New member, liked my Casita better than new AS

[nvestysly]

For the OP:

You mentioned your previous trailer was a Casita and apparently it remained stationary too. Is your Airstream intended to remain stationary? I realize Airstreams have a "cool" factor but so do Casitas so I guess it was the combination of "cool" and a bit more room that led you to Airstream.

If you intend to remain stationary indefinitely why not consider one of the modern park models? I've seen them at RV shows around the country and they are well-suited for stationary living. Modern appliances, full-size bathrooms, laundry, living, etc. all in about 400 square feet. Probably cost less than an Airstream too.

on edit: OOPS! forgot to post the park model picture

[Bill M.]

Yes, Silicone spray is a good lubricant to use on the awning arms.

[nvestysly]

Originally Posted by Bill M.

Yes, Silicone spray is a good lubricant to use on the awning arms.

Here's a video that describes using silicone spray to lubricate typical points of sliding/rotation on the awning components. Don't forget to wipe off the excess silicone lubricant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMDV3qkgntw

and... a snip regarding the lift handles that were referred to in a previous post

[jscorbin]

Originally Posted by Mycroft

I have a 2023 30 ft Flying Cloud and have several issues ... the radio doesn't pick up any stations (my car next to it gets several AM and FM stations). ...

The TV antenna switch needs to be pushed on for the radio to work. We didn't know about this in a new Airstream, and seldom watch TV. We even asked a service guy at the dealer about it when arranging our first service, and he agreed that the radio antenna seemed to be missing. Discovered the switch on our own a couple of weeks later.

While this may be the least of your worries, it is certainly aggravating.

[Just RVing]

Happened to all of us that purchase a new AS. Lack of quality inspection! I advise potential buyers to look for a nice used one, Once you fix all the problems, then you will enjoy the AS and will not want to get rid of it!

Have fun camping!

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by GetawA-S

Mycroft,
I’m on the phone app, so I’m not sure what your home base is. By gnats, do you mean those miserable biting noseeums? They are very hard to deal with short of closing the trailer up and living with the AC on. Brushing pyrethrum on the window screens helps some. If they are getting around a closed skylight, that seems like a warranty issue. Make contact with Jackson Center. They may have suggestions for a fix or they MIGHT reimburse you for work done by a qualified local tech.
Regarding the awning, have you tried the caravan position? It won’t keep the rain showers off your square dance party, but it does keep the trailer cool and gives you a dry place to sit. It sounds like you are in the same place all the time. A ground auger for the pull strap would help keep the awning under control while you go from end to end.
Don’t forget about all the positive features that encouraged your purchase. Good luck!

Got the bugs under control with the disgusting but effective flypaper and then Zevo bug lights. Thanks for your encouraging words at the end—after several showers where I didn’t have to sit to wash my hair and a so-much-easier change of bed linen and other pleasantries that reflected my choosing the Airstream I can’t say I’m fully on board with it yet but I’m getting there.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by nvestysly

For the OP:

You mentioned your previous trailer was a Casita and apparently it remained stationary too. Is your Airstream intended to remain stationary? I realize Airstreams have a "cool" factor but so do Casitas so I guess it was the combination of "cool" and a bit more room that led you to Airstream.

If you intend to remain stationary indefinitely why not consider one of the modern park models? I've seen them at RV shows around the country and they are well-suited for stationary living. Modern appliances, full-size bathrooms, laundry, living, etc. all in about 400 square feet. Probably cost less than an Airstream too.

on edit: OOPS! forgot to post the park model picture

I looked at some park models in my campground and on-line but each of them had some negative that outweighed the Airstream. I guess the “wow” factor had more of an influence than I realized.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by AKNate

As another person said, if it’s a skylight and not vent, they must just be ending up there, but not coming from there. The interior seams around the skylight are just decorative trim - they aren’t meant to seal. All the sealing is on the outside. Many smaller gnat type things can go right through the regular holes in screens, so could be coming in your window screens or screen door. The screen door also could have gaps if it is bent or the felt thing by the latch is missing. We use an electric tennis racket to eliminate bugs that get inside. Works awesome.

The first thing I’d check is the valve on the hot water line under the sink and make sure it’s turned on. What model 30’ do you have (I’m guessing a FC30RB)? That might help in troubleshooting. Could be some winterization valve closed somewhere.

Removing a few screws should let you slide the radio out and check if the antenna wire is connected.

Good luck in tracking down the source of your issues. We had a few when we bought our trailer. The dealer left a winterization valve in the wrong position so the toilet fill water squirted instead on the ground. They also killed our batteries before we picked up the trailer new so they’d only last about 40 minutes when not plugged in. Also that felt thing on the screen door I mentioned earlier was missing. All easily dealt with once we figured it out. Unfortunately it’s pretty normal to have a few kinks to work out on a new trailer. The forum here is always a great help though.

Thanks for all the help.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by Cowbell

I have had the same problem with no hot water at my kitchen sink as well. When connected to city water my bathroom and shower, hot water worked fine but when I turn on my kitchen faucet, it does not trigger the water heater. I have found that there is not enough flow from my kitchen sink to trigger, the water heater. Some people resolve this by using their pump to pump out of their freshwater tank which always triggers it. One thing you can do is remove any pressure regulator that is located on your hose supplying water to the trailer. Your trailer is already equipped with a pressure regulator Within your wall of the trailer where it connects to the hose. Some locations where I have high water pressure at the campground. I have no problem with the water heater triggering when I turn on the kitchen faucet.

Good luck with your trailer. There is always a bit of a learning curve as a Airstream is very different. I love mine and I’m on my third right now. A friend asked me two days ago why don’t I buy a fiberglass trailer for half the amount? He doesn’t really understand and very hard to explain to him.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by Escape_Plan

Sorry to hear about your issues. Early on in the ownership of our airstream, we had a lot of small gnats getting in also and could not figure out where they were coming from. I climbed up on the roof and took the vent covers off the roof vents and discovered the foam inserts inside the vents were missing. I replaced those. But the bug problem persisted until we found an old banana in a pocket of a backpack on the wardrobe. Once we got rid of the pile of mush that used to be a banana, the bug problem stopped. Check your pantry, wardrobe, drawers for forgotten fruit and veg that may be a calling card for the bugs.

On the radio reception, make sure the boost switch for the tv antenna is turned off. With the boost switch on it improves your tv reception, but will kill your radio reception.

There was a friendly debate if the bugs were no-see-ums or gnats or fruit flies. In any case they were greatly reduced by the flypaper and Zevo bug lights got rid of the rest. Will check the boost switch for the TV antenna and try the other suggestions offered by others.

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by Thiss

Buy a 5/8 hose to get the water heater to be more predictable.

Thanks

[Mycroft]

Thanks

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by ricjones

I have wondered why we never get any radio stations in our 2022 23CBB. I also noticed in our 2109 it had a small black pole radio antenna. No such antenna on the 2022. Supposedly the radio antenna is in the tv antenna or one in the the same?

You have the new tankless hot water heater, likely the Girard brand. Lots of threads on the forums here with some solutions, both cheap an expensive.

But our kitchen sink hot water issue is not an issue if I have the pump on. Problem is that it needs water from the fresh tank to add pressure to the system. A little device called a ShowerMiser can be installed and it allows you to fill the fresh tank without using the outside fill connection, and also recycles all the cold water back to the fresh tank so it's now wasted. (https://showermiser.com/)

Other option as has been mentioned is to increase the city water pressure with a regulator change.

And I agree with others, all the issues are fairly minor and you should be able to mitigate them.

Does anyone know if it is a good or bad idea to silicone spray the awning arms? I find the biggest issue is they are hard to put up and down because of friction.

Thanks for the suggestions. See nvestysly’s reply above for info on spraying the awning arms.

[Jim J]

This video is very good on demonstrating the operation of the manual awning."[URL="