I'm kind of new at this trailer stuff but I recently bought a 62 17' SS and I'm in need of some advice on replacing the floor. The floor was completely gone and required replacement. I removed it without any problems because it was so rotten but I have a question on the installation. The floor was under the wall base plate and appears to have been attached here. Do I need to open up the walls and screw the base plate to the floor? Any advice would be helpfull. Thank You.

By Tom Patterson on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 09:44 pm:

Mike,
I don't know for sure with the SS, but with the other trailers like Airstream, the floor is under the walls. You might use the "Search Site" on the home page to do a search. There are a large number of postings on the site to do with floors, and you might get some help there.

By Mike Swansen on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 12:15 am:

Thanks Tom. I did a search and didn't find anything real specific on a complete floor replacement. I checked out an airstream site and found a reference to the floor being part of the trailer structure strength and that the floor is attached under the walls. I think what I'll do is take the step of pulling the wall panels loose around the floor and get the new flooring under the wall and screw the wall to the floor. I've got the thing completely gutted so I might as well go a little farther and try to do it right.

Oh, one other thing. I need to patch a few holes to seal the floor area. My plan is to use Marine 5200 for the smaller leaks and aluminum patches with 5200 sealer for the bigger holes. Do you think this is a good plan or is there a better way to do this job? Thanks again. This is a great site!

By Tom Patterson on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 09:34 pm:

Mike,

Following is a message that was just posted today on the Vintage Airstream e-mail list. You might find the link to the site in the message of interest to you.

Those of us with aluminum trailers other than Airstream will still find their Vintage Airstream e-mail list of considerable interest. These older trailers are all similar in construction, and have many of the same problems. There is a lot of information available, and you do not have to be an Airstream owner in order to belong to the e-mail list.

If anyone is interested, go to their home page at
http://www.airstream.net/vaclist/index.html

-Tom

"Hi everyone:

For those who are interested, (or may remember), I finally finished the
complete restoration on my 1976 28' Argosy. It took 9 1/2 months, (8 1/2 of
work, and one month of not being able to get to it.), but my father and I
did it. I had the opportunity to test all systems on it's maiden voyage
last weekend, (the Victoria Day weekend), and everything worked flawlessly.

All pictures relating to the restoration can be seen at
http://www.angelfire.com/ns2/argosy/, so feel free to take a look around and ask any
questions.

Thanks for all the info I gathered in "lurk" mode while working on this
project.

Jamie
'76 28' Argosy
'95 Chev extended cab"