Advice: Calgary maintenance

[neildev]

Hi all,

We live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and are looking at getting an airstream - but with no dealers in the province I'm concerned about repairs and maintenance.

Does anyone know if there are shops that are qualified to maintain/ repair airstreams in Calgary?

We would not want to have to drive to another province to get it fixed!

thanks!
Neil

[HowieE]

With the exception of the inner and outer skin there is nothing unique to an Airstream. Any qualified RV dealer should be able to repair any of the appliances.

Now if you are considering a New trailer warranty work is a different question.

[cameront120]

Airstream of Spokane is 8 hours South of you. You could always go there for warranty work. This way you're driving to another State, not a Province!

[truckasaurus]

I'm still puzzled by the lack of Airstream support in Calgary. I know Bucars RV on highway 2 in Balzac was a dealer and I see a handful of newer units there every so often. I've had propane lines installed by Fraserway in Airdrie and a brake system by LonePine also in Airdrie. Lonepine gets my vote as a small operation with a nice sheet metal shop and an Airstream on their webpage :-)

Repairs and Services | Lone Pine RV

I think the nearest dealer would be TRX in Saskatoon, 6 hours away.

[handn]

Originally Posted by HowieE

With the exception of the inner and outer skin there is nothing unique to an Airstream. Any qualified RV dealer should be able to repair any of the appliances.

Now if you are considering a New trailer warranty work is a different question.

Good answer. Airstream parts are generic to other r.v.'s. I do a lot of work by necessity myself and I am not particularly handy. For everything else. I have an independent r.v. tech. He charges quite a bit less than the A.S. dealer. I can talk to him as opposed to getting information second hand through the service manager.
Ask around. I am sure there are honest, skilled techs in Calgary.

[Loeber]

Bucars has my '79-31' right now. According to airstream website, they are a service center. They are also doing a reskin on one right now. The WBCCI club is active in Alberta and have given me great advice and help this winter on the refinish of mine. Good luck with the hunt.

[helmsman]

Years ago, I was on an Airstream company caravan (Western Canada). We pulled into the field contracted for, on the outskirts of Calgary, only to discover the frame was broken. This was the verdict of the Airstream mechanic that traveled with the caravan. He contacted Airstream headquarters and was told that I should return my trailer to Jackson Center at my expense. He also checked locally and came up with a local truck repair facility. I believe the name was Standin's or Stanigan's, or something similar.

I towed the trailer to this facility. They told me "I would need to drop the belly pan myself before they could inspect the frame. They didn't have a place for me to do it. I found a trailer lot and upon asking, they pointed to a vacant area. I got my tools out and went at it.

I returned to the truck repair facility and they had me back the trailer onto two 8" wide steel rails over a deep pit. They inspected and told me they could fix the frame. They aligned the break, V-eed out the crack, welded the frame, ground the weld and welded an additional steel plate over the repaired frame.

I remember they charged me about $100.00. I towed the trailer back to the trailer lot, re-attached the belly pan and was told "No Charge". I then rejoined the Airstream caravan to loud cheers from my fellow airstreamers. I'm still using this trailer 35 years later.

Calgary is a large city. I believe your local craftsmen will be able to fix anything that you might require.

[Jim Flower]

Neil, Calgary is another place where I have had excellent repair work done. I was staying at the Camp ground beside how 2 and Bucars repaired a leak in my fresh water tank and also sold me a roof vent cover that blew off near Moose Jaw.

[Jim Flower]

Didn't finish. I must be more careful working this iPad. Novak RV was an Airstream dealer at one time. I agree with others who have indicated that it really doesn't matter much about having access to a local Airstream dealer. The thing is just a bunch of generic parts surrounded by Aluminum. Any reputable RV service centre should be able to help you out once your own capabilities are exhausted. And there will be plenty of opportunities to des over those limits. Jim

[Jim Flower]

Also, the Airstream dealer locator shows dealers in Penticton and Langley. They are handy for the inevitable warrantee work. There are other threads that will give you an idea about the possible extent of these. Closer is better. Every time I try tofixmyspelling, the message gets sent, so I have givenup. But you can probably get the jest anyway, maybe. Jim