Sutton Service

This morning we brought our Airstream to the Service Department at George Sutton RV in Eugene, OR. We didn’t have anything major on our list, we just figured since we’re in the neighborhood we should get the little things taken care of.

There are things we could do ourselves like tire pressure and wash, but sometimes it’s definitely more convenient to get it all done at once by someone else.

– INSPECT TONGUE JACK OPERATION AND LUBE AS NEEDED
Our jack has been making some funky sounds lately so we wanted to have them give it a look.

Correction: Inspected jack and found it to be working good. Pulled bubble level and sprayed with tri-flow. $25

– REPLACE BREAK AWAY CABLE WITH COIL TYPE
Correction: Removed old break-away cable and got new coiled cable installed. Put old cable in unit for the customer to have an extra. $12.50

– RE-SECURE REAR R/S STAB JACK
Cause: Old bolt that held jack up was striped out.
Correction: Had to drill out rear hole on jack to get new bigger screw through. Re-secured jack to unit. $75

– SET SCREW FOR WINDOW KNOB
Correction: Had no set screw to put in. $0

– FAN OVER BED IN NEED OF POWER
Cause: Found that the plunger that stops the fan when lid is closed was rusted down not allowing the fan to turn on. Also found that the rain sensor had some rust on it making the sensor think it was raining and only letting it close.

Correction: Checked all of the connections in the unit to make sure power was getting there, everything was good. Manually ran vent up and down few times and got the fan to turn on, but every time knob was locked on it would only close the lid. Got up on roof and found the plunger was rusty and the rain sensor was dirty. Cleaned out the top side of vent and vent lid. Sprayed plunger with some tri-flow and cleaned off the sensor really good. Went back in the unit and tested a few times and everything was working good. $62.50

– CHECK TIRE PRESSURE
Correction: Inflated all tires back up to 65 PSI. $12.50

– WASH
Correction: $1 per foot. $27.50

– PARTS
Zip 6 Breakaway Cable & Pin: $19.58
Frame Hitch Bolts: $2
Push Latch: $12.85

Grand Total: $259.41

If you’re interested in this kind of stuff, you might enjoy our repair timeline.

2014 Cost of Camping:
64 night paid camping
101 nights free camping
165 days this year
Total spent on camping this year: $1900
Daily average cost of camping: $11.52

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7 Comments

  • Reply Laura Domela June 16, 2014 at 4:43 pm

    Not bad at all. Glad you guys had a good experience! Usually we love Sutton, but our last service visit left a LOT to be desired:
    –Said they washed it: definitely didn’t.
    –Sawdust, dirty handprints and footprints all over the inside.
    –Someone sat on the dinette table to do the thing in the overhead cabinet and made it even more wonky than it already was.
    –Terrible fit and finish of the switch they installed in a very noticeable spot without even asking where we wanted it (I removed and replaced it myself).
    Super odd for what has always been good service. Maybe (I hope!) it was just a fluke! 🙂

    See you on Friday!

    • Reply Leigh June 16, 2014 at 5:08 pm

      Ugh. I always ask them to lay paper down on the floor, ever since our first service when it was brand new and the floors came back disgusting. Since then it’s been fine.

      See you Friday!

  • Reply Nan & John June 16, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    What a super great service and price. While in Eugene, check out the Farmer’s Market….look for Groundworks Organics….Tell Gabe or Sophie that the Talley’s sent you. Gabe grew us next door to us. Their produce and flowers are exceptional….not only that, but they, the veggies and fruit, taste good….lol

    • Reply Leigh June 17, 2014 at 1:35 pm

      Aw, we blew in as fast as we blew out. We’ve already moved on and are in the Portland area!

  • Reply jess harrison June 18, 2014 at 12:04 pm

    read list of your repairs. I’m surprised at the number of problems; since you bought a new airstream. granted the warranty was important but I wouldn’t have expected so many “issues” with a brand new rv. have you found this number of problems to be typical for other airstream owners?

    • Reply Leigh June 18, 2014 at 1:09 pm

      Hi Jess,

      For such an expensive trailer, I would expect to have a shorter repair list, however, there are 2 arguments in favor of Airstream.

      1. The big issues were mostly 3rd party items, like the Dexter axle, the Dometic toilet and the Atwood water heater.

      2. We’re full-time, rolling our home down the road once a week, sometimes down dirt roads. Our Airstream sees a lot more wear and tear than the weekend warriors.

      The 2 year warranty that came with the trailer was great and covered most of the big stuff. The only warranty issues we had were with Dometic. Our toilet needed replacing after a year and a half and they wouldn’t cover the “pitting” in the ball caused by calcified water. They also wouldn’t cover the broken shelf in our fridge calling it wear and tear (don’t put any milk containers in the door shelf).

  • Reply Rob Bryant June 21, 2014 at 7:12 am

    Wow did they really charge 12.50 to put air in tires. Makes me really like
    My rv repair service in Canada. I am used to paying parts and total shop hours . When we roll out kal tire does a complete 10 tire air and inspection
    Makes the $5 dollar tip I give the happy staff seem like a really great deal!

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