'74 Argosy 20' Motorhome restoration/rebuild

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Finished the preliminary work on the muffler hanger. It's not what you would call your standard hanger but it looks like it might work. What made it so difficult is the generator is on rubber isolation mounts which means the muffler can't be fixed to the truck frame because the generator moves all over the place when starting and stopping. So the hanger has to have a rigid attachment to the generator and a rubber hanger to the truck frame for the tail pipe.

Attachment 353815
Attachment 353816
Attachment 353817

I guess I'll know this weekend when I start the generator again if the hanger is going to work


Left to finish is the 24" tail pipe. Pieces are on order so maybe in a week or so it'll all be done.



Brad

Report back how the rubber hanger works out for you. the 2 Hondas i installed, had no connection to the mothership at all.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by PeterH-Airstreamer

Report back how the rubber hanger works out for you. the 2 Hondas i installed, had no connection to the mothership at all.

My generator is an Onan 6.5 Emerald. The muffler has two connection points, the first being the pipe itself and the second is a bar that passes through a 1-1/2" hole in the floor plate and is bolted directly to the generator. The bar is what the muffler itself is strapped to. So when the generator moves (mainly while starting and stopping) any motion of the generator is exacerbated out at the tip of the tail pipe. That's why I'm not sure even if I can mount a strap of some sort it might cause more damage from being restrained than not being restrained.

Initial testing (i.e. me grabbing the muffler and wiggling it around) seems to indicate I won't need a tail pipe support.

I'm taking Thanksgiving week off to try and catch up on some projects so hopefully I'll be done with it at that time

Brad

[bkahler]

I really haven't accomplished much on the Argosy for a while now and that's mainly because I've been distracted with my 51 Dodge truck. I bought this thing in 1996 and started restoring it in 97. By 2000 it was a rolling chassis with engine installed, just like in the picture. Then life got in the way and for one reason after another it basically got pushed into a corner and forgotten about.

It got moved from Nebraska to Texas to Arkansas and finally to Kentucky with no real work having been done on it since 2000. It has brand new tires purchased in 97 that have maybe 500 feet on them.

Anyway, I'm probably going to split time between the Argosy, TR6 and the Dodge for a while. I guess it will be interesting to see if I get anything done

Brad

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by bkahler

I really haven't accomplished much on the Argosy for a while now and that's mainly because I've been distracted with my 51 Dodge truck. I bought this thing in 1996 and started restoring it in 97. By 2000 it was a rolling chassis with engine installed, just like in the picture. Then life got in the way and for one reason after another it basically got pushed into a corner and forgotten about.

It got moved from Nebraska to Texas to Arkansas and finally to Kentucky with no real work having been done on it since 2000. It has brand new tires purchased in 97 that have maybe 500 feet on them.

Anyway, I'm probably going to split time between the Argosy, TR6 and the Dodge for a while. I guess it will be interesting to see if I get anything done

Brad

Attachment 356827

Sweet!

[GREEN ARGOSY]

Originally Posted by bkahler

I really haven't accomplished much on the Argosy for a while now and that's mainly because I've been distracted with my 51 Dodge truck. I bought this thing in 1996 and started restoring it in 97. By 2000 it was a rolling chassis with engine installed, just like in the picture. Then life got in the way and for one reason after another it basically got pushed into a corner and forgotten about.

It got moved from Nebraska to Texas to Arkansas and finally to Kentucky with no real work having been done on it since 2000. It has brand new tires purchased in 97 that have maybe 500 feet on them.

Anyway, I'm probably going to split time between the Argosy, TR6 and the Dodge for a while. I guess it will be interesting to see if I get anything done

Brad

Attachment 356827

That looks awesome!!
I'm looking forward to seeing some updates.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by GREEN ARGOSY

That looks awesome!!
I'm looking forward to seeing some updates.

Unfortunately 20 years of storage did take it's toll on the fresh paint and bare metal surfaces. Fortunately nothing serious and nothing I can't take care of in reasonably short order.

[bkahler]

While working on Peanut we lost power in the neighborhood so I moved my attention over to my Argosy. I took advantage of the nice sunny day and fitted the rear bumper. This bumper came to me through Martin (thanks!) and was NOS so it had no mounting holes. I asked Ernie to eyeball the bumper to make sure it was centered and then drilled the mounting holes.



When Ernie get's some spare time he's going to polish it and then I can install it permanently.

Brad

[bkahler]

It's been raining cats and dogs for the last day or so and I've found a few more leaks in my Argosy, imagine that!

The good news is there are no, zero, nada leaks from the windshield area

A couple of the leaks will be taken care of when I coat the roof with white roof paint. There is a leak above each of the cab cockpit windows that I think is related to the sealant that has been applied around the outside edge. I'll have to dig all of the old stuff out and apply new.

There is also a leak somewhere above the rear window or else it has something to do with the rear window itself, possibly the seal which definitely needs replacing.

There were also a several leaks around where the rub rail rivets would be poking through. Are the rivets that hold the rub rails supposed to have sealant applied prior to inserting in the holes?

Brad

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

...

There were also a several leaks around where the rub rail rivets would be poking through. Are the rivets that hold the rub rails supposed to have sealant applied prior to inserting in the holes?

Brad

I like to apply a circle of sealant around rub rail hole to "glueseal" it to the skin. In moist cases the rub rail covers a skin overlay. Hard to seal 3 layers of material. You can always run a nice bead of sealant on top of the rub rail. Vulkem i too coarse for that, I prefer to use tempro 635

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by PeterH-Airstreamer

I like to apply a circle of sealant around rub rail hole to "glueseal" it to the skin. In moist cases the rub rail covers a skin overlay. Hard to seal 3 layers of material. You can always run a nice bead of sealant on top of the rub rail. Vulkem i too coarse for that, I prefer to use tempro 635

I had always wondered if the rub rail rivets created any leaks and now that I know for a fact that they do I'll have to do your sealant trick. I'm not sure about applying a bead along the top of the rub rail but I might do that anyway. The rub rail rivets allowed a huge amount of water to enter the coach.

[martin300662]

What about laying a strip of butyl tape under the rub rail whilst it is riveted in place????

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

.... The rub rail rivets allowed a huge amount of water to enter the coach.

Attachment 357093

But you don't see all of the water once your inner skin goes back on
Hey, I have drilled holes in the U-channel to help drain some of those pesky leaks. (Holes big enough to insert a tube to channel it all the way down and big enough for mud daubers to clog it up, lol)
I like Martins idea using the butyl tape as long as it does not let the rub rail stick out, since only the rivets will compress the tape.

[martin300662]

I guess the follow-up question is, are you sure it is coming around the rivet and not through the rivet? I am thinking that regular 'pop-rivets' are effectively a straw into which the mandrel is pulled.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by PeterH-Airstreamer

But you don't see all of the water once your inner skin goes back on
Hey, I have drilled holes in the U-channel to help drain some of those pesky leaks. (Holes big enough to insert a tube to channel it all the way down and big enough for mud daubers to clog it up, lol)
I like Martins idea using the butyl tape as long as it does not let the rub rail stick out, since only the rivets will compress the tape.

I can see where drain holes would be appropriate at times. With the Coosa board I'm not quite as concerned with the floor, but the water would eventually soak anything near it and make just as much of a mess.

With butyl tape the only trick would be finding the right density such that it would compress enough to let the rail edges touch the skin.

Originally Posted by martin300662

I guess the follow-up question is, are you sure it is coming around the rivet and not through the rivet? I am thinking that regular 'pop-rivets' are effectively a straw into which the mandrel is pulled.

I know for a fact that olympic rivets leak through the rivet stem. I watched water drip off olympic rivets on my cockpit windows. For whatever reason my drivers side cockpit window is installed with olympic rivets and the passenger side with buck rivets. No leaking on the passenger side. The olympic rivets on the drivers side were NOT dipped in sealant before installing. I guess that's why I'm a firm believer in dipping them before installation.

With the butyl tape what might be worth trying is to place a 1" strip of butyl tape on the inside of the rub rail where the rivet hole is and then use an awl to puncture the tape for the rivet to pass through. At the same time I would dip the pop rivet in Tempro prior to installation.

Brad

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by bkahler

With the butyl tape what might be worth trying is to place a 1" strip of butyl tape on the inside of the rub rail where the rivet hole is and then use an awl to puncture the tape for the rivet to pass through. At the same time I would dip the pop rivet in Tempro prior to installation.

Brad

Seems the thinnest butyl tape we can get in the OK is 1.5mm (a little under 1/16") and only 20mm wide (around 3/4"). Is it worth getting some to try?

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by martin300662

Seems the thinnest butyl tape we can get in the UK is 1.5mm (a little under 1/16") and only 20mm wide (around 3/4"). Is it worth getting some to try?

For something a little closer to home I found this 1/16" x 3/8" butyl tape on Amazon that just might do the job.

I measured the gap between the outer edges of the rub rail to the center section and there is about a .055" gap, i.e. the center section is proud of the shell by that amount.

Sometime in the next few weeks we should be installing Peanut's rub rails. Should I order a roll and try it?

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by bkahler

For something a little closer to home I found this 1/16" x 3/8" butyl tape on Amazon that just might do the job.

I measured the gap between the outer edges of the rub rail to the center section and there is about a .055" gap, i.e. the center section is proud of the shell by that amount.

Sometime in the next few weeks we should be installing Peanut's rub rails. Should I order a roll and try it?

It's got to help Brad. I vote to go for it! What about a strip above and a strip below the rivet line to create equal pressure?

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by martin300662

It's got to help Brad. I vote to go for it! What about a strip above and a strip below the rivet line to create equal pressure?

I don't think the extra strips would be necessary. The rub rail really isn't all that wide to begin with.



I'll get the tape on order from Amazon.

Brad

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

I don't think the extra strips would be necessary. The rub rail really isn't all that wide to begin with.

Attachment 357111

I'll get the tape on order from Amazon.

Brad

You may rather want to go with the one from ODMRV, I just checked and the roll I ordered some time ago is 3/4 " wide, appears to be 1/16". I think you want the wider one.
http://odmrv.com/catalog/index.php?m...roducts_id=919

[bkahler]

Peter, that link is for vinyl insert. Is that what you posted in Mike's thread?