Warranty work (again)

[Squeegee]

Looking for advice on how to proceed with a warranty issue. My 27FB warranty will expire in April or 2022, and we have an appointment to drop off the trailer at the nearest (but mixed results historically) dealer in next month. The history and frustration can be summed up with this timeline. Yes it is still long and yes it's still very, very frustrating.

January 2019 - ordered the trailer with the options we wanted.
April 2019 - took delivery of trailer.
October 2019 - dropped off the trailer for warranty work punch list (usual minor mfg defects found after actual use) - including bubble in the kitchen galley flooring.
November 2019 - Airstream approved flooring fix (pull kitchen counter, stretch flooring, maybe even glue it down) - results damage to countertop where the stove goes.
December 2019 - get the dealer to order a new countertop - had to fight for it with photos taken before drop-off to prove they did damage.
February 2020 - Counter delivered and installed.
March 2020 - Snow melts at home, go to pick up the trailer - stove has new damage done to it (pry-bar marks and dents, paint chipped off) - I take it home after they agree to to source a new oven door and cook-top cover. Tech comes out to help with seized receiver, brings lubricant and pry-bar, fails to try to slide release forward before lifting, and begins prying upwards... yeah. Excuse for why it seized from the service manager - "we use a 1-7/8 ball to move the trailers around so we don't need to open the receiver lock, the smaller ball just pops in and out..." as he proceeds to jimmy the assembly from underneath using a metal rod to "fix it".
August 2020 - Mobile repair unit comes to my house to replace the entire stove, I ask about the new flooring issue near the bed - same solution, but must be done at the shop after approval by Airstream. I hold off due to a family trip planned in under a month.
August 2021 - Flooring develops new noticeable spot where the sub-flooring is separating near the shower - two other places are now creaking and squishy feeling. Also, the stove has a propane leak that is venting up through the oven chamber and out the oven vent, behind the burners on the cook top.

The option of driving to the factory with an appointment which will be at least a two day drive with the trailer (11-12 hour estimate) and then back home, I have kids in school among other personal obligations, there never is a good time to make that trip before the warranty expires. I settled on taking back to the dealership to fight for them to do what's right with properly trained techs doing the work. Somewhere in Iowa and north of Milwaukee, WI are the two next closest dealers, but it feels like a role of the dice any which way I go.

I emailed Airstream a while back and the customer service response that came back after almost a full week was along the lines of "you can choose any dealer you want to work with" and the equivalent of them hanging-up on me if it was a phone call.

I have a ton of fresh photos around all the items that may need to be removed (bed, bathroom walls, kitchen counter, shower) taken yesterday when I winterized the camper anticipating another 4-6 month winter stay at the dealership. I have a video with my own propane sniffer showing the detection of a leak on the stove. Everything but the mattress and couch cushions has been removed that is not bolted down or glued to something to help make any work as easy as possible for them to do it right.

Is this the best course of action or is there a secret passphrase I need to say while offering to shake with my left hand vs my right hand to get the entire sub-floor fixed without damaging everything else? Airstream put in their marketing materials for the 2020 model year that they were now using a single CNC milled poly sheet or something to stop with the plywood sub-floor that has caused issues in the past. Am I expecting too much or is this approaching lemon law just for the flooring?

I just want to go camping, not fight for what should be done, and not twist my ankle when going to the bathroom.

Thank you for any guidance you can provide.
Squeegee

[Squeegee]

No one wanted to even touch this one...


I got information from the dealership today. Airstream has taken almost two months to get to this point. Airstream is wanting to cut the flooring along the cabinets to replace the visible vinyl flooring that has developed a non-stretchable crease in it. Then lay down a new sheet trimmed to fit the open space.


I fear using my shower will result in water running down the cabinet edge, and the water from opening a wet shower door will run down it - like it does every time I have used the shower that I need to use a towel to soak up to prevent the cabinets from swelling due to water damage. With the repair plan of "add quarter round to hide the seam" I will have a direct line for the shower door water to go under the vinyl at the seam and into the sub-floor causing more water damage as the warranty runs out. Adding the quarter round will prevent me from being able to soak up all of the water.



I am on track to having my camper live at the dealership for warranty work for a full year out of the three year warranty.


Airstream's customer support and interaction has flat out pissed me off. Their 45 minutes of hold when I called only to be greeted with a dead line and disconnected after 30 seconds was the icing on the cake last time. Calling back immediately at 10 minutes to 4 PM Central time triggered "we are open until 5 PM Eastern time, we are now closed". Someone wanted to start their weekend on time. And I never got a call back when I left the voicemail.



Do I need to have a youtube channel to actually get Airstream to honor the warranty and avoid making things worse? And here I had to get a lawyer to stop my neighbor from using an oscillating sprinkler against my camper when parked in my driveway.




Squeegee

[Fungus]

Just a thought but I have no experience with this...

Your dealer has already demonstrated incompetence and stupidity (pry bar seems to be their go-to tool...brawns over brains). I would have very low expectations of future success.

Could you schedule the warranty work at Jackson Center during the warranty period (now) and still be under warranty when it gets done? The work is likely to be performed months away. Still might not help with your other obligations.

[rfequity1]

Since it's a 27' you better also look for the very common "front end separation". I have been in two parks in FL in the last month and have seen it on 4 different AS camped at the same location. If you dont know what it is, I would advise doing a search on here to learn about it. High chances you have it and will also want it fixed under warranty.

[KCurtis]

Having a YouTube Channel doesn't seem to help much based on this couple's results.

[GOUSC]

Originally Posted by Fungus

Just a thought but I have no experience with this...

Could you schedule the warranty work at Jackson Center during the warranty period (now) and still be under warranty when it gets done? The work is likely to be performed months away. Still might not help with your other obligations.

I believe you could do what is mentioned above. My warranty was expiring awhile back and I couldn’t get there until after the warranty had expired due to Covid and health issues with my wife. I sent JC a list of the warranty items prior to the warranty expiration date and they repaired those issues when I went to JC after the warranty expired.

Here is a ph# direct to the JC service dept I have used in the past ;

937-596-6111

Good luck!

[Mattedfred]

Originally Posted by Squeegee

Looking for advice on how to proceed with a warranty issue. My 27FB warranty will expire in April or 2022, and we have an appointment to drop off the trailer at the nearest (but mixed results historically) dealer in next month. The history and frustration can be summed up with this timeline. Yes it is still long and yes it's still very, very frustrating.

January 2019 - ordered the trailer with the options we wanted.
April 2019 - took delivery of trailer.
October 2019 - dropped off the trailer for warranty work punch list (usual minor mfg defects found after actual use) - including bubble in the kitchen galley flooring.
November 2019 - Airstream approved flooring fix (pull kitchen counter, stretch flooring, maybe even glue it down) - results damage to countertop where the stove goes.
December 2019 - get the dealer to order a new countertop - had to fight for it with photos taken before drop-off to prove they did damage.
February 2020 - Counter delivered and installed.
March 2020 - Snow melts at home, go to pick up the trailer - stove has new damage done to it (pry-bar marks and dents, paint chipped off) - I take it home after they agree to to source a new oven door and cook-top cover. Tech comes out to help with seized receiver, brings lubricant and pry-bar, fails to try to slide release forward before lifting, and begins prying upwards... yeah. Excuse for why it seized from the service manager - "we use a 1-7/8 ball to move the trailers around so we don't need to open the receiver lock, the smaller ball just pops in and out..." as he proceeds to jimmy the assembly from underneath using a metal rod to "fix it".
August 2020 - Mobile repair unit comes to my house to replace the entire stove, I ask about the new flooring issue near the bed - same solution, but must be done at the shop after approval by Airstream. I hold off due to a family trip planned in under a month.
August 2021 - Flooring develops new noticeable spot where the sub-flooring is separating near the shower - two other places are now creaking and squishy feeling. Also, the stove has a propane leak that is venting up through the oven chamber and out the oven vent, behind the burners on the cook top.

The option of driving to the factory with an appointment which will be at least a two day drive with the trailer (11-12 hour estimate) and then back home, I have kids in school among other personal obligations, there never is a good time to make that trip before the warranty expires. I settled on taking back to the dealership to fight for them to do what's right with properly trained techs doing the work. Somewhere in Iowa and north of Milwaukee, WI are the two next closest dealers, but it feels like a role of the dice any which way I go.

I emailed Airstream a while back and the customer service response that came back after almost a full week was along the lines of "you can choose any dealer you want to work with" and the equivalent of them hanging-up on me if it was a phone call.

I have a ton of fresh photos around all the items that may need to be removed (bed, bathroom walls, kitchen counter, shower) taken yesterday when I winterized the camper anticipating another 4-6 month winter stay at the dealership. I have a video with my own propane sniffer showing the detection of a leak on the stove. Everything but the mattress and couch cushions has been removed that is not bolted down or glued to something to help make any work as easy as possible for them to do it right.

Is this the best course of action or is there a secret passphrase I need to say while offering to shake with my left hand vs my right hand to get the entire sub-floor fixed without damaging everything else? Airstream put in their marketing materials for the 2020 model year that they were now using a single CNC milled poly sheet or something to stop with the plywood sub-floor that has caused issues in the past. Am I expecting too much or is this approaching lemon law just for the flooring?

I just want to go camping, not fight for what should be done, and not twist my ankle when going to the bathroom.

Thank you for any guidance you can provide.
Squeegee

I'd email all of your evidence to Bryan Melton at bmelton@airstream.com and tell him once it's fixed your selling it, never buying another Airstream and sharing your ownership story with everyone you meet. Bryan is the General Manager Travel Trailers for Airstream Inc. He was quick to respond to my queries and pass me along to the Regional Manager for my area and I don't even own an Airstream yet. I just may never own one after reading about your experience. Thanks for sharing!

Good luck!

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by Mattedfred

\and tell him once it's fixed your selling it, never buying another Airstream\

I tried that line once with Land Rover. The response was "well, we've already lost you as a customer so why should we care?"

It's better to take a positive approach.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

I tried that line once with Land Rover. The response was "well, we've already lost you as a customer so why should we care?"

It's better to take a positive approach.

TRU-THAT...

Bob
🇺🇸

[pjshier]

just a thought: I concur with your concern about the quarter round solution. But given your experience with "maintenance induced damage" you may be better off with the cut-to-size flooring replacement. In that case, a bead of silicone sealant at the new floor edge covered by glue-on vinyl cove base might be more water proof.

On the other hand, if they get the floor cut out and find plywood delamination underway, whole floor and underlayment replacement seems in order. Sorry for all your hassles.

[Squeegee]

The dealer did a good job overall, but if I were to nitpick over the work it would be the random smudge of adhesive left in places and that the caulk used seems to have started drying out and cracking in places. That and the dirty hand print from moving the mattress. There is also a small gap in the caulk at the shower door. I will be running my own bead of caulk over everything before we use the camper.


The wife likes the new flooring coloring (more gray vs previous brown) that highlights the wood more. Beyond that, it's a floor.


They pulled the gray trim where the sheet metal meets the flooring, and the bed/nightstands/bathroom wall/toilet/kitchen table/benches. They left the bathroom vanity, the kitchen cabinets with the sink and the hall closet/shower/refrigerator section. The old vinyl was cut and pulled up the old flooring, they checked the plywood, sanded/whatever other smoothing they could/would do, and then traced the new piece to then glue in and caulk the edges where not under the grey trim.


Not much more I should expect out of this all I guess other than Airstream and their network of dealers start to make it easier for owner and customers to have warranty work done. No more of this chicken fight until the customer ask the dealer the status and the dealer tells the owner to call in to light a fire under the person denying the claim on Airstream's end. That adds a month or two on top of the actual part ordering/delivery once it is finally approved.


My power cord being bad from day one (the indicator light did not work and it took me installing an Progressive EMS to learn my ground was bad in the shore cord) was another strike against both the dealership and Airstream. I guess it was my fault for not taking the offer to swap cords for one that had a working light on it. The tech telling the service rep they tested the cord did not go well when I pulled out my own multi-meter on site.


IMO the way this was all handled was horrible. The dealer has reportedly purged all the bad apples and the service rep crew I was dealing with were great once they got the ball rolling. My warranty is now expired so getting Airstream to do the right thing next time is irrelevant for me. I just hope they do better for the next warranty claim by an owner.


Squeegee

[Ray Eklund]

Eventually this will cost the confidence of customers purchasing a NEW Airstream, without a 100% examination by the buyer or buyer's agent. Experienced owners can see everything missed... by a new inexperienced buyer.

I advise a new Airstream customer to buy USED and check it out 100%. If the owner says NIX... run away. You need someone to examine it that has experience if you are not experienced. They look great sitting there... but this is a complex purchase. Makes buying a new or used 2016 F350 Diesel... simple and easy. Which we have had only the Chip GPS issue that nobody wants to claim as a warranty issue. Will purchase another Ford pickup when that day arrives.

In 2020 there were a number of New 2019 models on the lot. We found tables where the formica was curling as the rubber cement was hot.

We found splitting formica on wall cabinets.

We found the floors with ripples and becoming unglued.

Poorly fitted cabinets secured to the wall... and after three years I cannot recall.

We found ONE 27 foot among the three 27 foot Trailers that we found with NO Problems. They did not want to sell us... THAT ONE. The price was for the... OTHERS we easily found problems, but did not say that was the reason and kept it to ourselves.

After we inspected everything (having had two previous Airstreams NEW... we were no longer ignorant to what to look for) this one trailer we would take. They installed the Solar System which works great and AGM Batteries.

The Dealer filled the trailer with water, so we could check EVERYTHING and missed the bad faucet over the sink. They replaced it and fixed it with a new faucet. Propane appliances. Air Conditioning system. Lighting... every detail. We bought it. They included a new Equalizer Hitch and 1000# sway bars. (We can tow on the BALL without WD or Sway Control.)

We have been happy with that purchase until the 27 foot FBQ separation discovery, that I did what I can after being denied Warranty Repairs.

The found the Front Storage Compartment skin dimples and crack... Result... Nothing. Our Fault for... F350 stiff ride, Equalizer did it, I did it from driving on uneven roads... or ?????

Myself and Wife. We will NEVER PURCHASE A NEW AIRSTREAM EVER AGAIN.

Airstream also knows this and will not fix our Front End 'Separation' problem, but that is the price for expressing disappointment for a Warranty Issue and blame. That is OK. I look like a Neanderthal... but can communicate to others, very well.

Maybe they will take it back and you can walk off the lot. New is new... not sort of.

[CMHM]

My 2P worth — knowing how the service center works: hauling the Airstream to JC will be around $2k. Airstream has dozens of drivers who drive back empty. I’d negotiate that they pay at least one way, and then you fly to Columbus and drive it back once repairs are done, so you can do a full inspection and sleep one night in it. JC saves money by having these repairs done there, most of these issues can be fixed within a week. At a dealership it can take months.

[GOUSC]

I hope they got everything fixed for you and appreciate your taking the time to let others know of your situation so it can benefit them in the future. Even though you warranty has expired, I think it could help to send them a letter stating the issues repaired under warranty, the delays, etc. I would request they warrant these items for 1 year in case they recur again.

Doing this now would be better than a couple months down the road as your facts are clear, concise and timely.

I hope you have many good camping experiences in the future.

[Renagade69]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

I tried that line once with Land Rover. The response was "well, we've already lost you as a customer so why should we care?"

It's better to take a positive approach.

I do agree to never talk down to the people you need to help you. On another note. There is a reason Land Rover has the worst customer service
and resale value of any vehicle you can buy. It's that attitude.