New To Forum

[Darel]

Hello Everyone,
I just bought a 1977, 28' Argosy Twin MH. I am new to RV'ing and am sure, in time, while we are going through it, I will have questions. SO far I have found everything to work on it except the dashboard air and a few lights, clearence and interior. I was wondering if anyone could tell me where I might find the lights for the interior. The bulb #'s are W67 & W93. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Darel

[thenewkid64]

First of welcome to the forum,

Your first post and you even attached a picture!

There are a few of us out her with Argosy Motorhomes, I currently have 2 . Many members think I am nuts, you may agree.

The bulbs you mention, what lights do they go in? If it is the small flood lights, they will need to be purchased ar an RV place. If they are a standard bayonet base, they are available at most autoparts stores. Take the old ones with you to match up.

Dash AC is one of the things that seem to be a normal failure. My AC works in the 76 model, but I am having to spend 700.00 to fix te AC in the 78. New compressor, some new hoses, and a dryer, plus the R-12.

Being that you are in Indiana, you should be able to survive with roof air running on the gen set while you drive.

[74Argosy24MH]

New compressor, some new hoses, and a dryer, plus the R-12

Did you check what it would cost to do this with R134, you are most of the way to a conversion. R12 is going to be really expensive if you can find it 5 years from now.

John

[thenewkid64]

I have had 3 diffrent R134a conversions and they all have been weak from a cooling standpoint.
I know I am maintaining a dinosaur AC system, but IF it needs to be redone in 5-8 years I will have to revisit the issue. I have heard you can replace a bunch of parts and make it work almost as well as R-12.

In Florida, I want it meat locker cold if I can get it!

[overlander64]

I know that the volume of space is much smaller, but the R134a conversion in my '75 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible has been nothing short of fantastic. It cools far better than the R134a designed system in my '99 Suburban. Maybe I "lucked-out" in some way, I even took the cheaper shortcut and had my local Midas Muffler Shop perform the conversion rather than my regular Cadillac garage.

I had been considering having the conversion performed on my '85 Oldsmobile Delta 88 as it is in need of a major recharge, but may reconsider if my experience with the Cadillac is an exception to the rule with these conversions.

Kevin

[thenewkid64]

Kevin,

My issue is the BTU's of the AC. As I remember GM installed the biggest AC units they made on the Caddies. It was designed for a station wagon, but you have a much smaller voulme to cool. Maybe the cars (Imports) that I have done this on were just not good canidates.

My wife's car has R134a from the factory and it cools very well, but it is the coolant the system was designed for.

I am torn, $$ vs. the cooling. Here in Florida we need the AC for 9-10 months a year, and with the grenhouse the front of the MH creates, it gets warm fast when the sun is out. Heat is not as much of an issue, my heater core is bypassed, and I am not too concerned.

[ViewRVs]

Darel,

Welcome!

1) Just remember, "It's all about the vista views (windows)."

2) We don't think Brett is nuts, He IS nuts!

3) If just your dash air and some lights don't work, you are way ahead of the game. Consider yourself lucky. Although the more you learn about your unit, the more things you will find need fixing.

[Darel]

The bulbs you mention, what lights do they go in? If it is the small flood lights, they will need to be purchased ar an RV place. If they are a standard bayonet base, they are available at most autoparts stores. Take the old ones with you to match up.

The interior lights are the standard bayonet style. Both have a single filament. The W67 bulb has the same base as the W93, but the globe is smaller and dosn't emit as much light. I wasn't sure if these are special lights or if I could just get lights like them to replace them. Going by my manual, they list two different lights, both use 1.6 amps. Reading Lights: Living Room-#1383, Bedroom-1141. Ceiling Lights (4 Bulbs): Living Room, Galley, Bedroom, Bathroom-#1141. Galley and Vanity Lights under Roof Locker-#1141.
The W #'s are the numbers that I took off of the bulbs that were in the Motor Home.
I have a friend that I work with that is a motorhead and he is going to look into my dash A/C. The first thing he is going to do is a vacuum test to see if there are any leaks. And then go from there. I'm hoping it won't cost me more than $1000 to get it up and running again.
Has anyone painted the inside walls of your Argosy? My wife would like to redo the interior in the style of a 50's Diner. I'm just wondering what people have done to thier interiors.
Has anyone stripped the paint off the outside and polished the Aluminum? I got a quote of $7000-$10000 for this to be done and Clear Cote. Just to repaint it would cost me $4000-$5000, w/Clear Cote. Hmmmm, decisions-decisions.
Darel

[59toaster]

Welcome to the Forum.

Don't rule out a electrical problem as the cause of the A/C issue. GM A/C has a control relay that does fail. The switch in the dash can and does fail.
If it has R12 in it and a reasonable charge then stick with the R12. My 88 Burb is convertet to 134 and it's horrible when stuck in stop and go traffic and that's with Dual air. Once you get going down the road and have plenty of air flow it does ok.

R12 is more efficent. A system designed for 134 will have a larger condensor to handle the lower cooling capacity. There is not good cheap way to make a R12 system work near as well with 134.

[74Argosy24MH]

The end caps are galvanized steel so they can't be polished. There is a lot of body and a lot of rivets to work around. $4-5000 doesn't sound too bad, I spent about 1/3 that just for paint. A gallon doesn't go far on one of these.

John

[thenewkid64]

I would try to get the W# bulbs from an RV place.

The ones that look the same but come from an autoparts store will be of a higher wattatge. They will through more light, but also will create more heat, and could overload the circuit that they are on. The excess heat could melt covers and they are not inexpensive.


Someone painted the inside of our 76 and it turned out ok, but I have no idea what they used. There have been discussions on the forum about painting end caps. Much of the inside is ABS, so the same principal applies to the walls as to the end caps.

When the picture site comes back up look at my kitchen pictures I redid it and gained some counter space. As with any RV you need to keep the weight issue in mind when you do a remodel. I would love some type of solid surface floor that is not sheet goods, but stone or tile is too heavy.

Be sure to check your rear airbags. They can be replaced by your gearhead friend as well.

[ALANSD]

I also add my welcome for you to our forum. Nice looking Argosy from the photos...
You can't strip and polish your motorhome, as I understand it the type aluminum used will not polish out. You can do a silver repaint that will look really fine ,as we have seen a few done that way. from a distance you can't tell it from clear finsihed aluminum.
Try they have one on their site

http://www.gmccoop.com/airstream_projects.htm

[ALANSD]

here is a shot of that Argosy painted..

[Darel]

Don't rule out a electrical problem as the cause of the A/C issue. GM A/C has a control relay that does fail. The switch in the dash can and does fail.

59toaster,
Where on the dash will I find this swich you were talking about? I'd like to try and trouble shoot the electrical before taking it anywhere to be fixed.
TIA,
Darel

[thenewkid64]

One of the other weak points in the AC is the hoses and trie ends. It seems the system was a modular one with some sort of quick disconnects. I had to have mine replaced and the shop had to custom make the hoses and weld them to the old ends to allow for reattachment to the compressor and evap/condensor.

The AC unit is a hybrid of GM parts and what looks like an aftermarket unit. You may need to consult an AC guru to figure out where the wires go. It could be something as simple as a loose wire.

[wb13798]

my last dash ac problem was a lose wire in the dash. i would venture if the coach has been sitting it is low on freon. the o rings dont fair to good not getting some lube on them and they dry out and the freon goes by by. i would go to auto zone a get a conversion kit and change the system over to 134 . after you do you vacuum test the system. my sys is on 134 and it is ok when it gets to hot i kick on the gen set and overhead air one ac at a time. i have had both over head acs and the dash air going at the same time. out in west texas last summer it was hot.. lol
al