Help track the quality of the '04s!

[frozen chosen]

Hi Jamie; honest to G.oad.... I called the factory this morning aand asked if the 16CCD manual was available. They were not sure, as it is being prepared by another department than sales. Said they'd check into it. I hope they can mail me one or throw one into the rig before it leaves Ohio. How does it look? Very thorough?

[Silvertwinkie]

FC,

I saw your post on the Airstreamer forum today. I didn't realize that you had already ordered your new coach......

Congrats. When you get your coach, please make sure to add the build date and observations both good and otherwise.

Eric

PS- Not sure on the CCD line, but my coach came with full manuals on everything....

[Turtle]

Frozen, They said the manual will go out in the mail on Monday. My guess is yours will be given to you when you pick it up. If you have any specific questions, maybe we should start a new thread just for the 16'CCD and those who are interested. I'd love to give my inputs and impressions. And maybe a thread on why there aren't more of us using the Airstreamer forum...

Jamie

[Silvertwinkie]

Jamie,

My thought as to why more of us aren't on the Airstreamer forum is simply that we are creatures of habbit....this forum was here a while before the Airstreamer site came about. Plus, since this forum has at least 3x the users, it's a bit more active too.....

That said, the Airstreamer site is growing and if you look at the member list, there are a heck of a large number of folks (including myself) that are registered under the same user name that they use here!


Regards,

Eric

[Porky Pig]

Yep ... I was posting under two different names on this forum and the Airstreamer one ... but got that fixed by Andy here. Thanks Andy!

So now I would like to reintroduce myself to the group.

This will be a great thread to track ...

I just placed my order on Thursday for a 2004 34' Classic. This will be our first RV ... nothing like starting up at the top.

Ever since I was a kid back in the fifties and saw an Airstream heading down a Kansas highway ... I knew I wanted one. So this is a deam come true.

Petunia and I are a bit apprehensive about the QC problems at Airstream .. so let's keep this thread going with accurate and timely info ... and keep the pressure on Airstream to improve the process out on the line.

[Bill Price;]

Porky:

Sounds good. You have on order about the exact rig I have. I have a 34 LImited with slide. I am towing with a 2004 Ford F-350 4 x4 , 4 door PowerStroke. I am using the Blue Ox hitch. I really lilke the Blue Ox. The trailer feels great and it is so easy to hook and unhook from.

One thing I did on my Ford you might want to think about is I ordered the Camper Package. This gives you a large rear sway bar and Heavier front springs. I can tell NO difference in ride solo. Towing, the truck feels very good with no Yaw. I will order all of mine in the future with this option. I did not sate above but my truck is not a dual rear wheel model. I like them towing but I do not like them otherwise.

Good luck on the new vehicles. I bet you will enjoy them!!

[Silvertwinkie]

Hey Pork.....

Just noticed that you also have an '04 Ford on order too....you sure are getting into it with both feet!

I totally agree and promise I will post the good things, work with Airstream to fix any not so good things and give a full accounting here with as much detail as I possible can to help the folks out there see first hand where Airstream is in the QC ramp up process, and hopefully, with Airstream's efforts, help remove some of the tarnish that's been added to the Airstream image over the last year of so (I know of the tarnish first hand being an '03 customer..to Airstream's credit though, they (Jim) were very helpful getting me set up for service on the '03, but I changed gears last minute and ordered a larger '04 instead).

From the Airstreamer forum, Streamer (who I do believe is an Airstream employee) said in September, clearly, that they heard us loud and clear and were ramping up tighter QC on the coaches. They should now have a good start to that process I would suspect. Now is their time to shine as I am hopeful they will come through and that they were not merely just words......

Eric

[Porky Pig]

Originally posted by Bill Price;

One thing I did on my Ford you might want to think about is I ordered the Camper Package. This gives you a large rear sway bar and Heavier front springs.

Thanks for the info Bill ...

The Camper Package is certainly on my list ... at a retail of $160 it is a pretty good deal.

I wonder if the Ford sway bar is as beefy as the Hellwig .. which is 1 and an 8th inch in diameter.

Hey .. go crawl under your truck and measure it for me.

Also ... how much of a drop are you using on your trailer ball mount?

Sorry for the off-topic post.

[jcanavera]

Well step two of the Safari to Classic transition occurred today. We cleaned out the Safari and delivered it to Bill Thomas Camper Sales this afternoon. As I was pulling my dual cam sway hitch off the Safari a salesman introduced a couple from New Mexico who were waiting in the show room for me to arrive with the Safari. I answered several questions and 90 minutes later they were signing the contract for its purchase. The creampuff is gone.

Now we wait for step three which will the delivery of the Classic. I'll be getting my word next week where we are in the build queue. As for now we are in the gestation period.

Jack

[Silvertwinkie]

It was a honey of a coach....I'm not shocked in the slightest that it went quickly.

BTW, to answer the question of the gas line, I took a look at the '03 Bambi and it looks to me where the gas line comes in contact with chassis parts, it is placed inside what appears to be some water supply line hose and that takes the brunt of any friction. FYI.....

Eric

[jcanavera]

I know in a couple of places on the Safari the gas line was subject to damage in a couple of places. One source what the curb side front stabilizer jack screw which was almost against the line. Another was the gas line passing through the gas bottle tray. In both cases I bought some of the tubular water pipe insulator foam. It fits nicely around the gas line and protects the line from any friction or foreign items.

Jack

[lee]

Over the past several months I have been reading and occasionally replying to various AS forum issues. QC is certainly a biggie with everyone. Last Tuesday We Picked up our new AS,04 safari 22", from Manteca RV in calif. . Having read about QC issues with new AS's I was ready to give the trailer an extensive walk through. We were assigned a mechanic to explain the trailers functions during the walk through which we spent about 3 hours doing. What we came up with were minor issues:
1) weather stripping on refridgerator's exterior vent door comming off.
2) Two cuts in the vinyl flooring at the threshold of the entry door about 2 " long.
3) A fantastic fan that was not installed but we had paid for.
All these were immediately taken care of by the mechanic working with us. We are very pleased with the AS product. If there are other issues we will have to discover then as we are leaving in the AS to the Northwest for a month.
Will report status of AS when we return.

[Silvertwinkie]

Lee,

Any way we can get the month of production of your unit?

Thanks,

Eric

[lee]

I will provide the mfg date later. It is stored out of town.

[frozen chosen]

To follow up on an earlier point, the AS website seems to be less used, but has the advantage that, apparently, AS personnel are active on that site, and respond to posts. Between the 2 sites, I am most amazed that we do not see a greater number of posters. I guess it is because not all of us are using the net, but it seems like anyone with a new AS would/should be on one of these forums.....guess not. I wonder how many new AS trailers are sold each week......where are these guys? And how come Tom Hanks isn't posting? I'd love to hear his problems with his black water tanks.

[gklott]

We purchased a 2004 30' classic. Date of Manufacture is 6/03. Picked it up July 12, 2003.

We have had some serious QC issues. Below is the list that we have sent to our dealer. Must say that Airstream of San Antonio is working these out with us.

We have made 4 trips with about 11,000 miles and 6 weeks since July 12.

The most serious remaining issues are the gas line and jack screw (critical safety issue), frig temp, and flooring. Airstream has told us to get the flooring replaced at their expense, but we will have to pull out the dinette, sofa,...

With the flagship Airstream, why did we have these issues? Obviously, there was little or no final review of this unit. The simple check of the light on the steps or patio is a glaring example.

We have pictures of all the QC items, and we are sending these to our dealer. We can make these available at our photo site if someone requests. We have other pictures at our site from our trips. I've attached just one, the dented freezer door.

Initial issues:

Refrig/Freezer
1. Is it normal for the top of the freezer to be bowed
downward in the center? We can't tell from Fig. 2 in the
manual. The top of the refrigerator door is flat. (see image
2. There is a lot of moisture entering the freezer. We had
excessive frost, even with the A/C on reducing humidity.
Believe it may be due to item 1 and the top of the door not
sealing well.
3. The refrigerator freezes everything effectively on all
settings, including setting #1. Items even freeze when
placed on higher levels on the door.
4. There is a crack in on the left inside panel of the
freezer door. If item 1 is bent, then this probably cracked
with the top deformation.

Exterior
5. The curbside rear stabilizer is difficult to extend and
retract. The screw does not turn evenly, tending to bind at
one point on each revolution. We've examined it, and see no
obvious cause.
6. Bath vent leaks in closed position, when it rains.

Flooring
7. The linoleum is slit at the corner of both dinette
benches
8. Staples and subflooring are visible, and there are
staple(?) holes in the linoleum at the door
9. Linoleum has been installed crooked. Most noticeably at
the master bedroom door and the bath/Mbr wall.

Other interior
10. Shower door overhead needs caulking . It is split with sections missing.
11. Shower light switch needs adjusting to be flush with the
switch plate.
12. Lounge folding table street side swings open. Its latch
does not keep it secure. The latch seems loose, possibly the
screw is not holding.
13. There is a slit in the upholstery on the dinette bench
back by the refrigerator.
14. Forward front center lounge window, curbside handle
needs aligning. Nearly impossible to open to the highest
notch. The problem is not noticeable until you try to
operate the window. The handle seems to bind in the metal
opening.
15. The master bedroom emergency window's street side lever
will not reach it's highest position. We have not tried to
force it. Not noticeable until operating the window.
16. Kitchen shade installed off level.

Second batch
17. The 3 dinette mirrors fell off the wall, when the sticky side of the Velcro and the sticky tape on mirror bracket released from the wall and back of mirrors in transit. Both the loop and the hook sides actually stayed together. I pulled the hook and loops apart in order to cover the sticky stuff left on the back of the mirror. We have to think about this one. Not sure how we want to proceed. We had been pressing the mirrors and bracket back on the wall periodically before they finally landed on the dinette bench this last time. Heat and vibration, when pulling are both factors in their inability to stay stuck.
18. There is a substantial gap in the center metal panel
(the portion with the slide) on the screen door with an
associated sticky strip on the left hand side of the gap.
Not a good situation, where biting insects are a concern.
Are we missing a strip of something here?
19. Bath wall paper border showing wear behind the hot and
cold water knobs after three weeks out and about. It is
truly a paper border and apparently does not react well to a
moist bathroom environment.
20. The right-side-mounting bracket on the window shade in
the lounge next to the door snapped off at the bend.

Third batch
21. Convection/microwave is installed crooked with respect to counter top and cabinets.
22. Refrigerator continues to freeze everything, even on the lowest setting, A/C or LP. Might indicate frig damage
23. LP gas lines rubs on front curb-side jack. Believe A/S know of this safety issue.
24. Frig door has insulation or caulking sticking out.
25. Sealing strip coming off A/C cord compartment door.

Did we get the worse QA period? We are seeing all these items. What are we not seeing beneath the floor, in the plumbing,...

We are preparing a letter to the Thor President asking this question.

Must say that we are enjoying the RV, and this is our first. Comparing what we are seeing in SOB, the 30' Classic is just right for us.

73/gus

[joshua32064]

Gus,

If I may ask, when you first picked up the unit, were any of the issues that you listed apparent to you, or do you think a lot of things went bad over a short period of time?

I truly hope that you are able to resolve all of the problems in the near future.

Josh

[gklott]

The dealer told us that he had already repaired several issues before we picked up the unit. This included a mis-wired LP sensor.

Since this is our first RV, we discovered most as we took a long look during our first trip.

It has been back to the dealer once for a week, and will go back again after we return from our next trip. We are scheduled to have the flooring replaced in November.

Attached is another picture, showing the cuts in the flooring. this shows up after you look for a bit.

73/gus

[KIMILI]

gklott,

that's some serious stuff. I'm sure you'll get it all fixed and you'll be very happy with your beautiful AS but we all should not have to suffer such aggravations!

Writing to THOR seems a good idea, maybe they can put some needed extra pressure on AS to get their QA up to standard.

Your list is longer than ours, you also spent more than us, maybe that's the key with AS. The more you spend the more problems you get

What I'm wondering now is how come these dealers - who supposedly are AS trained service men - don't notice all these obvious faults with the units before showing them to the customers!!! If they can't repair them then they should send them back to AS before selling them!! Greedy, greedy

Joshua,
you asked how come we customers don't notice these problems when we're picking up. Well I think that it's mostly for two reasons:
one, as gklott said for most of us it's the first AS, we need time to acclimate.
second, when you're picking up your unit the dealer is going through the walk through with you, you're very busy trying to absorb and remember all the info and directions he's giving you. Which for a newbie are overwhelming. Everything is simply said, nothing on paper, we tried to write notes but they didn't help much. You have to learn how to hitch and unhitch, light the furnace, use the propane tanks, flush the tanks, use the water pump etc. Lots of info. You simply don't have time to concentrate on the unit, plus many problems surface at first use. Our cabinet door fell when we opened it, it simply was not screwed in properly. A simple fix but it should not have been there.

You new buyers have a great advantage: this forum and our experience.

Take your time to review the unit before the walkthrough, look for all the common problems we've all posted here. Open every cabinet door and drawer, try all light fixtures a couple of times. Have the dealer fill your fresh water and check the functioning of the water pump. Check all windows by opening and closing them all the way a couple of times. Look under the trailer, try the jack and stabilizers. Inspect anything else you can think of.

Don't take delivery of a unit you're not 100% satisfied with, let the dealer fix everything, pick it up when all is done and just enjoy your AS! The less headaches you have with it the better your memories will be. Just my 0.02C.

[Turtle]

Airstream is replacing the grease stained dinette cushions on our unit. They were on the backs and unseen. Why we didn't deal with it right away relates to what Kimili says, we are newbies and a lot was going on...Anyway, the people at Airstream seem to be serious about their product and making things right. I'm considering not reading this forum for a while because it tends to make me feel negative when I want to feel joy. Which I do. But then as the saying goes, knowledge is power. I know I'll keep reading here.

Later my friends, Jamie