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GoNomad · 06-08-2006, 07:44 PM

Greeting all,
My wife and I just bought a 31' Excella 500, we have been Airstream admirers for a long time. We also own a 1956 Spartan Royal Mansion that we are refurbishing/modernizing. We leave in three days for or maiden voyage to FL and then to New Orleans

, hope to be a long time contributer and look dorward to shareing stories with ya all. One question I did have is why didn't Airstream put level indicators on the outside of the unit?? If I were to put them on myslef were would you sugest I put the front to back level indicator??

Thanks Nick and Holly

peegreen · 06-08-2006, 07:49 PM

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...40&src=SRQBGet the jumbo level which will do side/side and front/back. Mount it on the front of the trailer and you may be able to view it from rear/side view mirror. Does not have to be mounted in center under window - you can mount it on drivers side for better visibilty.

Excella CM · 06-08-2006, 07:50 PM

I have seen many units with a leveler under the front window. These typically are about 2x6 inches and have a large tube for side to side level and a small one protruding in the direction of travel for fore and aft. Alternatively I have seen various configurations mounted on the top and side of the tongue. I have even used a carpenter's level on the floor or the outside trim rails. No wrong way to do it. Some folks use a plumb bob at some calibrated spot in the interior.

GoNomad · 06-10-2006, 04:35 AM

Thanks for the link, ones on the way. Good to see there are Excella owners out there, I was starting to feel a little lonley as a browsed the forums.

GoNomad · 06-10-2006, 04:37 AM

Thanks for the information. How do you like your Excella?

SafeHarbor · 06-10-2006, 07:42 AM

Hi, Nick & Holly,

Welcome to the forum, and welcome to 'streamin'. There are SEVERAL Excella owners here.

One of the fun things you can do with a new, old Excella is look for the SAFE. Yes, many of them were equipped with a litle Theodore Bargman jewelry safe. I've never found one in MINE, but other folks with Excellas have.

Does your's have the NUTONE blender doohickey up by the sink? Mine does and it works, but I don't have any of the attachments. They show up from time to time on Ebay, but they're PRICEY.

What TV antenna do you have on it? At least some of the Excellas came with an electric Skyliner. I haven't heard of one of them still working. Mine got replaced with a batwing type, which is sort of the lowest common form of antenna - a dipole.

Anyway, I've never had to dig deep into the Excella's systems, but other folks here have, and everything you need to know is probably here SOMEWHERE. And if you can't find it by searching, just ASK.

Welcome aboard!

Lamar

Excella CM · 06-10-2006, 08:16 AM

We have a ,78 (we're 2nd owners) and we love it! Have done a thousand little up-grades in the last 5 years. Ours has the disc brakes from the factory which we really like. Doesn't have a safe–yet. It didn't have one from the factory, so I'm making one from some rectangular steel and a safe deposit box lock-bless eBay! Enjoy the big E

GoNomad · 06-10-2006, 03:51 PM

Thanks for the welcome!!! We do have a safe it is located under the front couch. Oops, I guess that was meant to be a secret. The antenna is the electric skyliner, it has one broken finger and one is bent. The electric motor or wiring is bad. We have not decided if we should try and fix or not. We ran a cable behind the cabinets and out were the old phone line connects on the outside, I want to someday run the cable behind the wall and out were the phone jack in the trailer is located. We don’t have the kitchen Nutone, was it like a food processor? My wife's Grandmother gave her a Sunbeam mix master that does some amazing stuff. Maybe when we finally (5-10 years) full-time we may have to set that up in the Excella. Good to hear from a fellow Georgian. Type at you later,

GoNomad · 06-10-2006, 04:00 PM

Excella CM, we head out on the maiden voyage this Wednesday!!!!!! We are lokking forward to a couple of weeks on the road. We will send you a post from the road of we don't "talk" before then.

SafeHarbor · 06-11-2006, 07:51 AM

Gee, this is embarassing. I haven't looked under the gaucho... Who knows?

Lamar

Tabbykat · 07-27-2006, 05:27 PM

I have a safe under the front couch. I haven't even looked at it yet, but was told there is no way to open it. Who knows, maybe there's a TREASURE in there?
I have the NuTone mixer thing with, I assume, all the parts, but the motor needs work.
I also have the Central Vac with the original Dust Bubble. The poor Bubble needs some new insides...does anybody know if they are still available somewhere?
Just got our 76 Excella 2 weeks ago and loving it!

GoNomad · 07-28-2006, 07:13 AM

TabbyKat,
Welcome to the family!! Sounds like you definitely have a wonderful AS. My wife is jealous about the vacuum, we travel with one of our dogs and her white fur is everywhere!! A lock smith can open the safe if you don't have a key. Not sure about the bubble but will ask around. Please keep us in the loop as you discover more about your Excella. What is the bedroom bathroom layout in yours?????

overlander63 · 07-28-2006, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spartan

. One question I did have is why didn't Airstream put level indicators on the outside of the unit?? If I were to put them on myslef were would you sugest I put the front to back level indicator??

Thanks Nick and Holly

Our Overlander has a Reese Levelall mounted on the hitch, looks like it has been there a VERY long time.

davidz71 · 07-29-2006, 02:52 PM

Hope you GA. folks will consider the GA. Mountain Fair get together Oct. 25, 26 & 27 in Hiawassee. There are no stuffed shirts in that group, only a diverse group who have fun. You can do stuff on your own or hang out with others in the group. We usually have a big dinner on Sat. night with everyone bringing something for the dinner. I've eaten some of the best cajun meals (thanks Nannanetta), some good enchiladas, great ribs and I brought King Ranch Cassarole the last rally. If you like to eat or are really fond of a special recipe then you could be the hit of the crowd.

By the way, I had a '77 Excella 500 31' before selling it earlier this year. Great trailer.

excell500/74 · 07-29-2006, 06:00 PM

I am also a new owner of a 74 Excella 31Ft. Does anyone know how to turn the fluorescent lights, that are located above the curtains, on?

Tabbykat · 07-30-2006, 04:24 PM

Thanks Spartan!
Well, we finally got to spend the weekend in her, just cleaning and exploring. Sad to say, the safe is BARE

Turns out it wasn't locked after all. We have the rear bath and mid twins. I'm thinking we could really use new mattresses. Will regular twins fit in here?
We also have the original Armstrong air conditioner, but it doesnt' work. I read in this forum that they are worth repairing, if possible, so we have a professional coming out tomorrow to look at it. With any luck, it might even be something minor

Holzarbeiter · 07-30-2006, 05:06 PM

78 Excella here, rear bedroom center bath, have still not found the safe, never had the vac. Original AC still works great.

jimmieanna · 07-30-2006, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by excell500/74

I am also a new owner of a 74 Excella 31Ft. Does anyone know how to turn the fluorescent lights, that are located above the curtains, on?

I saw your post and looked over my window and found the old fluorescent light bulb.....I did not even know it was there, so if anyone knows how they turn on, I would like to know myself. Just from bumbling around over there it seems the bulb is going to be hard to replace, not much space to get it out. I would imagine it is burned out....but again I really don't know. Depends if it even got used.

I did not know about a safe.....I haven't felt like moving the couch to look.....I am sure there won't be anything in it. When I first got my AS, I found a old antique gun case under the bed. It took me forever to get it out, I thought I had found the mother load (so to speak). Well, after all that trouble getting it out [it was wedged under bed] it was empty.

DPeakMD · 07-31-2006, 07:47 AM

I'll jump in here with the Excella thread. We have a '78 rear bath twin. Our secret safe is located under the curbside cabinet in the "toe kick" area next to the fridge. It works like a small bank safety deposit box with two keys. Only we have both keys...unlike at the bank!

Our central vacuum is gone but was located in the rear storage compartment behind and below the sink.

-Dallas

GoNomad · 08-01-2006, 06:28 AM

Davidz71,
I know that if my work schedule permits we will be there hopefully for several days if not then maybe just a few hours the fair grounds are about 45 minutes from our house. Look forward to it and I am doing everything possible to spend the night at the fair grounds surrounded by other AS HOW COOL!!!!!