Quality of construction late '80s early '90s trailers

[MrBeast]

Later this summer I am going to be liquidating my business, moving out of the house I am in, and I am looking at the possibility of buying a 32' Excella tripple axle.

I was wondering if anyone who has these trailers can give me heads up on common problems, quality of construction, or any other general info I should know.

[2airishuman]

no such thing as a 32 ft triple axle.

the triples have always been called 34s.

there were double axle units in 30, 31 and 32.

the 80s and 90s account for 20 years of production,

and there are threads on many models from many of those years.

so one (u) needs to narrow down this down for any useful info.

for example there were 2-3 years of 34s with vinyl/foam ceiling issues in the 90s.

all of the 80s and 90s units had plastikote finishes,

so one would expect many of them to have peeling or cosmetic skin issues.

some of the years in those 2 decades had osb SUBflooring, while other years have plywood.

while henschens supplied all of the axles in those years,

they DID fiddle around with axle design, not always with positive results.

34s started as narrow bodies with round corner radius, then became squarer, then wider.

the earlier years were produced with ONE piece ribs, while the later years were 3 piece ribs.

early years had no thermal break between skin/ribs and later years do.

window glass changed during those 20 years and sky lights were added in the later years.

tongue weights on 34s went from 700 lbs to 1400 lbs.

there is a basic/long used floor plan for 34s which spans the entire timeline.

while slide units weren't produced in those 2 decades,

front kitchens, double sofa, twins, queens and DOUBLE door units were produced.

payload (carry capacity) varies a lot during those 2 decades as do gvwr...

lp bottles were vertical, then horizontal, then vertical again during those years.

there was tambour and vinyl interiors, but most of those years will be OAK interiors,

and LOTS have beveled glass mirrors everywhere.

corian eventually replaced formica.

a variety of appliances models were installed over those 20 years...

and so on.

pick a year (or 2-3 years) then read, then ask specific questions.

cheers
2air'

[TouringDan]

We have an 84 Excella 500 31 ft. Considering the characteristics that 2air mentioned, it mostly has good ones- real plywood sub-flooring, real oak cabinets, good windows and glass, no vinyl ceiling, no beveled glass, but it also has one stuborn tamboor door and some plastikote peeling. I don't know about the ribs. I would buy another one of this vintage.

Dan

[MrBeast]

Wow, lots of information, I feel like im playing camping roulette now... lol

[sandlapper]

We have a 1993 34 that we wouldn't trade even for a new one . 2Air layed it all out beautifuly. The 93 models were arguably the last great year for AS. Many changes after, some not so good. Happy trails. John

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by sandlapper

We have a 1993 34 that we wouldn't trade even for a new one . 2Air layed it all out beautifuly. The 93 models were arguably the last great year for AS. Many changes after, some not so good. Happy trails. John

Would you mind sharing some pictures?

[2airishuman]

4 got the plumbing issues...

sometime in the 90s? a/s switched to pex as currently used.

polybutylene was using in the 80s, not clear when that stopped.

pictures?

look here...

Excella - Airstream Forums

or here

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f205...num-54749.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...oor-54952.html


more stuff here...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f349...sic-18802.html

cheers
2air'

[MrBeast]

Thanks for the info guys, I have definately learned a lot already!