![[486]](https://data.irate4x4.com/avatars/m/0/94.jpg?1700178133){kind=avatar}
[486]
ugh, that guy again?
when its cold out, a hot shower's about the only time you feel your feet
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Impulse bought an Airstream, school me.
- Thread starter larboc
- Start date
That's exactly what I came in here to say. My buddy bought an old one years ago. He shined that thing up, used it a bit, then resold it for a great profit.
Provience
Kill!
Polish prior to sale makes sense
I never could appreciate that scene fully as a kid watching that movie. Pretty sure they just ad-lib'd the dialogue for the scene which made it truly more suspenseful. My mom used to bring f'in rocks home from everywhere we went as well, and there were always mason jars full of canned stuff coming home from TN with us... anyway, nice trailer !
DRTDEVL
Mothfukle
Both of those are pretty standard and available replacements. When my WH blew out from poor winterizing (I forgot a hidden valve the prior fall), I searched online, the found the unit I needed at a Camping World about 80 miles away (online sources were cheaper, but I was leaving for Sturgis in 3 days).
As for the A/C, don't do what I did and find the cheapest 13,500 btu Coleman unit I could online (Mach 3). That bitch is LOUD and shakes the entire RV. As soon as it fails (and possibly even sooner than that), I am going to find one that is a slim design and quiet, like a 15k Recpro (only 55.4 dB on high). The only advantage my current unit has was that I splurged for the heating strip option, so I have backup heat for if (when) my furnace decides not to fire up (already happened a few times, I really should replace it, too).
As for the A/C, don't do what I did and find the cheapest 13,500 btu Coleman unit I could online (Mach 3). That bitch is LOUD and shakes the entire RV. As soon as it fails (and possibly even sooner than that), I am going to find one that is a slim design and quiet, like a 15k Recpro (only 55.4 dB on high). The only advantage my current unit has was that I splurged for the heating strip option, so I have backup heat for if (when) my furnace decides not to fire up (already happened a few times, I really should replace it, too).
rockdog57
Ghetto fab garage owner
Mach 3’s suck ass! We had one in our last fifth wheel.
This will not work. One of the yotas was saying only modern diesels can pull heavy trailers up hills on hot days without overheating.
Even thought they did in the 60s, 70s,and 80s all summer long.
WashingtonMatt
Nobody
bigun
Red Skull Member
Love the comments "It's all he got out of the divorce"
Bumping this to update any potential Airstream buyers of a few pitfalls I have learned about 1970's Airstreams:
They have wooden floors until like 2022 or so, which commonly rot because a leak can go unnoticed a long time due to the inner skin being aluminum as well. The leak goes down and gets the edge of the floor wet which is what ties the floor to the shell.
The all have rear end separation issues it seems because of the super common water leaks at the back access hatch. There was a 'fix' which involved two big bolts and washers back in the day, that masked the real issues. This can also cause the frame to rust.
The torsion axles are all junk by now and need swapped. Plan for $3000 for a pair of new ones. The rubber goes hard and starts to shake apart the trailer if you don't address it.
The frames are wet noodles and the body and frame depend on each other for strength, monocoque style. If the plywood gets bad at the edges and you loose this strength, they both start to sag especially on big ones like my 31.
So, I've stripped the bathroom out, removed the entire rear sheet of plywood, removed the C-channel that bonds the floor to the wall, replaced the rusted out sections of frame with some mobile home leftovers and angle iron, made a new floor section out of AC and covered the top and edges with thinned epoxy (neat stuff BTW), welded up a new T channel for attaching the floor to the body, and have it mostly bolted in. I had to spread the body and frame just enough to get the 3/4" sheet into place from the back.
I also bolted in some pieces of angle iron to tie the rear section of the frame to the axle support plates to make a pseudo truss to stiffen up the support of the rear floor. It worked way better than anticipated. Next step is to drill and rivet the floor channel to the body.
They have wooden floors until like 2022 or so, which commonly rot because a leak can go unnoticed a long time due to the inner skin being aluminum as well. The leak goes down and gets the edge of the floor wet which is what ties the floor to the shell.
The all have rear end separation issues it seems because of the super common water leaks at the back access hatch. There was a 'fix' which involved two big bolts and washers back in the day, that masked the real issues. This can also cause the frame to rust.
The torsion axles are all junk by now and need swapped. Plan for $3000 for a pair of new ones. The rubber goes hard and starts to shake apart the trailer if you don't address it.
The frames are wet noodles and the body and frame depend on each other for strength, monocoque style. If the plywood gets bad at the edges and you loose this strength, they both start to sag especially on big ones like my 31.
So, I've stripped the bathroom out, removed the entire rear sheet of plywood, removed the C-channel that bonds the floor to the wall, replaced the rusted out sections of frame with some mobile home leftovers and angle iron, made a new floor section out of AC and covered the top and edges with thinned epoxy (neat stuff BTW), welded up a new T channel for attaching the floor to the body, and have it mostly bolted in. I had to spread the body and frame just enough to get the 3/4" sheet into place from the back.
I also bolted in some pieces of angle iron to tie the rear section of the frame to the axle support plates to make a pseudo truss to stiffen up the support of the rear floor. It worked way better than anticipated. Next step is to drill and rivet the floor channel to the body.
Penetrode Offroad
Red Skull Member
- Joined
- May 20, 2020
- Member Number
- 493
- Messages
- 551
No shit. He's supposed to ask first, ignore all of the comments and buy it anyway, then bitch about the problems he has to fix.
