Airstream Virgin | Could use some advice!

[Smartstream]

Sounds like a real good plan. 350 miles will take you to Mexico unless you are talking round trip.

Have fun and take lots of pictures.

Cheers, Dan

[warrenivan]

yeah. Round trip for sure

[warrenivan]

Just an update on mission Airstream for anyone curious:

The 28 foot Excella up in Salinas seemed extremely sketchy. The mechanic who was selling it would not let us talk to the owners (at all). Nor would he let us bring in an independent mechanic to make sure it all worked inside and out (he said he was perfectly equipped to prove to us that it worked). The most he would let us do was a test drive, but would not let us take it to an rv park to test the hookups etc. Unwilling to take his word for it, I told him no deal (plus, he wanted 15k for it).

The 86 down south looked really cute but fell outside of our price comfort range as we'd like to have a little extra money (ideally 5k-ish ) for fixes, playing with the interior and possibly polishing. So that leaves us looking at something btwn 7 and 10k.

We've also narrowed the search (mostly) down to airstreams under 28'. Right now, there's an Argosy on Ebay for 9k. If it was in good condition and needed no engine/trans/electrical etc work, we'd still want to strip it down to the aluminum (though I don't know if that's entirely possible, so I started a thread about it in the Argosy section).

Thank you all for your fantastic advice. I think we may have avoided a headache thanks to your input.

I guess we're biding our time for the right one. Please feel free to PM me or respond here if you know of anything that might fit!

Thanks!

Warren + Rachel

[warrenivan]

this one is tempting.. anyone live near Brockport?
Ebay 28' Excella in NY

[bwaysteve]

Hang in there warreninvan.I looked for a few months and found a great 72 Overlander in Oregon.Trying to get my inspector in the area and the owner hooked up was impossible.It was almost like they did not really want to sell or they were waiting to sell to someone who did not have the sense to take an inspector.I am in Texas and while waiting I found a better 65 Ambassador in Fla. and the owner was moving it to Arkansas.So I figured the distance and time costs and went for something one state over.
The holidays are coming so you might get a better deal then and have her ready for Spring! Good Luck.

[warrenivan]

The trigger has been pulled.

We searched & negotiated, and finally landed a rear-bath 28' Excella for a good deal.

Mechanically, it's in great shape (had it checked out by 2 mechanics). Floors good, no rust, rebuilt engine and trans, generator fires right up. Lots of other nice little things.

We've been going over it carefully, cleaning, learning, replacing.. We're yanking out the old smokey curtains and replacing them with micro venetians and brushed aluminum valances. putting new padded liners in all the underbays. Fixing rattles.

We've got a lot to learn, so you'll see more of me in the forums over the coming weeks/months Thanks to everyone for your help!

[Smartstream]

Looks like a nice coach Warren, good luck with it. Don't forget to change your profile now.

Cheers, Dan

[dadstoy]

Nice floor plan. I have the same one. Been wondering what the difference is between an "Excella" and a "Classic"?

[Mike Leary]

Our first mo/ho was a "Excella" diesel. Nice coach, gets you into smaller camp grounds. AS must have liked the term "Excella" for a few years, we had a "Excella" 31' trailer, also.

[MrFixit]

Originally Posted by warrenivan

Thanks Dan (sorry to everyone for the double post, it was being held in moderation and I was confused).

Yeah. the rivets are hard to see, especially with my uneven camerawork. There just appear to be a few holes where rivets should be.

How would I tell if the odometer has gone around an extra 100k? The mechanic (who is selling it for the owner) says he's been taking care of (tuning up) the coach for 10 years for them. He said it's been to Alaska a few times.. (rough road). He hasn't really given me a list of repairs etc but otherwise seems honest.

I know I'm a bit late reading/replying to this post, but for future reference most GM odometers (maybe others) have thin spacers between the digits that are black and hard to see, when the odometer rolls over 100,000 miles or is tampered with they flip over and appear as white or silver lines between the digits. Mark