A Dream Come True

[Holy_Roller]

Greetings from North Easternish PA. My name is Joshua and I pastor a Wesleyan church in Sayre, PA. I've always wanted a camper, especially after going to the church's family camp last year with a wife and two very young kids in tow and staying in a tent all week. After looking at an old, broken down camper at the campground, my eye caught the beautiful shilouette of the 1978 Argosy sitting two lots down, and I fell in love. One thing led to another, and we ended up "inheriting" the Argosy from the previous owners. She's dated, but solid. Unfortunately, she hasn't been on the road since 1992, so it's going to take some work to get her rolling again, but at least for now we have a place to stay that's not a tent! As far as I can tell, other than the fridge, everything is original. Any advice on upgrades or recommended maintenance would be appreciated. I'll post pictures of our progress.

[Mc2]

Congratulations! Enjoy and good luck with the rebuild

[Al and Missy]

Congratulations and enjoy your trailer! I don't want to scare you, but you asked..... Here are a few maintenance and inspection items for your consideration.

1. Tires will need to be replaced, and maybe the axles. When these trailers sit for a long time, the axles lose their flexibility.
2. Brakes will need to be serviced and adjusted, or it may be less work and not substantially more expensive to just replace the whole brake assemblies.
3. I don't know about Argosy trailers, but some rear bath Airstreams had problems with rotting floors and separation of the skin from the frame. This is easily detected by standing on the rear bumper and bouncing up and down. There should be no relative movement between the rear skin and the bumper.
4. Make sure you have operational smoke, carbon monoxide, and propane detectors.
5. Check, or have someone check, the furnace to ensure that the heat exchanger is not leaking into the trailer.
6. Check the sealant on all penetrations through the skin and replace/repair as necessary to eliminate the potential for leaks that can rot the floor. Probe for soft spots in the floor at the door, storage compartments, and under all windows. If any are found, there is potential for frame rust under them.

I'm sure there is more, but I tried to hit the biggies.

Hopefully you will have none of these problems and your efforts can be confined to cosmetics and decorating.

Al

[cwf]

Well,welcome... right at Eastertide... kewl..

So much to learn... first is running gear.. tires, brakes, bearings, axles...so you can safely move the Argosy... Note that you must have 12volt battery onboard to activate the electric brakes in event of a 'breakaway'..

Once you are able to tow reliably and get to your properly.. check out the floor around the perimeter.. as close to the wall as you can get.. all around.. poke with an Ice Pick... note any soft spots.. that means long term leaks.. and damaged flooring.. you will need to fit...

Next start working on the other 'systems'.. 12 volt, 120 (ac/shore power).. water, waste tanks... and LP system... (be careful with this one especially...)

Anyway, thousands of points you might need.. so, we look forward to specific questions..

Clergy here, too...

[PaulnGina]

Welcome, Pastor Joshua! And congratulations on your Argosy!

Yes, much improvement over a tent! I'm sure your family appreciates that a LOT!

I look forward to seeing what you do with it!

[Foiled Again]

Welcome aboard. I suggest you look at Penn Woods, an Airstream only campground in western PA, attend a forum rally or two, and consider visiting or joining a WBCCI unit near you. WBCCI stands for Wally Byam camping club international. Wally founded Airstream.

RV people are generally very helpful toward newbies, Airstreamers even moreso, so meeting other vintage owners should be a priority. You can start with a rolling tin tent once your running gear is brought up to safe standards... and then you can go for broke. (Matthew McConoughy or however it is spelled spent a fortune redoing one) use SEARCH with the keyword "contemporizing" to see a drool-worthy Argosy... or "full monty" for other threads that have nothing to do with male nudity.[emoji44]

[dbj216]

Hello from Colorado: Welcome to the Airstream community. Your opening comments reminds me of my family. Dad was the Scout Master of our troop and tired of sleeping in a pup tent. He convincienced Mom we needed a travel trailer. So Dad slept in a heated camper and we scouts slept in tents on the cold ground. Maybe that old Shasta 16' got me interested in travel trailers.

Your new Argosy looks pretty good. Like others have said, it will have many needs to be road worthy after sitting for so long. Maybe $1500 in axles and brakes, maybe $250 in tires and a lighting check. You will need a hitch to pull it at maybe $600. It's so much fun spending other people's money.

I bought a 75 Overlander 27' last fall. It is similar to yours but older. I have new axles in the shop waiting for installation. My trailer was in pretty good shape excluding old appliances and some old plumbing problems. I'm making progress getting it "travel ready".

Enjoy.

David

[DBinSD]

Congratulations and welcome !

You and especially your kids will enjoy the journey.

We are all looking forward to your progress.

Get tires and leaks under control. The rest as you can financially afford. Start with what you need not want.

Best of luck !

[Lve42dy]

I’m new to AS as well. Haven’t even received my rig yet. I admire anyone who can and has the patience to rebuild.

Please keep us updated with progress. Looking forward to pics.

[Tn Traveler]

Congratulations on your new to you Argosy. May I suggest she should be named Jericho. Exciting times are ahead.

Remember to take care of the safety issues first.

[cwf]

Holy_roler... are you done yet? =)