Odd skin dents in front and behind axles

[Mprecure]

Ok. I don't own an airstream, yet.

The RV dealer down the road got in a derilict last Wednesday and I hopped his fence on Thursday night to get a look as soon as I saw it. The unit's in sad shap and has been used as a live in.

It's a mid 70's International, twin axle, 29 (?) foot with a center queen and rear bath. No sofa anymore, fridge works, condensation on front two curved windows, furnace probably doesn't work, bathroom is NASTY but missing only the plastic ring that goes around the top of the tub.

I called dealer. Dealer will want 4k for it if dealer cleans it and gets all the appliances working or he'll take 1,500 as is. The skin looks great with almost no dents.

Main concern: If I stand in front of the trailer and sight down the sides, I notice the skin bulges inwards both in front of and behind the two axles on both sides an inch or so. My thought is that the unit may have been dropped from a pretty good height or it's run off the road and the fram is bent up. Dealer says it cant be because these Airstreams are just too tough.

Any thoughts? The whole bottom is enclosed so it's tough to get under there.

Sorry for the long note but I wanted to get the info that I have in here so I wouldn't waste people's time.

-Mike

[59toaster]

There was a recent post abou issues Airstream had with frames cracking around that time frame.
Here it is.
http://www.airforums.com/forum...t=Frame+repair

[Chas]

It may have a rear separation and/or frame sag, a 29 footer would be a prime candidate for the problem. There are plenty of threads here regarding the proper diagnosis of either one of these problems which are somewhat related. Is there any chance you can get some pictures of it? $1500 versus 4 grand, huh? Sounds like the dealer knows exactly what the problems are, if he was smart he'd sell it as is where is. Check the axles out as well, they are another relatively expensive item that people forget about quite often.

Chas

[Mprecure]

I think that's EXACTLY what the trouble is. I took a friend with me who is a mechanic and he actually noticed the trouble. He thought it was just because it was old but the camper guy was pretty sure that airstreams just don't sag - so it must be our imagination.

I figured that since I see it, and it's on both sides (and the little access door in front of the axles doesn't fit well anymore) that there's something to all this.

I don't think the guy at the RV dealership was trying to mislead us. He's a nice kid. But his boss might know wexactly what the issue is and didn't tell him.

Thank you very much for your help. I can go into this much more aware now!