Just got back from the factory.....

[sfranklin]

First time to the new facility and the heritage center. Pretty impressive.

Lots of good info they shared.

2024 are mostly on the line now and the bump for the quietstream HVAC is gone. End caps match the body shape completely now. Pottery Barn units are still behind as are some of the larger length trailers. Ongoing discussions if the Pottery Barn run will be extended. They surpassed the number they were going to build and some of the covid constraints had some impact as well.

40% of builds are customer orders, while 60% are dealer orders.

Trailer factory is massive. They run in 4 rows all they way down the line and compared to my trip in the late 2000s, where they were lucky to push out 35 units a week, they are pushing between 80-100/week according to the guide. It takes roughly 5 days to build an average size Airstream today.

There are now 3 or 4 water testing bays (compared to just one in the old factory). A second CNC machine has been added and they cut each trailer's metal and place it into a rack for assembly...so trailer VIN ending in 1234 has all the metal to build it, pre-cut and ready to rivet together.

I must say, I didn't think badly of the old factory (which now does only motorized coaches), but they have this down to a science now. Even the stretch forming that was done across the street has been moved to the new facility.

Also, I have read several posts about the Dometic vs GE A/C units. According to the factory, they are not interchangeable without significant overhaul. If your trailer comes with a Dometic, you are Dometic for life. If you are a GE, you are a GE for life. Not just the thermostat, but structural, ducting, etc is apparently all different.

Unlike the late 2000s where the factory covered most everything, they do back away from many things. Luckily most of my issues were genuine manufacturing issues....leaky shower faucet, front end separation, but some I was told were a "pay" issue, which I can't argue, but will note as a departure from past practices.

The tours appear to sell out several days before, so if you are planning on visiting, make sure to plan well in advance during the peak camping season, as well as if you want factory service. They were taking appointments back in July for December.

[blacklab]

Thanks for the report.

Any insight on which units are shipping with the Dometic A/C and which with the GE A/C?

No more Coleman A/C?

Cheers,

Bryan

[sfranklin]

I do not recall seeing many Coleman units on the new trailers, maybe on the export units, but those seemed far, far few in numbers. I did see a large number of GE units on the trailers with a few Dometics still on the line. Like others have said in other threads, I did question a few of the folks I encountered at Airstream and they tell me that the jury is still out on the GE units.

Conservatively, if they build say 75 units a week, and that if it's true that you you are committed to the brand that your unit came with, that seems like a pretty big gamble. Honestly, I would have expected, we tested these for over a year before moving, but no, perhaps supply chain issues along with poor Dometic quality forced them, but to hear a $100k trailer that the jury is still out, I will admit, was a bit unsettling. What if the GE experiment goes south and you have a 1-2 model years build specifically to accommodate a GE unit.

Glass half full, perhaps the GE far surpasses the Dometic offereings and the gut feeling is moot. Either way, I attached 2 pics of the factory where you can see the rooftop AC units from the only location allowed to snap a factory pic from.

Speaking from exp. My 2021 rear Dometic AC unit appears to have failed or is having some serious problems. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on if your glass is half full or half empty, I'm apparently committed to a Dometic setup given my unit was built with Dometic. IMHO, everything Dometic touches these days quickly goes right down the.... take Fantastic vent for example. I had two that were on my prior trailer for 15 years, and worked flawlessly and were reasonably quiet. The two factory installed in my 2021 sound like a chainsaw when they open and close, and one has multiple issues, which surprising to me on my 4 page list of items, the fantastic appeared to be covered under warranty, maybe, or at least the work pay didn't come up with that one, like some of the others.

Additionally I questioned what it would cost to install a 3" lift as my trailer is a 30'. The service rep quickly said $1775. Guess they do a lot of those, but $1775 seems a bit pricey, can anyone tell me if that is in the ballpark? I know the parts are not very expensive, so most of this is labor?