[A/S] Trip to Jackson Center

[Jack Canavera <jackcanavera@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all!  Because of my problems with my A/C, Airstream
asked me to stop by Jackson Center during my recent
vacation.  As is ended up we spent a week in Mackinaw
Michigan so droping down to Jackson Center only added
an additional 100 miles to my trip.

For those of you who don't know, Jackson Center Ohio
is home of A/S is about 50 miles south of Toledo Ohio
and 48 miles north of Dayton Ohio.  The factory is
about 7 miles east of a junction with I-75 and is on
your left as you drive into town.  Across the street
is the administrative offices for A/S. The Service
Center is also there on the left as you pass the
factory (which sits well off the road). Across the
street is the commercial facility for special use A/S.
 WBCCI headquarters is a few block east into town.  

As you pass the front of the Service Center you make a
left turn onto the grounds and drive towards the rear
of the building.  You will find a small campground
available with full hookups.  The layout of the
campground is the wheel and spoke fashion.  There are
three wheels available and all sites are back in's.

Although there is a sign which says $10 a night, no
one asks for money and there seems to be no concern as
to anyone paying for the site.  According to a
brochure that they have available, you can stay the
day before, the day of, and the day after your
scheduled repairs.

We came in the day before our scheduled appointment
and had no problem in finding a space.  The Service
Center is large and has many service bays.  You walk
to the front of the building and enter the lobby area.

To your left is a receptionist and to the right is a
very large waiting area with a big screen TV,
satellite receiver, many sofas, easy chairs, and
eating tables and chairs.  There is a free local
telephone (analog) so PC's can easily be hooked up. 
There are also vending machines, and a coffee, tea,
and hot chocolate machine (this one is set to be used
for free).  Further through the large lounge area is
the Airstream store where you can pickup items and
order parts.

The hours for the Service Center are 7AM-5PM (although
it is open before 7AM.  On a table in the lounge is a
clip board and you sign in your name and appointment
date.  Once you sign up you sit and wait for someone
to call your name.  The person calling your name is a
service rep. who will take you back to an office where
you will give them your information regarding your
needs and the key's to your trailer or motor home.

The rules are first come first served (with
appointments taking precidence over drop ins).  Note
that pets are not allowed in the Service Center so
Patty stayed with the dogs in the trailer in the
campground area and I stayed in the waiting area. 
More on this issue later.

So we got up the next day at the crack of dawn and I
got over to the Service Center and was signed up first
on the list.  Shortly there after I was called by a
service rep. and my order was written.  I was told to
stay in the waiting area and that they would let me
know when they planned to go down and pick up my
trailer from the campsight.  The service rep. noted
that they had some carryovers from the previous day
and they would be ahead of me.  At that point I sat
for the entire day.  (Thankfully I met a lot great
people who were there for work which made the time
pass quickly).

At 4:15 PM they had still not taken my trailer
(although they were servicing others) so I asked
whether they were going to get to me today.  They said
no and that ended day 1.  It ended up the air
conditioner service people (2) were working all day on
a motor home A/C problem (which was a carry over from
the day before).

The next day they took my trailer in about 7:45 AM.  I
also requested that they swap out my stabilizer jacks.
 They completed the work around 4:15 PM.  I stayed
overnight and left the next morning.

Now here are a few things to remember if you plan on
having repairs or other work done at Jackson Center.

1. Everyone there (having work done) couldn't say
enough about the quality of the work performed at the
center and the qualifications of the workers. 

2. Keep in mind that even though you have an
appointment, they may not get to you if there are
carry over's (people there from the previous day).

3. Note that it seems that most people will come in
with additional work beyond what the Service Center
expected.  I noticed that my hinge pin on my entry
door was working its way out and I also asked for new
stabilizer jacks to be installed.  They added this
work onto my order.  

4. The work done is good and they will take the time
to do the job right.  They don't rush just because
there are others waiting.  Keep this in mind if you
are expecting to get in and out quickly.

5. If they don't complete your repairs, they will get
your trailer back to the campground so you can spend
the night. Remember though that you are expected to be
out of the trailer by 7 AM so that they can continue
their work (a few folks told me that they showed up at
6:45).

6. There is a diner about a block west of the Service
Center.  There is a grocery about 2 blocks east, a
first run movie theater ($2.50), hardware, and a
couple of pizza parlors.  There is also a motel next
to the diner. There is also an outside pay phone
attached to the Service Center building for after
hours calls.

7. Supposedly as they near the end of the week they
may pull some extra help from the plant to try to get
everyone done.  Though some of the carry over's had
been there since Thursday the week before.

8. Remember that they have specialists on certain
items, so if they get tied up on another job, you will
wait.  

9. In some cases they will bring people back from the
factory to work on some problems.  One fellow had a
new slide out 30' trailer that had a leak in the slide
out.  They brought a factory person over to help
install some manufacturing upgrades.

10.  They sometimes have to fabricate parts at the
factory, if they aren't being made.  This may keep you
there for an extra day or two.

11. Some work is done at the plant rather than the
service center.  A gentleman was there for new brakes,
wheel bearing repack, new tires, and an axle
alignment.  Tire mounting and balancing can only be
done at the factory.  So the tires and wheels were
pulled at the service center but were not sent over to
the factory.  The mechanic worked on the brakes and
bearings then had to drive the wheels himself over to
the plant.  Two hours later he came back with the new
tires mounted. (I would have expected someone else to
drive the wheels over while the mechanic continued his
work on the trailer).  I also witnessed a mechanic
being pulled off a job to fill a gas bottle.  This
sometimes explains why things tend to take some time.

12.  Hourly labor rates are $62.

13.  Pets are an issue you have to plan for.  One
owner who had a blind dog stayed in the motorhome in
the rear with the dog as it was being serviced.  Patty
sat out in the van under the trees in the campground
area.  The weather was cool enough although we
probably would have run the air in the van if
necessary.  One couple brought their toy poodle into
the waiting area.  They had the dog in a small travel
bag and kept the dog quiet and in it.  One person
waiting reminded them that the door sign said no pets.
 Personally I didn't have a problem with this
circumstance, although I would not bring my two in
since they wouldn't be that good.

14.  Once they are done with the work they escort you
out to the service area where the mechanic who worked
on your trailer tells you what he did.  You have the
opportuntity to ask further questions.  Once you are
satisfied you sign a document that says that you have
talked to someone about your repairs and that you have
no further questions.

Finally if you can do it, take the factory tour.  It's
done a 2PM every week day and it lasts almost 90
minutes.  The tour guide was a 40+ year retired
employee.  You are allowed to take pictures or videos.
 I was surprised that we were allowed to see as much
and in some cases to get inside the trailers as they
were being assembled.  You really get an appreciation
of the construction and the amount of labor required
to build these units.  The plant is currently building
about 14 trailers and 6 motor homes a week.  

I just got my pictures back so I'll get them scanned
and posted so you can get some additional flavor of
the trip.

By the way, my original problem with the Air
Conditioner?  No operational problems were found, no
air intrusion was found.  My entry door was realigned
and I have noticed that it is fitting tighter.  I also
(before I left St. Louis)replaced a gasket in the
refrigerator compartment that sealed the sides of the
refrigerator against the inside walls of the trailer. 
My gasket is much thicker and prevents the heat in the
compartment from migrating against the side walls of
the refrigerator.  I still have not experienced any
90+ degree temperatures yet although it was 89 today
and the unit was holding 74 degrees inside.  Who
knows?  They did advise me that if I was still having
trouble, have the dealer pull a similar trailer out of
inventory and do a side by side run to verify
performance.

Hopefully I'll get the pictures of the Service Center
and the factory posted in the next couple of days.

Regards,

Jack