I recommend looking inside the rear flap which covers the rear fender storage for electric and water pipes. Look in each corner to check the extent of corrosion of the part of the frame that is visible. You should see some access holes about 3 inches in diameter. These let you look with a flashlight inside the frame members. This will give a clue to the extent of corrosion in the rest of the frame. I saw a similar trailer for sale last month in a trailer park full of Airstreams at Melbourne, Florida. This section of the frame looked perfect from the outside. I just happened to notice that there were a few pop rivets at the edge of the frame, where I knew they should not be. A closer look revealed that the whole of the visible exposed outside section of the frame ( about 6" by 4") had been covered over with a very thin sheet of steel, pop-riveted in place, and painted to match the rest of the frame. When I pressed the centre of the new panel, I heard the true frame collapsing and desintegrating inside. If you didn't have detailed knowledge of this model trailer, you would have been easily deceived. Caveat emptor! Nick.
__________________
Nick Crowhurst, Excella 25 1988, Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel. England in summer, USA in winter.
"The price of freedom is eternal maintenance."
|