'79 Argosy

[DFDureiko]

When did the aluminum/steel rounded argosy stop production? 1979? I'm going to be looking at a '79 that appears to be white, not beige, with blue trim...
from what I can see,,,,,from inception, (72?) to 75 or 76, they were two tone light dark beige, with no orange trim (black I think?) then it was all beige with brown under wrap and orange trim, then at some point went to white with blue?? also noticing most 24ft Argosys have front dinnette not front sofa.
Dan

[overlander64]

Greetings Dan!

Originally Posted by DFDureiko

When did the aluminum/steel rounded argosy stop production? 1979? I'm going to be looking at a '79 that appears to be white, not beige, with blue trim...
from what I can see,,,,,from inception, (72?) to 75 or 76, they were two tone light dark beige, with no orange trim (black I think?) then it was all beige with brown under wrap and orange trim, then at some point went to white with blue?? also noticing most 24ft Argosys have front dinnette not front sofa.
Dan

The first generation Argosy travel trailers began production in 1972 and ended with the 1979 models. Throughout this time period, there were at least three paint color/combinations employed. The earliest models were the two-tone beige, next came an off-white with banana wraps in a shade of brown, the next variation was the off-white/beige with copper/orange banana wraps, and then what seems to have been the shortest lived paint scheme . . . off white with striping corresponding to the interior color (blue, green, or orange). The 1979 coaches had the off-white with striping color matched to the interior color scheme. While these were "standards", as with anything having to do with Airstreams of the 1960s and 1970s there are very few defnites . . . there are exceptions to nearly every "standard".

At one time there were a number of supposed "absolutes" regading first generation Argosy travel trailers, but a number of these have proven to be less than absolute. Some of these supposed "absolutes" included:

• The exterior endcaps on all first generation Argosy travel trailers were galvanized steel. Recently it has become apparent that one-piece exterior fiberglass endcaps were utilized on at least a few of the coaches. Some of these coaches with fiberglass endcaps had only one fiberglass endcap with the other end having the galvanized steel while others had fiberglass endcaps on both ends.
• All first generation Argosy travel trailers were built in Versailles, Ohio -- V in VIN for Versailles. Investigation over the past several years has revealed a number of first generation Argosy travel trailers with S in the VIN denoting Cerritos, California as the plant of production.
• All 6.0 Metre Minuets had composite aluminum floors. There are a number of 6.0 Metre Minuets with plywood floors, particularly for the 1979 models. It is still believed that all of the 7.4 Metre Minuets had plywood floors.

As more information surfaces, there are fewer absolutes when it comes to the first generation Argosy travel trailers.

Good luck with your investigation of the 1979 Argsoy!

Kevin



Above -- 1979 Argosy 30



Above -- 1979 Minuets




Above -- 1978 Argosy

[DFDureiko]

Minuets were narrower than the standard airstream argosy right? Based on the brochures u attached it appears the 79 24 foot must be of the narrower design? Whereas previous "non-minuet) would be of standard width
Of course the minuet became the Airstream Caravelle in 1980 right??
This guy said the 79 24 had a sofa rather than dinette in front which I dont see in the brochure
Thanks

Dan

[Argonaut20]

Minuets were narrower than the standard and lighter in weight. If memory serves me right, I think I have seen pictures of '79 Minuets with blue stripes instead of the orange shown in the brochure. There were 6.0 Minuets with a gaucho across the front and a fold out table mounted on the curb side so the longer ones likely could have that arrangement as well.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by DFDureiko

Minuets were narrower than the standard airstream argosy right? Based on the brochures u attached it appears the 79 24 foot must be of the narrower design? Whereas previous "non-minuet) would be of standard width
Of course the minuet became the Airstream Caravelle in 1980 right??
This guy said the 79 24 had a sofa rather than dinette in front which I dont see in the brochure
Thanks

Dan

At least in '75, the dinette was an optional upgrade from the gaucho with folding table. It's listed on my price sheet for the trailer, I think it was something like a $150 option but the sheet is with the trailer and I'm not.

[ventport]

If anyone has a dinette for sale, or wants to trade for a goucho, I would love to install a dinette in our 77 24 footer.

[DFDureiko]

I guess my question is: a 1977 24ft Argosy is of the standard width, but a '79 is the narrow "minuet" style, there was no standard 24footer at that time?

[azflycaster]

From the information here: Airstream, Inc :: 1970's it looks like you are correct. The documentation shows standard width was only available in the 27' and 30'. The Minuet was available in 20', 22' and 24'.

[DFDureiko]

was that just 79 or also 78?

[overlander64]

Greetings Dan!

Originally Posted by DFDureiko

Minuets were narrower than the standard airstream argosy right? Based on the brochures u attached it appears the 79 24 foot must be of the narrower design? Whereas previous "non-minuet) would be of standard width.

The Minuets were 7.0 feet wide while the standard Argosy travel trailers were 7 ft. 8 in. wide. Argosy contributed to confusion with the Minuets as they were identified as 20, 22, or 24 feet through the VIN rather than with their metric designations. I have never found any official indication of whether Argosy 20, Argosy 22 and/or Argosy 24s were produced along with the similar sized Minuets during the 1977 through 1979 model years.

The only sure way to identify whether an Argosy from 1977 through 1979 is a Minuet or a standard Argosy (without the Minuet side badges) is to measure the floor width. Strictly from observation, I tend to believe that there weren't any Argosy 20s produced after 1977. The picture is far less clear regarding the 22 and 24 foot models, nor is the picture clear regarding the release dates for the 6.7 Metre and 7.4 Metre Minuets . . . the 6.0 Metre Minuet was introduced first, but how much, if any, lag before the introduction of the two larger Minuets is not clear.

Originally Posted by DFDureiko

Of course the minuet became the Airstream Caravelle in 1980 right??
This guy said the 79 24 had a sofa rather than dinette in front which I dont see in the brochure

The relationship between the Argosy Minuet line and the Airstream Caravelle line from 1980 is one of deductive reasoning rather than factual confirmation from Airstream. So far as I know, Airstream has never confirmed this relationship, however, the evidence suggests that there is some form of relationship between the discontinuation of all Argosy travel trailers and the introduction of the 1980 Caravelles.

Argosy typically only showed the "standard" or base arrangement. Throughout most of the Argosy model run, the original purchaser could choose the standard front lounge or for about $50.00 additional, could choose the dinette option. These same choices were available to Minuet purchasers as well. While I have never seen any statistics on the number of Argosy travel trailers equipped with the front Dinette option, I suspect that the number was small since many of the Argosy travel trailer dealers also sold Airstream and would have been more comfortable ordering the familiar front lounge layouts for units purchased for inventory.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

[overlander64]

Greetings Dan!

Originally Posted by DFDureiko

I guess my question is: a 1977 24ft Argosy is of the standard width, but a '79 is the narrow "minuet" style, there was no standard 24footer at that time?

This is a gray area for first generation Argosy travel trailers. From observation, I do know that both Argosy 20 and Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metres were produced in 1977 based on VINS, exterior trim, and measurement as the VINs didn't make a distinction. I haven't discovered any significant indicators of whether there was any period when both Argosy 22/Minuet 6.7 Metre and/or Argosy 24/Minuet 7.4 were produced concurrently. So far as I know, there isn't definitive information regarding when the 6.7 and 7.4 Metre Minuets were introduced. The only time that I have found all three in a sales catalog was for the 1979 model year. The 1977 Argosy literature that I have seen didn't even make mention of the Minuet series (this was the very early release 1977 literature). The 1978 Argosy line brochure only listed the 6.0 Metre Minuet (again the very early release of the literature). The more that I learn about the first generation Argosy travel trailers, the more exceptions to what were once accepted as absolutes arise . . .

Kevin