Just bought my first Argosy for $120!

[gmehal]

Ended up sanding and then installing a vinyl wrap on the front cap. Its a pain but looks good and should last for many years , we'll see.. Also repainted light pods and installed all new LED running lights, looks very cool and will never burn out!

[3Ms75Argosy]

Nice work! Where did you get the vinyl wrap from... and how did you manage to curve it around the front?

Marc

[gmehal]

Burning man of course! Literally a last minute decision but returned all in one piece. A few issues cropped up like the engine eating belts, specifically the alternator belt. I had to replace 3! Looks like the crank and water pump pullies were rusted and pitted causing the to act like sandpaper on the belt. New ones are on order. Also was nowhere near aggressive enough with the engine timing. Initially set to 4 degrees, clearly not enough. Going to shoot for 12 and load it up and see what happens. Now with the doghouse fully reinstalled its inpossible to see timing marker. I was able to find the lower indicator for $18 so I can time from below engine, I will just have to install the marker. Other than that the MOHO got us there and back safely even going over 2, 6300ft climbs in first gear through the desert. Not bad for the first run.

If you want to know more about burning man go to burningman.com

[gmehal]

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

Nice work! Where did you get the vinyl wrap from... and how did you manage to curve it around the front?

Marc

Vinyl store, we used alot of individual pieces that you cant really see in the photo or on the ground

[gmehal]

TONS of airstreams at burning man FYI.

[58flycloud]

wow. that was real entertaining :-) -- good read!

looks like you know what you're doing, congrats!!!

[gmehal]

Lol thanks, glad you enjoyed it

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by gmehal

Also from Inland RV was installed the Orange trim strip. I am very dissapointed with this product from them! First off again they sent me the wrong amount. Need another 6 ft to complete and they will only sell 50ft rolls!!!!!!

Not only that but the color almost immediately fades. This really pissed me off.
After 6 weeks in cloudy portland during the winter it lost easily 35% of its color if not half! Check out the difference in the photos!

We purchase all of those materials from Airstream, and we must abide by their rules.

Please call or write Airstream regarding the color fade. They purchase the material from "we don't know who".

You can also blame Pate Raywak for the 50 foot rolls of insert materials. He was the former Airstream "National Sales Manager" years ago, that made that decision, not us.

We don't like that either, but that's how we must by it. It's that, or nothing. Please let Airstream know that you don't like that either.

Selling it by the foot would leave many feet of scrap pieces that no one would want. That would then cause the price to increase. Based on history, we would have several thousands of feet to throw away each year, if we sold it by the foot. Who would pay for that, or, who should that waste be charged to?

Since we sell perhaps 50 to 60,000 feet of that material in various colors each year, we don't understand why your having the problems you have. As of today, your the only one that has had any problems with the materials, that has made any written or verbal negative comments about them, this year.

Andy

[Ganaraska]

Cleaned the steering wheel as per someones advice. Used the non water based hand cleaner and it worked great, for a while A month later its getting sticky again.

Unfortunately they don't stay clean forever especially when you are doing a lot of work on the vehicle then driving with greasy or dirty hands.

Try wiping with a damp Microfibre cloth. You can get the Microfibre cleaning cloth at the dollar store for $1 buck. The blue one that looks like terrycloth.

For real deep cleaning of dashboards etc get a Tupperware bowl with tight fitting lid. Put in a couple inches of warm water and a squirt of Spray Nine cleaner. Wet your cloth wring it out and wipe everything clean. When the cloth is grimy throw it in the bowl and shake shake shake like a washing machine.

This will clean old car interiors, yard sale finds, all kinds of things without damage even dirt that has been sitting for years.

[gmehal]

I will call airstream about that, thanks for the tip. As for being The only one with the fading problem I find that hard to believe. 2 members in our local airstream club have had the same issue and are very unhappy. One even went as far as putting orange electrical tape over the existing faded material, sounds funny but 2 years later it hasn't faded a bit! Since your the vendor you do have a responsibility when problems arise not just AS. I challenge you to take 2 samples and put one outdoors for 6 weeks, you'll see what happens and hopefully call AS as well. In yourvsouthern sunny location you may only have to wait 2 weeks

Any other Argosy owners feel free to chime in any time

[gmehal]

Originally Posted by Ganaraska

Cleaned the steering wheel as per someones advice. Used the non water based hand cleaner and it worked great, for a while A month later its getting sticky again.

Unfortunately they don't stay clean forever especially when you are doing a lot of work on the vehicle then driving with greasy or dirty hands.

Try wiping with a damp Microfibre cloth. You can get the Microfibre cleaning cloth at the dollar store for $1 buck. The blue one that looks like terrycloth.

For real deep cleaning of dashboards etc get a Tupperware bowl with tight fitting lid. Put in a couple inches of warm water and a squirt of Spray Nine cleaner. Wet your cloth wring it out and wipe everything clean. When the cloth is grimy throw it in the bowl and shake shake shake like a washing machine.

This will clean old car interiors, yard sale finds, all kinds of things without damage even dirt that has been sitting for years.

The initial cleaning works great, like new! It's a few weeks later that the stickiness slowly starts to return. It's like there's a chemical breakdown happening.

[Blue Pearl]

Looks good and I'm glad you got the moho running.

[gmehal]

Thanks Theresa! We will bring it to bellknapp in Oct

[todbot]

I too had fading a few months after installing the new orange trim and purchased through Inland. Although I have no gripe with Inland, I sure wish it stayed true to the original color. I've never said anything other than a grumble under my breath because I assume nothing could or would be done about it.

[Inland RV Center, In]

GMEHAL and TODBOT

So far, I cannot do anything with Airstream about the fading.

However, if both of you PM us your regular name and address, we will replace that material, at no charge.

Andy

[gmehal]

I appreciate that Andy, I just PM'ed you

[bolerama]

Your Argosy is looking great, and I'm jealous! Very very cool interior fabrics!
Lisa

[Ganaraska]

Originally Posted by gmehal

The initial cleaning works great, like new! It's a few weeks later that the stickiness slowly starts to return. It's like there's a chemical breakdown happening.

I very much doubt it is a chemical breakdown. The plastic steering wheel is very stable, being 30 years old, and the cleaners in hand cleaner are very mild. More likely it is just gummy from handling and will wipe off with a damp rag.

[Ganaraska]

For a deluxe steering wheel you can have it wrapped in leather like the latest luxury cars. Any good auto upholstery shop can do this. Cures cracked wheels too.

[projector]

I'm planning on getting a steering wheel from a junk yard. They're full of cash for clunkers so there should be one arround. I liked the wheel that was on my '87 Suburban. It was the same diameter and ring size, and comfortable. I loved that truck. sniff