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Old 02-10-2004, 09:28 AM   #1
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Restoration help in Tampa area

Hi All...Hope this is the right forum for this. We got a hold of a 23' 1969 Safari from a friend of the family's a couple years back, and quite honestly don't know what to do with it!

We'd love to restore it and use it for traveling, and perhaps as a studio for my budding architect wife. But it does need quite a bit of work...most of which is out of my league. We took it to Conley RV awhile back for a general inspection, and they claim it's in fairly good shape. I can tell you it needs new LP tanks, a new fridge, new A/C (required down here in Florida!), and some plumbing and electrical work. Some minor body work as well.

I am far from mechanically inclined, and most of my free time goes to working around the house! We hate the fact that it sits in our driveway unused. We really want to start camping, and at this point need to decide whether to invest some $$$ for the restoration, or just sell her and buy a new trailer. We have folks inquiring all the time to see if it's for sale, and we always turn them down--cuz if we get rid of it, we know we'll likely never have another Airstream!

Unlike the other recent thread on service dealers around Tampa, I was wondering if there were any restoration / service specialists in the Tampa area that would be willing to come out and do the work on site...kind of like an Airstream Handyman?!?

Can anyone recommend somebody? Would certainly appreciate any suggestions , words-of-wisdom, or other options!

Thanks,
Steve
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Old 02-10-2004, 09:33 AM   #2
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Hope you find a handyman, but what ever you do, beware of RV Dealers, unless you just won the lottery.

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Old 02-10-2004, 09:40 AM   #3
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Steve,

There used to be a guy that lived at Travelers Rest that did on site repairs. He had a truck and did almost anything folks wanted. You could call their office and see if they know who he is. Most places will want you to take it to them. It will save some money in the long run because they will have all the tools and parts right there in the parts room. I have heard lots of good things about Walt's RV in Ocala. He will not be the cheapest, but almost all he does is Airstream.
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Old 02-10-2004, 10:32 AM   #4
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Quote:
it needs new LP tanks, a new fridge, new A/C (required down here in Florida!), and some plumbing and electrical work. Some minor body work as well.
Steve, a few things to think about. First, consider that the stuff you are talking about amounts to a couple thousand bucks (heck, you can spend that just for the new fridge and A/C if you get a propane/elec fridge). And the plumbing & electrical work often turns into a "project" which often means big bucks if you aren't handy enough to tackle some of it yourself.

Secondarily, body work on an Airstream is rarely minor. Often fixing damage means panel replacements and those panels can be extraordinarily expensive.

But that's only the bad news. There are ways to mitigate all that. I'd get an estimate on the body damage and then consider just living with it (as long as the body is not leaking). Later you might get up to speed on the technique for removing & replacing panels (with the help of this forum of course!) and fix it yourself. You don't have to be extremely handy to drill out a rivet and put in a new one, you just need someone to show you how.

So my $0.02 is to take it to an experienced Airstream specialist like Walt's RV and get an honest assessment of the most pressing problems before you decide what to do.

Also, why the requirement to do the work "on site"? In your position, I'd probably just ship it off to the specialist with a list of the agreed-upon fixes, and expect it back in a month or two. It won't come back "perfect" but if you can budget $2000 or more this would probably get you happily camping this year, whereas the constant fix-fix-fix in the driveway could be like water torture.

In any case, I'd rather put the money in the '69 Safari than any other brand trailer ... your 1969 has already depreciated as much as it is going to, and you'll probably get at least half of any repair investment back if/when you decide to sell.

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Old 02-10-2004, 11:26 AM   #5
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My $.02

Any travel trailer is going to be over $15,000 for a new one. Even a decent pop-up runs anywhere from $5,000 to $12,000.
To get a new 20 foot SOB, you would probably be looking at over $20,000, you could make that Airstream of yours almost showroom new for less, unless it is a basket case. That is much less than half what a new Airstream costs, plus you get the "cool factor" of having a genuine anti-cue to roll around the country in. Also, after you spend all that money buying new, you probably will have to replace your new SOB in a few years (as few as 5) to keep a good-looking one in the driveway. The Airstream doesn't fall apart like the other brands of trailers out there. The other trailers are predominately wood-frame, nailed together. And I am sure you know what happens when you wiggle two nailed-together boards long enough, they get loose and come apart. Same theory with the SOB's.
Sooo... Hang onto your trailer, if you don't have time or money to start restoring it right now, just do enough to stabilize it, so it will not deteriorate further, and get beck to it as time and money permit.
My two cents worth.
Terry
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Old 02-10-2004, 12:01 PM   #6
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Restoration help in Tampa area

Thanks for all your feedback...This really helps.

I have a little skepticism with dealers, which is why I was thinking of an individual. Got bad vibes from Conley RV when I took the trailer there, and the same with Lazy Days out on I-4 when I inquired about repairs. I expect any work to be much more expensive at a dealer.

With an individual, I was thinking I could break up the effort into several projects, and hopefully split payments. This would be easier for our budget. Plus, I would hope that such a person would have more experience with Airstreams than a generalist at a dealer. AND, this would give me the opportunity to watch and maybe learn a few things! :-)

RL...We thought the same thing. I'd hate to spend $5-10K on a new trailer if this is all it would take to get our Safari in decent working order.

Sounds like I'll have to seriously consider Walt's RV!

Again...Thanks.

Steve
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Old 02-10-2004, 12:20 PM   #7
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Steve,

Based on your last post, Walt's is what you are looking for. Walt and Paul are the entire repair workforce. So you will be able to deal with the owner and the guy who does the work at the same time. Walt and Paul will be doing minor on site repairs in Sarasota so if you want to met him stopping in would be a chance to do so and discuss these things in person.
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Old 02-16-2004, 05:59 AM   #8
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Restoration help in Tampa area

Thanks again to everybody who replied. "Sneaknup" was kind enuff to stop by on Saturday and check-out our Safari. Although the appliances and systems were manageable for repairs, it turns out that there's some soft spots in the plywood flooring around the door, front, and back (near the toilet), and that this would also need to be fixed.

This is simply not a project I'm equipped to handle now, so I'm going to list her with hopes that there's somebody out there who is!

Will followup on the For Sale and Wanted forum. Thanks Guys!

Steve
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