Are we making a bad decision - Argosy Minuet 6.0

[woodlandfarm]

We spotted an Argosy in the trees in our neighborhood, and ran into the owner, or rather the executor who said the trailer is for sale.

As you can see, paint is pretty chewed, but no rust through, Belly will need a bit of loving. It looks it has a "newer" axle and it has new tires. Wiring seems up to date. The interior...... The interior... Well, we planned to update it so I guess this gives us a major running start. Its all there, it is unknown what does and does not work. It is filthy, was used as storage. But I have found all the parts, nothing appears to be missing.

So the deal we struck is that it is ours as is for $1000. I am figuring a minimum of 4K to fix it up (we are very handy and outside of not having worked in a curved environment are pretty comfortable with the teardown process).

Thoughts?

Carl

[overlander64]

Greetings Carl!

Welcome to the Forums and the world of Vintage Minuet ownership!

From all indications, you have gotten a good deal on your Minuet and your budget is within reason for what you will likely encounter. My Minuet was in similar condition when acquired, and I spent about $5,500 in restoration not including new paint which is still on the projects list.

You will likely find that all of your Minuet's cabinets are constructed of Vinyl-Clad Aluminum, and it is also probable that the floor will be composite aluminum.

Good luck with your Minuet . . . I am sure that it will provide many years of enjoyment!

Kevin

[Aage]

Hello, Carl! Welcome to Airforums.com.

We look forward to any questions you may have, and invite you to peruse the many forums and sub-forums that deal with the various repair items you will find.

If you want to do a very complete inventory of all the service work you will wand to do (or have done), download the inspection chart and go all over under and inside your new-to-you trailer, filling it out rigorously. You can then list what you want to do in the order you give them, and dive in!

To start with, stop any leaks you can find. Leaks are the biggest enemy we have, since they can make a real mess of many things in our trailers, most notably the floor.

Thanks too for the photos, we look forward to seeing many more as you proceed!

See you "down the road"...

[Janet H]

I agree. The axle and rockguards are high ticket items and interestingly already done - maybe some one started and gave up?

Other big expenses may be (rough numbers):
New fridge = 1K
Foam and upholstery = 1.5 K
New toilet 200.00
New fans 250.00
new inverter 160.00
water pump 100.00
furnace replace 400.00

[robert claus]

SOMEBODY had to take home this orphan. Congratulations! Looks like you made a good buy. It really seems to have potential.

[RM66caravel]

Is there a reason that the door is off? welcome and remember anything and everything can be fixed!

[TG Twinkie]

The coach has a "converter" not an "inverter". There is a big difference.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

The coach has a "converter" not an "inverter". There is a big difference.

A converter charges the batteries and runs 12vDC lights and appliances when connected to shore power, but doesn't run 120vAC appliances off the batteries.

An inverter powers 120vAC appliances off the batteries when not connected to shore power, but doesn't charge the batteries.

An inverter/charger does both, but only one function at a time.

[VTSafari]

Carl.....looks like a nice purchase. Now the fun starts. Get it cleaned up and address any leak issues. Then you can plan the rest. Wish I could find a deal like that locally since I am looking for a fixed location TT and a Minuet 6 is the target trailer.

[woodlandfarm]

The doors are off due to a bad decision by the locksmith. There was one on the property getting into various outbuildings and the people asked him to get into the Argosy. So after drilling out the lock, then then drilled out the hinges.

Part of our deal is that a tech is coming out to reseat the door and get the hinges and locks fixed. That is when we finalize the deal

My big concern is that I have very little to compare to in terms of what the trailer is worth. Seems to me 1K is a very good deal (?). As I said, we are both handy and can handle pretty much everything we see as wrong ourselves (outside of paint). The only big thing is the saggy floors and how to deal with them. Going to look for a filler product, maybe put down a manufactured floor. We would prefer a vinyl but with the sag I am not sure we can accomplish it.

[DKB_SATX]

With the caveat that the door is re-installed properly, I would have a tough time passing up an aluminum-floor Minuet with good windows and skin for $1k, even though I'm not looking for another trailer.

Unless there are hidden problems, or the "saggy floor" is soft plywood instead of the often-wavy aluminum floor, I think $1k is a good price.

[mutcth]

My rather nice aluminum floored Minuet had some floor sag too. The foam in the floor "sandwich" can get a groove in it from walking traffic.

Dropping the belly pan and installing another 2 cross members (they're every 4 feet instead of the more typical two feet) helped out. It's also worth checking out the frame - mine had some surprises including some broken welds.

Still, $1000 for this seems like a great price.

Tom

[andreasduess]

Congratulations on a great find. I have zero need for another trailer, and I would have bought it for that price.

[SmokelessJoe]

Carl,

It's a steal. The window protectors alone cost almost as much as you paid for the whole trailer.

Good luck,


Sergei




entire outfit soon for sale