Purchasing advice 1973 argosy

[billy1]

We are seriously considering the following: 1973 Argosy, great condition, all systems work, new carpet, great body and no dents, many upgrades and new colors inside. Many new appliances and othe units. Less than 6k.
what do you think?

[robandzoe]

Argosy.. aka Agronskis, trailers are awesome! Is the awning there? How are the tires? Assuming original axles (it will need new ones soon for sure)... Any photos would help with price. $6k not bad. What is the plumbing like? Door handle work - this vintage handles are hard to find / replace.. if it is, be careful with it.

[DKB_SATX]

Less than $6k sounds nice if it's in good shape and has some key upgrades (such as a modern electrical converter, maybe modern plumbing, recent maintenance of leaks, usable tires, etc.) Does it have AC?

If it's been in rainy country, pay special attention to the condition of the floor (as with any Airstream.) I recently paid more for a '75 Argosy24, but it had very current maintenance, tires with a season or two left in them, all new PEX plumbing, etc. I'm very happy with the purchase.

[billy1]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

Less than $6k sounds nice if it's in good shape and has some key upgrades (such as a modern electrical converter, maybe modern plumbing, recent maintenance of leaks, usable tires, etc.) Does it have AC?

If it's been in rainy country, pay special attention to the condition of the floor (as with any Airstream.) I recently paid more for a '75 Argosy24, but it had very current maintenance, tires with a season or two left in them, all new PEX plumbing, etc. I'm very happy with the purchase.

Thanks for the info. I am not sure about the items you bring up. I will ask for sure. How does one tell about the condition of the floor?
It does have new AC.
I have 2004 F150 5.4 ltr. I was wondering what kind of MPG you get pulling. I get 17 to 19 freeway without pulling.

[DKB_SATX]

New AC is a good thing.

Checking the condition of the floor is a multistep process. You want to be observant for "give" when you're walking in the trailer, and pay attention to the difference between the trailer moving on its suspension (assuming it's not on the stabilizers when you inspect it) and softness in the floor.

You also want to check along the edges where the floor meets the shell of the trailer for softness with something like a blade screwdriver (blade as opposed to Philips.) Look at the plywood wherever you see it to see if it shows signs of having been wet (or, worst-case, if it's currently wet!) and push with the screwdriver to see if the plywood is firm, soft or crumbly. Check inside the various cabinets and behind the dinette or front "gaucho" couch (depending on what this particular trailer has.)

Look in the refrigerator "locker" (outer door) and the battery box for soft/rotten plywood as well.

I recently had the AC compressor replaced on my truck because it was pulling hard enough to cause a vibration you could feel through the body of the truck. That's brought my highway mileage up to about the same as yours, so hopefully it'll improve my towing mileage a bit. I was seeing around 11.5 mpg towing around 63-64mph on reasonably level routes when I was getting a little under 15 mpg highway without the trailer at about 70 mph. My highway mileage went up 20%, and a 20% improvement towing would be around 13.75 mpg. If I see 12.5 or 13 I'll be very happy, time will tell. the first 2/3 of our drive Thursday will be fairly level, then we'll do some hill climbing so the first tank should give me an idea.

[billy1]

i HOPE THIS COMES through.

Thanks for the info on the MPG. I will be interested in how it turns out.

How is one to camp without know ing what is or not in the tanks and the battery?

[DKB_SATX]

Really the biggest mystery is the freshwater tank, and you just have to keep track of that. The gray tank on our older trailers is really a joke, for boondocking you'd either have to do sponge baths and wash dishes in a tub you could dump outside, etc. The black tank's level can be inspected by looking down through the toilet. People report that the meters themselves, when working at all, just give a vague idea of the levels.

You can guesstimate the battery level from the voltage on one of the12V outlets without having to put a multimeter on the battery itself.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by billy1davis

How is one to camp without know ing what is or not in the tanks and the battery?

You only have the fresh and black tanks to worry about. The fresh tank you can probably view by looking under the front couch, the black tank by looking down the toilet when flushing. You have no grey tank, so you don't have to know how much is in it. A volt meter plugged into one of the 12 volt outlets can tell you how much you have.