Pitiful Quality - again

[AirUSN]

So, I was at the dealer this week to eye Tommy B's hatch in comparison to my '13 Eddie..

So, I drifted off to the GT and was saddened and amazed at the same time, that the GT left the factory with clear cut quality issues.

exterior chrome trim not cut flush to fit...

STAPLES and many more than one - into the beautiful flooring, both in front of the sink and the dinette...

Exposed wood...

[uraljohn]

We just picked up our second new Airstream. First one was 2017 International Serenity. 15k miles and many nights with very few issues. All issues were minor. I thought maybe we were just lucky. Brand new to us yesterday is a 2019 Flying Cloud 25 RB Twin. Went over it with a fine tooth comb today and very, very pleased with fit and finish. Everything works as it should. I know that time will tell, but the beginning is good.


Our 2017 Serenity sold to the first person that called on it. They called off of ad on RV Trader. We also had "Featured" ad on Airforums but have had no response after 3 weeks. Airstreams hold there value. We sold for $3k less than we paid 2 years ago. I would say that is very good resale value.


Yes, there are quality issues and fit and finish issues with Airstreams. We may have been blessed twice. I still would not buy an SOB. Happy Travels!

[ROBERT CROSS]

They just don't give a damn...it will only change for the better when management demands those changes.

If JC can't figure out on their own what needs to happen, shame on them. 😟

Most of the concerns today are the very same ones we dealt with 15yrs ago on our Classic.👎

Bob
🇺🇸

[PhxRising]

In a world where virtually everything is capable of being "digitized", it would seem very, very easy to identify and associate the VIN#s of units with shoddy quality to a list of employees who worked on the line and unit.

This is a mind-numbingly easy thing to track (fixing it may be a different issue). Simple correlation: "How many customers have complained about poor fitment, staples in the floor, or shoddy finishing treatments? Of those complaining customers, (looking now at VIN), how many of those units were made at a time when Larry (B-team Aistream worker) was working on the Globetrotter line?" Most workforce-staffing software would forecast people, time and task. The correlation of complaints to shifts and units that Larry worked is just not that hard. Finally, take Larry and suggest he "pursue a different career interest." Data is plentiful. Not using it for real business intelligence and continual improvement is really inexcusable...

[AlinCal]

These trailers are built by humans of various skill levels and not robots. If you are expecting Ferrari quality then expect to pay allot more still. Airstreams are 10 times higher quality than the standard sob and yet only 4 or 5 times more money.
You choose, but going through the dealership looking for defects to post is somewhat suspicious

[TG Twinkie]

All RV's are built by humans as far as I know.
A$ has been building these trailers for over 70 years.
The new units are plagued with the same OLD PROBLEMS. Leaks, hardware falling apart, poor fit and finish. Have you noticed that the cutouts for windows, hatches and doors look like a gorilla with a chain saw did the work.
I have seen prices of $160K for an A$. They put the price that high then knock $40K off to make you think you are getting a great deal.
They use the same appliances and fixtures as the much lower price SOB.
They use the same CHEAP OSB flooring material and fiberglass insulation.
The same converters, inverters and electrical equipment. Along with water heaters, refers and furnaces.
I find it amazing that people will pay the high price of one of these units. Then put up with the poor service at many of the dealers. Drive thousands of miles at their own expense to have certain problems resolved. Not to mention the wait times.
And yet there are those who will stand in line and defend A$ until their dying breath.
???????????

[Kanusport]

It baffles me why you would post about a trailer you don’t even own? Is it just to make yourself feel better about your trailer? I find this perplexing and weird. But to each their own.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Kanusport

It baffles me why you would post about a trailer you don’t even own? Is it just to make yourself feel better about your trailer? I find this perplexing and weird. But to each their own.

You might add to your limited experience, and take into consideration how long the object of the above quote has been involved here on the Forums...

We have only owned two Airstreams over 41yrs...so I know very little about all the others and should not comment?
Not a chance.😂

Bob
🇺🇸

[OTRA15]

"Wisdom often appears in unexpected clothing . . . "

Being open to the wisdom may require its own shade of wisdom . . .

[Countryboy59]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

All RV's are built by humans as far as I know.
A$ has been building these trailers for over 70 years.
The new units are plagued with the same OLD PROBLEMS. Leaks, hardware falling apart, poor fit and finish. Have you noticed that the cutouts for windows, hatches and doors look like a gorilla with a chain saw did the work.
I have seen prices of $160K for an A$. They put the price that high then knock $40K off to make you think you are getting a great deal.
They use the same appliances and fixtures as the much lower price SOB.
They use the same CHEAP OSB flooring material and fiberglass insulation.
The same converters, inverters and electrical equipment. Along with water heaters, refers and furnaces.
I find it amazing that people will pay the high price of one of these units. Then put up with the poor service at many of the dealers. Drive thousands of miles at their own expense to have certain problems resolved. Not to mention the wait times.
And yet there are those who will stand in line and defend A$ until their dying breath.
???????????

No one’s really “defending AS until their dying breath”. Many, many people are happy with their trailer. My dealer provides excellent service and both my trailers have been excellent. I always chime in on the complaint threads with my own experience with a product.

[TG Twinkie]

Originally Posted by Kanusport

It baffles me why you would post about a trailer you don’t even own? Is it just to make yourself feel better about your trailer? I find this perplexing and weird. But to each their own.

I do own an A$. It happens to be 45 years old.
I know all of the ins and outs of my coach.
I have spent a lot of time and considerable $$$$ making this old trailer reliable and road worthy.
I have also spent considerable time here on the forum in the last 9+ years helping members with their A$ problems.
I also own a 2015 SOB 25' unit. It has not been without problems. Even though the purchase price was 1/6th that of a comperable size A$. There is no excuse for shoddy workmanship no matter what you are paid.
There is no excuse for repeditive problems which are overlooked by management.
There are many skilled members here who have come up with solutions to the problems like leaks in the rear end of an A$. A$ continues to ignor how these issues were resolved. And take action to eliminate problems with future units.
Seems like A$ doesn't want to spend the time or money to resolve the problems on the assembly line. BUT they have the time and money to do the warranty work.
What kind of logic is that?

[n2916s]

As far as appliances, inverters, converters... Airstream is stuck with using what is available on the market and those suppliers seem to be spending little on R&ad.

All I can say is that my '86 is still providing me lots of "miles of smiles" for a modest continuing routine maintenance effort.

[rmkrum]

My ‘07 has been solid and problem free except for the issues I induce. I do make improvements at times, but overall it’s been trouble free. That said, its entirely possible the first owners had issues, but I also know that they traded this one in for a bigger one after one trip. That does not sound to me like they had major issues.

Yeah, there are plenty of stupidly repetitive examples of the ‘same old errors and design flaws” going on, but overall it’s possible to enjoy using an Airstream for going places and seeing nice views whilst camping. Without obsessing on the need to fix things that break.

I’m satisfied with the one I’ve got. It’s still a hand-built, mass produced item. It would be nice to have better QA and QC in it, but generally they are fine for what they are.

Airstream could do full aircraft industry processes to build them, but, you think the prices are high now? Take a look at what a small aluminum aircraft costs, and the pain in the wallet will be excruciating!!

[jeffmc306]

There’s no excuse for the issues shown in the OP’s photos - they should never make it to a dealer’s lot. Can Airstream do better to reduce these kinds of mistakes? Absolutely!

We visited JC during our GT’s build last month and were impressed by the men and women who build Airstreams. They’re people like us - doing their best with the tools and materials provided. They were polite when we poked our heads in to see the interiors being installed.

We purchased our new trailer with “eyes wide open”, knowing that any problems would be taken care of during the three year warranty.

I hope Airstream will take advantage of the new 750,000 sq.ft. Facility to implement improvements in the assembly process. If they’re smart, they’ll ask some of those men and women we saw in JC what they would do. Fingers crossed that happens!

So far we’ve had more positive than negative experiences owning two Airstreams.

[Kanusport]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

I do own an A$. It happens to be 45 years old.
I know all of the ins and outs of my coach.
I have spent a lot of time and considerable $$$$ making this old trailer reliable and road worthy.
I have also spent considerable time here on the forum in the last 9+ years helping members with their A$ problems.
I also own a 2015 SOB 25' unit. It has not been without problems. Even though the purchase price was 1/6th that of a comperable size A$. There is no excuse for shoddy workmanship no matter what you are paid.
There is no excuse for repeditive problems which are overlooked by management.
There are many skilled members here who have come up with solutions to the problems like leaks in the rear end of an A$. A$ continues to ignor how these issues were resolved. And take action to eliminate problems with future units.
Seems like A$ doesn't want to spend the time or money to resolve the problems on the assembly line. BUT they have the time and money to do the warranty work.
What kind of logic is that?

Why are you quoting me? I was referring to the OP who has 95 posts. Also I stand by what I said. I think it’s lame to go to a dealer and point out a bunch of problems on a trailer you don’t even own.