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Ohmman's Airstream Adventures

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Thanks for sharing your Airstream + X adventures with us! I am curious about your suspension problems since I have a 2020 X. Can you say more about the issues and any fixes or lack there of? Enjoy the Ys!
We had the front axles replaced a year and a half after purchasing the car due to the shudder issue. It resurfaced but also some other noises and odd steering "feel" a bit less than a year ago, when our warranty was just about to expire. The Service Center said they couldn't reproduce but that they'd make a note of it. Fast forward to last month and the steering feel had become downright dangerous on some of the rutted highway roads we drive on in the mountains. There are shallow "trenches" cut by semis with chains and the X would fall into those but occasionally would just "pull" us out violently requiring steering correction. It was pretty scary.

I took it into service, and they said that they had no record of my appointment the previous year. They said that they saw a "canceled" appointment and they thought it must have been mobile service (it wasn't, I visited the brand new Service Center). The fix was to replace the axles/half shafts, which struck me as odd considering I had only had shuddering issues with them before. I eventually begrudgingly approved the replacement ($2k) and they called once it was done to let me know that the bushings on my control arms were all cracked and the control arms needed replacement (another $4k). That was enough for me.

Between our 2016 and 2020 X we replaced the half shafts 5x. It's possible some of the wear and tear is due to towing, but we tow under the rated capacity for the vehicle, so it really shouldn't be an excuse. I think the weight, torque, and design of the X is rough on the suspension. Plus, we were happy to get into a smaller vehicle as our kids are teenagers now and we're not carting lots of kids on field trips etc.

I am sure you'll have better luck. Timing just worked for us to get out of the car.
 
No. I mean the GVWR is the max it is allowed to weigh loaded. What is the GVW of the trailer empty?
I never reached the GVWR of my Airstream, even when loaded and full of water.

The Rivet's base weight is 2800 lbs. I suspect it would be easy enough to keep the total weight under 3200 lbs. One of the more important forces is the hitch weight, which is rated at 300 lbs (max) on the Rivet. That's comfortably below the 350 lb limit of the Y.
 
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I never reached the GVWR of my Airstream, even when loaded and full of water.

The Rivet's base weight is 2800 lbs. I suspect it would be easy enough to keep the total weight under 3200 lbs. One of the more important forces is the hitch weight, which is rated at 300 lbs (max) on the Rivet. That's comfortably below the 350 lb limit of the Y.
Yah. The weight of our trailer is 2870 empty. Loaded with water ready for camping is 3385. The GVWR is 3900.
Hitch weight is 340.

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We had the front axles replaced a year and a half after purchasing the car due to the shudder issue. It resurfaced but also some other noises and odd steering "feel" a bit less than a year ago, when our warranty was just about to expire. The Service Center said they couldn't reproduce but that they'd make a note of it. Fast forward to last month and the steering feel had become downright dangerous on some of the rutted highway roads we drive on in the mountains. There are shallow "trenches" cut by semis with chains and the X would fall into those but occasionally would just "pull" us out violently requiring steering correction. It was pretty scary.

I took it into service, and they said that they had no record of my appointment the previous year. They said that they saw a "canceled" appointment and they thought it must have been mobile service (it wasn't, I visited the brand new Service Center). The fix was to replace the axles/half shafts, which struck me as odd considering I had only had shuddering issues with them before. I eventually begrudgingly approved the replacement ($2k) and they called once it was done to let me know that the bushings on my control arms were all cracked and the control arms needed replacement (another $4k). That was enough for me.

Between our 2016 and 2020 X we replaced the half shafts 5x. It's possible some of the wear and tear is due to towing, but we tow under the rated capacity for the vehicle, so it really shouldn't be an excuse. I think the weight, torque, and design of the X is rough on the suspension. Plus, we were happy to get into a smaller vehicle as our kids are teenagers now and we're not carting lots of kids on field trips etc.

I am sure you'll have better luck. Timing just worked for us to get out of the car.
Thanks, I had my half shafts (under warranty) and upper control arms (out of warranty but cheap $300$ replaced. I tow once a year or so (U-Haul), only had the one trip with the AS. Fingers crossed my suspension stays solid. Your situation did sound scary. Were you able to trade in? I’m considering going up to a CyberTruck, I hope it’s better for towing.
 
It's been over 7 years since I started this thread and I'm somewhat sad to report that we plan to sell our Airstream. We decided to trade in our Model X after some continued suspension issues and an overall desire for a smaller everyday car. I had already replaced my S with a Y, and Wohmman kept "stealing" it as she preferred it strongly. So now we have two Ys, and neither are rated to tow the Airstream.

There are a few other factors - our kids are 17 and 14 and aren't really coming along with us on trips these days. We also purchased a second home in the mountains a couple of years ago and it provides us a lot of access to the things we often do while camping. That said, our days of being in a camper are unlikely to be over. Once the kids are out of the house, I can definitely see us getting back to the road again. I've been eyeballing the new Bowlus Rivet, which we could tow with a Model Y, and would be a perfect fit for two.

I can say unequivocally that the trips we took with our Model X and Airstream rank at the very top of the things we've done as a family. I will always remember what we were able to see and do, and the time we were able to spend together. I'd have never made this choice if my tow vehicle was an ICE, so for that I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Model X. I also really enjoyed geeking out about the whole towing thing.

Life moves on!

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Loved reading and watching the Airstream adventures man !!! I too feel the sadness of what once was, my boys are now 17 and 15 and hanging out with the old folks is getting rarer and rarer.