1990 34' Excella 1000 Airstream (partially gutted)

[LHanna61]

Hi All--
I came across an Airstream that is for sale. I'm not sure if what the buyer is asking for and what the trailer is actually worth are aligned and I'm looking for some input.
This would be my very first airstream so I have LOTS to learn but I'm very excited to take on the new challenge.

According to the information he has provided me (and pictures)-- it's a 1990 34' Excella 1000 Airstream.

It's currently site-unseen but I was just looking to collect more info before I do see it in person (possibly)

Pros:
- The shell seems to be in great condition
- According to the seller, there are no leaks when hooked up to city water

Cons:
- Subfloor looks like it needs to be replaced entirely
- There's a little bit of rust on the belly
- He says all windows are there but in one of the pictures, it looks like the kitchen window is missing
- All existing insides need to be gutted (he even agreed to this)
- He has no title (I know that's going to be a pain to get)

Additional Notes:
- Unsure on electrical (but I wanted to convert to solar so that's 'okay')
- Seller stated that he has no batteries or gas to test water pump or heat
- Seller stated that the fridge does not work on 120V
- Seller stated that tires have good tread and no sidewall rot (not sure if they're locked up-- I doubt it though)


With that said, it sounds like a 100% gut, electric needs to be redone to be suitable for solar, frame needs to be inspected for rust damage, subfloor needs to be replaced, underbelly rust needs to be repaired.

He's asking for $10k -- is this accurate? I was thinking more along the lines of $3-5k? I genuinely have no idea though.

Also, for arguments sake, does it sound like the shell needs to be lifted-- I'm thinking yes?

[57Vintage]

While its nice to have the space of a 34' trailer its a lot to tow and maneuver. What type of camping do you plan on doing? A number of county/state/national parks won't have sites big enough.

The photos seem to show a decent condition, but assume all mechanicals are worthless and I would guess you need new axles & tires. Hopefully getting it home is a short distance and level terrain. It would be a good idea to grease bearings and have operational brakes. I would assume its a full renovation. Hopefully you have at least a 3/4 ton truck.

I would agree 10K seems high, but considering the limited number of 34s available (no longer made) and the crazy demand for campers he'll probably get close to that amount if not all.

If you desire to do a full renovation and this will be your first airstream I would suggest a shorter model. Unless you need the space for multiple kids and pets.

I would suggest looking at the trailer with someone locally from the airforums that will assist with an inspection. Go to the Community drop down/members list/search - advanced search/ look by city, state, inspector type to see if anyone is local to you.

[LHanna61]

This is great insight! Thank you!
I'm not going to be doing a ton of camping in it, maybe once a year; however, I want to make it a full-time live in at least for a couple years. Currently single, don't plan on getting married anytime soon haha

It's got to drive about 50 miles (1.5 hours) to get home-- I'm thinking about hiring a tractor trailer to pick it up and tow it. We do have a work van that is capable of towing it, but I don't want to do any damage if it's rusted out and untrustworthy to drive

Do you think $8k is more a reasonable price? I know it's a tough and competitive market right now but I want to avoid overpaying so that I can put more money into the reno

Appreciate any additional thoughts

[CBWELL]

I have '94 34' Airstream. I bought it 7 years ago, after it had sat in a storage compound for 5-6 years. It was not abused, but "neglected", and I have put a lot into it since purchase. This includes 3 complete new axle assemblies, a new fridge, new flooring, new water pump, rebuilt most of the cabinets, new matresses, new taps, new plumbing, repaired several soft spots in the floor, new power converter, and new Maxxair fans. I was lucky and found a control board for the original A/C unit and it still works. I hav rebuilt the furnace with new blower and fans. I expect one day soon a new HW tank will be installed. I paid less than $8k CDN for the trailer, and now have over $18K CDN in it. I have done all the work myself, except the axle swap. I bought an unknown, and was up front with the seller, UNLESS YOU CAN PROVE TO ME IT WORKS, IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED! By what I see on this unit, and considering the age, you will be spending a lot of money. If you can do the work yourself that will save you a lot. Paying someone to do the work makes it very much worth looking for one that needs little or no work. Your first price thoughts would be in my range of offerings. There are lots of these trailers for sale in " the hard work is done, already gutted, waiting for your dream trailer to be built"!! That's the easy part done!! It's like restoring a car, it's cheaper to buy one alredy done, than do it yourself. The last one I did, a 1976, was sold for what I had $$$ put in it with NO labour money. We got several year of fun Airstreaming, so that made up for the work. JMHO

[azflycaster]

A couple of years ago, $3k to $5k would have been a reasonable price. Today's market has gone insane, IMO. Lot's of projects today are going for a lot more then $10K.

[AlbertF]

It appears to be a narrow body - 8’ wide, not 8’6”. A very towable unit despite the length.

But it’s a major project! You would spend many thousands making it right. I think your price range makes sense. Someone else may pay $10k; let them. For $10k I would expect a well worn but intact and usable trailer.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

That's a triple axle. They are a "rare" item. You will pay for that. Does it matter to you? Would you be just as happy with a (shorter) two axle? If so, it's likely to cost quite a bit less for the trailer and less for the rebuild.

I'm not suggesting I know the "right" answer here. There is an amazing colony of triple axles that live up in the north Georgia hills. I've met a number of folks who like them.

Bob

[coveredwagon]

10 to 15 k for that 34' trailer, with the body in that
condition, would be a good price.

[LHanna61]

Originally Posted by coveredwagon

10 to 15 k for that 34' trailer, with the body in that
condition, would be a good price.

Even if the shell needs to be lifted? Which I assume it should be just to replace the subfloor properly and redo the rivets.

It's in New England and it's been neglected for years so there HAS to be some leaks through the rivets, right?

[88Limited]

My wife and I are currently renovating an '88 34' Limited, which is very similar to yours.... Triple axles etc. From what I see in the pictures, you're absolutely right, that's a full gut.

From the 1st picture, someone has started the process of replacing the bedroom floor, you'll need to look under the flooring up front but if that trailer has been sitting outside for any amount of time it will all need to be replaced. If you're going to replace the entire subfloor it will be necessary to lift the shell.

I'd also plan on replacing all three axles.

One thing to watch for, those rear tail light bezels. Be very careful with them and hope they aren't broken... They don't make them anymore and they're sold out everywhere. I had a line on 2 of the last 5 that were in stock last year, but they wanted $500 each. Ours were damaged in between the taillights, we ended up repairing them (careful use of fiberglass resin and painted).


Also, the street side large awning looks broken. Also not sure what's going on with the picture of the galley (kitchen) area, it looks like there may have been a fire?

[LHanna61]

Originally Posted by 88Limited

One thing to watch for, those rear tail light bezels. Be very careful with them and hope they aren't broken... They don't make them anymore and they're sold out everywhere. I had a line on 2 of the last 5 that were in stock last year, but they wanted $500 each. Ours were damaged in between the taillights, we ended up repairing them (careful use of fiberglass resin and painted).


Also, the street side large awning looks broken. Also not sure what's going on with the picture of the galley (kitchen) area, it looks like there may have been a fire?

oh, interesting info on the tail lights-- i hadn't even considered that
I'd have to checking/ask about the awning but good eye! I didn't even notice!

What makes you think fire? Can you confirm if that is supposed to be a window over the sink? I see the latches so I'm certain it is, I'm not sure if the owner blocked it out or if it's broken-- i know those are really expensive to replace :/

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for yours? What do you think 'mine' should go for? (current market aside)

[88Limited]

Originally Posted by LHanna61

oh, interesting info on the tail lights-- i hadn't even considered that
I'd have to checking/ask about the awning but good eye! I didn't even notice!

What makes you think fire? Can you confirm if that is supposed to be a window over the sink? I see the latches so I'm certain it is, I'm not sure if the owner blocked it out or if it's broken-- i know those are really expensive to replace :/

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for yours? What do you think 'mine' should go for? (current market aside)

As for the fire, there's black smudges on/around the outlet and on the wall behind the sink (between the blocked out window and spice rack behind the stove). If you're going to gut it and redo the wiring anyway...

There is supposed to be a window behind the sink. That may just be insulation board, but I would definitely ask for an outside picture of that to verify if there is actually a window present. Speaking of pictures, I'd also ask for a picture of the curb side. There might be a reason that side is left out?

Our's was handed down to us from family so I can't speak to price. Knowing how much work you're going to put into it, I wouldn't go over $8k.



Ours was neglected, but not as bad as what I see in your pictures. We didn't completely gut it, but close. We replaced the subfloor up front where there was rot, and epoxy'd the rest of it. It seems ours was in an accident or something up front at some point - the frame is straight but the whole front end looks like it was replaced and we found broken glass when we pulled the front subfloor. We've had to replace almost every rivet up front due to leaks - buy more rivet's than you think you'll need and get a pneumatic riveter unless you want forearms like popeye.

I can guarantee that thing leaks, we spent almost 6 months cleaning and resealing the outside of ours (inbetween rain and a broken hand). Reseal every external joint and if you think it might leak seal it, if you think it won't leak... seal it. There are plenty of threads here with good info on which sealants to use (acrylar, trempro and sikaflex) and where. We also sealed our roof with a buskote - it's a white elastomeric coating. We seriously thought about painting the entire airsteam, but in the end opted not to.


It doesn't look like you have vista view windows - that's a good thing, they were the source of a major leak on ours.

[LHanna61]

Originally Posted by 88Limited

As for the fire, there's black smudges on/around the outlet and on the wall behind the sink (between the blocked out window and spice rack behind the stove). If you're going to gut it and redo the wiring anyway...

There is supposed to be a window behind the sink. That may just be insulation board, but I would definitely ask for an outside picture of that to verify if there is actually a window present. Speaking of pictures, I'd also ask for a picture of the curb side. There might be a reason that side is left out?

Our's was handed down to us from family so I can't speak to price. Knowing how much work you're going to put into it, I wouldn't go over $8k.



Ours was neglected, but not as bad as what I see in your pictures. We didn't completely gut it, but close. We replaced the subfloor up front where there was rot, and epoxy'd the rest of it. It seems ours was in an accident or something up front at some point - the frame is straight but the whole front end looks like it was replaced and we found broken glass when we pulled the front subfloor. We've had to replace almost every rivet up front due to leaks - buy more rivet's than you think you'll need and get a pneumatic riveter unless you want forearms like popeye.

I can guarantee that thing leaks, we spent almost 6 months cleaning and resealing the outside of ours (inbetween rain and a broken hand). Reseal every external joint and if you think it might leak seal it, if you think it won't leak... seal it. There are plenty of threads here with good info on which sealants to use (acrylar, trempro and sikaflex) and where. We also sealed our roof with a buskote - it's a white elastomeric coating. We seriously thought about painting it, but in the end opted not to.


It doesn't look like you have vista view windows - that's a good thing, they were the source of a major leak on ours.

Wow! All very valuable information! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Edit: Also, sad to hear about the windows-- I just looked at the pics he sent, and there are vista windows (if that's the 3 windows on one of the ends)

[88Limited]

Originally Posted by LHanna61

Wow! All very valuable information! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Edit: Also, sad to hear about the windows-- I just looked at the pics he sent, and there are vista windows (if that's the 3 windows on one of the ends)

The vista view windows are 'eyebrow' windows above the front side windows. I didn't see any in the pictures you posted. On the street side they're above the awning, on the curb side they're just below the awning and above the main picture window to the right of the front door.


Also, as the plumbing, ours was an old type of plumbing similar to pex but started leaking at the joints in places very soon after we picked it up. It's grey and I think was called 'qest' pipe or something similar. I remember hearing something about a class action lawsuit over that piping and leaks - we replaced ours with pex. If you're going to gut it and lift the shell that should definitely be done.


If this is a project you're definitely want to take on then I say go for it (below $8k), just be prepared! And if you make it through the process I guarantee you'll have a trailer you'll love and know every inch of it from front to back!

[LHanna61]

Originally Posted by 88Limited

If this is a project you're definitely want to take on then I say go for it (below $8k), just be prepared! And if you make it through the process I guarantee you'll have a trailer you'll love and know every inch of it from front to back!

If the seller will drop his offer, I will definitely take it. I'm not in it for $10k but I definitely am dreaming endlessly about it! I hope it happens! Thank you for all of your valuable information-- it will hopefully help me talk him into dropping the offer

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by 88Limited

......
Also, as the plumbing, ours was an old type of plumbing similar to pex but started leaking at the joints in places very soon after we picked it up. It's grey and I think was called 'qest' pipe or something similar. I remember hearing something about a class action lawsuit over that piping and leaks - we replaced ours with pex. If you're going to gut it and lift the shell that should definitely be done.
......

Hi

Quest pipes .... that brings back memories. We had them in one of our houses. They worked ok for us. The fittings did not work well for a lot of folks !! Indeed, replace that stuff.

Bob

[88Limited]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Quest pipes .... that brings back memories. We had them in one of our houses. They worked ok for us. The fittings did not work well for a lot of folks !! Indeed, replace that stuff.

Bob

That's the stuff. The runs of tubing were fine, but the fittings were cracked and leaking.

[Daytonacoupe]

Our '87 34' Limited had been an air bnb and was exquisitely well decorated/presented. A life lesson and expensive tuition for me = it's rare to find one of these without serious floor issues, and they can't be repaired properly without a full refit. Look in the corners and accept that if you find any rot in the visible places, you are going to find more where you can't see. Beware of new flooring over top of soft subfloor. Most sellers won't be warm to you drilling out rivets to access that dark space under the belly pan, so what lurks there is going to be a total crap shoot. I don't know how you can refresh one of these properly without stripping the trailer down. Plan for the worse and hope for the best.

[LHanna61]

Originally Posted by 88Limited

That's the stuff. The runs of tubing were fine, but the fittings were cracked and leaking.

do you know when they stopped using Quest fittings?

more fun news hahah-- but I figured that was going to be a possibility. I'm still in it haha

[88Limited]

Originally Posted by LHanna61

do you know when they stopped using Quest fittings?

more fun news hahah-- but I figured that was going to be a possibility. I'm still in it haha

I don't know when they stopped using Quest fittings. Calling the mothership is an option... However! I called them a couple weeks ago to ask a few questions and there's not a lot of maintenance data or any information at all for a late 80's, early 90's Airstream. I was told that by this time Airstream had filed for bankruptcy for the third time and had been taken over by Thor. Apparently there weren't a lot of records kept for a period of time.