'79 Ambassador questions from a newbie

[mjjnorman]

I don’t own an Airstream at this point, but I have an opportunity to buy a 1979, 29’ Ambassador at what seems to be a decent price ($3,000 or less). It has been sitting for several years, and has some condition problems. Being a potential newbie to the Airstream world, I have a couple of questions that I can’t find answers to from the trailer itself. First, I need the tongue weight. The info plate on the front is almost unreadable; the serial number came from the plate on the door side. Second, I currently pull a 17’ fiberglass trailer with my 2002 Chevy half-ton with a small V8, and don’t I don’t know whether or not I could safely and easily pull the bigger, heavier Airstream with the same truck or if I would need a larger, more powerful one.

Thanks for any information and/advice advice.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by mjjnorman

I don’t own an Airstream at this point, but I have an opportunity to buy a 1979, 29’ Ambassador at what seems to be a decent price ($3,000 or less). It has been sitting for several years, and has some condition problems. Being a potential newbie to the Airstream world, I have a couple of questions that I can’t find answers to from the trailer itself. First, I need the tongue weight. The info plate on the front is almost unreadable; the serial number came from the plate on the door side. Second, I currently pull a 17’ fiberglass trailer with my 2002 Chevy half-ton with a small V8, and don’t I don’t know whether or not I could safely and easily pull the bigger, heavier Airstream with the same truck or if I would need a larger, more powerful one.

Thanks for any information and/advice advice.

Thanks a cheap price for that trailer.

If it has been parked for a long time, then several things will need to be addressed as soon as you purchase the coach, that is if you do.

The first is the axles. The following will teach you how to check them out yourself.

Dura Torque Axle

How about body damage?

Surely, the entrance door, access compartment doors, window and especially the sewer vent pipe gaskets, ceiling vent cover gaskets, will all need replacing.

Has the water system gone thru a freeze up?

Do all the appliances work? Correctly?.

Tires?

Could be a heck of a deal, but odds are that it has many problems.

Andy

[sander17]

Our previous trailer was a 79 Ambassador. Its dry weight was listed as 4650 lbs. I towed it with a 98 Dodge Ram 1/2 ton 4x4 with the 5.9 liter gas engine and an auto tranny. Its tow rating was roughly 8000 lbs, so it had no problem. You need to check the tow rating for your truck. It is heavily dependent on the gear ratio in the differential.
PM me if you have any questions about the Ambassador, or just post them on this thread.
Good luck!

[87MH]

Originally Posted by mjjnorman

I don’t own an Airstream at this point, but I have an opportunity to buy a 1979, 29’ Ambassador at what seems to be a decent price ($3,000 or less).... I currently pull a 17’ fiberglass trailer with my 2002 Chevy half-ton with a small V8.....

On the price - the 3 grand could well be only the entry ticket for expenditures - or, like Andy said, it could be a really good deal - it all depends if you are able to use it as it is - and you and your family are happy with it "as is". Your best ammunition to determine the real value of the trailer is to read as many of the postings on late 70's models as you can prior to making the decision to purchase or not.

As per the weight, my '78 Sovereign (with all of the recent mods) weighs in at 6600 lbs, with 600 of them on the tongue. The '79 you are looking at should be very close to those numbers, if not a bit lighter.

As Sander17 said, you really need to check the specs on your Chebby to determine the towing capacity - I had a 2001 that had a Tow Rating of 1500 lbs - seriously....I bought it new and put a whole 2000 miles on it before I sold it 6 months later.

[Ganglin]

This may help you a little. Welcome to the Forum.