The Window Flew Off Our Airstream Basecamp
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If you found this blog post through a Google search, you’ve probably just had a really strange day. Welcome, friend.
I’ve been there. One minute you’re cruising along the highway with your camper in tow for some epic adventure, and then next thing you know, you either see your Airstream Basecamp window go sailing off in your wake or you stop for some reason and discover your Basecamp door’s window vanished like a bad Tinder date.
You probably stood there with your eyes bugging out of your head and cartoon exclamation points over your head before unleashing your four-letter vocabulary and looking around you as though your window would once again materialize.
Here’s what happened to us: we were towing our 2017 Airstream Basecamp from Charleston, South Carolina to a Hipcamp reservation in Jacksonville, Florida (more on that experience later) when I realized I’d left something important in the house.
Fortunately, we were only 20 minutes into the drive. We pulled back into the driveway, I grabbed the papers I needed, and Logan stuck his head in the window with wild lemur eyes. “We have a big problem,” he said. “Like, BIG!”
The entire window had fallen off our Airstream Basecamp door. Like, SHE GONE. Vanished without a trace. Poof. While Logan’s brain was stuck about on the “How did this happen?” notch on the WTF odometer, mine was firmly on, “Oh my God, where did it go?” What if it hit someone?
We circled back on our route immediately and repeatedly, and there was zero trace of the said missing Basecamp window in or on the side of the highway. While it would have been cool to find the window, we were hugely relieved not to find any other cars wrecked or pulled over on the side of the road. Most likely, the stupid thing sailed over the wall into the ocean below - a huge sarcastic yay to accidentally creating more ocean pollution.
SPOILER ALERT: there’s a recall on the 2017 Airstream Basecamp door’s window. This was 100% news to us, despite the research Logan had done prior to our purchase. Apparently, this has actually happened to a really alarming number of people, and the idea of dodging airborne Basecamp windows sailing through the air at 70 minutes an hour is some Matrix shit I don’t aspire to.
What To Do When the Door Comes Off Your Airstream Basecamp
For real, this is not a blog post I ever thought I’d be writing. However, once our window did go airborne and sailing off into the ether, we weren’t sure where to start.
Step 1: If you’re somewhere safe, I strongly advise detaching your Basecamp to retrace your steps and make sure the window didn’t strike another car and/or injure a driver or pedestrian. This is scary, I know, but it’s also the right thing to do. If it did, you hopefully have good insurance, and you should go through the proper channels to document the accident.
Just a note: you likely had no way of knowing this was even a remote possibility. We’ve been looking into Airstreams for ages, and this was a big honkin’ newsflash to us. It was only after we posted to a Facebook group and found a few Reddit threads that we realized how widespread this whole accidentally-force-ejecting-window thing is.
Step 2: You’ll want to call a certified Airstream repair center ASAP to get your Basecamp assessed and fixed up. This happened to us during the time of COVID, however, so everywhere we called was backlogged for weeks, and ordered parts were taking up to six weeks to arrive.
Step 3: Ok, you’ve laid the groundwork for getting your missing Basecamp window properly repaired, but what the heck are you supposed to do in the meantime? Hope it doesn’t rain in the next six weeks, and you don’t find a family of squirrels throwing a rave inside your camper?
If you’re me, you faceplant in some carbs while sitting on the kitchen floor with the dog. If you’re my husband, you start brainstorming a DIY bandaid for your missing Basecamp window.
You’re going to either want to 1) park it somewhere that will protect your camper from the elements coming straight through that gaping hole and put a tarp up, or 2) you’re going to need a more durable and humidity-proof solution for your impromptu pass-through / gaping hole.
How to Temporarily Fix Your Airstream Basecamp Window
What you will need:
1/4 inch thick plexiglass
A Sharpie
A measuring tape
How to fix your window:
I’m assuming that the GAPING HOLE left by your now AWOL window is the same size as ours since the recall is supposedly a seal issue, so you need a rectangle that measures 28 inches high by 25.25 inches long.
If you can get someone to cut your sheet of plexiglass for you, that will save you a step. If not, you’ll need to very carefully measure these dimensions out onto a much larger sheet of plexiglass, like we did, taking care to keep the corners a crisp 90 degrees.
Make your cuts with a table saw, but definitely wear protective eyewear. Tiny shards of plastic are going to go everywhere.
Line up your plexiglass with the missing portion and have a helper FIRMLY press the plexiglass against the remaining portion of your door. Secure the plexiglass with several shorter pieces of tightly pulled Gorilla Glue tape to anchor it in position. Then, tape all your edges firmly with Gorilla Glue tape, keeping in mind that this will be your barrier between humidity, insects, and whathaveyou until the actual repair is completed. You want this to be tight; you do not want gaps or holes. We ran ours over the hinge as well, because why not.
There you have it! A makeshift window. We considered spray painting our plexiglass replacement window black before inserting it (it was humid, we were in a hurry, and the risk versus reward wasn’t worth it when considering what a pain in the butt it would be to get black smudgy fingerprints all over the place if we touched the tacky paint) or covering it with tape for privacy, but it ended up being a non-issue.
It rained all weekend while we camped, and that little plexiglass window held up so much better than we possibly imagined.
It’s been real, but let’s all hope to God I won’t be writing any more blog posts on what to do when pieces of your Airstream Basecamp go flying off while you’re driving.
Now, go fix your window and get you a beer. You earned it today, buddy.
