1984 Airstream 345 owner (Newbie) need advice!
 

In a wild moment I bought a 1984 345 LE, and now I have to get my learning curve moving!
Here is a bunch of questions I have still after doing searches!

It has a cracked drivers side windshield... where do I find a replacement and at what cost?

I planned to tow a car on a trailer, but it seems that its a problem with the stock setup... can someone explain what need to be done and what the limits are?
Thats enough for starters!
Thanks!

New 1984 Airstream 345 Advice
 

Hey Keyair, welcome to the AS M/H community. Your windsheild can be obtained installed at a good glass installer. If it's out of your pocket instead of insurance, shop around as prices vary. Don't be afraid to ask for a discount too. Your hitch is good for 2000# which is crap. Get a good welding shop to strengthen it for you. Had to do the same thing myself with the Silver Hornet because the hitch was so wimpy. Even in 1984 this was sub-standard in the industry. Congratulations on a great new aquisition!!
Mike

Thanks Mike,
I will have a good Mig welder myself soon, but have a pro welder buddy.
Are we talking about stregthening the hitch to frame connection or replacing the whole thing?
I was kinda hoping to tow a flatbed trailer with my Jeep on it... so 8,000lb or so... Am I dreaming?

New 1984 Airstream 345 Advice
 

I braced up the existing hitch with 1" square tubing and strengthened the hitch drawbar itself. Welder and I did'nt think whole replacement was necessary, so we shored up the existing stuff.

I found a post in the Classic forum that has pics, and now I can see what I need to do!

Toad
 

If you have a Jeep with 4 wheel drive, tow it 4 down. I tow a Wrangler 4 down on my 345 and have no problems. Much easer to diconnect with a hole lot less weight from the trailer. Only down side is that you can not back up with the Jeep attached. We use a falcon system, but there are a number of companies with the same type of equipment.

Thanks for moving the thread Admin!
I realized after it would have been better here...

Ok, well my "Toad" is a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9ltd. It has the perm 4x4, so I am not sure if you can flat tow...

Contact Remco Home | Remco Towing. They will be able to tell you if it can be flat towed and, if so, how.

Thanks Guy!
I sent them an Email and got a response from Jim this am... seems that even tho my Jeep has perm 4wd, it has a N position on the T-Case, so Jim says it can be towed flat no prob. Thats great news!
I now will have to figure out the Tow hitch upgrade, attachments and braking issues.
Advice?

I use a MH mounted hitch from Blue-Ox, a Blue-Ox baseplate and Unified Tow brake from US Gear. I'm satisfied with them. I use a Roadmaster umbilical cable because I had problems with my Blue-Ox cable. I prefer the construction of the Roadmaster cable. Also, I have 'coiled' style safety cables, I think I would prefer the un-coiled type.

Many people seem to prefer the 'brakebuddy' style removable brake. I'm not sure why except that you can more easily move it from toad to toad. I figure that if I get a new toad I'll need to install a baseplate so I can move the braking system as well.

I bought my tow bar and braking system from Tow Bars, Tow Dollys, BrakeBuddy & Dinghy Braking at the time they had the best price.

Awesome info, thanks!

So, really my biggest issue is figuring out the MH hitch issue.
I have the skills to do this myself, but I think I need some kind of "Official rated plate"?
The MH is near Dodge City, KS, and I have to go get it this month.
My original thought was to put a trailer behind my Jeep, and bring the Girlfriend and dogs, then put the Jeep on the trailer for the return journey.
The MH is, near Dodge City(1250 miles) from me.
I could fly in and get it, but that does not sound as much fun!

Since the rig doesn't already have a "Tow rating plate" now, I don't see why you need one.

But someone had a hitch installed in Elkhart Indiana. It had a 10,000 rating plate. You'll have to search for that thread if you want to see it, I don't have it bookmarked.

Maybe someone else can help?

Thanks again Guy.
I found that thread and downloaded the pics...
Here is his modded Tow hitch pic.
https://www.airforums.com/attachments...105c5f693d.jpg

I would love to use the same guy, but he is way too far away.
I have towed a lot in Europe(I am a Brit), and towed car trailers behind my Suburban here, but have no real understanding of how the rated hitch thing works...

Tow hitch aside...
I have lusted after one of these forever, but my budget was limited.
I was looking for a "fixer".
The one I bought is not a beauty queen on the outside.
It has peeling clearcoat(planned to polish it anyway), and some skin damage that I think I can fix, or at least make it look better(I have some sheetmetal skills).
There is a crease that runs from the door to the window, that must have punctured the skin, cos there is a small patch.
I think the same incedent also snagged the awning leg and put a dent in the side and roof.
The rear bumper is cracked at the rivet joint and both side of the glass fiber part behind is broken(I know how to fix and layup Glassfiber too)
The interior looks pretty good, but does have an unusual layout.
It has 75k miles on it, and the best bit was that it has a 5000 mile fresh motor in it. The PO says that its a "Jasper Performance "Class ll Version - Chevrolet 454" 400 hp (approx.) @ 4900 rpm * 470 ft. lbs. Torque @ 3200 rpm."
It has a Banks Power kit too.
Here are some pics...
https://www.airforums.com/attachments...a517c4c80d.jpg
https://www.airforums.com/attachments...5407eb0368.jpg
https://www.airforums.com/attachments...c0f14a53e1.jpg
https://www.airforums.com/attachments...67fa1eac35.jpg
https://www.airforums.com/attachments...57e488261a.jpg
https://www.airforums.com/attachments...a3099e6b84.jpg
https://www.airforums.com/attachments...5dba8c71cd.jpg

No comments?

Does anyone make a 10,000lb hitch for this chassis?

Airstream modified the chassis by extending it giving it the long rear overhang. I doubt that anyone makes a hitch that will fit out of the box. Perhaps the folks in Elkhart would fab one for you and send it to you?

What are those dealy-bobs below the front bumper?

Mmmm... I dont know!
I have some high res shots on my home PC so I will look closer when I get there!

When I get it back, I will mod the hitch in a similar way to what they did in Elkhart, but I want mine to bolt on, and also add some protection against impact with the ground on ramps, which i assume is a problem with that much rear overhang.
Have I seen some long overhang RV's with a roller or casters?

Looking at the Dash, I noticed a switch marked "fans"... Did they have Electric cooling fans, or an engine fan?
I think I will add a seperate fan cooled transmission cooler too.

My rig has receivers in the locations Mike asked about. I assume they were added by a PO for some sort of rack.

I have rollers on the rear of mine. I recently bent them out of all usefulness while backing out of a driveway with a big dip. This will be the third set I have replaced.

Don't know about your model and year, the only fan switch on mine was added by a PO to control a fan for the oil cooler.

Looking at the Dash, I noticed a switch marked "fans"... Did they have Electric cooling fans, or an engine fan?
I think I will add a seperate fan cooled transmission cooler too.[/QUOTE]

FWIW, My MH has both, engine water pump fan & twin electric in front of radiator. The added on toggle switch on mine supplies power to electric fans when ignition is turned off, if desired.