Argosy floor is wavy

[arcamedies]

Has anyone had a problem with their Argosy frame cross members?

When we got the 22 the original plywood floor was in great shape but had two high spots (I thought) and cabinets and wardrobe creaked when you walked down the trailer. Since then I have gone into 70's airstreams and the floors are solid as a rock and flat as a pancake the 22 has some give where the low spots are.

Later I noticed that the countertop had actually bowed to match the floor, so my thinking is there are cross members that have broken lose or rusted many years ago to allow the floor to settle, even the countertop is bowed slightly to match the floor. The high spots are just solid cross members I think?

[Splitrock]

My 1976 31' Sovergine's floor is just 1/2" plywood. Walking on it is like walking on a trampoline. I cut my floor to see what was wrong and there was nothing wrong. Most of the damage that was done to my 76 was done in the factory that made it. These were made during the energy crunch in the mid 70's and they lightened them up as much as they could. That's when gas stations were closing Sundays. Gas went from 50 cents a gallon to over two bucks and there was a real shortage. Miraculously when the price stabilized over a buck there wasn't any more shortage.

[arcamedies]

Originally Posted by Splitrock

My 1976 31' Sovergine's floor is just 1/2" plywood. Walking on it is like walking on a trampoline. I cut my floor to see what was wrong and there was nothing wrong. Most of the damage that was done to my 76 was done in the factory that made it. These were made during the energy crunch in the mid 70's and they lightened them up as much as they could. That's when gas stations were closing Sundays. Gas went from 50 cents a gallon to over two bucks and there was a real shortage. Miraculously when the price stabilized over a buck there wasn't any more shortage.

My plywood is also 1/2 inch but so was the 73 airstream I stepped in last week and it was solid as a rock except where there was water damage by the door. My floor actually dips between two crossmembers and I'm certain there has to be ones between the two high ones, errr maybe not, anybody know dimension between supports?

[arcamedies]

BY the way I went to Florida with my Winnebago MH in 72 and you could get all the gas you wanted between 72 and 75 in Orlando, Sanford, Daytona, St Pete, and there were mini gas wars going on many times. I drove everywhere between Tampa and Daytona Beach pumping 50 to 70 gallons at .42 a gallon while the north had lines, ran out of gas, and people fighting at the pumps. My brother up north didn't belive me he was in line for an hour for 10 gallons in Maryland.

[Splitrock]

Originally Posted by arcamedies

BY the way I went to Florida with my Winnebago MH in 72 and you could get all the gas you wanted between 72 and 75 in Orlando, Sanford, Daytona, St Pete, and there were mini gas wars going on many times. I drove everywhere between Tampa and Daytona Beach pumping 50 to 70 gallons at .42 a gallon while the north had lines, ran out of gas, and people fighting at the pumps. My brother up north didn't belive me he was in line for an hour for 10 gallons in Maryland.

Here all stations were closed Sunday. We wanted to go to Fargo and we had to carry Jeep cans of gas to make the return trip. That's when Nixon lowered the speed limits to 55. Then they froze retail prices and the drug stores all had their prices posted on large signs inside the store. That broke more than a few retailers because wholesale prices weren't frozen. After that we all went to inflated retail price lists and discounted the prices because during the freeze, by law, we could sell below our published prices but not above. That's the history of the inflated price list and that's part of the reason we haven't seen a freeze since. Another reason might be that we haven't had 12% inflation since either.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

well, back to the issue at hand... I recently worked on a 77 argosy and the cross members were 48" apart. Two were broken cross members to boot. Now it had an aluminum floor and that was giving some support. I suggest you open that belly and look in there. It s easy to drop down and get in there. Just be prepared for what you are going to find thought.

Now go back to your gas war stories.

[fooddudejeff]

I am wanting to open the belly of a 78 Tradewind. I need to replace water tanks or can I get to them from under? Do you have any advice...

[arcamedies]

Originally Posted by 62overlander

well, back to the issue at hand... I recently worked on a 77 argosy and the cross members were 48" apart. Two were broken cross members to boot. Now it had an aluminum floor and that was giving some support. I suggest you open that belly and look in there. It s easy to drop down and get in there. Just be prepared for what you are going to find thought.

Now go back to your gas war stories.

So the cross member are 48" apart, nothing in between, that is the distance where the high spots are and between them has sagged. I thought two supports may have broken or rusted through on the 76. With a bad back I'm not pulling anything down underneath but you're not to far from me in Catonsville, hmmmm road trip?

[Frank's Trailer Works]

I would recommend you take a look. Your belly pan is easy to peak into. The curved sections stop a foot or so under there and the center section is a long seam. just drill out a few feet and look in. Better to know than remain ignorant to it. I am not sure if your cross members are the same, but only 2 inches or so on each side are welded on.



I think the gas crisis, and wanting to trim cost lead to some weak design of this era of trailer. Two were busted out on the 20 footer.

[mutcth]

A note - arcamedes' Argosy probably has a frame that's more similar to 70s Airstreams rather than my Minuet's (pictured above) insubstantial framework. My assumption is that it will have a more substantial frame profile and closer cross-member spacing.

Like Frank said, the Minuet was built to save on weight (and likely cost), and my trailer has enough evidence that Argosy/Airstream QC wasn't always on the ball.

I also totally agree with Frank about taking a look to see what you've got - with any trailer this age, it's worth taking a peek inside the belly pan to see what lurks. I sure learned that one...

Tom

[arcamedies]

Originally Posted by mutcth

A note - arcamedes' Argosy probably has a frame that's more similar to 70s Airstreams rather than my Minuet's (pictured above) insubstantial framework. My assumption is that it will have a more substantial frame profile and closer cross-member spacing.

Like Frank said, the Minuet was built to save on weight (and likely cost), and my trailer has enough evidence that Argosy/Airstream QC wasn't always on the ball.

I also totally agree with Frank about taking a look to see what you've got - with any trailer this age, it's worth taking a peek inside the belly pan to see what lurks. I sure learned that one...

Tom

I agree with the peek-a-boo but after pulling it down, which I can't do (no equipment, no space, bad back) putting it back to transport is another problem. I'd rather get an idea what it should be on the 22 foot and drop it with someone who knows what to do and fix it right.