The View From Down Under

[phoyt]

Hello all,

I spent all day today cleaning the outside of my 76 Soveriegn. It cleaned up nice... if you ever want to find every nick or dent in a used car, wash it by hand. I'm very sore tonight from all the time on a ladder with a scrub brush. Even had to break out the powerwasher at one point to remove all the wet pine needles dammed up behind the awning on the driver's side. This coach sat on someone's 20 acres as their weekend lodging for the past year.

Now to my questions... I've included a number of photos taken from beneath.

1. Can I get replacement leveling jacks? Seems this one is broken in at least two spots. The one opposite isn't in any better shape.



The seam between the pan and the side wrap is open... think I need to do more than close this up with new revits?



I wasn't too happy to see this. Does this imply that this section of the belly pan, beneath the holding tank has been poorly repaired in the past? Tha extra bar across the pan looks like steel due to the rust. I can't imagine that is doing the aluminum any good.




Near the back, the pan seems to be sagging where it attaches to the frame. I don't hear anything like a lot of debris bouncing around when I tap on the piece. Should I remove and peek or just clean it an re-attach?



Finally, for tonight anyway... does this weld say that the frame was repaired sometime in the past or is this normal? There is a matching weld on the other side. BTW, this Soveriegn has the mid bathroom, so I don't suspect any rear sag like I've seen reported in some posts.



The electric brakes don't work but I'll worry about that when I investigate the axles.

If you see anything else that you think I missed or should worry about, or if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Thanks,
Pete

[Dan@LED4RV]

Originally Posted by phoyt

Hello all,


1. Can I get replacement leveling jacks? Seems this one is broken in at least two spots. The one opposite isn't in any better shape.


Thanks,
Pete

Airstream has those long shank BAL jacks and can be purchased through a Airstream Dealer. Inlandrv and Out-of-Doors Mart have them in stock.

When it comes to the sheet metal hanging down, you might want to peal enough down so you can see inside to see what kind of shape the frame is in. If the frame is in good shape large head rivets will work fine for holding it up.

Dan

[Frank's Trailer Works]

I suggest you don't look in. You will just see things that are uncomfortable. the weld you asked about is the mounting plate for the axles and not a repair.

[phoyt]

Thank you both for your quick replies. Posted this last night just before hitting the sack and checked it first thing in the morning... love having some informed advice to start off my day as I head back into the project.

I am relieved to learn about the weld on the frame. I still think those 'patches' under the holding tank and that bar from frame rail to frame rail, make me think something was repaired.

Now should I open Pandora's box or not? :-) Think I'll dig around on the inside a bit further and await that service manual I ordered from Airstream.com before I dig into it. Especially since it looks like rain today.

Thanks,
Pete

[MDSilverado]

I have 77' mid-bath. Below is a photo of that same crossbar on my AS. Yours looks like it is set down flush with the bottom of the frame? Not sure why. Also below is a photo of the axle mounting plate. As Frank replied this is standard/normal. Note that in my pics I have one axle of right now. Good luck and have fun!

[phoyt]

Thanks for sharing the info about that cross piece. Based on your input, I'm going to assume it is from the factory.

This morning I removed all of the material the previous owner referred to as the bedroom furniture and pulled up some of the pergo he had installed in the last year or so. As I half expected I found rotted subflooring and a nice ant colony. I was very surprised to see the main A/C circuit breaker box at the very back of the coach, on the floor. Seems an odd place and explains why I couldn't find it when I was looking.

I think I am looking at a complete floor remove and replacement project. But to be honest, that is what I expected and actually, what I'd prefer to do because that way I can really do this job right. Expecting it to be a 2 year project as it is. :-)

I am now researching threads discussing floor replacement with the shell in place.

Thanks,
Pete