Brand new Caravel leaks like crazy

[englishw]

Picked up new 2021 - 20FB Caravel in Des Moines on Monday. Already put 2k miles on it through rain, sleet and snow but it’s leaking like crazy. There are at least 8 places all throughout where it’s leaking down walls and from ceiling and even through vent hood.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Gotta get it into a dealer to do a leak test. They will seal it up for you under warranty. You can keep heading south and get out of the rain, that will also help prevent leaks.

It obviously shouldn’t be leaking at all but unless you wanna go up and try and fix it yourself, JC or dealer is your best bet

[englishw]

Ha. I’m in South Texas so pretty far south.

[66Overlander]

If you are lucky, it is a single leak in the exterior shell (up high on th he roof) that is just finding multiple paths into the inner shell, which would be more likely while being towed than while stationary as difference forces are applied on the trailer while moving, however once a leak path starts, surface tension and capillary action may keep it leaking after becoming stationary, at least until it dries out. Good luck!

[BayouBiker]

And when it is stationary use a level from where it is dripping from the interior shell to trace a path uphill, since water travels the steepest path. Then Use painters tape on the outside on anything in that uphill path that might be leaking. Use a suction cup on rivets to see if they leak if the cup does not hold that rivet leaks. Then spray water and see if you stopped the leak. If not tape off some more until it does not leak. Then take some tape back off a bit at a time to find the source. Once you find the source you can fix it permanently or keep it taped till you can get it in to repair.

[banderabob]

Originally Posted by englishw

Ha. I’m in South Texas so pretty far south.

Closest dealer is likely Camper Clinic II, in Buda, just South of Austin. Call ahead.

[Saluda372]

Hate hearing this, good luck with the fix.

[rsementi]

Originally Posted by englishw

Picked up new 2021 - 20FB Caravel in Des Moines on Monday. Already put 2k miles on it through rain, sleet and snow but it’s leaking like crazy. There are at least 8 places all throughout where it’s leaking down walls and from ceiling and even through vent hood.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I’d return it and get my money back.

Hey Airstream? Are you listening? Keep digging your own grave. Another great American brand going to crap.

[ProTech]

Welcome to the world of Airstream Lemons. Good luck getting the dealer to make it right. I wish I'd have just taken my problem trailer back to the factory for the fixes, maybe things would have been fixed better, maybe.

[Coloradobus]

A Suggestion,
If you can pressurize the shell with an air source blowing into trailer like a fan, that is sealed up, spray trailer down with soapy water, locally in spots or generally cover trailer and watch for bubbles. Best to do indoors if possible or on a cloudy day windfree so suds wont dry up fast

[Daquenzer]

My guess is you have some outside seals that are not good. If you can find it the fix is simple. I had a leak in the bedroom area (closet). When I looked in the area I found one seam that didn’t have sealer like it should. I bought some clear silicon sealer and it worked. No leak. However with 8 leaks that is really quite a few and is really inexcusable. I’d take back to dealer and ask for a fix ASAP or your money back. You shouldn’t have to wait weeks for that kind of fix since it is new. But I’ve found dealers really slow to fix things, and not all that responsive. Many of them don’t have enough technicians and bays for the workload. I had to get an awning replaced under warranty. It was a real hassle. Hope yours go better. But call now, and if you can examine your seams look for breaks in the seal. Even if you can get a few it will help. Good luck.

[Life is a Highway]

That is to bad, one of our worst nightmares a leak with a new unit. What happened to quality control and the high pressure wash station on the assembly line? A brand new factory and still pushing out product not checked out ready to camp. JC will fix it but I would request reimbursement for your travels. I would also not travel to Ohio until after April- Road SALT will rust and dissolve your new trailer

[Halford1]

shoot! could be a negligence. could have happened right before lunch at Jefferson Center, the roofer on Airstream tells himself that he ll be right back after lunch. His wife calls him and told him bad news.. forgot to add sealer on roof. stuff happens but wish that Airstream has a Quality Control department. That would solve just about every problems. Trailers made on Mondays and Fridays tend not done good job on assembling Airstream trailers.

[glenrms]

You may want to look at the reviews for Camper Clinic II before you decide. I had a terrible experience with them as have many others. I'd make time to go to Jackson Center. By the time you make an appointment and get there, other problems will probably have surfaced. They are the best! Well, except for quality control on the manufacturing line. They are still trying to figure that one out.

[englishw]

How do you actually reach JC to schedule an appointment? I thought you had to go through a dealer?

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by englishw

How do you actually reach JC to schedule an appointment? I thought you had to go through a dealer?

Call them direct at 937-596-6111 and use the menu to navigate to the Service Dept. They are very busy, so you might not get an appt for a few months. Maybe they will make it a priority for multiple leaks.

[BayouBiker]

And in the mean time, get some painters tape and track down the leak or leaks. It is a good method and will save you from future issues.

[Airheadandi]

Well, the day finally arrived.... waited almost a year.... so excited to pick up our Airstream! Walk throught, hook-up, yay! Pulled over about 1 minute from dealer to eat lunch in our NEW AIRSTREAM (it was a 3 hour drive to dealer), unlocked door—-water ALL OVER THE BENCH. ????? angry. Immediately turned around and had a technician come in. Yep, water coming from ceiling seems and air vents. Who knows were the leak orginates because water is an isidious little destroyer.

We left our gorgeous, flawed NEW airstream and drove 3 hours home. Saying things like “at least we know now” etc.

Now we are just angry and discouraged, no more excitement about our great new camper. Why is this acceptable? Will we have mold??? What we DO know is we will not have a brand new perfect Airstream. At first we thought okay well at least we will have it repaired. Now we are worried we will always be saddled with a problem.

Is this a problem now with airstreams? We will make sure the dealer puts in writing EXACTLY what testing/repairs they have done and will also call Airstream customer service tomorrow.

Has anyone had a new airstream leak that was fixed properly the FIRST time??

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Originally Posted by Airheadandi

Has anyone had a new airstream leak that was fixed properly the FIRST time??

Yes.

Hopefully your dealer knows what to do and how to fix it. This won’t be the last leak and as long as it’s caught and addressed quickly, you shouldn’t have any long term impacts. They should leak test your unit and reseal everything up on the roof and have you out in a day or two.

invest in a good dehumidifier as well. We roll with a 30qt unit and run it almost all the time when we are on hookups. We full time so it’s easy to see the moisture build up in the unit.

With a good dehumidifier it will absolutely take care of any residual water in the trailer.

[AirstreamInc]

Originally Posted by Airheadandi

Well, the day finally arrived.... waited almost a year.... so excited to pick up our Airstream! Walk throught, hook-up, yay! Pulled over about 1 minute from dealer to eat lunch in our NEW AIRSTREAM (it was a 3 hour drive to dealer), unlocked door—-water ALL OVER THE BENCH. ????? angry. Immediately turned around and had a technician come in. Yep, water coming from ceiling seems and air vents. Who knows were the leak orginates because water is an isidious little destroyer.

We left our gorgeous, flawed NEW airstream and drove 3 hours home. Saying things like “at least we know now” etc.

Now we are just angry and discouraged, no more excitement about our great new camper. Why is this acceptable? Will we have mold??? What we DO know is we will not have a brand new perfect Airstream. At first we thought okay well at least we will have it repaired. Now we are worried we will always be saddled with a problem.

Is this a problem now with airstreams? We will make sure the dealer puts in writing EXACTLY what testing/repairs they have done and will also call Airstream customer service tomorrow.

Has anyone had a new airstream leak that was fixed properly the FIRST time??

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