crapola. Tail repair worse than I thought

[eubank]

So I figured I'd work on our tail droop today. Mind you, we paid a bunch of bucks to have this problem corrected several years ago, so I thought I'd find just a bolt pulled through or perhaps just loose.

So such luck. The bolt that passes through the frame and up through the wood floor and channel doesn't pass through the channel at all. And that's because about a six-inch section of the channel is gone, removed, torn out, missing from action. And not only that! Since the plywood floor under the channel is easy to see -- there's no channel blocking the view, right? -- I find that the frickin' section is rotted.

Sooooo, tomorrow I'll start removing the bathroom to fix it all up.

I wonder what the folks in Dallas did with the couple thousand bucks we paid them to do all this work?

Anyway, so my window replacement job just got shoved to the back burner for a while. On the bright side, though, we don't close the winter season out (and go on vacation) until ski season ends, and that's still six weeks away. And since we're not exactly buried in snow or guests (!) this season, that gives me ample time to do this work!


Lynn

[bill benton]

Sorry to hear about your problem. What place in Dallas did the work on your tail droop. It would be nice to know so I can avoid them when I need work done on my AS in the future. If you don't want to go public with their name, just PM me. I live in the area and I don't like getting ripped off.

[JimGolden]

Man that is BOGUS! I feel for you. My own trailer is starting to show some signs of the sag. I pulled the bellypan and checked it out. Some areas look brand new, some look pretty rusty. I'm considering building a complete new frame. probably overkill, but my plan is to make a new one with a deeper cross section so that it will be stronger than OEM.

Good luck fixing yours. It'll be a job.

[eubank]

Well, I know that the frame is intact, unrusted, and unbent. Had all the coverings off a year or so ago to do some insulating and such. So it really boils down to the botched job on the tail.

I don't recall the name of the place in Dallas that botched the job any more. It was right on I35, east side of the highway, up in Lewisville? Plano? (We were living in Denton back then.) They work on Airstreams, but they're not a dealer.

But whattheheck. It'll be an adventure. A more pleasant one if it were warmer outside, but that's life in the mountains.


Lynn

[bill benton]

Thanks, I think I know who your talking about. I've never had a problem as severe as your's. They did work for me in the past and I was pleased with there work. But you never no. Things are always changing at repair places.

[eubank]

Ok, so today I took apart the left rear, which appeared not to be as bad at the right (which is now repaired). And what I found confirmed the suspicion: While the wood was not in the greatest shape, it was also not too bad. And, importantly, the channel under the body was cracked, but not outright missing, as it was on the right. The repair job done in Dallas some years ago was, this time, relatively competent, though it could be improved without a lot of effort.

So now I just redo the repair a bit, and start putting the whole business back together again.


Lynn

[Chaplain Kent]

Sorry to hear of your droop. Seems like something always comes up. I have been wanting to install a new vent since I bought my MH but each time I think I can do it something else takes over and burns up the cash. Got to love these Airstreams.

[eubank]

Yeah, there's always something. But if you think about it, if we had an SOB made in the 60's, it almost surely would be sitting in a junk pile.

I'm thrilled, though, that the tail droop on the left isn't even near to what it was on the right! I figure I'll be able to improve the repair on the left with just a couple of hours of work. Ain't nuthin'!


Lynn