Vintage Service at Jackson Center

[my3sonsdad]

I just purchased a 75 Argosy in Wabash Indiana, which is about an hour west of Jackson Center, Ohio. I have a long journey home (1300 miles) as we're picking it up on the front end of a planned trip to Ocracoke NC, so I really want to make sure the Argosy is road ready. My boys and I would love to see the plant tour and spend the night in a modern AS. With family nearby in Sidney, it would feel less like a service visit and more like part of our vacation.

The current Argosy owner is going to have the tires replaced, but at JC I'm thinking about having the axles & brake assemblies replaced, update the propane tanks, having them check some potential rear frame/separation and having them do a complete set of system inspections so I know exactly what I have (or not and need to put on the to do list). If not too extensive / expensive,I may have them get the water/gas/stove & fridge in working order if it needs it. If you've been to Ocracoke, you know that about all you really need is a water tank and screen enclosed place to sleep and escape from the mosquitoes during the day. I'm sure the Argosy will need a good deal of TLC and I could spend an entire month in JC getting it back into "like new" condition ($ would run out after a day or two though).

Does anyone have any recent experience with the Jackson Center service on a vintage AS/Argosy? Do they perform complete system inspections?
Do they carry Centramatic balancers at JC or do I need to order/bring them with me? Is this a good value for a Vintage Argosy?

Has anyone used JC to do any interior work like reupholstering sofa's?

[my3sonsdad]

The quote I got from JC Service Center:
$216 for a 27 point service inspection
$1400 for each axle installed, 4 week lead time (not stocked)
$400 for a set of shocks installed
$387 each for 16" wheels/Michelin tires + labor to install

[memgrove2000]

Wow! The price on tires seems okay. 27 point inspection might be a little high. Axles and shocks you could do yourself for about half of that I think. We ordered axles from inland and they were direct replacements we did shocks at that time because they were right there and you have to remove them anyway to do the axles. You can do tires at the same time if you feel comfortable driving on the ones on the trailer now. Other people have posted that they like P&S for work. I think they are in Ohio also.

[memgrove2000]

Just reread the price on the tires! That is for one wheel and tire! Wow again. Too high, you can do better. People here will have the sizes you need you can buy wheels and tires anywhere if you have the right specs.

[my3sonsdad]

I actually had to reread the quote and double check...initially I thought is was for both axles.
I know what I want for 15" tires (LTX MS2 235/75/15 XL - $122+shipping) but asked for the 16" quote for comparison.
Since I don't have an AC or awning (2 of the 27 points) I figure I might ask for a 10% discount.
The axles "looked" ok but I didn't do the drop/travel test so don't know whether they would make it the distance home.
The owner recently pulled it a couple hundred miles behind an RV so he likely wasn't worried or using the brakes...in fact I know he wasn't because the connector had shorts and wouldn't even power the running lights.

Add that it's 600 miles from home and I'm in a pickle.

[2Tex4Fun]

Just this past week we purchased a 1970 Vintage Airstream Trade Wind that was completely renovated by the Airstream Service Center--main contact is Rick March, Service Coordinator. Our trailer has new axles, tires, awnings and about everything else to make it road worthy & topnotch. We would recommend the AS Service Center.
Joseph & Victoria