New Argosy Owner

[bobbyg52]

Hello to all. Just completed the purchase and retrieval of my New To Me 1977 Argosy 26 foot Twin. Drove 450 miles to get it and brought it home Sunday. I will attempt to post two photos, but it will be my first try. It is in good condition with a few issues. One is a soft spot in front of the tub about 10" round. New carpet but it will be taken up to investigate. Also, there are several spots under the trailer where the rivets have let go due to rust. They are in that area as well. Is that a serious issue? All assistance will be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to meeting other Argosy owners.

[GeocamperAS]

Originally Posted by bobbyg52

Hello to all. Just completed the purchase and retrieval of my New To Me 1977 Argosy 26 foot Twin. Drove 450 miles to get it and brought it home Sunday. I will attempt to post two photos, but it will be my first try. It is in good condition with a few issues. One is a soft spot in front of the tub about 10" round. New carpet but it will be taken up to investigate. Also, there are several spots under the trailer where the rivets have let go due to rust. They are in that area as well. Is that a serious issue? All assistance will be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to meeting other Argosy owners.

Welcome to the forums and to Argosy ownership. There is tons of info on just about anything here on the forums. Related to repairs, rallies, photo contests, etc. You are among family here.
About your floor, I would pull up the carpet for sure. I would also remove, or just open enough,a section of the belly pan where your issue is to get a better look at the floor in case the rot goes further or to see if any of the frame is rusting.

[msmcv51]

All soft and or rotting wood is a problem. First, find where the water is getting in or coming from. Second, get it sealed then do the repairs.

[DryFly]

Congratulations on your find. Regarding the pan, I personally would recommend pulling it. According to the VAP, the rivets giving way create sag in the old pan which then pull on the banana wraps causing the outriggers to rub through in spots. Worse of course is that if it gets bad enough you could loose something at speed. Most importantly though is that by removing the pan you'll expose the frame and some plumbing and you can determine what to do to clean up, preserve and strengthen the frame members.
I found that it's a simple but time consuming job and well worth the effort.
There's a lot of information on the forum how to do this and materials to use

[crunch27]

Welcome to the AS Forums and congratulations on your "new to you"
Argosy. Lots of information and help from fellow members. Good luck with your repairs.

[Air-Texas]

Welcome,

I had one just like it, but I traded it to another Air member. I am looking forward to seeing some insidepictures!

[Dan S]

Congrats, I have one just like it and it's a lot of fun.

[J. Morgan]

Nice looking Argosy!

Now be sure to stop at Riccardo's and have a nice porterhouse to celebrate.

It wasn't so many weeks ago that I had to camp out in their parking lot....

[bobbyg52]

To Dan S.;

Thanks for the reply. Did you ever pull the rear bath in your twin? I am working now to get the tub out because I need to pull a piece of flooring that was replaced but is not solid. Haven't tackled the belly pan yet. Let me know. I'm going half crazy trying to figure out how to pull the bath and toilet sections.

[Dan S]

I'm taking it in to have just the new toilet reinstalled by a RV repair shop, I'm not ripping anything else out.

Dan

[bobbyg52]

To all;

I am about to prove that I am a real Newbie with my 77 Argosy 26T.

Can someone define the following terms?

Banana Wrap
Tambour
POR 15

Also, what gauge aluminum do you recommend for the belly pan repairs and what vendor, 3/16" large flange aluminum rivets with backing plates?,

I also need to know what type of caulk is recommended? Do I use aluminum or steel for structural repairs once I get the pan off and see if there is any damage? Finally, I am repairing my bumper storage area and need to strengthen the area where the rivets come in that hold the pan. It is rough. I will post some photos of the bumper area. I have photos of the bath area as well if anyone can shed some light on how to pull the bath suite in the trailer.

Bob

[bobbyg52]

Sorry we missed you. I live 4 miles from Ricardos.

Bob

[J. Morgan]

I tried to pull my bath fixtures in tact , but they were so brittle that the tub broke early on so I ended up pretty much doing the demo thing on it, so I can't tell you much except to be very careful with that tub , it will break super easy.

I ended up going with at 32" x 32" shower. I mean really, who bathes in a tiny RV tub anyway?

[DryFly]

Banana Wrap
Tambour
POR 15

Also, what gauge aluminum do you recommend for the belly pan repairs and what vendor, 3/16" large flange aluminum rivets with backing plates?,

Bob, I used .032" 6061-T6 Aluminum for my new belly pan, secured with large flange 3/16" rivets which I purchased from Fastenal. Vintage Airstream Supply also has them. The caulk I've been using and one that seems on the A list on the forums is Trempro 635, also from Fastenal, although some good hardware stores also sell it.

POR 15 is a paint used to paint over rusted members. Look it up on a web search, I used a different product for mine, but I didn't have to do a radical repair and replace on my frame and felt comfortable using another product. I would think that for frame repairs you would want to stick with steel - less expensive and more readily available than aluminum, but I'm sure many will have other opinions.

[bobbyg52]

Thout removing itWell Everyone,

I should have checked this forum before buying my Argosy, especially the inspection checklist. Got new tires to replace the 15" Load Range C on the trailer. When the tire shop checked the DOT codes on the tires, they were from 1979. New A/C unit installed but I knew about that up front.

Was prepping trailer for visit by grandkids as a bunkhouse. Have at least one broken water pipe right at the insection access panel for the fridge (which is brand new). Is there any way to fix the pipe without pulling t? I don't see any way to get it out.

Any assistance greatly appreciated.

Last question. Would like to replace carpeting with vinyl flooring or pergo type flooring. Anyone had good or bad exerience with these types of flooring?

Bob

[J. Morgan]

The pipes.....

I have bought two Airstreams and returned them to service in the past 14 months or so, one I did a lot of work to, the other a little, but on both of them I replaced all fresh water plumbing with PEX.

It seems like a big project and it kind of is, but it can go quick, quicker probably than repairing badly freeze damaged copper.

Now I am going to say something that a lot of people will take issue with. You don't have to fix everything right all at one time. You can do things in pieces enjoying your trailer in between.

Leaking pipes, safe electrical, safe towing, safe gas, and and major structure issues must be dealt with however.

We turned this trailer in less than 14 work days from start of work to functional and off to New Mexico.

In this 14 days it got all freshwater plumbing, this took probably two days including taking apart for access as needed and going back together.

I didn't have to take too much apart.

On this quick and dirty build I ignored some bad floor in the back of the trailer, and a little bit of bad floor in the front left corner.

It is my intent to do the trailer "right" some time in the future, but what I have done will work for a few years.



IMO, the condition of your Arosy and the trailer pictured are comparable.

The flooring is peel and stick, quick, easy, cheap, and DONE.

[J. Morgan]

To me the floor looks pretty good where it counts, why do you want to pull the tub?

[J. Morgan]

Has that always been a southern Arizona trailer? If so, I doubt you have any significant frame rot apart from MAYBE where there were persistent plumbing leaks.

[bobbyg52]

To all;
Thanks for your responses. To the best of my knowledge, the trailer has been in AZ at least 18 years, maybe up to 22. After that, not sure. I found one leak and it will be an easy fix with PEX and I have the access I need. Next problem is the shocks. I have 3 leaking out of 4. Anybody have a part number so I can order some? These are so old the numbers no longer show. Finally, What type of peel and stick flooring did you use? I will be adding a sheet of HardiBacker board in the bath area for stiffness. Did not see any rot when I drilled a hole in the floor and used a mirror and light to check it out. I do need replacement lenses for the lights in the trailer, (kitchen, overheads and bath) and I have 2 switches next to the entry inside the trailer. One turns on the white outside light next to the door. The other does not seem to do anything but does glow red when I turn it on. Thanks to all.

[J. Morgan]

I dont have the part numbers for rhe shocks, but it is my understanding that they are commonly available.

You might check the Inland RV website.

We bought the parquet stick on at Lowe's, I don't know, we spent about $100 for the whole trailer and seems to have worked out pretty well.

Are you native to the Sierra Vista area ? I lived there for many years and still have family and friends there.