Issues with the Airstream trailer

The following is a list of technical issues we have run into:

The first list can not really be called Airstream defects, but just consequences of driving on a rough road:
  • ISSUE-01: Stainless steel rock guards have deep dimples in them (the right side has a one inch depression)
  • ISSUE-02: Hensley arrow hitch assembly has tons of rock chips in it (note: it was freshly repainted last year)
  • ISSUE-03: Two flat tires on the trailer (one of the truck). If you like adventures, do not use Good Year road tires on your Airstream.
  • ISSUE-04: Several eggs cracked in fridge along with a Coke can shaken out on all contents inside fridge
  • ISSUE-05: Freezer door top hinge snapped off, as in plastic broke apart (need a new door). This is actually the second time it has happened to us. This same thing happened on a trip to the Outer Banks (NC) a few years ago whereupon we bought a new door. The replacement door is obviously of the same poor design.
  • ISSUE-06: Vibrations caused one shampoo bottle in the shower to shave a HOLE right through the bottom of it, leaking the contents all over the tub wall and the tub
  • ISSUE-07: Catalytic heater fell off the wall (happened on trip up to Deadhorse). This was basically a crappy installation by Camping World in Elkhart, Indiana.
  • ISSUE-08: Plug-in voltmeter in kitchen jumped out of socket by stove and got into the sink with the dirty dishes (recall, we had no fresh water in Deadhorse)
  • ISSUE-09: Mattress moved in master bedroom all the way up to the door. Not sure if you can call this a design flaw, since it would not be hard to envision simple ways by which it could be held in place. As long as it does not cause other damage, we guess it is ok.
  • ISSUE-10: One of our laptops died after being soaked in rainwater from a fresh new window leak. See also ISSUE-39.
  • ISSUE-11: New set of holes developed in main Zip Dee awning canvas from rivets holding socket for center arm in place. The holes are about 1/4 inch in diameter.
  • ISSUE-12: Two shelves in refrigerator door broke. See also ISSUE-05. Couple this with other problems we've had in the past with this unit (such as studs holding wood inlay of main door breaking and it the flame blowing out) it is fair to say that our Dometic is of poor quality.

This second part of the list could arguably have been solved with better design and QA feedback:
  • ISSUE-13: The trailer as a whole is poorly sealed, mainly underneath. Dust gets in everywhere, including behind cabinets, in drawers, inside the trailer itself, etc [P2]
  • ISSUE-14: Ground wire for copper gas line popped out, probably knocked out by a rock or two [P1/Fixed]
  • ISSUE-15: One rivet missing in the frame by the rear door and slightly larger door opening, with a possible emergence of body/frame separation (as of 8/2/2006 this has worsened to two rivets popped. As of 8/15/06 it is now possible to squeeze a finger in between bottom frame rafter and trailer floor when there should be no gap at all) [P1/fixed]; Taken care of at Airstream factory (as of 8/25/06)
  • ISSUE-16: Small plastic tab that holds lid to sewer hose compartment has vanished. Now we have to leave lid on the ground instead of having in dangle. On 8/17/06 the lid came off on the highway at an unknown location and the sewer hose escaped. We think the old hose might live happily somewhere in southern Idaho. New lid purchased and installed on 8/25/06. [P3/fixed]
  • ISSUE-17: Black water leak, possibly a seal by the dump valve or a pin-hole. It smells very bad in bathroom. This was a minor issue before. It is a major issue now. Fixed by factory on 8/24/06. [P1/fixed]
  • ISSUE-18: Microwave oven receded by 6 inches into the wall. One might argue that this is our fault, since the original microwave broke a few years ago. But, be aware of that our installation is actually holding it in place better than the original. We could obviously have tightened it down some more. [P1/partial fix]
  • ISSUE-19: One food shelf had its track snap off in kitchen area. [P1/fixed]
  • ISSUE-20: Coffee grinder and coffee beans fell out of cupboard above the sink and chipped the sink. In some sense, we could have avoided this if we used Velcro to keep those doors shut. Still, it would not be hard to envision better locking mechanisms for doors. [P3]
  • ISSUE-21: Shower door fell off for the third time during the past four days. This time, it fell into the shower, shaving several nice marks in the tub and on the metal. One hinge pin vanished into the drain. By a stroke of luck, the leaking shampoo bottle, and some other bottles that opened up, reduced the friction a bit in the fiberglass tub. [P1/partial fix]
  • ISSUE-22: Door lock to bathroom storage (with toilet paper) broke and toilet paper rolled out into hallway. See ISSUE-20. [P1/partial fix]
  • ISSUE-23: Towel hanger behind toilet came off the wall. Could probably have been avoided if the screws were torqued a bit better. [P1/fixed]
  • ISSUE-24: One hinge to overhead bathroom mirror snapped off, leaving mirror dangling out into the hallway. Aside from some wall shavings, it was pure luck we did not have more damage from that, including a broken mirror. Clearly a case of flimsy screws and a missing latch. [P1/fixed]
  • ISSUE-25: Bathroom door track came undone from the ceiling. The door needs a resting block rather than being completely suspended from the ceiling. Have gotten info and screws from Airstream factory as of 8/25/06 [P2]
  • ISSUE-26: Drawers on each side of master bed fell out. [P2]
  • ISSUE-27: Shower tub moved a half inch into the stall area (some screws bent in the floor and some popped out of the wall) [P1/partial fix]
  • ISSUE-28: Trim above shower came undone. Likely caused by ISSUE-27. [P3]
  • ISSUE-29: Wood trim at the bottom of the shower tub came undone. Likely caused by ISSUE-27. [P2/fixed]
  • ISSUE-30: Front door hard to close [P2/fixed]. Fixed as of 8/25/06
  • ISSUE-31: Bed light on one side came apart and off the wall (twice). Poorly torqued screws again. [P1/fixed]
  • ISSUE-32: Bathroom sink is leaking (if you keep water in it). It may just need to be resealed. [P1]
  • ISSUE-33: Stove came loose and moved out by 1 1/2 inch from its normal position. The fundamental problem is the lack of support for the stove from beneath coupled with undersized and poorly installed screws for the kitchen counter. [P1/fixed]
  • ISSUE-34: Most of the cabinets along the kitchen sink wall, including closet and drawers by bedroom, came loose from floor and moved out by 1/2 inch into the hallway. The fundamental problem is that they've used too few and too small screws to hold the cabinets to the floor. [P1/fixed]
  • ISSUE-35: Kitchen counter sank by 1 1/2 inch in the corner by the stove (came undone from the wall). Probably caused by a combination of ISSUE-33 and ISSUE-34. [P1/fixed]
  • ISSUE-36: Part of bedroom door track came undone from the ceiling. See also ISSUE-25. [P2]
  • ISSUE-37: One (more) of our clothes drawers jammed in place. This has been caused by a combination of insufficient screws to hold the track mechanisms to the drawers and split plastic ends of the tracks from overtightened fasteners against the back wall. This latter sub-problem is evident in many places in the trailer. See also ISSUE-19. [P1]
  • ISSUE-38: Water drain plug for fresh water tank was knocked into pieces by a rock. This explains why we had no water in Deadhorse. More recent Airstreams (we understand) have a rock shield protecting it. Last leak for it fixed on 8/23/06. Factory also also installed shield on my request. [P1/fixed]
  • ISSUE-39: New leak by the front window opened up. This has now been diagnosed to a poorly sealing front window gasket. As of 8/23/06 I have purchased a new gasket from factory. [P1]
  • ISSUE-40: Main copper gas line under trailer full of dimples from rocks. We may need to replace it when we get back home. It should have been covered with snake-skin or something like that, from the factory. [P1]
  • ISSUE-41: Several rivets holding gas lines under belly have just popped out, leaving several clamps just free-spinning around the copper lines. [P2/fixed]
  • ISSUE-42: More than a handfull of rivets have popped at the bottom of the front exterior aluminum (below the front window), along with trim strip covering rivets coming loose. Unclear if this is another variant of frame/trailer separation but this time in the front (see ISSUE-15). [P1/fixed] Fixed at the Airstream factory as of 8/25/06
  • ISSUE-43: There have been instances when the water pump have come-on for a few seconds in the middle of the night with no obvious faucets open. It is possible we are suffering from a small leak somewhere. [P1]

And here are some isses with the trailer that have been with us for some time:
  • ISSUE-44: Overhead light in bathroom stopped working (during this trip). We've determined it is not the light tubes themselves. Have purchased replacement light fixture from the factory as of 8/25/06. [P2]
  • ISSUE-45: Not very practical to clean out rear bumper drawer. It collects lots of dust and dirt in places like the Dalton Highway, but you only have two tiny holes to wash it out through. Older models had a small trap door in the rear area that made it possible to just hose things out. [P5]
  • ISSUE-46: Black-water flush valve is blocked. This happened during our trip to Eastern Canada in 2002. Fixed by factory on 8/23/06. [P2/fixed]
  • ISSUE-47: The truck is not charging the trailer batteries; this has likely been with us for some time but only become apparent when we've done considerable boondocking. After testing at the Airstream factory we've concluded this is a truck problem [P1]
  • ISSUE-48: Stairs into trailer do not ride properly in their tracks. As a result, the stairs wedge, sit sideways and are hard to fold back. Fixed by factory on 8/23/06. [P2]
  • ISSUE-49: Radio antenna is no longer able to "grab" as you pull it out. As a result, we cannot keep antenna up. I purchased a replacement antenna on 8/23/06 but have not yet installed it. Got it installed at the Airstream factory on 8/25/06 [P3]
  • ISSUE-50: Some ground fault or whatever means we can no longer read the level of the propane tanks on panel in kitchen (one tank shows full all the time and the other shows empty) [P4]
  • ISSUE-51: The usual clearcoat peeling on the end caps [P2]
  • ISSUE-52: Rods for windows are rusting (again), after having been replaced by the factory in 2000 with a "better" batch [P2]
  • ISSUE-53: We seen an exagerated reading for level in gray water tank [P2]

I am sure you are all wondering how well the Chevrolet truck held up?
  1. A flat tire. The only thing that can be held against GM on this one is the rate by which their stock tires has worn out, despite being rotated as per their manual. I would have expected more miles out of these tires. Most of this took place before the odometer had hit 35,000 miles.
  2. Deep groves on the inside of the aluminum rims, from rocks that got caught in between the rim and the stationary parts of the wheel hub assemblies. Hard to say if this is a GM issue. It is plausible this could have been avoided with slightly larger rims, something both Ford and Dodge seems to have caught onto. But one might question our wisdom of travelling on this sort of a road with nice rims. Then again, this is a Heavy Duty truck so one could have expected a bit better.
  3. A clogged fuel filter. Not a GM issue.