on the new trailer and happy Airstreaming!

Steve

[Atwebs]

There are several "levels" of what to look for in a new Airstream when you start out.

Start with what you know vs what you need to know. Even those who have had trailers before may need some help with various systems and how they work. We had issues with 2 zone thermostats and turing on the heater and a couple of things we couldn't figure out...a silly one was the cable on the TV -needed an experienced RB park worker to help us out. We also needed a review of septic systems and the best way to use them (we really didn't use them much on our other trailers)

There there are the things that shake loose or don't work quite right: cabinets, latches, door handles. Most are very easy to fix but a bit of bother, especially if the broken latch dumps everything from a cabinet on the floor several hundreds of miles down the road.

And finally, there are those things that really should never have been an issue, things that don't work properly. Not on the Airstream, but we had another new trailer and the batteries went totally dead the very first trip...dealer was not apologetic..."how sad, too bad" and we forked over the cost of 2 new batteries the third day out.

The first two levels are worked out by sticking near the dealer for a shakedown trip
and the last is just experience and a dealer who will help you out if something does go awry, especially if you are on the road and nowhere need help.

[lilboomer]

Lots of good advice given in my opinion. when we picked up ours we videod the entire orientation. More information was needed though. We needed to personally perform many actions to understand them from our perspective. Hence the advice to camp a few days near the dealer is important. We replaced the thermostat first. the OEM didn’t display current temp and setting it was too much guesswork. I found I didn’t know about inverters as well as I thought. We bought a 1000 when we should have bought a 3000. We did know to buy two Lithium batteries, but should have bought three. We found we needed to buy an external hood for our Fantastic fan so, if the top was accidentally left open rain would not get into the AS. I had to call several times to figure out that the inverter has a gfci that will pop occasionally and that it is under our bed near the batteries (front bed sport model). It isn’t easy to get to and can be hard to find in the dark. We also forgot to buy the Easy-Start units for the air conditioner. I think this is essential if not on shore power, and helpful even when on shore power. one of the reasons we wish we had another battery is that AC appliance wattage knowledge is essential and another battery in concert with a 3K inverter affords a bit more tolerance if you’ve added up your AC appliance requirements wrong when in a hurry. Think AC at a rest stop in arizona plus heating something in the microwave at the same time. You WILL become confident and delighted with your AS sooner. Keep reading the forums and asking lots of questions.

[MAJORJDB]

IMHO, the reality of buying the AS off the dealer's is that it is a crapshoot. Looking at it from the dealer's perspective, they most likely won't see you again (800 mile trip home from the dealer) and may just try to get you out the door. It may be/been better to have a dealership closer, so you can build a relationship and get better/timely service. You may have saved a few dollars, but you are spending $$ travelling to/from your point of purchase. If/when you have to take it another dealer for service, most likely you will be at the end of their appointment list as you didn't purchase it from them. I bought my AS used and in addition to saving money, the "new AS" bugs were already addressed. Many folks have already given you great advice on what to look for and all I can add is when you get home research/touch base with your nearest AS dealer for service and start building that "relationship".
Good luck and safe travels, Jim