75 Argosy “Refresh”

[my3sonsdad]

I’ve had my Argosy for several years without doing any major work as life always seems to get in the way. I finally have the time, resources, motivation and insights (thanks to the many here who have tread this path before me)

I’m starting with the belly pan & wraps to finally say good bye to the luxury mouse accommodations that lurk beneath. I still have the original axles, so I plan to replace them as well.

I contemplated using a gantry setup and taking off the shell but for now I’m going to take the shell-on approach until something forces me down another path.

Yesterday I raised the front to give myself some extra clearance and removed the gas lines without a problem.

I was able to do the front section up to the axles in about 5 hours. There were less than a dozen rivets remaining on the underside and quite a few left larger holes in the belly pan. So far the frame and floor looks in good shape. I plan to clean up the frame and then apply POR. It should be good for another 40 years. I have a few known small areas of the flooring to patch, but need to find the source of persistent leaks. I will also be looking for all the ways critters can make their way into the camper and dealing with them.

[JDunn303]

Thanks for sharing. I just purchased a '75 Argosy 26' just 2 weeks ago. Picked it up in Texas and towed to Florida. Trip went well. Overall the trailer seems to be in reasonable condition and I'm in the initial stages of figuring out what works and what doesn't. Floor seems solid. Thinking about pulling the belly pan so I can check out the frame just as you're doing. I'll be following your thread, keep us posted and good luck.

[my3sonsdad]

I am exploring the idea of removing the front interior plastic endcap and building a front bunk. I’ve seen it done in the rear of a 60s AS but not seen this done by anyone else in the front so I’m wondering if there’s a structural reason. I’d need to come up with a way to support it from the 1st ceiling rib and at the same time have the front side be on a hinge so rear side (above the dining area) could tilt up towards and closer to the ceiling when not in use.

[rugjenkins]

The front and the rear are built the same structurally. The main difference is the windows. Curious on how someone built the bunks in the rear. Anything that has to have good structural support would have to be mounted from the base up.

[matthewsx]

This is how bunks were done originally in my 1976 26' twin.

Cast aluminum hooks mounted to the side wall and cast "pockets" actually catches for the ball ends of steel cables that go from the roof to the folding bed frame. Pretty sure they had some kind of straps rather than the macrame rope arrangement my PO did on this frame.

Anyway, I'd be much more inclined to make bunks amidships than at the front endcap. There's not much room above the window so whoever was sleeping there would have to be pretty small.

Cheers,

John

[my3sonsdad]

I’m starting to settle on a nonbunk solution that has a twin (actually the former front gaucho) replacing the rear bath area as part of a larger floor plan mod to move the rear bath to the center and replace the front gaucho with a U-shaped dinette. The existing rear twins shift back also.

Only a small matter of relocating the door 1.5-2’ to the rear and reversing the door swing. Looking for someone more qualified to do the structural work involved (ribs, external panels, door reverse). I know AS Factory does this but I prefer to find someone more local.

I miss Franks Trailer Works who was about an hour away in Baltimore

[matthewsx]

I'm into my second Argosy, have repaired the front floor and removed all bath fixtures so I can do the rear. All I can say is if I wanted a center bath unit I would probably sell the trailer I have and shop for one with the features I'm looking for.

There's somebody on here that's converting to a mid-bath so you can see what's involved....

Cheers,

John

[my3sonsdad]

This the floorplan concept I’m working on. Still working on the shower layout. Next step will be to layout the major electrical/plumbing elements. I’m planning to permanently remove the furnace and hot water tank and use a tankless system. Adding new grey and black water tanks near the axles. Still pondering whether to keep the current water tank or replace with 2 larger tanks on each side of the dinette.

[rugjenkins]

Why all the wasted space behind the beds? I have done what you are planning. Currently I'm painting the interior skins and about to put in the flooring. Be careful not to put to much weight on the tongue area.

[my3sonsdad]

That area has a 3rd twin bed (former front gaucho) with storage closets above and in the corners.

[Argosy man]

Your frame looks good. From some repairs I have done some that exposed the frame- my frame looks pretty decent too. Mine has been outside its whole life in Michigan (covered in the winter). Wonder why some rot out so much faster than others?

Not sure what shape your interior is- but I have to agree with the previous post, that I would find a trailer with your desired layout or one that has already been gutted before I would tear up an original. Just my opinion.

Shawn

[my3sonsdad]

tank vent question : if I design the shower to drain directly into a grey tank from above and the grey tank is separately vented I won’t need to vent the shower drain, correct? If I were to have the kitchen sink drain to the same grey tank and I think that drain would still need to have a vent. (?)

[rugjenkins]

For the shower you need to put in a p-trap or a hepvo drain to eliminate odors. Good question, I think the grey tank vent is all you need for the shower. The kitchen sink does need one so it can drain.

[Minno]

Yeah, what Rugjenkins said. You need a trap under the shower drain to keep odors from coming back up into the trailer. Grey water can get pretty stinky. Our trap extends below the trailer, and is encased in a wooden box for protection. That way we didn't have to raise the tub/shower floor to accommodate the trap.
In looking at your design, be careful of your weight distribution throughout the trailer. Watch where your outside storage areas are too. We were going to put a center bath in ours, but ended up with rear bath because of where our outside storage hatches were: we would have ended up with unusable storage hatches. We spent some quality time with cardboard mockups and painters tape in the trailer before finalizing the design to make sure we had the room we needed to navigate the trailer. It helped immensely with our decisions, and we are very happy with the final results for us.
Good luck!

Kay

[my3sonsdad]

Apparently others here have considered the same trapless shower drain approach, but not sure anyone has actually attempted it.

Here’s a link to the product’s video:

https://youtu.be/hARcVg1Edck

[my3sonsdad]

I’m paying close attention to both the overall weight as well as the distribution. One of the benefits I can see from the layout and tank locations I’m considering is that it shifts weight to be more balanced over the axles. For example, shifting the location of the freshwater tank to between the axles vs on the tongue. Attached is the general tank placement I’m considering. The sizes will be driven more by what fits in the frame.

[rugjenkins]

I really like the shower drain , I have the hepvo drains. I may order this shower drain! I love new innovations.

[my3sonsdad]

I’ve done an initial estimate of major expense items and excluding an optional solar system I got myself close to $20k excluding any labor/time on my part. I’m generally considering a “refresh” to make this a nicely finished boondocking Argosy but adding the solar would run up those estimates even higher. Not sure I’d ever get my costs back... does anyone?

The 20K estimate seems consistent with what I’ve read of others spending per linear foot, but thought I’d run this by you all to see what you thought. Feedback welcome.

[my3sonsdad]

Here’s a link to my estimate. Feel free to leave comments in the sheet as well. Especially if I’ve missed items or significantly under/over estimated.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...1vF1Iy2idxSO7I

[matthewsx]

You have some very expensive components that might not add to the usability of the trailer. Marine components are nice but probably overkill for a travel trailer as failure won't result in sinking or a "release" incident with huge fines involved. I have some ABYC certs and understand the reasons not to use RV or household components in marine applications, most don't apply to our use cases.

Of course if you want to build the ultimate boondocker go with whatever you think will work best but I'd be inclined to use a regular toilet and refrigeration, etc. You can check with Bambibooth about making one of these into a boondock specific unit but I can't see spending 30K on an Argosy to do it. Look around and see if there's something else that will better meet the need for less before putting the time into this. I plan on spending about 10K each on of mine....

My goal is generally to spend as little money as possible on renovations, more for traveling and beverages....