Hi all,
I have been a lurker on the board for 5-6 years, and I joined about 2 years ago as I started looking seriously for an Airstream. After looking at several that were junk, or already gutted and still at full retail, I started to loose hope on finding a good one at a decent price.
I finally found an Argosy about 2 hours north of me in very nice condition, and at a really good price. In fact it was on Craigs list, and looking at the pictures I could tell it was very clean inside and out, and did I mention it was a really good price?
I found the ad about 2 hours after he placed it, and I was so afraid of missing out on being the first one to look at it, I called the owners 6-8 times in a 30 hour period, leaving messages each time. Well, when I finally got a call back, the owner told me that he was having problems with cell reception, and all of a sudden he got a ton of messages about the Argosy. He said that he called me first because I called the most. That was about 7pm on July 5th. I arranged to be at their place between 8 and 9am the next morning, that meant getting up at 5am in order for me to get my coffee and get there on time.
My wife and I got up there and found that the Argosy was every bit as clean as the pictures showed, in fact it really was better. They bought it from the original owners and have owned it for 10 years. The original owners bought it new in 79. Both owners put the trailer inside during the winter storage.
The current owners used it as a summer cabin until they bought the lot next door that had a cottage on it. It took me about 10 minutes to ask my wife if she liked it, and when she say OK, I told the owners we would take it. We did a once through to see all the mechanical features, jacked the wheels up and checked the bearings for rough spots or looseness, paid the people (did I mention it was a good price also?) and headed home, all in about 45 minutes.
The GOOD:
When i say it is clean I mean the important things like the body, There is hardly a dent or scratch on it,
The belly pan is intact and almost dent free,
The windows are all good, open well, seal well, and the screens are good. The floors are solid from what I could see and test.
The interior has had the dinette and bed cushions professionally redone, The furnace is only 2 years old,
The fridge works on 120vac, (currently not working on gas)
The air works,
The power converter charger is only 2-3 years old
The cabinet doors all open and close properly and look great
The BAD:
The plastic (bulk heads, ,bath fixtures etc.)has really yellowed, i will have to do something about that.
Tires are perfect, but 12-13 years old so I will have to replace them.
The twin beds have started to fall apart over the years, (not a big deal)
He capped off the water line from the pump due to a leak at a filter next to the sink. (again not a big deal) still works on city water.
Anyway, maybe you can tell I am pumped!
PS.
If anyone has a link(s) to the best paint for the shower and other plastic parts, please hook me up with them. I tried the search and it's hard to narrow it down. I am sure I will have other questions for the board, but that is all I can think of at this time.
I am not a complete newby to camping, just the Airstream's. I have owned several pop ups, a couple older trailers, a 4106 bus conversion, and a couple motor homes, but for some reason, I have always wanted an Airstream!
Jim
Oconomowoc, Wi.
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