1977 Argosy 24' - Rear Door

[jshughes]

Well being new to this .....very nice

[247stream]

I just finished the test run on my repairs. the kitchen faucet simply needed new washers on the stems and it's dry now. The gate valve, which I expected to give me grief, appears resolved with graphite packing material and tightening the nut. I'll continue to check back over the next 24 hours to assure myself that all is well. the shower, now that's giving me some grief. without the hose attached the water isn't leaking anywhere. So I replaced the hose but it's leaking out the top of the hose, over the threads so I added some plumbers tape. now, it's leaking, not from the threads, but on top of the threads where there are little air holes? does that mean whatever 'checktype valve" that may have been in the faucet stem is broken? further investigation is required. if anyone understands what i'm saying please let me know your thoughts. back to work

[247stream]

okay, here's the 'oh crap' (dang it, I was hoping not to have one of these!) I believe our black tank may be leaking. all appeared fine during the 4 hour test but the overnight test showed me an empty tank. ugh :P of course, I can't 'see' the gray water tank and haven't attempted to check it as of yet but now with the possible black tank leak i'll wait until I open the belly so I can see that tank.

on the plus side, the water heater has completed its 4 day test (since I couldn't get the drain valve to open for days it got a longer test!) and no leaks.

also, got my appraisal back today with a very healthy valuation. good ol' airstreams and so started my agreed upon value ins policy today too.

moving forward.

[TG Twinkie]

Are you looking at some kind of tank monitor when you say the BW tank is empty?
You can look down the toilet to see if it is in fact empty. Have you opened the BW dump valve to see if anything comes out? If so, how much?
You could shut the pump off and close the city water valve. Then, using 1 gallon jugs, pour 5 gallons down the toilet. Let it set for 24 hours, then open the dump valve and measure the amount you get out. Of course the obvious is to look for anything dripping or running out of the bottom of the coach.

[247stream]

hooray, it turns out I was too quick on the 'oh crap'. long story short, I decided to double check my test before doing anything so drastic as dropping the belly pan and all was good. I believe that my valve was not closed all the way the first time. at some point either the valve or the handle was replaced and now it doesn't open/close smoothly or easily and so where I thought I had pushed it all the way closed I had not. whew, didn't really want to go there!

thanks for the advice twinkie, I did do a measured test by gal jugs and no, I have no tank monitor but adding dye to the water allowed me to see the water through the toilet. also, I figured if it did leak I would be able to trace the leak from the color if needed.

[overlander64]

Greetings 247stream!

Originally Posted by 247stream

hooray, it turns out I was too quick on the 'oh crap'. long story short, I decided to double check my test before doing anything so drastic as dropping the belly pan and all was good. I believe that my valve was not closed all the way the first time. at some point either the valve or the handle was replaced and now it doesn't open/close smoothly or easily and so where I thought I had pushed it all the way closed I had not. whew, didn't really want to go there!

It isn't uncommon for the gate valves to become sticky particularly during a period of extended storage. It is a condition that needs to be addressed as the rubber seal can be torn or abraded if it is sticking requiring the rebuilding of the valve. A long-time Airstreamer advised me to mix very hot water (2 parts water 1 part soap) with a quality grease-cutting dish soap (Dawn, Palmolive, etc.) and then using an old fashioned cotton dish mop on a flexible metal handle thoroughly scrub the inside of the dump valve(s). Once cleaned, the idea is that the soap will provide some lubricant to the rubber seals. This is one of those beginning of season "chores" for me . . . unpleasant but necessary.

Kevin

[247stream]

oh thanks for that tip! (I think haha)

[jbsails]

Very cool find, congratulations! I for one would enjoy seeing more photos, particularly of the rear door. I must admit, I have never seen one and have no idea if it is on the rear end or the rear aft curb side.

I just got a 20' Minuet this weekend that I have posted about that is in similar original condition and know what you mean about the "cleaning" thing!

All the best. I look forward to reading more as you move towards other projects.

[247stream]

overlander64...it turns out I have two 90* turns in my sewer line so I cannot get to the valve at all. once I replace the gasket in my cap I'll be able to hold water in the line after the valve which will maybe help work things loose and then hopefully over time, with use and good flushing, it will resolve itself.

thanks jbsails and congrat's to you too. i'll post some pics as soon as i'm able to get some good ones...she's currently under wraps so to speak. here are the pics, most of which are from what they sent me before we picked it up

http://s1245.photobucket.com/user/co...01977%20Argosy

[overlander64]

The floorplan for the Argosy 24 Rear Entry is below:



The floorplan for the Argosy 22 Rear Entry can be seen in the illustration below:



Kevin

[jbsails]

That is very cool, Kevin. Thank you for sharing. It provides a great visual for those of us unfamiliar with the rear door versions.

I wonder if anyone out there has a 22' rear door??

Thanks again.

[Savage68]

Originally Posted by jbsails

That is very cool, Kevin. Thank you for sharing. It provides a great visual for those of us unfamiliar with the rear door versions.

I wonder if anyone out there has a 22' rear door??

Thanks again.

The vin database has at least three of them, us included.

[jbsails]

Originally Posted by Savage68

The vin database has at least three of them, us included.

Wow...those are rare! Congratulations....

[247stream]

I dislike caulking bathrooms. Not because it's hard but because it's a pita with the caulking being so overly sensitive when applying. so I wasn't looking forward to caulking the trailer shower. I'm happy to say I read another posters complaint about having to redo caulk too often as its not adhering to the plastic, whatever kind it is. That's where I learned about the Lexel and promptly ordered it. yesterday I sealed my trailer shower and that stuff was amazingly easy to work with. it not only allows you multiple chances to tool it but it sticks to itself so I was able to add more where I needed while it was still 'wet'! I'm amazed. I hope I'm still amazed 10 years from now. haha anyway, it says 1-2 week to fully cure and since it's so muggy here I'm expecting a 2 week cure time.

Our maiden voyage is set for Labor Day Weekend and things are moving along.

[247stream]

Just finished these up. still have some detailing to do but otherwise ready to go. easy yet difficult & exhausting at the same time. more details (maybe) another day.

[Marufaru]

What materials did you use to make these? And how did you make them? Pattern?

[247stream]

I made the pattern by laying paper over the windows and tracing the outside edge of the window frame. But I also knew where I wanted the thumb turns to be so then I ‘squared’ off the pattern to accommodate the hardware. I don’t have a pic of where the hardware is but it is NOT in the curved glass window frame. (I can take pics and post if interested) The finished size is approx 42 x 26. I used outdoor fabric (faux sunbrella-don’t know if its weight is comparable or not) for this trial run. Its hand is much more drapable than the marine canvas I wanted to use but didn’t have quick access to that.

I sewed these like pillowcases…on three sides and the fourth side is velcro’d. The velcro’d edge is the one on the side of the trailer (so wind can’t blow into the pillowcase) so that I can remove the pad to be able to wash the fabric when needed. I used heat bond (glue sheets at craft store) to adhere additional fabric (like a patch) on the inside of the fabric on the back panel (the one that ‘touches’ the glass) in the corners where the grommets were to be set. I didn’t add that same piece to the front panel because I feared it being too thick for the grommets plus the fabric pattern would have shown through.

It really was simple sewing. It did take a long time but most of that was in coming up with a plan. The only thing I would change is that I would NOT use the additional piece of fabric/patch to stabilize the grommet area but would instead simply add the glue sheet (ironed on) on every corner, front and back, to stabilize the grommeted areas because cutting the fabric to accommodate the grommet ‘spikes’ (sorry don’t know what to call the little pieces of the grommet that go through the fabric) lends itself to fabric fraying so I had to add fray check but only to the front panels since the back panels did have that already.

I pretested and my fabric turned hard and self sealed when a hot knife was applied to it so that was what I used to ‘cut out’ the fabric in the grommet hole.

They’ll have their first trial run tomorrow when we (finally J) move the trailer to take it to get an a/c unit installed.

[Marufaru]

Thanks. Are the thumb turns something you needed to add to the window?

[247stream]

that's the hardware that holds the covers to the trailer. here's what and where I bought them.

Common Sense Fastener Cloth-to-Surface Complete With 5/8" Screw Stud

and here's what and where I bought the foam used inside the covers

Welcome to Big Supply Shop - Save Big on Name Brand Sporting Goods

[Marufaru]

Thank you so much for sharing.