Greetings!

[TBRich]

Hi All...TBRich here...you can call me TB or Terry. New to this forum and a relatively new Airstream owner. We have a 2006 19' Safari Bambi SE LS (the one with the aluminum skin inside rather than cloth) purhased in March 07. We are in Tucson, AZ, and in the midst of our annual rainy season (called "monsoons" here). We love the Bambi, and have had only a few cosmetic issues, but now we find that when it rains heavily, we have a leak with water coming in through the crank-up TV antenna mechanism... about 1/4 cup's worth after a good rain drips from the crank. Also our GFCI is tripped regularly during the rain or even when being washed ...whether this is a related problem or not, I don't know. (Re the latter, I have tightened the exterior electrical outlet face plate and cover, which has a rubber gasket underneath it, but the problem persists.) I don't know if the two problems are related, but I am concerned about water getting between the outter skin and the inner skin. Any suggestions or is anyone else having this issue? I have an appointment with the local Airstrem dealer to "water-test" the unit and try to determine the source of the leak...but any info will help.

One more thing...on the interior aluminum skin, we've had a few pop-rivets pop off completely...the shafts are still there and can be see through the hole in the skin, but the flattened part has popped off. Has anyone else had this problem? Our dealer didn't seem too concerned and said he can simply replace those rivets and the problem wil be solved.

Thanks!

[TBRich]

Well I just looked through the "leak" sub-forums that I didn't know where there when I wrote this...so I'm on the right track, but if someone does know anything about this at this point, please do respond...

Thanks again...TB

[soldiermedic]

Welcome to le forums!

Your source for everything stream.

Steve

[dudebb]

Hi Terry,
Can't help you with your questions, just wanted to give you a big welcome to the forums and wish youluck with your new Bambi. You'll get some answers here for sure. The East is just waking up - give it a few more hours and I'm sure you'll hear from others.

[moosetags]

Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us.

We have a 2005 25' Safari, and have also had some leak problems. We had a leak from the skylight early on that was handled by the dealer. Then we went about a year an 20,000 miles without any leaks. Then, all of a sudden, we developed a leak from the Fantastic Fan in the living area and a mystery leak from a screw holding the upper curtain rail on the living area window. We are 300 miles from the nearest dealer, so we caulked the Fantastic Fan and the antenna rest. The hose test did not disclose ant further leaking, but we're waiting for the next hard rain.

We think that leaks develop from time to time as a result of the Airstream "bouncing" down the road.

Your GFCI problem may be caused by water getting into the outside 110 outlet. This would be the most likely suspect. It could also be a faulty breaker. This is fairly common with GFCI breakers.

[TBRich]

Thank you for your "welcome aboard" notes and comments on the questions I asked. I have taken them all into consideration, and the Bambi is now in the hands of the dealer so they can resolve the issues. This is Oasis RV Center in Tucson...they specialize in Airstreams and have been great to deal with, and I am sure they will get to the root of these little annoyances in short order... While hitching up this morning to tow it to the dealership, I commented that I wished we were hitching up to head out on the road again! We are definitely hooked...and find ourselves planning our next adventure before we are even home!

Thanks again, and happy trials!
TB )O

[azflycaster]

Oasis has a very good reputation and I am sure they will do a good job. I get alot of my parts from them when I am in Tucson.

The 4CU of the WBCCI had a rally in Tucson earlier this year. It was at Gilbert Ray and it was alot of fun. Great area, but like Phoenix, a great place to get away from in the summer.

[TBRich]

Hey Richard...thanks for the note...yes, Oasis has been great...and so is Gilbert Ray Campground...we have been there often (only once since we got the Bambi...before we had a 22' motor home...like the Bambi much better)... Also "yes" to needing to escape the heat these days. We were up in the Mormon Lake area in June just as it was getting hot everywhere in AZ...so much that we ended up heading on over to Show Low...Fool Hollow Lake State Park...a favorite haunt...for the rest of our week out. It was warm there, too, but at least we had AC!

TB )O