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BoldAdventure · 11-29-2014, 03:42 PM

Airstream is shifting the liability and responsibility to you the owner. If you didn't like that, you shouldn't of bought one. But it's actually not uncommon. Doesn't seem like anyone is warranting a Travel Trailers longer than 2 years. You also cannot expect this to have a warranty like a car. Plus most car makers only provide power train warranties that go for a number of years or miles, most of the rest of your car is only promised to work right for 2 years.

kb7our · 11-30-2014, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

I think AS could offer a longer period of protection from leaks if the buyer agreed to have an annual inspection at a dealer?

Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

Now this makes sense! Come one, AS, get with it! The leak issue is currently the biggest concern we have with our purchase consideration moving from a Class A. I would not mind taking the unit in to a dealer for an annual moisture inspection to mitigate this risk and opting for a longer period of factory warranty protection renewable every x years as long as inspections and maintenance were done. Even better, add some proper drainage and coat or change the flooring material to eliminate most of the problems.

Don.44 · 12-01-2014, 06:18 AM

It seems to me that the major issues with the Air Stream RV could be corrected with a few cents worth of wood preserative and a little calking . Why do they want to risk their reputation and future sales to save A few cents . The additional cost could be added to the cost of the AS or make it an option when purchasing the AS . I will never understand their reasoning . I hate to have mine outside out of the garage on a rainy day.

eheffa · 12-01-2014, 06:36 AM

I agree with you Don.H in that it wouldn't cost them much to prevent most of these issues...

I do, however, think that the real cost of "doing it right" is not so much the materials.

Aside from the need for some obvious design improvements, (better gaskets, drainage etc.) the number one issue affecting my unit has been poor workmanship.

Most of the leaks that have caused me significant grief were all because the guys on the assembly line failed to complete their proper job. No caulking present or hand cut holes that were off the mark created significant conduits for water to enter the unit. These should have been noted and remedied before they were covered up.

When you pull out the cabinetry and find a mess of rivets, wire ends, aluminum cuttings and left-behind tools, you get the impression that the quality is only skin deep in some respects.

This is a quality control issue. Somehow these defects and lack of cleanup are not being caught at the factory. I suppose better processes (more jigs and automated cutting) and more inspections would cost them in terms of productivity but how much in lost sales has this issue cost them? Short term thinking IMHO.

Now that I've torn my unit apart & rebuilt it, I'm happy to keep it.

-evan

TXMYTX · 12-02-2014, 10:27 AM

Welcome to the Club!

FLMarine · 03-18-2015, 07:43 PM

Well, it's about nine months after I first discovered a soft floor and it's still soft. Not fixed yet, but I have decided that this is my last Airstream and I will tell everyone I know and meet never to buy an Airstream after the way I have been treated by them.

After contacting customer service at Airstream over the summer of 2014 I explained that I was full timing and couldn't have my trailer fixed because of my living situation, but I wanted to get on record that I was having issues and see if they could help me. Nope, there isn't an issue with soft floors in Airstreams I was told that only owners who don't take care of their trailers have soft floors.

I was told to take my Airstream to a dealer to see what the issue was. I called up a local dealer and explained to them that Airstream told me to have them see what the issue is. I explained to the dealer my living situation and I couldn't leave it there, and they said bring it over. After bringing it over to the dealer I was told I would have to leave it for three weeks for them to pull the floor up. Nope, a waste of $300 in fuel and camping charges.

I called Airstream back and the customer service rep couldn't even remember our conversation from a month prior. I said in a couple of months I'd be ready to bring it up to the factory. They blew me off saying maybe they could help me out if it wasn't my fault, lol. I called back in December and said I was ready to bring it to the factory. I was told by the customer service rep that I would be called back to schedule an appointment. Never got a call back.

Since then I got out of the Marines after 12 years of Active Duty and have been trying to find a job so I didn't have time to deal with taking it to the factory over the winter. I was also a bit pissed off at Airstream for blowing me off yet again. I just called Airstream again a couple of days ago and talked to a gentleman higher up than customer service and while I initially was glad I was able to talk to someone after thinking about the conversation he was a condescending prick towards me. June was the first time available to get the trailer fixed and I made an appointment, but I will be canceling in the next couple of days.

I knew I bought my Airstream slightly used and out of warranty, but to have a 5-6 year old almost $70k Airstream having a soft floor with many others having the same issue is unacceptable in my opinion. I didn't want a free repair, but I wanted Airstream to be fair to me. Nope, they treated me like crap and gave me vague statements about what they would do to help out.

The condescending attitude I got is enough for me to never give a penny to Airstream again. I will not take my Airstream up to the Factory and I will do my best to discourage anyone from ever buying one. My Parents owned three Airstreams in the 80s, my brother has owned two, and I bought mine at the age of 31. I also have a good friend who has an Airstream that he is about to sell because of the corrosion issues. I have a good 30-40 years of Airstreaming left in me and they have lost a customer who would have bought at least 2-5 Airstreams over that time. Good job losing future business Airstream.

I love the Airstream community, but I hate Corporate Airstream. Between the corrosion issues, the soft floors, and lack of help from Airstream I am done with Airstream. I will find a good dealer to fix my soft floor, but I will never deal with Airstream again. All I wanted was some help from Airstream and to be treated with respect, but I guess that was too much to ask.

ROBERTSUNRUS · 03-18-2015, 08:47 PM

Hi, FLMarine; After reading your long story, it seems to me that you are a very difficult person to deal with. Also it seems as though you have an attitude too. Airstream owes you nothing. I'm also surprised that the forum moderators haven't deleted or censored a few choice words that you used in your post. I'm sorry that you have a bad floor and don't wish that on anyone. Maybe you need to fix it yourself and move on. Sad to say, but right now, losing a customer won't affect Airstream's business at all.

Mom always said to use sugar instead of vinegar.

FLMarine · 03-18-2015, 09:11 PM

Hi, ROBERTSUNRUS;

I'm not a difficult person to deal with, but after spending a lot of money on my Airstream to be treated like I am crap just because Airstream has a backlog of customers is not a good business plan. As for my choice of "word" it is not that bad of a word. It seems you are easily offended and don't deal with conflict very well.

I know Airstream owes me nothing, I stated that when I mentioned I bought my Airstream used out of warranty, but to have a quality product that needs $3-6k repair needed when it is only 5-6 years old is unacceptable. There has been over 56k views on this thread and it is apparent there is a defect with Airstreams in relation to soft floors. If Airstream was a stand up company it would help it's customers with this issue, but they don't and blame the problem on their customers.

Your mom may have said to use sugar instead of vinegar, but in my experience over three deployments overseas that doesn't work in the real world. The way I am treated by a company is directly correlated in the way I will spend my money in the future and give my opinion of them.

duncans · 03-18-2015, 11:32 PM

I don't understand why the Airstream Company, Thor Industry, doesn't use marine grade plywood as the standard subflooring. This just seems so basic for such a frequent issue. Rather, it's not does my Airstream leak, but when will my Airstream start leaking?

gandttimes · 03-19-2015, 12:25 AM

Just be happy they don't make aluminum boats!

George

Captain Hank · 03-19-2015, 07:18 AM

FLMarine,

I had a similar experience. If I can be of any help to you. You can send me PM. I live in SC.

TXMYTX · 03-19-2015, 10:10 AM

I agree FLMarine...Had the same experience...I read your comments as both appropriate and reasonable....Thanks!

bobzdar · 03-19-2015, 10:40 AM

How do you expect them to fix it without leaving the trailer with them? Doesn't make sense, and that seems to be what started you off on this whole 'bad service' thing, that you refused to leave the trailer with the dealer they sent you to. I understand you're full timing it, but you have to expect a repair at some point...

FLMarine · 03-19-2015, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobzdar

How do you expect them to fix it without leaving the trailer with them? Doesn't make sense, and that seems to be what started you off on this whole 'bad service' thing, that you refused to leave the trailer with the dealer they sent you to. I understand you're full timing it, but you have to expect a repair at some point...

I couldn't leave the trailer with them when I first noticed the problem over the summer. I was able to leave it with them in December now that I am not full timing anymore, but they did not call me back to schedule an appointment even after I called several times, left messages, and was told I would be contacted by someone to schedule an appointment.

It's their lack of customer service and attitude that it's the customer's fault that I do not like. Take a look at this thread and how many trailer's have issues with floor rot and tell me it is all our fault and not Airstream's. There are many others on this thread who have had similar dealings with Airstream's customer service or lack there of.

DoubleNickel · 03-19-2015, 10:22 PM

The recurrent theme in this thread is AS's "blame the customer" approach to a known latent defect. Same rotting floor problem occurs over and over and over , same lame response from AS. Instead of stepping up, admitting they pushed out trailers that weren't sealed properly, and working with customers, they are taking the low road- deny and deflect.

The way AS chose to handle their lapse-of quality issue showed us exactly what kind of a company they were and was the primary reason why we sold our AS at a huge loss after only owning it a year. We paid a premium, expected a premium product with premium service and instead got a rotting hulk and a manufacturer that couldn't care less about their service, their image, or their product.

The love-struck, of course will disagree, but the facts speak for themselves.
Nearly 500 posts on this thread alone...

SeeMore · 03-20-2015, 04:02 PM

I follow the logic of "fix it timely without cost to the owner" if the trailer is still under warranty. Airstream not reacting to owners' cases and correcting assembler performance is inexcusable. However after that, it is the customer's burden and what an expired warranty delineates financially.

If Airstream supplied loaners during the down time for warranty service like high end auto dealerships, "Would that ameliorate some of the inconvenience and curb the vitriol?" Funding loaners certainly would add to the initial acquisition cost and that might result in a floor material change but not ultimately solve the water entry issue.

Some owners get educated enough to do the required maintenance and take corrective actions at the first sign of trouble. Others don't and feel sufficient disappointment to denigrate Airstream. The scenario doesn't change much in the SOB world and the incidence rate of rot is a lot higher among that other crowd.

Being disgruntled about water penetration is a RV commonality, maintaining shell integrity is the root issue. Maybe some day a flexible seam sealing product will be invented that lasts indefinitely and solves the problem, but then the complaint would shift to something else like delamination (or filliform in our case).

DoubleNickel · 03-20-2015, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeeMore

Some owners get educated enough to do the required maintenance and take corrective actions at the first sign of trouble.

Ok, I'll bite... Hmmmm, nowhere in the AS manual does it suggest or specify a service interval for you to peel out and discard the rubrail insert molding, drill out 27 rivets, remove the extruded aluminum molding strip and inspect to see if AS actually sealed the floor joint at the factory. I also didn't see where I needed to remove the furniture and fixtures , unscrew the floor edge molding and peel back the glued-down linoleum to see if the floor was getting wet. Unfortunately, for many 2006-2008 Safari FB Owners, the "first sign of trouble" is a soft, rotten floor. To suggest that this problem is due to improper maintenance is disingenuous and insulting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeeMore

Maybe some day a flexible seam sealing product will be invented that lasts indefinitely and solves the problem,

That's a bit condescending. The issue isn't a magic sealant. The issue is that AS didn't install any sealant- and then hid the wide-open joint with a molding not intended or specified to be removed for any kind of routine maintenance.

TXMYTX · 03-20-2015, 11:27 PM

Congratulations Seemore! It's apparent you've not had (or discovered) the problem yet.

eheffa · 03-21-2015, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoubleNickel

Ok, I'll bite... Hmmmm, nowhere in the AS manual does it suggest or specify a service interval for you to peel out and discard the rubrail insert molding, drill out 27 rivets, remove the extruded aluminum molding strip and inspect to see if AS actually sealed the floor joint at the factory. I also didn't see where I needed to remove the furniture and fixtures , unscrew the floor edge molding and peel back the glued-down linoleum to see if the floor was getting wet. Unfortunately, for many 2006-2008 Safari FB Owners, the "first sign of trouble" is a soft, rotten floor. To suggest that this problem is due to improper maintenance is disingenuous and insulting.

That's a bit condescending. The issue isn't a magic sealant. The issue is that AS didn't install any sealant- and then hid the wide-open joint with a molding not intended or specified to be removed for any kind of routine maintenance.

That's very well said DoubleNickel.

Airstream has totally ducked their responsibilities on this issue. Poor design and sloppy assembly practices gave rise to these failures. In many other industries this would prompt a recall; inside or outside of the warranty period.

-evan

DoubleNickel · 03-22-2015, 11:15 AM

latent defect

n. "a hidden flaw, weakness or imperfection in an article which a seller knows about, but the buyer cannot discover by reasonable inspection...... Generally, this entitles the purchaser to get his/her money back (rescind the deal) or get a replacement without a defect on the basis of "implied" warranty of quality that a buyer could expect ("merchantability"). Even an "as is" purchase could be rescinded if it could be shown the seller knew of the flaw."

It would be quite a stretch for AS to claim they didn't or don't know about this flaw.