Found a gutted Argosy 26'

[Short563]

Here are two more pictures that the owner sent to me.

[mandolindave]

You asked, " Is there anything particularly bothersome about this trailer?"

Could be. The location of the rust. I would look up front, for evidence of a leak, that might have rotted the floor.

[BigButtUgly]

short563: If you want to KISS do what I did to my gutted 1958 Caravanner 22'. Too many changes to get into the "why" and not so obvious many advantages. Imagine your rig with this: 1. 40 milk jugs for water 2. replace propane tanks w/ dual fuel electric start generator 3. use 18 each 1 pound propane refillable bottles at point of use (refill w/ 20 pounder trade ins at many stores) 4. pressurized turkey fryer with air foot pump for shower w/ hand held sprayer 5. spare on rear bumper 6. heat with wood ( I also have a kerosene H 45 military tent heater) 7. Intec air couches fold opens to queen beds 8. House window air 9. card tables w/folding chairs 10. no step instead a fold down slant ramp 11. 10 stackable storage totes whose see thru sides fold open and 5 sit on each wheel well 12. 3.1 cu ft dual door frig. Note: By now you've figured out you leave the rig parked and resupply from covered cargo bed on tow vehicle 13. partitions of blankets hung with velcro and curtains match 14. Coleman propane and kerosene stoves w/ 1 fold open oven 15. 2 NuWave 110v 1,000 watt induction cook tops 16. fold down twin mattress at each end hinged at window base 17. cutting boards/prep counters fold up or down at side walls. 18. 2 foldable camp kitchens 19. sink hangs on wall 20. candles, kerosene and propane lanterns , 6v LED lanterns (4 D cells) and 110v lamps 21. unique solution to eliminate bathroom and grey/black tanks 22. 2 each 6V batteries, pure sine wave inverter, high tech multiple function battery charger 23. Viair 100% duty compressor w. small aluminum tank 24. Cuisinart 240 sq in gas grill 25. an 8" whirlygig on on each roof vent flipped over for OTR 26. foldable little red wagon to move stuff from cargo bed up the slant ramp and inside 27. kerosene and gas cans.
I chopped each spindle off my dexter 4400# axle - mounted to swing arms with air bags to lower Caravanner to flat on the ground or 11" lift for extreme off roading.
Virtually no complex systems/maintenance, cheap parts, everything can move outside under awning, sleep 6 and cook for 20, no limits on weather, open concept feels huge inside, and not really that inconvenient for living ( like an 1870 farmhouse sort of)
P.S. Made a 4.5 cu ft 4" walled ice chest too - ice lasts 2 weeks. 402 594 5161

[DDOK]

For comparison, here's the Argosy I bought a couple months ago outside of Tulsa, OK:

https://goo.gl/photos/UUDyTDYTdqgv5wHY8

I paid $2400 and we towed it home 45 miles on the tires it had on it. The interior is all original (I'll get some photos) and not in horrible shape. It smells like moth balls and has some signs that mice previously (or currently) inhabit it. The owner had it on his hunting lease for the last 3-4 years. The body is in pretty good shape, and we towed it easily behind our Armada. Our glass is pristine, and we liked the Pano windows up front. We have some surface rust on the steel endcaps (another difference between Argosys and traditional airstreams). The furnace and lights work (although I don't trust the furnace) but our fridge is shot, not sure about the water heater (assuming shot). One thing to note: On Argosy's the cabin is 2 feet shorter than the the length number, so the actual cabin on a 26 is only 24 feet. I think the total trailer length including cabin is around 26 feet.

We plan on spending another 10K on the renovation for it, and plan to do the vast majority of the work ourselves. From the research I've done on these forums that probably won't be enough to get it all the way we want it to be, but hopefully it will get us started. My wife is ridiculously handy (can sew, upholster, carpentry, basic electrical etc), and I'm not completely incompetent (not completely).

I have no illusions, and know its going to be a ton of hard work, but we love the idea of making it 'our own'. We aren't moving the toilet, bath tub, or tanks, but we are planning on significantly reworking the rest of the floor pan (2 sets of double bunks etc). Our goal is to be done by June of 2016 so that we can take the kids to some national parks (Park entrance fees are free next year for your family if you have a 4th grader).

We are planning on starting the demo in the next week or so....We'll definitely post photos.

There is a great 'checklist' for purchasing an airstream on this site, I'll try to find it and post it up. We didn't use it, but I would have if I'd known about it.

[DDOK]

Here's that checklist:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...8&d=1215128295

It's definitely worth a look before you by.

[DDOK]

Doh...That link didn't work. Let's try this link for the checklist:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...8&d=1215128295

Thanks,

DD

[ijustlee]

I would start with a shell that has windows in a location that you can live with rather than move them. It is more work than the trailer is worth to move the windows in this type of trailer. If it was me I'd plan on working around the windows and wheel wells that the trailer was built with. If the walls were crunched then it might make sense to move windows, otherwise the work involved just isn't worth it. Just my 2 cents! Leland

[Kathys quilt]

If you are retired and got the time and energy- believe me you will need both and the price as right on the gutted Arg. then go for it and take time to plan it all out before you start. You can pop a few rivets if the Arg. has them like my AS Sovereign you can move wiring. Pluming runs down street side wall and can be easy to cover up. My AS has tracts that match the cure of the walls for mounting walls to the sides and you can purchase these a VTS or other vintage supply dealers. Finding good conditioned parts on this sight or other places is a huge help. We have a dealer that buys up manufactures scratch and dent stoves and what not. If you have the time, finding these types of things becomes half the fun of doing what your are thinking of doing. No you want ever sell for your time and labor but keep copies of all your purchase and your time to show a record of your work. This will help if you sell and most of all for insurance to show that you have a newer RV than the title shows to insure at better rate or just get insurance at all. I can not get a title for my 67 Sovereign in AL but one really helps out in the end. Go for it if you love this type of do it your self type of work. Keeps me sane in retirement for the second time. Ray B

[Short563]

After studying the photos and considering all of your responses I have decided that this is not the right trailer for me. If any one else is interested you can find this Argosy on the Pittsburgh PA Craigslist - perform a broad search across all categories rather than just RV.

[BigButtUgly]

Short563: Smart you are. Although my 1958 Caravanner is a 22 footer , I much prefer the older 26 foot Airstreams with a single axle. Tire technology is now such that you can purchase tires for 15" rims. Many such tires are almost "bullet proof". Likely you'll have to change out the 14.5 " rims for 15 inchers as I did. Original floor plans and systems all suck but the aluminum skin is better and the rigs polish up to a mirror finish (if you are so inclined). I will never polish mine.

[jimflint07]

I might be able to assist to a degree. I was a Director of Technology for an engineering firm, and had the opportunity to have one of my engineers create an AutoCAD drawing of all the systems in my 1968 Airstream Tradewind. I also took hundreds of photos as I pulled out all of my original cabinets, beds, counters and refinished them before reinstalling the. I have had 6 Airstreams and Silverstreak trailers now, and in my humble opinion, the original hardwood brackets, counter and bed sliding supports and thin veneer woodwork is superior to all 'custom' remodels unless done to a very high standard (which I have only seen done from the professional remodelers. If you have the skills to build the interior from scratch with hardwoods, to match the original specs, that would be great. But after $30k invested into my travel Tradewind, I would recommend selling the Argosy, and looking for a more, or at least partially complete trailer. This will greatly sped up your restoration and probably keep your costs down to a point, you won't take a bath on the remodel. It's the same with fixing up old cars. I just finished a 1967 Datsun. Boy, they didn't use galvanizing then and it showed. I will share the AutoCAD drawing (and I can probably make a PDF version for you if you sign a nice n-disclosure not to share it and only use it for your personal use. The AutoCAD design has several thousand dollars of design work in it. You can send me a USB stick if you want the photos. They take too much space to email. Probably 50GB, maybe more. Welcome to the disease. (I have 2 68 Airstreams Tradewinds now and a SilverStreak Emperor (33') that is just about to start its remodel. Radiant floor heating. :-). Jim. Colorado