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JW84345 · 10-28-2002, 06:55 PM

Quote:

As a potential Airstream owner of either a Bambi 19' or a International AS, do I have to be concerned about the dreaded saggy bottom?

No worries on the newer trailers.
No worries on the smaller (shorter) trailers.
You should be fine. If it is a used trailer, go through a good inspection. Search the site for ideas what to look for.

Good luck.

Hubba · 10-29-2002, 12:06 AM

Jim

Thanks for your reply. I'm secure in the thought that the saggy rear is not a concern on a 2003 Bambi or International AS. Now, to get the "other half" as ready to purchase as I am!!!

Cheers,

Hubba

68 Suburban · 10-29-2002, 02:05 AM

FranceyS, I don't thik the 300ZX's had Drum Brakes. I might be mistaken, but I think they are all disc brakes. Now you say it shimmies? I would assume a shimmy means it shake side to side, instead of bouncing up and down? If it was a balance problem, I would think it would bounce and not shimmy. I am thinking you might have damaged a tie rod or something like that to get a shimmy.

68 Suburban · 10-29-2002, 02:24 AM

Owning and Avion, I am not sure if this post should even be a concern to me. The suspension on my trailer is a Mor-Ryde set up. I guess it was suppose to be a state of the art suspension. I don't know how it compares the suspension on the Airstreams, but it sure is a totally different set up.

http://www.morryde.com/Trailer%20Suspensions.html

I see a few things that might "help" contribute to the sagging butt syndrome on Airstreams:

1- I have seen many post about the problems with older axle setups on Airstreams. The less travel the axle has, the more chance I see of the "sagging" happening because of this "bottoming out" affect of older axles.

2- What affect does having a single axle compared to a dual axle have on the "sagging" on the older trailers? I have seen some pretty long trailers with only one axle. I would think this would leave more out there in the back to cause sagging.

john hd · 10-29-2002, 04:27 AM

why can't your drums or discs be balanced seperately from the tires?

it would seem that if your brakes were balanced they would stay that way for most of their life.

if you had a balanced brake, then added a balanced tire to the whole assy. it would still be in balance.(?)

i would think that any good machine shop would be able to put your drums or discs on a lathe or arbor and find the heavy spot. then add metal tabs until the unit was even. (if they are bad in the first place)

tires are tires and any good shop can fix them.

i don't disagree that running gear should be balanced, but i think there may be a better answer.

how about "slimeing" the tires? i have heard this method has been in use in long haul trucks for years.

anyone ever try it?

john

74Argosy24MH · 10-29-2002, 04:37 AM

Balancing the drums separately would be better. If you balance the tire/wheel/drum assembly and pull the wheel and tire, you need to mark the wheel and drum and make sure they go back on in the same position. If not you are out of balance again.

John

Pick · 10-29-2002, 04:54 AM

Good points John HD and 74 Argosy, I have been wondering the same thing. Another point to ponder is that if you balance as a complete assembly, and you have a flat tire and change it, you would be out of balance. Seems to me if the brake drums were balanced at the factory, and the tires balanced when they are mounted to the rims, this would not be a problem. I would thing these things would have to really be out of wack to cause structural problems like this. This discussion seems to be creating more questions than answers!

74Argosy24MH · 10-29-2002, 05:22 AM

If you have these balanced as an assembly the first thing I would do is take an indelible marker and mark the end of a stud and make a small mark on the wheel next to it. If you have a flat or have to pull the wheel you can put the wheel back on in the same location and it will be balanced. If you add weight to the wheel to compensate for the drum balance and don't get it back in the proper orientation it is going to be as bad or worse than no balance.

John

FranceyS · 10-29-2002, 07:24 AM

Regarding Francey's Shimmy and Shake...

Dear FRIENDS:
I want to thank you all for your wonderful suggestions.
If I had not read of the problems involving vibration and drums and so forth on this Forum, I would still be wondering what to do to correct the shimmy problem I had.

If I'd not gotten the great suggestions for curing the problem by those of you generous enough to share your knowledge, I would still be wondering what to do.

I took ALL THE ADVICE and first thing this morning (Tuesday)
I drove down to the tire shop where I'd purchased my tires and described the situation to them. The wheel shimmied most of the way there....

(As you might recall, I'd had the front end aligned right after hitting the road gully and that didn't help at all.)

The tire people found that the rim of the front tire had a small dent in it...they rotated the tires, balanced all the wheels, and put that rim on the back.
They didn't find any other problems that would caused the shimmy and they assured me the problem was solved.

And it was. Not a murmur in the steering wheel on the ride home. WHAT A RELIEF! After reading the truthful facts of what constant vibration can do to damage a vehicle, that really motivated me to get things fixed.

So, THANK YOU ALL for your great help. Most sincerely, Francey

JPAIRSTREAM · 10-31-2002, 05:41 PM

Pick · 11-01-2002, 05:18 AM

I checked mine last night, it does have the update, described above. Looks like it has the frame reinforcement in the axle area too. Looks like the previous owners knew how to take care her! Now all I got to do is replace that one questionable tire, and have the balancing done, and I should be set.

hex · 11-01-2002, 11:25 AM

Thanks JPAirstream for that drawing.
Could you tell us where that came from? and were there more pages?

I also wonder about the channel replacement. Seems that cutting a section out would result in weakness with little or no improvement unless the replacement overlapped the old channel for a foot or so up toward the front of trailer. But you would (I assume) play hell trying to get to that. And of course the shell would be resting in that forward channel section.

Where would one find a piece of "heavier replacement channel" in that curved configuration I wonder?

JPAIRSTREAM · 11-01-2002, 02:20 PM

Hex:

Quote:

Could you tell us where that came from? and were there more pages?

Hex I have called and talked to AIrstream on there Tech Support line on this issue. Ths individual I talked to had these in a folder. I asked to get a copie of these. He sent them to me in PDF format I had to take screen captures adn turn them into JPG's.

Quote:

I also wonder about the channel replacement. Seems that cutting a section out would result in weakness with little or no improvement unless the replacement overlapped the old channel for a foot or so up toward the front of trailer

I agree, But the drawing does not tell you you should weld the overlapping section to the existing bow. The support person did advise this to be done. you would have the lower wrap metal loose to be able to access the forward area.

This is all he sent I assume all he had. never pushed the issue was happy to receive this.

Quote:

Where would one find a piece of "heavier replacement channel" in that curved configuration I wonder

Did not ask this question. SORRY. Maybe the use what the currently are using on there trailers. This is me assuming of course.

AIRSTREAM SUPPORT PAGE is at the provided link here. I have posted this in another post s well. Airstream is very helpful even on there older models.

Fun-Lovin · 11-02-2003, 05:12 PM

About 2 months ago I repaired the sag in my frame. Turned out that the road side was broken at the rear axle. There are alot of pictures of my repairs and some that andy posted as well.

POAST · 11-02-2003, 07:14 PM

If you even suspect a sag, Call and talk to Griffith RV in Oklahoma City. He repaired my 75 model with factory supplied reinforcements and was in process of doing many more at the time. Did great work. FACT Now for rumors etc. I was given the impression that models built in the 70s had this problem. It was overcome in later models by use of larger frame members.

garry · 11-02-2003, 08:16 PM

Griffith also repaired mine and instead of the elephant ears the cut out was much smaller and was covered over with red reflectors that looks like it could have been orignal A/S configuration.
I later found my axles are bad (positive 10 deg) and I am convinced that caused the problem. Will install new axles and have everything balanced this spring I just hope I haven't weakened the fix since I have around 800 miles pulling with bad axles.
If you are even close to OK City I highly recommend Griffith RV he knows A/S and I think he is an authorized A/S repair facility.

Garry

RONALD DODA · 05-08-2005, 10:46 PM

My 1974 31 Soverign seems to be sagging in the rear from behind the tires to the stern. It looks like the whole trailer drops a couple of inches. My rear bumper is almost touching the ground. I brought it up from Florida in 2001. The bottom aluminum sheet was scraped off. I have a scraped off rear pannel and it sceems that my holding tank is verry close to the ground. My rear bumper looks like it has seperated from the trailer body about an inch. My dad must have repared it at one time or another. I also need an owners manuel so I can figure out how to opperate some of the gizmos. PS it has an orignal 8track! that works

Gordon Watt · 05-09-2005, 08:30 AM

Hi Ron:

There is a lot of info on Sagging Rear ends.

I had the same problem although not as severe. My cost of repair was $1500.00 4 years ago not counting the cost of towing the trailer 1000 miles the a repair facility.

I assume your trailer lived in Florida which will rust the frame and the outrigger frames fail letting the cabin put more pressure on the rear frame. Other reasons are also involved.

volvophile · 11-19-2005, 03:28 AM

Whew! I just read the whole string from start to finish, so will aproach it with caution

Has anyone been able to find an automotive (truck) drum that fits the A/S brakes?
I'm thinking since the automotive drums are theoreticly ballanced from the factory, that would take care of 75% of the assemblys ballance problem.
Might be cheaper to if thier listed for, say, a '79 ford, rather than an airstream. (anyone whose used chevy part numbers to buy parts for thier corvette know what I'm talking about there)
Seems like there would be a cross reference for brake drums somewhere.

I recognize this may be only adressing a part of the problem, so by all means, refrain from hanging you Harley off the back of the Airstream, and adress that 2" of standing water in the bathroom.

Inland RV Center, In · 11-22-2005, 10:56 AM

Volvophile.

RV hub and drums are for RV's.

Light truck and auto hub and drums do not use the same heavy duty bearings as RV's, therefore they don't fit the spindles of your Airstream.

Cheap is OK, but keep in mind, don't go backwards with the specs, especially when they are safety related.

Having a bearing or hub and drum failure, should not be on someones list of things to do!!! It should be avoided, at any and all costs.

Andy