New owner introduction

[bpg_austin]

Hey gang, I want to introduce myself. My name is Ben, I live in Austin, TX with my wife and two kiddos. Just purchased a '78 Chevy Argosy motorhome. Drove her down from Albuquerque last week with no 'real' troubles. The rear pinion and axle seals leaked like a son of a gun, and the 6k foot jetting didn't like the drop to sea level... but, the old beast made the 750 mile trip without skipping a beat. She's in pretty good shape with about 75k on her. Going to need a bit of love here and there, but looking forward to the challenge. I have quite a few questions about... a lot of things.. but wanted to drop a line to say hello first. Tomorrow the questions will come..
power inverters, specific needs for a new refrigerator.. window seals.. I'm sure the list will be extensive. But, this camper has good bones and is a GREAT starting point for a family exploration vehicle.
A few obligatory pictures to start the ball rolling. Anyhow, looking forward to contributing and learning from the forum.
Ben

[SteveSueMac]

Groovy! Welcome to the forums! Thanks for the pics :-)

[martin300662]

Very nice.

[ericpeltier]

Sharp looking beast!!!

[bpg_austin]

Thanks folks.
Question of the day. Going to be ordering rear drum shoes. Can anyone confirm if I'm needing 13/2.5 or 13/3.5" shoes?
Rockauto seams to have what I need, and prices are far better than going to my local auto store. I'd like to have them on hand before tearing the axle down. (so, no visual match available right now).

Ben

[mprokop87]

Welcome and congrats! Looks like you got yourself a nice unit there!

I order quite a few parts from RockAuto. I find that for the motorhome chassis a lot of their parts (but not all) will have 'excl motorhome', 'motorhome only' or something similar in the description. Keep that in mind when looking for parts. Also, a lot of the local auto part stores will price match Rock prices, at least around here, so it can sometimes be easier just to drive the beast there. The folks at the local Autozone [thats all we have around here] know my Argosy!

Be sure to check out the group on Facebook, Airstream Argosy Owners. Between here and there you will be able to find your answer. Also, you can find some odd parts on there every now and then that you just might need!

[mprokop87]

For your brakes, it might be worth it to pop the drum off and measure the size of your shoes. Looking under '1978 Chevrolet P30 w/454' I see that the 13x2.5 shoes are listed as the ones for the motorhome. Example:

CENTRIC Part # 11104510 Premium Brake Shoes-Preferred; Bonded
Rear; Rear Drum brakes; 13 x 2-1/2" Rear Shoe; Except Motor Home; JB7
Rear; Rear Drum brakes; 13 x 2-1/2" Rear Shoe; JB7; Motor Home

[bpg_austin]

Hey, thanks mprokop87. WHAT?? I had no idea the local places might match rock auto. I'll have to ask around. It's honestly a lot easier to buy locally. So much easier to take a brake shoe off and walk it into the store for a match. I appreciate the tip. I just placed a decent rock auto order this morning, including the rear shoes. I *think* I got them right.. Same goes for the rear axleshaft seals.. TBD if they're correct. I'm working on the assumption the rear end is a Corporate 14 bolt.
I'm not a facebook user, but my wife is. I'll have her sign up for the groups. She's in charge of interior renovations and I get to tackle the driveline. She'll love some inspiration.
Thanks again everyone.
Ben

[Kevininwa]

Nice motorhome, such great taste. I'm biased, as that is the same year and length as ours! I would add an amen to the local sourcing. One big headache you will avoid is returns. Online returns are reliable but time consuming. If you go to a place like Napa or similar you will be surprised at how they can find it in their hearts to be competitive. One thing I like about the P30 chassis is that many (not all!) of the parts are available. I just bought the light switch controller at the local parts store.
Speaking of hard to get parts. I could not find a good match for the wipers, but found NOS on ebay that works well.