Tail down

[Baruke]

My Land Yacht 27ft looks great and I can level it all round but when I walk to the bathroom in the rear I have the sense it is sloping down slightly. Is it my imagination or is this a common development for older Airstreams (mine was built in 1970)?

[xrvr]

Rear end separation? Does your bumper move when you stand on it? Google it.

[Silver Hawk]

Do you put your stabilizers down? End seperation or not they would hold the floor level.

[kb0zke]

Use a level to check for sure.

[HiJoeSilver]

It cantilevers back quite a bit from the rear axle, so this may be causing the feeling that it sags a little bit.
Another possibility as mentioned is rear end separation. Very common in the early 70s trailers. The bolts between the frame and she'll rust away and the shell no longer holds up the rear end. One way to tell is to bounce up and down(lightly not trying to make something break) in back inside while someone outside looks at the area where the shell and floor come together. It's usually pretty easy to see the bumper move down while the shell doesn't from out there.
Stabilizers can help alleviate the feeling but doesn't fix the problem.
As mentioned Google airstream rear ended separation from outside drums. You'll find lots of results and info.

[Baruke]

Originally Posted by hijoesilver

it cantilevers back quite a bit from the rear axle, so this may be causing the feeling that it sags a little bit.
Another possibility as mentioned is rear end separation. Very common in the early 70s trailers. The bolts between the frame and she'll rust away and the shell no longer holds up the rear end. One way to tell is to bounce up and down(lightly not trying to make something break) in back inside while someone outside looks at the area where the shell and floor come together. It's usually pretty easy to see the bumper move down while the shell doesn't from out there.
Stabilizers can help alleviate the feeling but doesn't fix the problem.
As mentioned google airstream rear ended separation from outside drums. You'll find lots of results and info.

thanks for the tips!

[shannon]

Shell really isn't supposed to hold up rear end. If you are sagging, you have a problem that won't matter unless you decide to actually move the trailer. Then it matters quite a lot. Here's what it can lead to - http://airstreamdiary.com/take-a-pic...rstream-frame/ .

[mccrosti]

I had and have corrected rear end separation in my 72 Overlander. Be happy to share the pics with you. Don't waste your time with make-do repairs, sooner or later you'll have to correct the underlying issue


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[chilipepper]

I also have had to correct rear end separation in my '71. I reinforced the frame and replaced the rear 4 feet of subfloor. I also significantly beefed up the means of mounting the body to the frame through the 'C' channel at the rear. There are some photos in this post towards the end: http://msstreamy.blogspot.com/2014/0...has-floor.html

I was not able to totally remove the sag but I fixed the places that were causing the sag.

The sure way to tell if you have separation is to stand on the rear bumper and bounce up and down. Have someone else watch the joint between the body and the frame rails (bumper trunk). If that gap widens as you jump you have separation. There shouldn't be any change in the gap at that joint.

Good Luck!

[Nono]

I just figured out that I have the same problem on my 1972 27 foot airstream. I would greatly appreciate you sharing your photos. My email address is nonobeale@yahoo.com
Thanks

[J. Morgan]

Old axles will cause the rear to sag, the frame will bend down just aft of the rear axle mount.

I addressed my frame bend when I replaced my axles. I used a large bottle jack at the back of the frame and jacked each side up repeatedly and aggressively until the frame straightened. (Trailer hitched to tow vehicle for stability)

After I got the frame straight I welded a 3" x 3" angle to the bottom of the frame to keep everything in place.

The 3" angle also serves to raise my trailer 3".


Gradiens super tenui glacie.