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Post by winnebagomatt on Jan 14, 2020 7:03:48 GMT -8
Found a rare Airstream Fifth Wheel trailer in the Catskills. 331 County Rd 28, right off of 17. That’s how I found it, saw it off the highway. If you go to google earth and use streetview, it’s a little hard to see but you can see that it is in fact a Fifth Wheel. Other than that I don’t know the model or year, or who did this conversion. Can’t seem to upload pictures off my phone. But if anyone knows how to do that or knows anything about these Fifth Wheels please reply.  |
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nccamper
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1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
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Post by nccamper on Jan 15, 2020 4:10:20 GMT -8
Welcome!
I did a quick search and found no evidence of a Airstream 5th wheel. But I'm far from an expert on Airstream campers. Could it be an Argosy?
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Post by winnebagomatt on Jan 15, 2020 5:36:26 GMT -8
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PT
Active Member
Posts: 459
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1964 Aloha & 1962 Holiday House
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Post by PT on Jan 15, 2020 9:22:55 GMT -8
According to an Airstream forum post I found Airstream did a small production run of these Classic 5th wheels (50ish) in 1989. Looks like the real deal and not a one-off modification. www.airforums.com/forums/f473/late-80s-airstream-aluminum-fifth-wheel-1260.htmlYou need to scroll down a little in the post to see discussion of the 1989 version. They also re-badged an "Integrity" 5th wheel "by Airstream" that was fiberglass and not well received in the mid 90's that is discussed as well. |
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Post by winnebagomatt on Jan 16, 2020 8:59:47 GMT -8
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Post by vikx on Jan 17, 2020 12:20:58 GMT -8
The biggest drawback with fivers is that the front overhang LEAKS. Same goes for truck campers and Class C motor homes. Why that section is more vulnerable probably has something to do with bouncing down the road. One of my main jobs as an RV tech was structural repairs on the overhang. Ugh.
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Post by winnebagomatt on Jan 17, 2020 20:41:36 GMT -8
The biggest drawback with fivers is that the front overhang LEAKS. Same goes for truck campers and Class C motor homes. Why that section is more vulnerable probably has something to do with bouncing down the road. One of my main jobs as an RV tech was structural repairs on the overhang. Ugh. your right. I really want a truck camper, but nothing in my price range has the bed area without water damage. My neighbor also had to overhaul his fifth wheel in that area, but his is like an RV/horse trailer |
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Post by vikx on Jan 17, 2020 21:31:47 GMT -8
Fivers are notorious leakers. Just a lot of weight without much support. I've been fighting them for years. Believe it or not, even brand new ones leaked! I spent one whole Christmas week studying a 75K Keystone Everest trailer trying to find out why it was leaking so badly. It was dripping down onto the main floor and had actually iced up. Turned out that the manufacturer had used snap in vinyl to cover the bedroom slide trim screwws. Water would run thru said trim straight onto the bedroom floor. I filled it with caulk and used that method on several more. Even wrote a note to the builder. Of course they didn't change anything for several years.
I'm not a fan of most new RVs.
For a truck camper, you might look for an Avion (think Airstream) or perhaps a fiberglass one. They still leak, but are usually not as damaged as regular tin campers.
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Post by winnebagomatt on Jan 18, 2020 14:56:00 GMT -8
I was looking at an Amerigo truck camper
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Post by vikx on Jan 18, 2020 21:07:25 GMT -8
Cool and hard to find...
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Post by bigbill on Jan 20, 2020 16:16:55 GMT -8
We used a truck camper for years and never had a leak. I installed 1/4 inch plywood sheeting under the front and roof aluminum which stopped most of the flexing that caused the leaks. Yes it increased the weight but not enough to notice. If my memory serves me right it only took four sheets to complete. It also made it strong enough to withstand hitting a **** pheasant not highway speed. When it happened I was almost afraid to get out and look but was pleasantly surprised that all that was required was to wash the blood and guts off with a hose.
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