'74 Argosy 20' Motorhome restoration/rebuild

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

If I'm mistaken, there's a difference between a non safety bead tire, like the 19.5" and 16.5" tires and safety bead tires like the 16" you're mucking around with. The bead walls are considerably thicker and tougher to get past the rim than a non safety rim and tire.
I'd get a proper shop to mount and balance the 16's.
Cheers
Sidekick Tony

Morning Tony, sounds like your western trip is going very well!

I've not had the pleasure of breaking the bead on a non-safety bead tire. What was interesting is the two 16" regular treaded tires were fairly easy to break the bead on. The four mud and snow tires refused to give.

I've decided that new tires will purchased and mounted at the local shop, my tire fixin days are behind me!

Brad

[bkahler]

I managed to spend a little bit of time working on the Argosy this weekend. On Saturday I painted the wheel well covers and generator cover to keep them from rusting. I used a paint called Miracle paint which is similar to POR-15.




On Sunday I removed the two overhead storage bins and the center ceiling panel. In a couple of weeks I hope to also remove the rest of the interior panels. The overhead storage on the passenger side will likely be re-installed in the final remodel. The overhead storage on the drivers side will be eliminated or at most just a small section installed above the soon to be added sliding window in the back corner.




The near term goal is to remove all of the inner skin, insulation and wiring and then seal any and all leaks. After than I'll start rewiring the interior and then insulate. Time permitting I hope to have that work done by this fall.


Brad

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by bkahler

I managed to spend a little bit of time working on the Argosy this weekend. On Saturday I painted the wheel well covers and generator cover to keep them from rusting. I used a paint called Miracle paint which is similar to POR-15.

Attachment 349208


On Sunday I removed the two overhead storage bins and the center ceiling panel. In a couple of weeks I hope to also remove the rest of the interior panels. The overhead storage on the passenger side will likely be re-installed in the final remodel. The overhead storage on the drivers side will be eliminated or at most just a small section installed above the soon to be added sliding window in the back corner.

Attachment 349206Attachment 349207


The near term goal is to remove all of the inner skin, insulation and wiring and then seal any and all leaks. After than I'll start rewiring the interior and then insulate. Time permitting I hope to have that work done by this fall.


Brad

How comes these little 20s look like they have loads of space when they are 'empty' yet still struggle to get everything inside!

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by martin300662

How comes these little 20s look like they have loads of space when they are 'empty' yet still struggle to get everything inside!

It does seem spacious right now doesn't it

Too bad it won't stay that way

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by martin300662

How comes these little 20s look like they have loads of space when they are 'empty' yet still struggle to get everything inside!

I sense Martin's getting a bad case of two footitis.[emoji846]
Cheers
Sidekick Tony

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Isuzusweet

I sense Martin's getting a bad case of two footitis.[emoji846]
Cheers
Sidekick Tony

That's probably true of just about anyone that ones an Argosy or a Classic....."just two more feet and I would have room for my.....!"

[STstudios]

Hey Brad - I lost your number. Trying to reach you. Can you give me a call. Thanks! Sam (305)502-1354

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by STstudios

Hey Brad - I lost your number. Trying to reach you. Can you give me a call. Thanks! Sam (305)502-1354

Sam,

I've been on a trip. Will call shortly.

Brad

[bkahler]

I finally removed the bulk of the interior walls. I still have the end caps to remove.



I hate working with fiberglass insulation so I bought a full face respirator. It made a huge difference while removing the insulation. Without the respirator you could really smell the mouse urine and various other aromatic odors

I hope to remove the end caps this weekend and then brush the walls down to get rid of any left over insulation. After that it's time to wait for a rain store to find all of the leaks.....

Brad

[GREEN ARGOSY]

Originally Posted by bkahler

I finally removed the bulk of the interior walls. I still have the end caps to remove.

Attachment 350758Attachment 350759Attachment 350760

I hate working with fiberglass insulation so I bought a full face respirator. It made a huge difference while removing the insulation. Without the respirator you could really smell the mouse urine and various other aromatic odors

I hope to remove the end caps this weekend and then brush the walls down to get rid of any left over insulation. After that it's time to wait for a rain store to find all of the leaks.....

Brad

Hi Brad,
I'm definitely following you that you have been doing!
I'm going to remove all of the interior walls in the near future.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by GREEN ARGOSY

Hi Brad,
I'm definitely following you that you have been doing!
I'm going to remove all of the interior walls in the near future.

Yuki,

You seem to be moving at a faster pace than I am, I've been at it for years and you've almost caught up to me already!

Here's a tip for you. When removing the ceiling panels, remove the two long aluminum strips that hold the center panel in place. To do so you will need to remove the center panel first and then the two long strips. After that you can remove the rest of the panels. I would also suggest wearing a full face respirator while removing the interior panels and insulation. Better to be safe than sorry.

Brad

[bkahler]

Rear cap is down now.



Oddly enough I found two drain tubes inside the walls for AC drains. Even odder both tubes were about 2 feet short of reaching where they needed to be to actually work as a drain tube for an air conditioner

I also found two runs of 12/2 Romex cable in the walls, one for each ceiling opening.

With luck by Saturday I should have the front cap down and all the insulation removed and bagged for disposal.

Brad

[GREEN ARGOSY]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Yuki,

You seem to be moving at a faster pace than I am, I've been at it for years and you've almost caught up to me already!

Here's a tip for you. When removing the ceiling panels, remove the two long aluminum strips that hold the center panel in place. To do so you will need to remove the center panel first and then the two long strips. After that you can remove the rest of the panels. I would also suggest wearing a full face respirator while removing the interior panels and insulation. Better to be safe than sorry.

Brad

Brad,

Thank you for good advice, my teacher.
That tip would help me a lot!

Yes, I'm keeping "safety first" in mind.
I need to wear a respirator or a dust mask when play with the insulation.
Anyway, I don't like glass fiber insulation..
I'm going to use urethane foam spray instead of that.

[chevy2man]

Man Brad, I’m thoroughly enjoying yours and Yuki’s threads. Can’t wait until I can get some spare time to start on mine. Work has had me too busy. I hate starting on something without planning. [emoji30]

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by GREEN ARGOSY

Brad,

Thank you for good advice, my teacher.
That tip would help me a lot!

Yes, I'm keeping "safety first" in mind.
I need to wear a respirator or a dust mask when play with the insulation.
Anyway, I don't like glass fiber insulation..
I'm going to use urethane foam spray instead of that.

Yuki,

When you start removing the interior panels you might find that the wiring will start to fall down. As you remove each panel starting from the top down it would be a good idea to use something like duct tape to ensure the wiring stays in place.

Also, you might want to do some searching on Airforums about the use of urethane foam spray for insulation. There are draw backs to it's use.

Brad

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by chevy2man

Man Brad, I’m thoroughly enjoying yours and Yuki’s threads. Can’t wait until I can get some spare time to start on mine. Work has had me too busy. I hate starting on something without planning. [emoji30]

It seems like my whole Argosy project is the result of a complete lack of planning!

Heck, way back in December of 2012 in post #4 of this thread I made the following statement:

"At the rate I'm getting things done on the Argosy it will probably be 2020 before I'm done with it."

At the time I thought that was absurd, there was no way it would take that long. As it turns out 2020 is likely to be when I "substantially" complete things

Oh well, it's been a fun ride

Brad

[bkahler]

Moved the rear end cap outside and pulled down all of the wiring. Still need to remove the front end cap and then it's time for the fun task of scrubbing the walls to remove the remnants of the fiberglass insulation. I'm not really looking forward to that task





Here's an inside view of a patch I made years ago when I removed the old TV antenna. As near as I can tell it doesn't leak. The discoloration on the patch was there when I installed it. Fortunately I'll be able to verify that it doesn't leak once we get a few rains later next week.



If you're wondering how Airstream runs the plumbing inside the walls here's a picture for you. It would appear they use a torch to heat the plastic enough to follow the curves of the walls. Not the most elegant solution but it seems to work.



Brad

[bkahler]

Front cap is now down and out and now it's time for the cleanup.

[mayco]

Looks like a nasty task ahead Brad. Gotta be done tho

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by mayco

Looks like a nasty task ahead Brad. Gotta be done tho

Definitely nasty!

If you're bored next weekend maybe you'd like to take a trip southeast......