Please welcome our newest addition....!

[Tamara]

We just brought home our new baby last night after driving 600+ miles through huge rain storms...a '77 Arogsy 6.0 Minuet!

This will make good company for our first child Airabelle - our '66 Overlander - and we are very excited about the cool features we are discovering on our Argosy. Look for plenty of questions here in the Argosy sub-forum as we begin to clean it up and bring it back into ship-shape. (Right now the working name is "Rusty", as it is needing a paint job...)

My first question is the obvious one - does anyone have an extra copy of a '77 Argosy manual they would sell me? I may end up buying one from Sec. Services rather than wait til an original shows up on eBay, but if anyone has a copy or an original they do not need I thought I would ask here first. An electronic copy would be acceptable too.

In the meantime, I am SO excited about our new project. So far, I find several differences between the Argosy and the Airstream that I love:

Aluminum Floor (yayyy no more floor rot!)
Easy lift out windows (no more lubing window cranks!)
Metal Furniture (not as warm and luxurious but easy to care for)
Painted Skin (hey, easy to fix any holes or dents and NO POLISHING!)
Less seams on end caps (less time spent sealing!)
Windows - Best view in the campground!

We will be trolling the Argosy forums the next few days as we try to get our new baby ready to hit the road at the end of May. Taking both trailers to SW Pennsylvania for a short trip and will need to learn the ins and outs before we go - thus my request for a manual.

Anyway, enough rambling I've got some reading to do! Will post pics soon, promise...!

(hey, now I can start looking for a cool Argosy Motorhome for trailer number three....my family will kill me....I need help...)

[Mel]

Tamara, congrats on the "new" Argosy (and member of your family!) Don't forget to continue paying attention to Airabelle, too, or you'll end up with some sibling rivalry issues.

Good luck!

[overlander64]

Greetings Tamara!

Welcome to the world of Vintage Minuet ownership!

Just as a word of caution as you are cleaning. The side windows, at least originally, were not glass. The side windows were a space age acrylic so care in cleaning is a must. The acrylic doesn't like amoniated cleaners -- for regular cleaning, I usually use just a little white vinegar in warm water. For more thorough, there are several products made for cleaning/maintaining acrylic windows in aircraft that help to keep the windows clear and free of scratches.

I am sure that you will love your Minuet. I know that mine has seen more use than the Overlander since fuel prices have increased.

Kevin

[flitzwhopper]

Tamara,
It's probably best to have a 77 minuet manual. I've got a copy of a '76 Argosy that I could turn into a PDF pretty easily. If you'd like a copy of my copy let me know.

Mike

[moosetags]

Welcome to the Forums. Congratulations on your new baby. We're glad to have you with us.

[pinkflamingoes]

Pictures pictures pictures pictures...

[Tamara]

Thanks all,

And thank you Kevin for the tip on Acrylic windows....that is very good to know. Anyone else feel free to give me a pointer or two before I begin cleaning and exploring tomorrow. I have no experience with the minuets although have done a lot of restoration on our Overlander. Hoping most things end up being similar.

No worries about sibling rivalry yet - we bought Airabelle some pretty baby moons to spruce up her wheels (thanks to another forum member!!) and she is also getting a new stove pilot light we finally tracked down after a five year search! Hopefully that will keep her happy when the new "baby" is getting all the attention...

For you photo hounds, I promise to post pics after I take some "before" shots tomorrow afternoon.

[Dan S]

We have the exact same model. We have yet to camp in "it" (it's nameless) as we have a repair shop addressing the plumbing issues. Hope to see some pics to see if the interior is the same as ours.

Dan

[sierrajb]

Welcome, Tamara! As a fellow Argosy owner, I can honestly say you'll thoroughly enjoy your new baby. Don't let the "purists" out there lead you to think you have some sort of an Airstream "step child" just because it's an Argosy. Same fine workmanship by the same reputable company. Enjoy!

[Tamara]

Thanks sierrajb; no worries on that as we really love Arogsys and have been eyeing them for a long time. Now we have the best of both worlds!

I'm happy to announce the little minuet has a name now - I believe we have settled on "The Mod-Pod". (I'm sure someone else is already using that name somewhere but let's hope they aren't here on the forum ) Going to be fun dressing it up in full seventies style fashion...thank goodness we love orange!! Anyone know where I can find orange shag????? <grin>

If anyone has the same tank valve configuration (one in back bumper, one on street side) I would love a pdf diagram of the plumbing set up and info if anyone has it that could be emailed to me right away. I want to start checking systems this week and if I order a manual I know I won't have it for at least several days. I gather the bumper valve is for shower water only, right? Ours is in need of repair (the handle is gone from valve) so I need to start checking out that entire set-up today, but will be working blind as I am used to a one-valve set up.

Thanks all -

[Argonaut20]

Likely the streetside valve pull is gray water (tank behind closet) and the bumper pull is black water. Roughly, the shower drain joins the black water drain then joins the gray water drain, sort of a tree. The shower is always open to the outlet so be careful when you drain the tanks. You can get brown trout floaties in the shower if the water isn't free to drain easily.

Congratulations on buying the Minuet. I think they are a tremendous trailer: comfortable, easy to tow, rugged (as are all AS), and esthetically great.

[Fyrzowt]

Going to be fun dressing it up in full seventies style fashion...thank goodness we love orange!! Anyone know where I can find orange shag????? <grin>

If you hurry to the dump, I just tossed some...

[Dan S]

Tamara,

The mod-pod is a great name. We want a 70's inspired name as well and after reading yours I think we will go with "the groove tube".

[Tamara]

Dan,

"The Groove Tube" is an awesome name!! I love it.

Just started cleaning last night and have a ways to go yet but pictures are forthcoming. (I know, I said today but I lied...too much cleaning and not enough picture taking) I too will be interested to see how similar our trailers are.

Lots of work to do before hitting the road next week. Will tackle running lights, propane lines and water check tonight, and more cleaning.

Thanks Argonaut for the general description of the water flow...that helps to know what to look for where when we test the system.