1984 Airstream 345 owner (Newbie) need advice!

[Keyair]

My attempt to start piecing the rear fairings back together went as I thought... not gonna be easy!
The edges of the broken sections were cleaned and beveled back, then filled with MEK?ABS slurry, and pulled back into place with tape. The problem is that the whole shape is distorted, and would not line up well. I have resigned myself to the idea that they will just be reference points for new parts made in fiberglass.
Now I have a good reason to buy a gallon of gelcoat and everything I will need.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Keyair

My Buddy has promised to come over with me to take a look at the Open Neutral issue...
I read him your comments Brad, and he said it made sense...

I guess there is a first for everything

[Keyair]

LOL Brad!

Well the rear bumper is proving to be an interesting project...

The main bumper is an extrusion... the main face is 3/16" thick thinning to 1/8" at the edges.

The welded repair whilst it was welded both sides, was poorly done and lacked penetration.
A "forensic" examination of the damage tells an interesting story...

On the side that was broken, there was a dent in the bumper surface... my guess is that it was backed into something...



The 16500lb momentum broke the bumper along the mounting bolt holes..

The repair was done by welding the broken pieces together, as I showed in an earlier picture.
The weld was not fully penetrated into the bumper material, and you can see the layers...


Also they added a fishplate, which was bolted behind.


OK, so far, but why/how was it broken again??

This was the first clue...
Behind the bumper, look at the deformation of the weld and base material...


Clearer here....


The original impact that broke the bumper was done by reversing, but this damage was done in the opposite direction, bending the bumper rearward at the weld..

A quick look at the streetside end confirmed it...

The LH or upper side of this pic shows a flat spot or dent in the bumper end... against my hand.. and look at the crack...


View from inside...


So, most probably that long 345 tail swang out on a turn and snagged on somthing!

[Keyair]

I am awaiting delivery of a course aluminum Burr to rip off the old weld and get a weldable surface first.
There is some question if my 140A MIG welder can fully penetrate on the 3/16" thickness, but I am at least gonna prep and tack it together for someone else to weld.

I started by dressing out 95% of the dent... just the little low spot where the marker circle is left.
I will have to fill the 3 holes closest to the cmaera with weld.


What I found interesting is that the whole bumper is attached by the 2 coachbolts that go thru the chassis leg.. The bumper itself is very light.. maybe 5lb..
The over riders are scary heavy tho... they weigh almost 10lb each, and are heavy castings!

[masseyfarm]

Detective Keyair

I think that you have identified the vehicle that damaged my 1976 Pinto in the Disneyland Parking lot in 1985, and I would like to send you a repair bill to restore my car to its original condition.

Please send my your billing address.

Dave

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Keyair

What I found interesting is that the whole bumper is attached by the 2 coachbolts that go thru the chassis leg.. The bumper itself is very light.. maybe 5lb..

There is no doubt that an Airstream bumper is not designed for what the name implies

The over riders are scary heavy tho... they weigh almost 10lb each, and are heavy castings!

You would have thought the bumper would have been made like the over rider but when you consider what that might have weighed I can see why they went with a light weight bumper.

Brad

[Keyair]

Benchwork update...

One Overrider sanded out, with DA down to 120grit.



Then hit it with the bench buffer.




The larger bumper extrusion was also sanded out with the DA and a couple of dings appeared...


A little "massaging" with the hammer and they are history..

[Keyair]

Can someone confirm what rooftop AC units I have?

The ID tag on the units say.... 6755 iI think..
So that is 6700 series 15000 units?

[bkahler]

I would almost bet they are 13,500 units.

[crazeevw]

Steve,
My guess is 13500 units as well. For some reason, I have 13500 units with heat strips. From what I've read about the heat pumps now available, my replacements will have heat strips as well. Keep reading about the new even 'lower' profile units that Lewster has written about. Sure hope some extra $ makes an appearance soon, lol
Thanks for the updates on your Airstream, Derek

[Keyair]

I put in a call to Coleman today..
Seems it should be a 13500 unit.
I got the part number for the inner shroud from them..
They say 6769-5051 and I can order it from Camping World.. lets see!

[bkahler]

Steve, ran into an interesting problem today while mounting the Velvac mirrors on the 310. What I found is the aluminum mounting plate (under the skin) that the mirror bases bolt too is only 4" wide. Our 310 is an 1984 same as yours so I'm betting your mounting plate is also only 4" wide as well. The real problem is the Velvac 2020 & 2025 style mirror base that you are using has mounting holes that are 4-3/16" center to center on the bottom and 3-5/8" center to center at the top. That means that the bottom holes will not screw into any of the mounting plate. The original mirror base is centered on the 4" plate.

I am using Velvac Revolution mirrors on the 310 and they mount differently, see attached picture.



The overall external base of the Revolution mirrors is larger than the 2020s however they have a separate mounting plate that hides underneath the external base. They are a wedge fit and tightened down with one screw at the bottom.

The hole I drilled in the top left corner just outside the outline of the original mirror base did not hit any substantial metal. It just skimmed the edge of the mounting plate under the skin.



Also shown in the picture above is the aluminum adapter plate that I fabricated to provide the needed tilt for the mirror to correct the tilt. I used 3/4" thick aluminum plate and used a 1/2" tilt like you ended up doing. With the 3/4" plate that allowed for a 1/4" edge at the bottom. If I had to do it over again I would use 1" or 1-1/4" thick aluminum plate and then mount the adapter plate using the original Airstream mounting holes. I would then drill and tap the adapter plate such that the new mirror base mounted directly to the adapter plate. (hope that made sense!)

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the mounted mirrors. I still have to mount the drivers side as it got too dark by the time I was done with the passenger side.

Brad

[Keyair]

Great info Brad!

I actually had found a thread with a reference to the elusive OEM mirror mounting plate, and remembered a comment about it being only just wide enough to accomodate the original.
This is why I elected to use the original mirror mounting holes, and fabricate my "puck" to suit.

Looking fwd to see how yours looks!

[bkahler]

Finished up mounting the drivers side mirror this morning. I think I will need to slightly adjust both of the tapered mirror mounts. I'm not able to draw the mirror assembly down as far as I would like to get properly. It's more of a cosmetic issue than anything else but I'd like to get it right.

Here is what was under the original drivers side mirror mount. Not pretty
The hole on the bottom right was actually a rivet put in place to plug a miss drilled hole on the original mount. One thing to note is the left side skin & mirror were replaced when the previous owner side swiped a tree. So the lousy job of mounting the original mirror was done by some shop in Southern California.


And the new mount in place ready to set the mirror.


And with the mirrors in place.


Brad

[wxbuoy]

Now I have mirror envy!

[Smartstream]

I have to say I get a kick out of you guys with the "mega mirrors." I don't mean that in any derogatory way, I don't want to offend, it's just that several months ago a gentleman pulling his Airstream trailer in Florida got a ticket for not having mirrors extended far enough to see behind his trailer. There was quite a discussion with many posts as to whether there is a necessity of knowing what is happening behind you. It would be interesting to somehow combine the two threads to see the efforts you guys are going through for big mirrors next to the arguments the other guys posted for not needing mirrors.

I guess maybe I'm just in a funny mood this morning.

[Keyair]

LOL, thanks for the input Dan, it is always welcome!
Maybe we do need a Mirror Thread to collate all this info of mirror upgrades!

I wish there was an easier way to see around without those big appendages sticking out... I am still thinking about painting the a bright metallic silver to lessen the visual impact of the black housings!

For me, there is no way I could drive without them now... the difference in view from the old mirrors is amazing.
Personally, I have no doubt that being able to see down the side of the MH is key in everyday driving. The combo of rearview camera, rearview interior mirror(yes, I have one and it has a reasonable view), and the improved sideview mirrors allow me to pull out, or merge with confidence.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by wxbuoy

Now I have mirror envy!

Originally Posted by Smartstream

I have to say I get a kick out of you guys with the "mega mirrors." I don't mean that in any derogatory way, I don't want to offend, it's just that several months ago a gentleman pulling his Airstream trailer in Florida got a ticket for not having mirrors extended far enough to see behind his trailer.

Never heard of that happening before. The main reason for the "mega mirrors" is because I found a really good deal price wise on ebay for the 18" Velvac's and figured bigger is better, right?! If I had to do it over again I would buy their 14" tall mirrors instead of the 18" tall ones. I'll post pictures, probably tomorrow, showing the partially blocked view of the passenger mirror. If I would have known that would happen at the time I bought the mirrors I would have opted for shorter ones.

There was quite a discussion with many posts as to whether there is a necessity of knowing what is happening behind you. It would be interesting to somehow combine the two threads to see the efforts you guys are going through for big mirrors next to the arguments the other guys posted for not needing mirrors.

I'm one of those who really likes to know what traffic is doing all around me. I hate being surprised by some idiot because I couldn't see them for some reason.

I guess maybe I'm just in a funny mood this morning.

Are you sure it's not "mega mirror envy" like wxbouy

Brad

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Keyair

...Maybe we do need a Mirror Thread to collate all this info of mirror upgrades!

That's not a bad idea. Mirrors are something that everyone that owns one of these rigs is going to have to deal at some point in time if for no other reason that a broken mirror.

I now know of three different internal frame arrangements for mounting mirrors on the Argosy/310/345 motorhomes. I never would have guessed that would be the case.

Brad

[Keyair]

Originally Posted by bkahler

That's not a bad idea. Mirrors are something that everyone that owns one of these rigs is going to have to deal at some point in time if for no other reason that a broken mirror.

I now know of three different internal frame arrangements for mounting mirrors on the Argosy/310/345 motorhomes. I never would have guessed that would be the case.

Brad

Go for it Brad!

Couple of updates....
Hre is a quick shot of that passenger side engine closeoff panel for you Brad...
I confirm it is flat, with no visible flanges... just screwed on... well mostly on ours...

Rear...


Front..



I also think I found the cause of my elusive kerbside closet leak...
As always, our MH has had some intereting repairs...
This is a pic I took sitting on the roof, looking back at the rear awning mounting foot...
Note the holes in the sealant on the foot and on the rivited flange, a long crack in the sealer...
This is right above the bedroom closet and floorsafe..



Also managed to decifer my Coleman Rooftop AC...
They are 6759A707 units and whilst I have not confirmed it, I believe you guys called it says they are 13,500's.
At least with this info I am a step ahead!


Need to get back to the Genset issue soon... I want to diagnose this Open Neutral issue, and want to see if the onboard genset does it too.

I took this shot of the Kohler 7CM21RV ID plate..
Looks like the Spec plate says 1403-A...