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Old 08-04-2010, 08:59 PM   #1
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Bringing Argosy home

Wife and I are heading from our home in Texas to her hometown in Kansas to pick up our newly appropriated '75 Argosy 26'. We know very little about the mechanical condition, with the exception of pics that sister-in-law e-mailed yesterday. Already lined up shop to install a new set of tires and check/repack bearings for the long ride home. Not familiar with braking system on Argosy, brother in law said brakes didn't work with his controller, so assuming I'm gonna have some work to do. Wondering if anyone can give me the basic rundown on what kind of braking system this trailer has and how to check its condition.

Thanks,
Wingrider72
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Old 08-04-2010, 10:28 PM   #2
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Bringing Argosy home

Greetings Wingrider!

Welcome to the Forums and the world of Vintage Argosy ownershp.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wingrider72 View Post
Already lined up shop to install a new set of tires and check/repack bearings for the long ride home. Not familiar with braking system on Argosy, brother in law said brakes didn't work with his controller, so assuming I'm gonna have some work to do. Wondering if anyone can give me the basic rundown on what kind of braking system this trailer has and how to check its condition.

Thanks,
Wingrider72
What you are describing is the usual symptom of a Vintage Airstream product that hasn't had its 7-pole Bargman connector re-wired to the modern standard. Airstream didn't adopt the industry standard for wiring the Bargman conector until some time in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The color/function of the wires and their positions as delivered from the factory can be found in this link. Your Argosy would originally have been wired according to the diagram on page 2 of the link above. The current industry standard wiring diagram can be found at this link.

Your Argosy will have the typical industry standard electric drum brakes. The brakes are likely either Kelsey Hayes or Dexter 12" x 2". If parts replacements become necessary, it is quite likely that it will be less expensive to purchase fully loaded backing plates that have all new wear parts and can be found at most any trailer repair facility.

Good luck with your project!

Kevin
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Old 08-08-2010, 12:16 PM   #3
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I have a '74 26 footer. It has 10 inch brakes. I also had to change the wiring to the new standard before they would work. I tested each of the brakes independently by disconnecting the wires at the back of the drum and connecting a battery charge to the wires going to the solenoid. Once I was certain all worked I wired the 7 pin connector correctly to fit todays standards. If you are not familiar with raising the trailer off of the ground, it is best to use ramps to raise one tire at a time, by pulling one axle up on a ramp you will raise the other off of the ground. There are plenty of threads here showing how it is done. Good luck and have a safe trip home. By the way, what is your tow vehicle? Is your hitch rated to pull this trailer? Mine weighs 3900# empty and has a GVW of 6200#.
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Old 08-09-2010, 04:08 PM   #4
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Bringing Argosy Home

Thanks guys. Site is awesome. Trying to get everything together to head up there this weekend. Shop is putting new tires and checking bearings today, hopefully he will look at brakes while he is in there. Tow vehicle is 2006 F150 with 5.4 and tow package. Can't tell from pics what type of equalizer setup is on trailer, so will have to try and sort that out when we get there. Have already resigned ourselves to the fact that we may have to spend this visit cleaning and troubleshooting and make a second trip next month to actually pick it up if too many problems. From the pics in-laws sent, It's pretty rough. So no telling what we will find when we get there.

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Wingrider
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Old 08-25-2010, 10:09 PM   #5
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Brought Argosy Home

Well, brought the new member of the family home last weekend with no major problems at all. Busy catching up on work, so little time to do anything other than clean. (Filthy on the inside due to the fact it had been used for tool storage for about ten years.) Will post an introduction and some pics as soon as time allows. One quick question, though. Gonna go ahead and clean and paint endcaps before the neighbors run us out of town. Probably the worst looking part on the outside of trailer. Someone apparently tried multiple times to paint them and there is flaking paint on top of flaking paint. Tried pressure washer to no avail. Scraper seems to work the best, but I am hitting shiny metal. Any chance I am taking galvanize coating off or am I safe to continue on? Figured someone has run into this problem before. Look for pics an update on intro page soon and thanks for the help.

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