Quality Control Issues on Brand New Airstream

[Jekerrville]

On our way back from the dealership with our brand new "Classy" 2017 Classic 30' Twin, as has been documented in this thread, we suffered the final heartbreak.

While passing a slower moving U-Haul pulling a small car, we lost the entire wheel and rim. The bouncing tire did not blowout. It came away from the brake drum.

Very fortunately, the husband and wife in the U-Haul was able to take evasive action and avoid the tire from coming thru their windsheld. They could have been killed, as could have we.

The Classy had less than 2,000 miles on her. The tire caused extensive damage to the side of the trailer.

What was the cause, you ask? Poor maintenance, under inflated tire, road hazard, loose lug nuts, WHAT??

The jury is still out, but of interest is that ALL SIX WHEEL LUGS sheared off flush with the brake hub.

After limping into a small town, I was able to take the brake hub into a larger town where a 50 year old tire company that supports thousands of private and commercial clients examined the hub.

Their reply was that the lugs were tightened well beyond specification or the lug nuts were the wrong type for the rim. Either way it was only a short matter of time until a "catastrophic" failure would occur.

That young couple could have been killed.

Thor Corporation was founded in 1980 with the purchase of Airstream. Almost every 24 months the company bought out another RV or RV Bus or motorhome company.

Forbes and others fawn over Thor for their excellent growth and management, turning out some of the worlds best RV's and making excellent returns for their shareholders.

So, this excuse for lack of quality control or "push push push" to get product out the door is manure.

It's greed and don't give two hoots in hell about customers.

Read the bio at Thor.com.

My wife and I could have stayed in lots of Five Star hotels for the price of an Airstream and associated costs of hauling this pile to the only authorized Airstream service center in Texas 350 miles away.

Hopefully we will be able to use this brand new coach again in 2017.

Take nothing for granted that anyone involved with Airstream does anything in a workman's like fashion. I hope this attitude toward safety and value changes very soon.

Regards,

[SilverLife]

Originally Posted by Jekerrville

On our way back from the dealership with our brand new "Classy" 2017 Classic 30' Twin, as has been documented in this thread, we suffered the final heartbreak.

While passing a slower moving U-Haul pulling a small car, we lost the entire wheel and rim. The bouncing tire did not blowout. It came away from the brake drum.

Very fortunately, the husband and wife in the U-Haul was able to take evasive action and avoid the tire from coming thru their windsheld. They could have been killed, as could have we.

The Classy had less than 2,000 miles on her. The tire caused extensive damage to the side of the trailer.

What was the cause, you ask? Poor maintenance, under inflated tire, road hazard, loose lug nuts, WHAT??

The jury is still out, but of interest is that ALL SIX WHEEL LUGS sheared off flush with the brake hub.

After limping into a small town, I was able to take the brake hub into a larger town where a 50 year old tire company that supports thousands of private and commercial clients examined the hub.

Their reply was that the lugs were tightened well beyond specification or the lug nuts were the wrong type for the rim. Either way it was only a short matter of time until a "catastrophic" failure would occur.

That young couple could have been killed.

Thor Corporation was founded in 1980 with the purchase of Airstream. Almost every 24 months the company bought out another RV or RV Bus or motorhome company.

Forbes and others fawn over Thor for their excellent growth and management, turning out some of the worlds best RV's and making excellent returns for their shareholders.

So, this excuse for lack of quality control or "push push push" to get product out the door is manure.

It's greed and don't give two hoots in hell about customers.

Read the bio at Thor.com.

My wife and I could have stayed in lots of Five Star hotels for the price of an Airstream and associated costs of hauling this pile to the only authorized Airstream service center in Texas 350 miles away.

Hopefully we will be able to use this brand new coach again in 2017.

Take nothing for granted that anyone involved with Airstream does anything in a workman's like fashion. I hope this attitude toward safety and value changes very soon.

Regards,

Very sobering post.

[AWCHIEF]

Good reminder that it pays to check all systems including tire air pressure and torque yourself and not trust anyone else to do it for you.

[TG Twinkie]

If the lug nuts were over torqued it would not do much to check the torque as the studs had already incurred the damage.
Some knuckle dragger with an impact wrench installed the tires and rims. Instead of doing the job right.

[MelGoddard]

With all this 'Gloom and Doom'; (much of it justified), let me give a 'plug' for CanAmRV in London, Ontario.
These guys are tops at following up on snags and anomalies.
Yes, there can be snags from the Service Dept. like other dealerships, however....
They are good at following up on them, and simply put: they DO try to ensure a happy customer.

[Troutboy]

Back from maiden voyage with new 23D. Water systems worked well, the only system that I couldn't check when picked up at dealer because it was winterized.

However, when emptying grey water tanks, using an expensive flojet pump, the pump got tore up because a stainless steel screw was in the grey tank! I wonder if AS will cover that, not....

Very frustrating, how does a screw get in there, well no surprise to me as I did upgrades I found them everywhere behind furniture and cabinets....

[paiceman]

On a product where I was GM at we had the same wheel issue on hundreds of vehicles. We found out that at our factory the torque on the machine used to fasten all lug nuts was 15 pounds too high and therefore during limited use in the field the entire tire and wheel assembly would pull off the hub taking lug stems with them and lug nuts still attached.

Your description sounds like exactly what the tire dealer you went to stated, someone way over tightened the lug nuts. IF it had been the factory there would probably be hundreds of trailers having the same issue either from over tightening or wrong lug nuts. Therefore, it appears to be dealer error or operator error.

Great no one was injured.

[SteveSueMac]

Paiceman - thanks for that insight. I suppose it could also be true that someone did it wrong at the factory once, was spotted on the next one and told not to do it that way but never got back to the one done incorrectly...though I feel I'm reaching for straws here....

[FricknFrack]

At least u didn't find out about recall on axles and tires AFTER driving your brand new AS 2K miles across country on its maiden voyage like we did...[emoji58][emoji58][emoji58] oh did I mention how they drilled holes into the tops of the water tanks putting floor brackets in?? Thought we blew a line after we topped off n drove 15min n stopped n found water pouring out to ground underneath [emoji35][emoji35][emoji35]

[AlinCal]

These things are not assembled by craftsmen with pride who care about what they are building. Mine being a 91 it's not current production but from what I see here things are the same, I have been remodeling and have completely removed the galley and rebuilt and as of today started with the bathroom and have seen mostly poor construction throughout. When they hung the plastic medicine cabinet that also serves to conceal the vent pipe through the roof they had over drilled for a rivet and punched a hole right though the vent pipe. Only to be discovered way out of warranty.

[Troutboy]

I agree with the pride statement. It's lacking in some of the builders. I am sure there are also other workers that have pride and do a good job.

When I did my solar install, I noticed I. The furnace, they used a 3 inch screw to attach the vent flange to the furnace. That 3 inch screws went right into one of the heat tubes. I debated on removing it, but then I would have a hole in it. And then I thought maybe they did it on purpose?. No idea, anyone see this before....

[SteveSueMac]

Quality includes - and is a much bigger issue than - builders on the line.

Recent comments suggest some shop workers lack pride. That may or may not be the case. Quality is everyone's job and one hopes everyone is motivated from within to take pride in what they do. Again, that may or may not be the case. Setting the culture for that, building expectations, hiring the right staff, implementing the right feedback mechanisms, tools, technology, training/apprenticeship, etc. all starts with Peter Orthwein, Chairman (and co-founder) and Bob Martin, CEO of Thor.

How are AS builders recruited, screened, selected, trained, managed, coached, compensated, incented, made aware of quality goals, made part of the process and culture, etc.? Those aren't decisions made by those builders. Management makes those decisions. The results of those decisions produces the results of the product.

Yes, every worker in every job in every company should start with their own motivation to be proud of what they do and care about their work. And, if folks on the floor are uninspired or lacking feedback/coaching, unaware of goals, unclear on why what they do is so important - management is missing something. And so it goes to the top of the org chart.

Thor's stock had more than doubled over the past 5 years so perhaps management thinks they're doing fine. That also may or may not be the case. With better quality, could they have tripled? Quadrupled?

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

I suggest that the QC is improving, here is the fridge vent hole from my '63 Airstream. At least yours is sorta square.

These days those cuts are accurately made with a CNC router. It's impressive to see it run on the factory tour.

[Ray Eklund]

I bought a used 1956 VW in 1965 for $295.

I never needed one repair. I never replaced the tires that came with the VW from the dealership. The tires may have been used, or new. I had a learner's permit and $300 savings. I had the cleanest 1956 VW as I cared for what I worked hard for, part time at the Sears warehouse in KC, MO, as a Junior in High School.

Never had a leak. The factory heat was hot exhaust... but worked. The wipers worked as they were designed.

No rust. No leaks. No repairs, other than routine oil and spark plugs.

My used 1964 VW. 'Ditto the above.'

So... what is wrong with Airstream? It appears that all of the manufacturing mistakes are found by the customer, after purchase. My new 2006 had plenty of issues. My new 2014, not as many... but simple upgrades to hardware and fit.

If I need any work done on my Airstream... I would be more comfortable with those following this thread. They HAVE EXPERIENCE in how to do it... RIGHT, the first time.

I would have Switz... inspect my work to HIS standards, as well.

[PharmGeek]

My unit built in 2013 as a 2014 model unit (bunkhouse) had a few clear signs of a "rush job", but nothing really problematic. Had a few other ancillary issues, but nothing major and my expectations were met thankfully...so far.

So my trailer is a big and pretty complex build, all done by hand pretty much, involved several people and many hours, and mostly it seemed to be done in a "quality fashion".

That in of itself is by some measure "impressive", but how many end like this vs. in significant disappointment?

PERHAPS far more have few or no big issues, but perhaps many more just are not on internet forums?

I believe I go into these mental gymnastics wondering about such hypothetical statistics because:

1) I just love data, and love the idea that if we had real data, that our intuitions could be far off
AND
2) I am a sucker for airstream it seems so far.

Having said that, I may *possibly* be in a situation this year to trade up to a brand new ducted unit in a way that possibly could put me in a better financial state...but the ducted units are that much more complex, and do I want to "roll the dice again"?

I probably will not, for a number of reasons, but certainly if I thought that "severe QA issues" were "extremely common", I probably wouldn't....I think for me to do the trade, or having bought my trailer in 2013, I rationalized "there is a decent chance I will be fine, and if not, it will be a temporary real pain in the butt and then pass".

Clearly this speaks to many issues, but one cannot escape the allure of Airstream...despite these concerns, many of us would still buy one.

One thing is for sure, as an even more experienced owner now, in the event of a second purchase, I would be even more critical when receiving the trailer and inspecting it...

[gklott]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

These days those cuts are accurately made with a CNC router. It's impressive to see it run on the factory tour.

Wow - then we can expect every cut and seam to be perfect - 100% repeatable. Can anyone confirm this in practice?

Wonder why then we noticed 4 windows with misaligned frames in the one new 2017 Flying Cloud?

73/gus

[VaTravelers]

My 2017 International Serenity 28 had zero issues after a 4 hour PDI testing all systems, using a moisture meter and pulling it down the road on several trips. It's not perfect, but amazing. I fully expect to find issues before my warranty is up but so far no show stoppers. I think there are plenty of us out here who are very happy with our AS. Sometimes on these forums we hear more from those who are unhappy (and they have a clear reason to be unhappy) than the satisfied AS owners.

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by gklott

Wow -

Wonder why then we noticed 4 windows with misaligned frames in the one new 2017 Flying Cloud?

73/gus

Because the monkeys installing the windows take no pride in their work and there is no QC check to insure the job is done right the first time.

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

Because the monkeys installing the windows take no pride in their work and there is no QC check to insure the job is done right the first time.

You're entitled to your opinion - but I think this is a pretty crappy way to treat and label people who are trying to earn a decent living. It's way more complicated than blaming front line workers....

[Hans627]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

You're entitled to your opinion - but I think this is a pretty crappy way to treat and label people who are trying to earn a decent living. It's way more complicated than blaming front line workers....

I would have to agree on this point. Having spent my entire working career in manufacturing, starting as an apprentice and finishing as a CEO, I came to appreciate that it is very seldom the line worker who is to blame for poor quality. It is almost always management. Management (especially the guy or gal at the top) creates the systems (or lack thereof) that allow poor quality products to be made! I've been there!