[A/S] Re: 93 Excella

[harveybarlow@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Don, I am a brand new subscriber to this list having only signed on 
this morning after learning about it via the VACList and saw your 
posting.

I own a '93 Excella which I bought in 1994 from Land Yacht in El Paso 
when the trailer was a little over one year of age.

I have towed it over 50,000 miles coast to coast and north to south 
and am satisfied with it except for the finish.  The plasticote on 
mine failed on the top and upper end caps a few months after I 
purchased it.  What I have learned is that Airstream used aluminum 
skin panels factory pre-coated by the supplier in '93 and '94 and, at 
least in warm climates, most if not all of the finishes failed.  
Finish failure can be identified by chalky appearance rather than 
clear and shiny.  The only cure is to have the trailer chemically 
stripped and recoated.  If the unit has chalky, flaking areas that 
have been ignored for some time, oxidation will have occurred and 
those area will require machine polishing before a new finish if 
applied or color variations will remain.

Sadly, I don't think there is a permanent cure to finish failure for 
trailers used in warm climates.  My trailer has been refinished once 
and partially refinished a second time in six years.  I have not been 
able to get anyone to give me a definitive answer but in my opinion, 
the aluminum skin on newer units is slightly thinner gauge metal 
which probably ascerbates the heating expansion, cooling shrinkage 
effect of aluminum skin and the plasticoat formula available today 
may have some important ingredient removed due to EPA environmental 
protection regulation and is therefore, not as flexible.

My trailer does not have wrap protectors and many small pebble dings 
have appeared on the lower front panels over the years even though my 
tow truck has large rubber mud flaps installed behind the rear 
wheels. If I ever become sufficiently dissatisfied with looking at 
the dings or decide to sell or trade the trailer and want to conceal 
the dings, I can install new wrap protectors.  If the wrap protectors 
had been installed all along, they would be dinged instead of the 
trailer skin but removing the damaged wrap protectors would not be as 
good a fix because holes in the skin would remain where the wraps 
were removed.  With use, the front panels whether trailer skin or 
wrap protectors will be damaged.  The choice is yours.

Does anyone else have better info?

Harvey
'93 Excella, '66 Safari