QC/Purchase report 2007 Safari SE

[3DogNight]

December 12,2006 we took delivery on our 2007 20' Safari SE LS in Draper Utah. We live in San Diego, California. Primary motivating factors in dealer choice was a 23% savings in cost over our local dealer, a professional an accommodating staff, and last but not least we were on vacation and all of those Airstreams sitting on one lot looked so-o- neat. We had to at least stop and look.
The negotiating, design decisions, and choice of a long distance dealership were all made prior to our discovery of Airstream Forums and the numerous threads concerning year to year QC and general information. With AS Forums as the main tool we then began our belated research into AS trailers, hitch choice, potential QC problems, etc. Upon arrival at the dealership for our Pre-Delivery Inspection we would be ready with our check list put together by Slowolf [thanks] half expecting to find cabinets askew, plumbing leaks squirting, Marathon tires disintegrating before our eyes, and probably two turtle doves pooping. turned out it wasn't that bad, in fact pretty darn good.
Being somewhat anxious we were ahead of schedule and stopped by the dealership a couple of days early, shortly after the unit had arrived on the lot. They allowed us to check out our Safari prior to their dealer prep. Interestingly, I discovered that AS trailers are delivered across country to the dealership on their own wheels behind a TV. The road grime was still on the exterior. Sawdust had vibrated out of the nooks and crannies and was noticeable in the interior. Plastic lens caps on the under cabinet lights and bathroom ceiling were loose and did not fit properly. Some areas of the cabinet work were not fit to the ceiling contour as close as I am accustomed to in boat work but were acceptable. The articulating arm of the television was not secure in the stored position and looked to be a problem with the first BLM road excursion. Fresh water tubing to the galley vibrated with actuation of the water pump. At PDI the above items were noted and taken care of by the dealership. They also installed an Equal-I-Zer 1000/10,000# tow hitch, a Reese nose hitch, and road tested and adjusted the Prodigy brake system that I already had in place. This was all included in the original purchase package. Other than talking us into an extended warranty [ something I usually avoid], tax and license there were no add on fees.
We now have two trips under our belt with about 1200 road miles total. Things we are not 100% happy with include the following: the thermostatically controlled fans on the floor furnace as well as the heat pump are noisy and not conducive to sound sleep for anyone other than the deafest of the older guys. The metal interior skin of our SE model, although classic and beautiful, is quite cold especially to bare buns in the middle of the night. As can be ascertained no major problems have surfaced to date. Our three English Setters also seem to be content with plenty of room to stake out sleeping areas other than ours. We are happy campers but remain vigilant.
IMHO quality control for our particular unit was excellent. The dealership, Ardell Brown, uses certified AS techs. Their service department was clean and well run, Tyler Martindale, the sales rep that handled our purchase was not aggressive and gave us a fair deal if not a great deal. The whole process was a positive experience. I feel we bought not a perfect but a quality product. I have no reason to doubt similar experience when and if problems crop up.
3DogNight

[moosetags]

Congrats on your new 'stream, and thanx for the report on the QC and the dealer that you bought from. This is information that we all want to know.

[janetb]

3 Dog, We've also been pleasantly surprised by the minor quality glitches in our 2007 Safari SE LS. It's been very comfortable, and our concerns have been easy enough to fix on our own, without having to go back to the dealer. A new surprise today was noticing that a window screen had an loose edge and had pulled away about 4 inches. Annoying, but we do have a tool that can be used to fix it, so we'll give it a try. (Note that I use the royal "we". I actually do nothing that requires thought or skill...)
But in general, things seem to have been done in a pretty conscientious manner, and our dealer--Dave Morse at Toscano RV--seems to "stand behind the product", and we hope we're more the rule than the exception.
Hope you have many trouble-free days on the road!
Janet

[SilverToy]

3Dog -

Welcome!!!

Glad that you found ASF and that it and the people here have been helpful to you, so far!!! Hope that your experiences continue in that vein.

Thanks for posting all your experineces with your new AS, so far. I would ask you that you continue to post with ALL YOUR EXPERICENCES - + and - , as they really are a great help to others, in tracking JC work, Dealer experiences, QC follow-up, etc... and the million minutiae that make up the entire AS experience.

Please DO continue to post, and send along some photos when you get a chance!!!

Peace

Axel

[Mike Lewis]

3 dog---congrates on your new unit.. we have had 3 new as's in as many years. each has been better than the one before --present is an 06 classic.
our experience has been it takes about a year for us to work out the little bugs that are either there and we didn't notice or those that crop up with use. after that things seem to "settle in with use" and they are very reliable. As to noise-- don't expect an rv to be the sound level same as a home. here you have everything mechanical in one room where at home these are spread out over the entire house..---enjoy and many of these things {sounds} become less noticeable. ---pieman

[Rhodie]

Congrats and glad you are happy with your purchase and the overall quality, it is nice to see the many positive posts regarding these new trailers (ours included) as lord knows people will post the horror stories as well (as I'm sure Thor is aware) so everyone is a winner here.

Enjoy and get some good bun warmers

Barbara

[SilverGate]

Thank you, 3Dog Night, for your detailed QC/Purchase Report…
On your 2007 20’ Safari SE LS… Congratulations!

Fascinating to read description of appearance of trailer before prep.
Sorry you got the extended warranty before opportunity to read:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f351/extended-warranty-27202-2.html?highlight=warranty

Glad to hear no major problems have surfaced…
And that your three English Setters are content.
We hope our Pug and Corgi will also be so content…
In our 2007 23’ Safari SE LS just off the production line.

Also glad you were happy with your dealer and service dept.
We have encouraged our dealer to display their service tech’s AS Certifications!

I’m glad the whole process was a positive experience for you.
Your report has inspired me to also post a QC/Purchase Report…
Upon acceptance of our trailer.

Happy New Year and See you on the road, neighbor!
SilverGate

[SilverCabin]

It's great you found us, and please keep posting your experiences + or - as SilverToy said. We just picked up ours before Christmas. We're learning every day from reading the various postings.

And lube that Equalizer per the instructions. It quiets down and it doesn't affect the performance at all. We move about nicely now without the noise of a machine shop following us.

[dmac]

It sounds like you got a good price on your unit... 23% discount is on the upper end of what we hear.

I wondered if the metal skin inside a CCD-type trailer might be cold. For this reason, and the cost savings, we bought a standard Safari.

The noise from the furnace/AC/heat pump is a problem... but exists with most RV's. The furnace is the quietest, at least in our trailer, because it is located far away from the bed and enclosed within a cabinate.

You are lucky to live in an area where you can use your trailer all year!

[Silvertwinkie]

Great info... I would put the month and year of build and your observations here, so that there is a central spot for folks to look for data on the '07s:

http://www.airforums.com/forum...l+year+quality

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by 3DogNight

Things we are not 100% happy with include the following: the thermostatically controlled fans on the floor furnace as well as the heat pump are noisy and not conducive to sound sleep for anyone other than the deafest of the older guys. The metal interior skin of our SE model, although classic and beautiful, is quite cold especially to bare buns in the middle of the night.

Interestingly enough I've never been in an RV where I considered the fans quiet. So no surprise there.

Now your point about the metal interior skin. You are the first person who has ever stated this to me. I've got a fuzzy walled Classic and the bare wall look on these newer units has always made me feel that cold will radiate off that wall faster than my fuzzy walls. Obviously my feelings are correct.

Jack

[Fyrzowt]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

Interestingly enough I've never been in an RV where I considered the fans quiet. So no surprise there.

Now your point about the metal interior skin. You are the first person who has ever stated this to me. I've got a fuzzy walled Classic and the bare wall look on these newer units has always made me feel that cold will radiate off that wall faster than my fuzzy walls. Obviously my feelings are correct.

Jack

I saw one other post earlier in the week that refered to cold bare walls.

3Dog,
Thanks for a post that appears to be fair and balanced. Detailing problems is OK, along with what is right as well. Sometimes other folks have posted a laundry list of items that IMO is just not realistic for any kind of travel trailer. Thanks for not doing so.
I'm glad to see some satisfied customers out there, hope the issues you do have are resolved.
Dave

[SilverCabin]

Originally Posted by 3DogNight

The metal interior skin of our SE model, although classic and beautiful, is quite cold especially to bare buns in the middle of the night.

Hmmm.... Haven't experienced that yet

[Denis4x4]

As a Durango resident, we found the best deal in 3DogNight's backyard, Revolution RV in Santee!

QC issues were non-existant. For whatever reason, plumbing fittings were only hand tight. We had a complicated AV system dealer installed with only one glitch which was quickly fixed.

I've owned quite a few RV's and the AS exceeds expectations. The only unit that ever came close was a Featherlight gooseneck car hauler with living quarters.

[5cats]

Originally Posted by Denis4x4

As a Durango resident, we found the best deal in 3DogNight's backyard, Revolution RV in Santee!

As a San Diego resident, and recent customer of Revolution RV in Santee, I can confirm these folks do provide great deals. John Rushie, the sales manager, was great to work with.

But be warned...

...everything that followed the actual sale can only be described as a complete nightmare. I cannot recommend this dealership for any Airstream purchase. Believe me when I say for folks in this area it's worth any amount more to buy from the folks at Southwest Coaches in Irvine, or any where else, for that matter...

...finally, after nine weeks of wrangling with Revolution RV since taking delivery, we have come to a conclusion of sorts with the problems caused by the service staff there -- enough anyway so that I can now tell our sad sad story of dealer negligence and incredible incompetence, which I plan to post to the forums this weekend in a cathartic attempt to achieve some closure from the ruined delivery of our first RV, a brand-new custom-ordered Airstream. (A little teaser.)

All it not lost: the trailer is fabulous, with very few rather minor issues (like the oft-reported missing two inches of caulking below the shower door). We're very happy with our Safari, and (starting now) look forward to serious enjoyment with it

Cheers,
-jd.