Argosy question

[ajanib]

Denise,

The peace of mind you'll get is well worth the cost of new axles. We lost a wheel last year, and the resulting damage was far more expensive than a new axle would have been.

Best of luck, and enjoy your new (sort of) Argosy.

[Denise M.]

I asked the Rv place about axles and they did not think I would need to replace the Axles? If I asked them to check the axles out anyway would it be easy to check? How much are new axles? After we bought it we drove it home which took 13 hours and 2 more to the Rv place. We could not even tell it was back there. Thanks!

[CanoeStream]

Denise -- Congratulations on your decision to forge ahead. Some troubling cervical disks halted my Argo work two years ago with only half of the job done. We bought the new Safari to get back on the road without interruption but I've never fallen out of love with the ol' Argosy. I've seen an interesting convergence in this thread. overlander64's post takes me back to yearnings I had two years ago on seeing Cadillacs driving around town with a color that was similar to but a beautiful advance on the original Argosy paint. I would strongly recommend looking further in that direction!

The plastic piece on the rear that holds taillights is old, old, old and quite fragile. I would recommend looking at the link I gave you for other ideas on rear taillight do-overs. Your Argo is different from current trailers -- it actually has backup lights; current day trailers don't. Do what you want -- but I strongly feel this deserves looking at if you are going to repaint.

Have them take off the Argosy name castings from either end before painting. Do not reinstall until the new paint job is fully cured. I went to my local farm/fleet store and picked up some 4 oz. exterior latex cans and blended yellow and red until I got the Argosy orange color right. I cleaned paint residues out of the letters and repainted those concave areas. I still want to polish the high outline letter areas... Even an Argosy will put an SOB to shame!

There is a lot here we haven't discussed; eg, replacing tanks with OPD valved tanks -- a more than fair idea compared to recertifying 30 year old tanks.

Has your repair shop been able to work with the Carefree awning? Here are some manual scans: http://www.airforums.com/photos/brow...00&userid=6410

Every time I travel more than a couple hours from home I try to catch up my listening to the podcasts from theVAP - The Vintage Airstream Podcast - Home. Vintage is wa-a-ay cool and you are well on your way. Tim, Rob & Colin on the VAP note that an absolute complete shell-off and new axle restoration will cost just as much as buying a 2007 new Airstream of similar length. You will be miles ahead of the game and those cursed SOBs -- even if you have a combined $20K or so into this before you're done. These prices are way more than you'll ever get selling it, but consider that 1/4 of the price of a brand new Airstream will be depreciated the moment you drive it off the dealer's lot. The high price is offset by the great camping (and comments) you will get in the coming years. Since you haven't had to do the shell-off restoration, I strongly hope that this job will be well directed and will satisfy you completely!

Driveway camping rocks! But do you have thoughts for a nice local weekend out to test your "new" Argosy? Sending karma your way...

[sfixx]

Originally Posted by overlander63

...worry about eplacing the works when you have to remove the thing.

Terry, You could eplace her erivets from anywhere these days, if you have high speed internet Sorry, I couldn't resist. As a matter of fact, you give alot of free eadvice here, maybe you should start getting paid for it? Consulting RV E-Doctor?

Hmmmm,

Steve

[Denise M.]

This project will take sometime before I have the Argosy the way I want it. I have owned a Globetrotter and a vintage Serro Scotty. The Argosy I own is bigger and roomer inside than the Globetrotter which I like but the Globetrotter had been taken very very good care of by the previous owner and was in wonderful shape. The Serro Scotty was in great condition also but way to small. The Globetrotter and Serro Scotty were also won on Ebay and I was quite happy with the outcome. The Argosy is going to be more time consuming. I love the vintage trailers. Airstreams and the Argosy's are my favorite. I would own one of each make if I had the money and room in my driveway.