Noob looking at a 31' '77 AS

[270win]

Originally Posted by Splitrock

If I'da paid the biggest, meanest guy in town the same as I paid for the trailer to beat the crap outa me, I'da been better off and it would have been less painful.

HAHAHAHA, that's just funny, I don't think you could've made that any clearer!

Originally Posted by Splitrock

The smell is a combination of mouse urine, rotting wood, mold, and stinky pinky insulation rotting in the belly pan. Nothing will make it go away except a total strip job and new floor wood.

Some (many) owners use travel trailers so they can take their pets on trips. Some of those pets are not trained or left unattended for too long, and some of the owners are not trained. I've been gagged out of trailers that smelled like dog or cat urine. I passed on two trailers with the musty rotting wood smell. Both looked good in pictures.

Mine had mice in it before I bought it. I didn't get rid of the smell until I removed all the interior, washed all the interior skins, and painted the wood floor with Kilz Original.

The odor in mine was hardly noticeable on the day I bought it because the owner had it open and was getting ready to leave on a trip with it. When I got it home and closed it up, the odor was persistent. Every level I removed I figured, "This will do it." But it didn't do it.

As I removed the drapes, the sofas, the mattresses, the cabinets, all the appliances, it got better . . . but it didn't go away until everything was out and the floor was painted.

Nothing nostalgic, retro or cool about that...

Originally Posted by Splitrock

I paid between 3 and 4 thousand. It's been a huge expense and a LOT of work. If I had it to do over today I wouldn't do it.

You should really just come out and say what you're thinking. No, seriously, thanks for your input.

[270win]

Originally Posted by dougsale

I am the proud 2nd owner of a 77 31' in excellent original condition that my parents bought new and cared for meticulously. While rare, a few "great shape" trailers may still be out there. I would gladly pay $12,000 for a trailer in true good condition. Take pictures and post them here and we'll tell you if you have a good one. It sounds like the seller may have pictures to prove the quality.

He said that he did have pictures. I'll be sure to post my pictures to gain insight from you guys and help others to know what to look for. It sounds like you bought one the right way!

Do you keep yours covered?

[Sneakinup]

This one just dropped in price from $3500 to $2500. It is posted on a few CL sites in the Tampa area.

1977 airstream land yacht soverign

I have never seen it on the forums classifieds. Hmm, I wonder if the guy would give me a commission if it sells? I'll bet you Grandma's house smells a lot better.

As far as the amount of work that I have to do to my trailer... this will be my last one of this magnitude. Actually, if I had an indoor facility to do the work it wouldn't be so bad. Crawling around under a trailer in Florida (or anywhere for that matter) is not a lot of fun.

If I ever do get another trailer, it will be structurally sound and I will gut the interior and start from scratch.

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by Sneakinup

This one just dropped in price from $3500 to $2500. It is posted on a few CL sites in the Tampa area.

1977 airstream land yacht soverign

I have never seen it on the forums classifieds. Hmm, I wonder if the guy would give me a commission if it sells? I'll bet you Grandma's house smells a lot better.

As far as the amount of work that I have to do to my trailer... this will be my last one of this magnitude. Actually, if I had an indoor facility to do the work it wouldn't be so bad. Crawling around under a trailer in Florida (or anywhere for that matter) is not a lot of fun.

If I ever do get another trailer, it will be structurally sound and I will gut the interior and start from scratch.

This is all very true! For sure the "start from scratch" part!!
BUT, if it can drop that much in price it most likely means it can drop more

Being blunt here....but not many people want a 31' trailer.....I mean, my goodness, I have a hard enough time keeping my truck on the road...

[Eric H]

Sorry, just looked at it via a good link for the pics.
My opinion on it (just from looking at the pics) is that it has been leaking for while!!!
There is mold on everything... which means trashing (or referbing) everything.
If you can jack it up off the frame (as in "frame off") after trashing the inside and redoing the frame I would think it might be worth 2000 (which is to say it's worth that in scrap)... since it's so long and not that old. If you love it, then it could be worth much more...but (as in life) be careful what 'or who' you fall in love with.

[4RXLA]

Yes, mine has been covered for over 15 years now.

[Mrs.Mod]

Originally Posted by 270win

Yeah, I'm not so worried about the little expenses! It's rotten garbage that would concern me!

Boy, I wish the expense were small. It was more than I was expeting so soon. But it is what it is.... a 35 year-old trailer! I don't feel bad about it. It would have been nice if the seller had been upfront about the brake since it is a safety issue.

Yes, floor rot would be a nightmare. Is the west coast too far to travel for a trailer? Very dry here. Not to brag, but we got lucky, this trailer we just bought was orginially purchased about 2 hours away from where I am and has always lived in this area. Our floor is solid. Whew!

[270win]

Originally Posted by Mrs.Mod

Boy, I wish the expense were small. It was more than I was expeting so soon. But it is what it is.... a 35 year-old trailer! I don't feel bad about it. It would have been nice if the seller had been upfront about the brake since it is a safety issue.

Yes, floor rot would be a nightmare. Is the west coast too far to travel for a trailer? Very dry here. Not to brag, but we got lucky, this trailer we just bought was orginially purchased about 2 hours away from where I am and has always lived in this area. Our floor is solid. Whew!

California is a bit of a drive for us.

I agree, it's one thing to exaggerate condition with regard to cosmetics, but safety issues??? Not good!

We just left the first one, I took some pics, it's had shoddy frame work, the axles were suspect, many many small items that didn't work. When I tell someone that everything works...that means it works. Won't be buying that one.

[Eric H]

Just see as many as possible. That will be the only way to really get a feel for how to precede. Even if they are NOT what you want, spending an hour looking at them will do you tons of good!

[270win]

I agree...and we've only looked at 2, but if these are any indication of what $12K will buy then we're probably not going to end up with one. We're going to look at more of them before we decide. This last one had almost all the rolling doors either sticking or broken. Every window seal was rotted to the point of falling out when the windows were opened. And it was infested with rats.

It still had the cool factor going for it, but the amount of things it needed made for a deal killer IMO.

I'll post some pics later tonight.

[wasagachris]

Originally Posted by 270win

We just left the first one, I took some pics, it's had shoddy frame work, the axles were suspect, many many small items that didn't work. When I tell someone that everything works...that means it works. Won't be buying that one.

Was the one you just left the trailer advertised for $11,000.00?

[270win]

Originally Posted by wasagachris

Was the one you just left the trailer advertised for $11,000.00?

Yes, and the second one was $12K.

[wasagachris]

You can blame the TV show American Pickers for some of the prices I've seen on old units. Ever since that episode of the show aired with the 40's something A/S some folks think they have a built in gold mine in their old trailer.
However there are still some respectable units out there that are reasonably priced.
Keep looking and you will find the right one for you.
I'm a little far away from you (500 miles to Mims Fl) but there is one for sale in this park right now for a lot less than the ones you looked at. It is all original and everything works with a new awning. I can't tell you exactly what the condition is as I have not actually inspected it.
1976 Airstream Sovereign 31ft.
If you are interested let me know and I can look at it for you.

[270win]

Originally Posted by wasagachris

You can blame the TV show American Pickers for some of the prices I've seen on old units. Ever since that episode of the show aired with the 40's something A/S some folks think they have a built in gold mine in their old trailer.
However there are still some respectable units out there that are reasonably priced.
Keep looking and you will find the right one for you.
I'm a little far away from you (500 miles to Mims Fl) but there is one for sale in this park right now for a lot less than the ones you looked at. It is all original and everything works with a new awning. I can't tell you exactly what the condition is as I have not actually inspected it.
1976 Airstream Sovereign 31ft.
If you are interested let me know and I can look at it for you.

Hey that would be great! I would be seriously interested in making a quick purchase on the right trailer.

[270win]

And the 500 miles is a small price to pay for the right deal. I just drove to Philadelphia to buy a boat earlier this week.

[wasagachris]

Originally Posted by 270win

Hey that would be great! I would be seriously interested in making a quick purchase on the right trailer.

Hi I just went to see the seller and he is out. I will check back later and let you know.

[270win]

Originally Posted by wasagachris

Hi I just went to see the seller and he is out. I will check back later and let you know.

I greatly appreciate your time! Thank you!

[270win]

Here are some of the pics of the 77'. My pictures are pretty lousy now that I've seen them on the computer, but here they are anyway.

This one doesn't tell you much, other than that the colors and decode are pretty cool. The overhead lights were missing or had broken knobs except for one...but they all did work.


Opening this storage box between the seats reveals linoleum still on the floor. The floating laminate flooring was on top of the linoleum...that also made looking for soft spots a bit challenging.


This was the only overhead window shade that I could get open, but the guy told me that they all looked this way.


Surface rust on the old appliances...I like the old appliances, but I'd like to not have rust. Second pic is window hardware, if you can't see it, the handle has heavy surface rust on it.



The fridge worked fine, but the front facia was peeling off in one large sheet. I'm not sure if this is an easy fix or not.


One of the storage bins, the paper peeling off the wall, not a big deal. I will say that on this one the roll up doors were in better shape than the second one.


This is where my phone battery started getting weak and I got into looking at plumbing, axles, frame/body/seams etc. My wife is sending me more pics.

[270win]

More pics-
This is of some of the veneer peeling from the cabinets.


On this picture, I was particularly concerned about the crease where the shell meets the frame. It turns out that the doubler that was installed was only installed on one side, but the story was that they had them installed, not to fix an issue, but to prevent any problems. I never did take a pic from underneath but the belly pan was cut with a cutoff wheel in that corner and never put back. The outriggers from the frame were rusted.


few more minor dents


This is a pretty good one, it's about the size of a football on the front skin.


There were several of these in the edges of the belly pan where the frame was coming through.


This is where the gas mine went to the hot water heater.


Still, when you step back, they're still cool to look at...


Better interior pic by my wife


Last one


So, are we just too picky for an older AS? Is this a good (or even a fair) deal for $11K?

Just trying to get a handle on what to expect.

[Splitrock]

"So, are we just too picky for an older AS?"

No

"Is this a good (or even a fair) deal for $11K?"

Not working for me at the 11 number.

How's it smell?