Argosy Floor

[bdbluegrass]

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THERE IS ANYTHING BETWEEN THE FRAME AND THE PLYWOOD FLOOR ON A 26FT 76 ARGOSY? THE FLOOR IS SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN THE CENTER OF THE TRAILER YET THE FRAME IS LEVEL AT THE TONGUE, AXLE MOUNT AREA AND REAR USING A LEVEL UNDER THE EDGE OF THE FRAME. THE FRAME DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE BENT.

THANK

BILLY

[inthwind]

Billy, I also have a Argosy 1976 26 ft TT. There was a leak in the forward water tank that caused the floor to rot. I had to replace about four feet of the floor from the forward bulkhead back..
When I opened the floor the following is what I found..
After removing the plywood, there was fiber glass insulation.
After removing the fiberglass there was alumnium sheet on top of the frame..After removing the sheet there was more fiberglass insulation and the open frame..From here you can look down to the bottom sheetmetal..
I hope this helps..
Down the Road and In the Wind...............

[bdbluegrass]

Thanks Tom
Yes your info. does help.The floor is level from side to side but slightly droops from mid coach back. Just wondering if something could have compressed between floor and frame to let the floor droop. I used a four foot carpenter level to check the floor, it is about an eigth of a bubble off

[inthwind]

Billy,
Check the outside skin on the trailer from the wheels back..
See if there are any ripples or buckels in the sheet medal.....
If you have a bent frame you may notice ripples...Our size trailer does not usually have a problem with bent frames..It sounds to me that you may have some loose floor fasteners..A 1/8" drop over four feet is not much..Poke around and see if you have some soft wood in the floor..
I have to assume you have a rear bath...When traveling make sure your tanks are empty, gray and black...The added weight in the rear while on the road is not a good idea..The frame on these trailers was lighten by cutting holes along the length of the frame, both sides, in the riser or vertical side of the channel..
Ckeck the floor fasteners to see if some need to be replaced..
Also ck the area where the rear stabilizer jacks are located in the frame..Some times people forget to raise these jacks when hooking up to the tow veh. which also can cause a problem in the rear...
You also may want to put some bottle jacks under the frame behind the rear wheels( use wood blocks) and raise the trailer a couple of inches and then recheck with your level..This would also be a good time to resecure the plywood if needed..
Keep me posted on your progress
Tom...

[bdbluegrass]

TOM

THERE ARE NO RIPPLES IN THE SKIN OF THE TRAILER. THE FRAME IS LEVEL AT THE TONGUE AXLE MT. AREAS AND TAIL OF THE TRAILER. HOW IS THE EASIEST WAY TO GET TO THE FLOOR CHANNEL THAT IS ATTACHED TO THE BODY SO I CAN CHECK TO SEE IF THE CHANNEL IS DISCONNECTED FROM THE BODY? THERE ARE NO SOFT SPOTS OR SQUEAKS IN THE FLOOR

THANKS AGAIN

BILLY

[thenewkid64]

Billy,

The best way to check for rot is to use an ice pick along the interior edges of the wall. The Ice pick will tell if you have a soft perimiter on your floor. You will have to get into cabinets and under beds to really check, but it is the place to start. The only other way to get access to the floor edge without tons of disassembly is by removing the lower rub rail moulding.

When you checked the level of the frame at the tounge, wheels and bumper, were the stabilizers down? Does putting them down have any effect on the interior floor? What is your floor made of? In the Argosy they tried all kinds of stuff. There are trailers with alumimum floors, and they act a bit diffrent than a traditional floor.

[inthwind]

Billy,
There is no easy way to get to the channels..If you had the interior gutted and needed to do floor replacement you could open the floor and ck things out..If this is not the case the best road may be up through the bottom..This would require you to take off the lower sheet metal and and replace after inspection and or repairs..
If the problem is an unlevel floor maybe you can learn to live with it..It does not sound like you have a frame problem...If you must proceed to ck things out as you said a possible broken frame member, then going up through the bottom is probably the best bet..Make sure you have your trailer set up with jacks and blocks on the frame rails before climbing under the trailer to do work...
SAFETY FIRST...Only open the suspect areas and wear eye protection...Take your time..You can drill out the rivits and drop the sheet...One other thing you can try..If you know anyone with a Bore Scope see if you can borrow it..You only need to drill a small hole in the sheet metal, insert the scope flex shaft and look around through scope..They have scopes with 36" shafts or you can get one with a 18" shaft. I used one on the job and they were very handy..
If you want to purchase one let me know, I know where to get them cheap...
Well good luck.. Keep me Posted, Tom

[bdbluegrass]

THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO . THE TRAILER HAS A PLYWOOD FLOOR. THE SCOPE SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA. I WILL START CHECKING THINGS OUT. THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE HELP . YOU HAVE SAVED ME LOTS OF TIME AND MONEY

THANKS AGAIN

BILLY