Looking for an Argosy motorhome for sale

[bkahler]

Martin, what year is your 28'?

[martin300662]

It's a 1978 Brad

[bkahler]

If you have an opportunity maybe you could snap a few pictures of the genset compartment including the lower area where the generator is mounted.

[martin300662]

Will do Brad probably not until the weekend though.

[kramerbuilt]

Here is a picture of my 1976 28' argosy generator. It would be great to have a slide out as I need to replace the exhaust. Let me know if you need any other pictures.

[mprokop87]

My genset on my '76 24' is mounted in the rear, not a slider. Someone installed their own custom hitch which would prevent anything from getting out of that compartment. It would have bee nice if it was a slide out because I cannot keep mine running at the moment. I think it needs a carb rebuild or replacement.

[bkahler]

In Kramer's photo below you can see where the Onan generator is bolted directly to the floor of the generator compartment. Compare that to the second picture of the Kohler generator in my old 310 is mounted to a separate tray and then the tray is bolted to the floor of the generator compartment.





I do know the later Onan generators are also mounted on a separate tray like the Kohler generator is as I have a 6.5 Onan Emerald on a tray and also a 4.0 Onan like Kramer's that is also on a tray.

Having a tray simplifies things somewhat but doesn't make the task insurmountable. The picture below shows the 310 with the generator removed from the compartment.



This last picture shows how I used 4 pieces of angle iron to mount the drawer slides. Overall it was actually pretty simple to build and install.



For Kramer's generator he would need to have a tray fabricated out of 1/8" steel plate. I've had a lot of trays fabricated similar to this and the cost isn't all that bad. Assuming you have decided to go ahead with the project the first thing would be to have a tray fabricated that the generator could be bolted to. You would then have to duplicate the openings in the the new tray to match the openings in the generator compartment floor, i.e exhaust pipe opening, etc.

As you can see in the last picture above 2 of the angle irons are mounted to the floor of the compartment and 2 are mounted to the generator tray. The drawer rails simply bolt between the two angle irons on each side.

Also in the last picture above you'll see two spacers under the angle iron bolted to the floor. Those were required because I miss calculated when I drilled the holes for the drawer slides and the tray was to close and wouldn't slide properly

The black angle iron is made from 1/4" x 1-1/2" or 2" angle and the angle iron bolted to the tray is 1/8" thick. I believe the tray angle iron was actually from some computer server rack frames.

The drawer slide installation raised the generator 1/2" higher than original. Still plenty of room left in the compartment. You do have to unbolt the exhaust system in order to slide the drawer open but I've not found that to be much of an issue. You would likely also have to lengthen the electrical cables and the fuel line.

On Kramer's coach it looks like the door hinges open so that would likely have to be addressed but I wouldn't think it would be difficult to come up with a way to mount the hinge.

Two lessons I learned while doing the 310 installation was to buy drawer slides that provide for full extension instead of 2/3 extension and to buy drawer slides with a locking mechanism so when you pull the generator out you can lock it in the open position.

All in all it's not an overly difficult project and having the ability to slide the generator out of the compartment is SO nice

Brad

[bpg_austin]

Nice writeup Brad. I've got a tray on my '78 that's bolted to the floor. This one's almost a no-brainer once the Genny is pulled.

[bkahler]

Something that occurred to me after I posted was if the tray has to be fabricated then the second set of angle irons can be eliminated by having the sides of the tray be extended upwards an inch or two. Something to consider by anyone that has a generator with no tray. No reason to add complexity if you don't need to!

Brad

[mcneon]

Wow, Chris and Beverly, you just joined last year and you're already looking for your second motorhome? I don't know what that says about you, but I think I like you already!

I have a '74 Argosy 24' side bath that I think I'm about to sell. I've done tons of stuff to it but it still needs cosmetics. You can search my posts and see evidence of some of my projects.

Among other things, it has a low-mileage crate 502 with Howell FI system, full Banks stainless steel exhaust, HTH hydraulic leveling system, modified 12v power system using 2 giant 6-volt golf car batteries, UPS charging and AC inverter system, captain's chairs replaced with Nissan Maxima power leather buckets, Honda 6KW generator, steering stabilizer, HD springs, Velvac power outside mirrors, Ambruso curtains, Adohen power roof vent, and lots more I can't think of right now.

PM me if you want more information and pix. I'm in the Nashville, TN area. I've had it started recently and moved it a bit, so I feel confident it would be driveable to wherever.

Bob in Nashville

[birdsurfs]

1978 26' San Diego Craigs List just listed a few days ago. Needs a tranny but looks to be a deal to me. Owner sounds knowledgeable and honest. Good luck!

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by birdsurfs

1978 26' San Diego Craigs List just listed a few days ago. Needs a tranny but looks to be a deal to me. Owner sounds knowledgeable and honest. Good luck!

If you mean this one (Airstream RV or guest bed/office!) it seems rich for a non-running, loads of things needed fixing, Argosy (even it painted and with Airstream badges attached). I paid under $3K for a running working 1978 28ft to use as a donor.

But like most things....its worth what someone will pay

[In Cornwall]

Originally Posted by martin300662

If you mean this one (Airstream RV or guest bed/office!) it seems rich for a non-running, loads of things needed fixing, Argosy (even it painted and with Airstream badges attached). I paid under $3K for a running working 1978 28ft to use as a donor.

But like most things....its worth what someone will pay

I agree - a shame but I don't think he'll sell it as it is for that price... Not to us anyway

[Danec020]

This is a really nice 24ft Argosy but a little high priced. I think you can tell they took care of it by the look of things but you never know until you check it out yourself.

1976 Airstream Argosy Motorhome

[In Cornwall]

Originally Posted by Danec020

This is a really nice 24ft Argosy but a little high priced. I think you can tell they took care of it by the look of things but you never know until you check it out yourself.

1976 Airstream Argosy Motorhome

Thanks for letting us know - it looks in great shape ��

[bpg_austin]

Dang, that's nice. can't imagine what a full (nicely done) repaint costs on one of these. Doesn't look overpriced in my book considering the work done.

[Grumpydude]

Well, being a newbie here I first want to say hi to everyone. Especially Brad! Amazing work and post. Wow. And the Martin rebuild... Amazing. But I digress.

To the point, I have been looking for sometime and found an ad I responded to that seemed to be old. https://sites.google.com/site/rikbeeson/home , After I responded, he contacted me to let me know the 28' was sold but his 24' was available. It's in Oregon.

I have since found a unique 20' that would better suit our purposes. Just love 'em.

Hope you find what you want.


I hope this works out.

Grump

[Danec020]

I don't know if this one is too big for your needs but it looks to be an awesome condition 28 footer. Would be a great original to keep/restore if you're in to those things. Price is very reasonable too.

Time capsule Airstream motorhome

-Dane

[Danec020]

Sorry, would have edited my last post but it was too long after. I also just stumbled across these. (I am looking for a 20ft Argosy, thus these finds.)

Motorhome Airstream Argosy 28'

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/rvs/5311039722.html

-Dane

[In Cornwall]

Originally Posted by Grumpydude

Well, being a newbie here I first want to say hi to everyone. Especially Brad! Amazing work and post. Wow. And the Martin rebuild... Amazing. But I digress.

To the point, I have been looking for sometime and found an ad I responded to that seemed to be old. https://sites.google.com/site/rikbeeson/home , After I responded, he contacted me to let me know the 28' was sold but his 24' was available. It's in Oregon.

I have since found a unique 20' that would better suit our purposes. Just love 'em.

Hope you find what you want.


I hope this works out.

Grump

Thanks Grumpydude, I've messaged them and the 24 is for sale, we're just waiting for some pics and a price ��