I'll start a new thread on this. Well we drove down and looked at the 20 footer described as "excellent". This is a term subject to interpretation. What we found was a mostly orignal interior, a sound but painted(poorly) exterior....
The good:
light rust on the toungue and bumper
belly pan intact with 20% rivets corroded thru
roof in very good condition
new Coleman Mac last year
axl still has life left...approx 3-4 inches between rim and fender well
good tires
floor solid
water tank intact
newer water pump working
black/grey intact
all windows/screens intact and working(only one locking mech snapped off)
bathroom intact
cushions all there but covered with scary colored materials
all doors,closets,drawers intact and in good condition
new(er) drapes
countertop good
front door/screendoor good
12/110 converter working
lights all working inside and outside(even the tag light)
original awning works and in decent condition!
no rear floor separation/frame straight
very few mildew spots on ceiling/walls
smells........ooohkay for a 34yr old unit
The bad:
fridge not working/interior very good, exterior frame rusted alot
stove door broken on one hinge, other hinge frozen in closed position
furnace does not work/ no fluid in radiatior, lots of rust
water heater rusty, would not fire...kinda scared to try
original propane bottles replaced with newer opd's(good&bad)
plumbing fixtures all need replacing
window seals eventually will need replacement
exterior has several minor dings and scratches(one 10" easy dent), but the worst is a crappy paint job that looked to have been poorley prepped.........
no rock guards
toilet slightly leaking at top when flushing
brakes had no signal to controller(could be the corroded plug)
bathroom/kitchen original
12v lights replaced w/ fluros
missing the hitch and arms for the load leveler system
leaking knife valve on grey/black tank(at leat i hope that is the prob)
battery condition unk, compartment door locked...no key
Soooo, i know i know, what was the price? Well it started a 5k, and after alot of negotiations we settled at $3,250. It was more that i wanted to pay, but it was "here" and there is nothing on it that i don't think i can fix. Towed like a dream behind a full size chevy p/u. Got it home and tossed out the carpet and pulled up the original vinyl. Pulled off the sofa cover(canary yellow) and, viola.....original un-molested sofa
! Didn't get so lucky with the dinette....took off the(King Arthur maroon paisley drapery pattern) covers and found foam in ok shape.
Turns out that there was zero propane in the bottles, so i will clean up the fridge & water heater and try and fire them up. I think the furnace is toast(ha), and the stove questionable. The skylight w/fan looks original, but it would not open(stuck) and the fan did not come on. Toilet gets a re-build.
We are going to get the interion done first, then do the exterior later, because we are retiring and moving to TN next month and will live in the 20 footer while we build an apt in a steel building, which we will live in while we build a log home, which.........
. Anyway, after
those projects get done, the exterior will get stripped and painted. We plan on dragging the Argosy back and forth to Manitoba quite a bit.
OK...where is the switch for the vent hood?????? My wife and i looked all over and gave up....
I'll shoot some pic's today before too much work gets done and post'em later.
Ahhh, the smell of bleach in the air.......................
RD