kitchen cabinets popping open on the road

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by hhendrix

OK an update. When we first bought the AS, we had an F350 and the hitch dealer (which had little experience with Airstreams, gave me 1200 lb bars. I too, notice a crack in the shell from the bottom left hand corner of the storage door compartment behind the propane and batteries. After read many articles on hitches etc., I went back to the dealer and switched to 800 lb bars. The difference in ride was immediate. Move up to today and we are towing with a 2011 F250. After reading some of the posts here, I decided to have the tires balance before we left. The tire dealer called me latter and said he couldn't balance the tires (Marathons) because they were out of round. I was a little reluctant to buy new tires that probably had less than 15K miles on them until I check the dates on the Marathons. They were a little over 4 years old. That was enough for me as we were starting a 6K round trip to Alaska. So I got back on the forums and went with new 10 ply TowMasters. We were only on the road for a few miles and you could really feel the difference. I also put a section of 1/2" emt tube down thru the drawer pulls. So far only a couple of minor spills on these very rough roads. We have ordered stronger latches from the dealer.

The 10 ply tires, basically will do the same to the trailer, as the 1200 pound bars.

Airstream trailers MUST have a soft ride, OR ELSE.

Andy

[Gene]

We have 10 ply (Load Range E) tires on our trailer and we don't have problems like the original poster described. Michelins are made to ride smoothly and ride better than many other brands, even 6 and 8 plies. I don't know about Towmasters, but hhendrix is in Alaska where the roads can be brutal on trailers, and he says the Towmasters are much smoother too. Centramatics help too.

Getting a smooth ride is made up of many things including tire brands.

Gene

[hhendrix]

When I got the bad news about the Marathons being out of round, I came here to the forums for advice. We were leaving for Alaska the next morning and I didn't have to many options at the tire dealer. As it is with several forums here, opinions were all over the board, but it boiled down to Marathons, TowMaster, Michelins and one or two more. I read one post where the AS owner had gone to Jackson Center and they installed TowMasters. I called the Airstream Service center and the tech there said the 10 ply TowMasters were one of the brands they sell and install. He thought they would be fine for our trailer. Both the tech and the tire dealer recommended running lower pressures that the maximum 80 psi.

[Gene]

Airstream has offered both Towmasters and Michelins as options. Originally when the got the 16" wheels from Tredit, they came with Goodyears because Tredit sells Goodyears. Later Airstream offered Michelins as an alternative too. I got the wheels from Airstream and picked up Michelins at Discount Tire in Dayton.

Gene

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by twestover

We have a 2009 Flying Cloud 27 FB, and the kitchen cabinets and drawers pop and slide open during travel. Has anyone else had that problem? Ideas would be welcome! We are leaving Friday for a 2 month trip to Alaska.
Terri

Although we think that we have a "soft ride" dialed in for our FC20, we have had drawers open while underway as well... Michelins on RV rear are aired down to 45 psi and 10k bars re-contoured. We now use a bungee cord across the drawers ... stretched between the oven handle and the coat hooks... that takes care of two drawers and the refirgerator - in case the fridge door is not pushed in to the locking "click".

[dkottum]

I suspect the drawers opening are symptoms of the greater problem of too stiff truck suspension, sometimes miserable roadways, or a combination of both. (Or simply out of balance running gear.)

Bungee cords, tighter drawer catches are band aids but not a cure for other damage that may be occurring. Stress on the shell and its fasteners, window and fitting sealants may lead to tearing of the skin and failure of seals.

Heavy trucks are now routine tow vehicles. Would it it be a good idea to see beyond strapping down the opening drawers/doors, and find a soft ride for all the components of your Airstream?
Is Airsafe the only solution?

doug k

The question is not to get into the discussion of whether tow vehicle suspension transmits stress to the trailer. It is for those who see symptoms of damage, believe Inland Andy's soft ride advice, and are looking for a cure.

[mefly2]

Agreed; we wanted a diesel and had to go to 3/4 T to get it ... along with it came the harsh ride for the AS. We are looking into a different spring pack for the TV.

[panora2]

Our 2 kitchen drawers are impossible to open. After much lifting, pulling, and tugging they will finally open. Do I need to replace something? Anyone else had this problem?

[SeeMore]

Originally Posted by panora2

Our 2 kitchen drawers are impossible to open. After much lifting, pulling, and tugging they will finally open. Do I need to replace something? Anyone else had this problem?

With those symptoms the first place to check is the drawer tracks. Remove the drawers and inspect the mounting hardware and screws. If one or more screws have started to back out they will create friction on the runners.

[Phoenix]

Is this a common problem with the longer Airstreams?

We have a 19-foot Bambi and have never had a problem with drawers and doors coming open, except on the infamous, washboard road to Madison Arm Resort near West Yellowstone.

On that trip, the closet, oven and several cabinet doors came off of their hinges; and the refrigerator door popped open. Food, clothes, pots and pans, plastic bottles and everything in our trailer were all dumped on the floor. It looked like a King Kong had picked up our Bambi, turned it upside down and shook it like he was mixing a martini.

[Gene]

I don't know about length having anything to do with it, I do know the part used to hold the drawers in place wear out and fail eventually. They are located at the back of the drawer and are, like a lot of RV parts, expensive for what you get.

We've had screws that hold door hinges back out and have tightened them before they came out. It is always good to check them periodically. There are products to squirt into the screw holes (the threads get worn if the screws loosen) and this stuff locks the screws in better. Lock Tite makes these products and they can be found in auto parts stores.

The same thing happens with the screws holding the drawer slides as SeeMore said.

It is also good to bring along a bunch of over sized screws to use when the holes get too big. This happens most often when they are screwed into fiberboard. Fiberboard does not hold screws well and as a preventive maintenance, it is good to take all screws in fiberboard out and use the Lock Tite product (others make similar stuff) to keep the screws from loosening. We had the dinette table screws on the single leg all come out and found the table on the floor upside down after bouncing along bad interstates. I eventually built a maple table to replace the Formica and fiberboard table and made sure to use large enough screws to hold tight in the hard wood.

Gene

[Phoenix]

For the hinges on the particleboard closet and cabinet door, I tried replacing the original short wood screws with longer ones, with toothpicks in the enlarged holes; but these pull out again after a few months.

The final, permanent fix was to drill the hinge mounting holes all they way through and replace the wood screws with Loctite secured bolts, washers and nuts. We have had no problems with cabinet doors coming off since this modification.

Despite how this sounds and how ugly one might imagine this mod looks, the bolt heads and washers don't look out of place in an aluminum Airstream. In fact, non-Airstream owners don't even notice the extra exposed hardware, unless I tell them about it.

[gregwall]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

For the hinges on the particleboard closet and cabinet door, I tried replacing the original short wood screws with longer ones, with toothpicks in the enlarged holes; but these pull out again after a few months.

The final, permanent fix was to drill the hinge mounting holes all they way through and replace the wood screws with Loctite secured bolts, washers and nuts. We have had no problems with cabinet doors coming off since this modification.

Despite how this sounds and how ugly one might imagine this mod looks, the bolt heads and washers don't look out of place in an aluminum Airstream. In fact, non-Airstream owners don't even notice the extra exposed hardware, unless I tell them about it.

I continue to have this problem, and I think this is exactly what I am going to do. Thanks.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Use MT on the toothpicks...never stripped again for us.

Bob
🇺🇸

[Gene]

MT is not the only epoxy for wood, though I'm sure it works because Bob knows his stuff.