About to buy an Agile with all electric.....

[Smooth2o]

Put a down payment on an Agile all electric 2017 Roadtrek. Some dealers indicated that the lithium battery system have had a lot of problems. Actually, this was the dealer who carries Airstream Nineteens on the 144 chassis for Mercedes. Then, he stated that Airstream has no intention of using lithium batteries and all the other features (engine auto start, engine generator, etc). They think that they are not capable of doing the job. This, the comment that came back from the Airstream help line for the dealer.

So what am I looking at in problems? I am a computer engineer and have owned boats for many many years and have dealt with issues like this....

[Smooth2o]

Forgot to mention that it has a 400AH lithium system with 300W solar.

[rowiebowie]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum!

Nothing wrong with a Roadtrek so long as you get it at a low enough price to offset the loss of warranty. Your short model does not have the 3rd or 4th captains chairs like the longer Roadtreks so your model should not be involved in their failure on some models to meet safety requirements (at least I hope yours is not on the list). Read here:

http://www.classbforum.com/forums/f5...fail-9317.html

From reading other threads in this forum, the Ecotrek lithiums were very problematic for some owners. I hope they got the main problems worked out by your model year, but if you have any problems, search the Ecotrek threads here for help.

http://www.classbforum.com/forums/se...archid=1158146

Good luck.

[Smooth2o]

Originally Posted by rowiebowie

Congratulations and welcome to the forum!

Nothing wrong with a Roadtrek so long as you get it at a low enough price to offset the loss of warranty. Your short model does not have the 3rd or 4th captains chairs like the longer Roadtreks so your model should not be involved in their failure on some models to meet safety requirements (at least I hope yours is not on the list). Read here:

http://www.classbforum.com/forums/f5...fail-9317.html

From reading other threads in this forum, the Ecotrek lithiums were very problematic for some owners. I hope they got the main problems worked out by your model year, but if you have any problems, search the Ecotrek threads here for help.

http://www.classbforum.com/forums/se...archid=1158146

Good luck.

Wow, thanks. Things I didn't know, very helpful. Will look them up.

[Knit]

The Agile does not have the second row of seats

[Keyne]

All electric so it has The Alde heating system? We have an all electric Agile (with AGMs so no lithiums and no volt start) and had issues with the Alde system. It was fixed (new sensors, new board, new glycol tank), but it took months to figure out and multiple trips to the dealer. All fixed under warranty at the time but without the warranty I would check that it works. For instance I would turn it on and heat the cabin and then drive it... our board issues with error codes would not show up until it was driven and shake loose... it was hard to diagnose and maybe was a rare thing but it’s a complicated system and worth checking. If you do have issues down the road Alde customer service was great.

Also the van is awesome. I think it’s perfect size for two people and the underhood generator, Alde heat, no propane is a great setup. Good luck and if you questions feel free to ask. Also the Roadtrek owners group on Facebook is very very helpful. Good group of people and you don’t need to own one to join.

[Smooth2o]

Thanks for the insight.

I am now making up a list of how to check out that everything works. Pretty difficult when you consider all the systems and possible combinations. For example, I didn’t consider to add monitoring systems while driving.

I have as an option to get a 6 year warranty from an independent company. Trying to decide if that’s worth it. OTOH, there are so many things that can go wrong.....

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Smooth2o

Put a down payment on an Agile all electric 2017 Roadtrek. Some dealers indicated that the lithium battery system have had a lot of problems. Actually, this was the dealer who carries Airstream Nineteens on the 144 chassis for Mercedes. Then, he stated that Airstream has no intention of using lithium batteries and all the other features (engine auto start, engine generator, etc). They think that they are not capable of doing the job. This, the comment that came back from the Airstream help line for the dealer.

So what am I looking at in problems? I am a computer engineer and have owned boats for many many years and have dealt with issues like this....

Airstream will continue to loose market share if the don't follow the trend to Lithium batteries. I would not consider buying another one unless they start to offer an all electric model with Lithium batteries.

[sanderpjwi]

When EHGNA went into receivership I researched purchasing an extended warranty. I did find one insurance company that the warranty would have covered the lithium's. I decided not to insure and am self-insured. I have had absolutely zero problems with our 2018 CS adventurous with two Ecotreks and the alde heat system

[Smooth2o]

I agree. I am not going to purchase the warranty either. The one I looked at did not cover the batteries. Or the cabinets or the door or the ...... But I still have a few more years on the 2500 chassis!!

[arvitrekking]

We have a 2018 purchased in October.
Here are the issues we have had with it.
Alde dump valve not aligned with hole in chassis-adjusted
Alde Expansion tank defective-replaced
Fantastic vent motor squeaking-replaced
Fantastic vent dome lock added to prevent noise at highway speed
Underhood generator idler pulley broke off-repaired
Solar controller (Tracer) defective-replaced
Power couch drive screw broken. Couch converted to manual operation.
Alde dump valve not aligned with hole in chassis-adjusted
Alde Expansion tank defective-replaced
Fantastic vent motor squeaking-replaced
Fantastic vent dome lock added to prevent noise at highway speed
Underhood generator idler pulley broke off-repaired
Solar controller (Tracer) defective-replaced
Power couch drive screw broken. Couch converted to manual operation.

[Smooth2o]

Ouch. That’s a lot of problems....

[arvitrekking]

Yes. Unfortunately RT went under and I had to handle them myself. Alde and Dometic were great and sent me replacement parts. The other issues were out of my pocket.
Hopefully we are done with the repairs for a while.