When the original Armstrong unit on the top of my '70 said "enough," one real hot (of course) day in September a couple of years ago, I regarded the thing with a dour expression and wondered just what the h--- I was going to do about it. One thing was clear--I wasn't about to spend dime one having it "rebuilt," or anything like that. It was history the very instant it quit working.

The main issue is, of course, just how do you go about getting a somewhat heavy and unwieldy thing off an Airstream and how do you get another one back on without something like a forklift or a purpose-built structure at your disposal.

I devised a method that worked for me. However, at this juncture I wish to make a few things very clear.

There are hazards--obvious ones and quite a few of them. I do not need to have them pointed out, ex post facto--I was well aware of them at the time.

Decent physical condition is required--if you're a couch potato, look elsewhere for "how to."

There was no way that an overhead structure was possible with any sort of practicality. The trailer had to support me, the air conditioner(s) and the access structure I devised. It did so with no problem.

Here's how I proceeded:

I used a 24' extension ladder, fully collapsed. as my primary means of "getting up there." Near the top end I attached a chunk of padded 2X4, arranged 90 degrees to the ladder. The padding was junk carpeting and the attaching material was lots of duct tape. The purpose of this was to spread the load(s) out on the trailer to cross several ribs within the trailer itself.

The reason to use a collapsed extension ladder was to give the resulting ramp (for that's what the ladder became) added rigidity. It worked well.

I leaned the resulting ramp against the trailer so that the top of the ladder was approximately even with the bottom of the Armstrong and then secured the entire thing so that IT COULD NOT MOVE in any direction. Most especially, I secured the foot of the ladder so that it could not move in a direction away from the trailer.

Access thus secured, I removed the Armstrong. A blow-by-blow description of this process shouldn't be necessary. The unit is secured by four substantial bolts and a BUNCH of rivets. There are shrouds, wires, hoses and other impedimenta that must be dealt with.

During this process it became necessary, as anticipated, to stand upon the "roof," if one may call it that. I did so, wearing rubber-soled shoes having a big,flat footprint and using extreme caution to stand only where it was obvious that internal structure (ribs, stringers) existed on the other side of the skin. At that time I weighed about 225 and, when the entire project was completed, the skin had received no damage whatever.

Once I had freed the Armstrong from the trailer, I "worked" it over to the head of the ladder and tipped it off to slide down the ladder. The resulting crash was most satisfying.

The new A/C is a Coleman unit that I managed to obtain at an end-of-season, heartwarming price.

That Coleman--and (I suspect) all others, dumps the condensate (water) overboard on the outside of the "air hole," whereas the Armstrong dumped it on the inside, where a hose, conveniently installed for the purpose at Airstream, is located.

Someone devised a plastic "pan" intended to deal with this situation and I bought one. I still have it and will give it to anyone who would like to come and get it.

My solution was to run the condensate lines thru an access in the large gasket that goes between the Coleman and the Airstream. This thing, it appears to me, is designed primarily to work with a flat roof. Mounted on a "hump," the gasket will not "squish" all the way on the sides and, it seemed to me, this offered a means to get the condensate lines into the trailer. I cut a suitable opening in the gasket--both sides of the unit--keeping in mind that the gasket will "squish," and be thus distorted. In other words, the requisite opening in the "unsquished" gasket will be more of an upright oval shape that will "squish" to a circular shape the diameter of the condensate line.

It works fine.

Getting the Coleman to the top of the trailer was a bit more involved than getting the Armstrong off.

First off, I knew that, sooner or later, something (a hand or tool or . . . something) would bang into a heat exchanger and make it look like hell, even if it wasn't "damaged," unless I did something to prevent it. I added protection made out of scrap masonite and secured with duct tape.

I attached a "tow hook" (a small "C" clamp) to the A/C chassis at the front end (as it is mounted on the trailer.)

I sat the unit on a piece of scrap 3/8 plywood that was big enough to overlap the gasket by a couple of inches or so. This is secured with more duct tape just well enough for the trip up the ramp. The idea here is to provide a sliding surface on the A/C for the next step.

I obtained a "racheting pulley" from (I think) a K-Mart, something like that. This device is used for load securing purposes and works as a one-way pulley that hangs on to the rope somewhat. Mine came with a piece of rope that was trash and I replaced it.

The ratchet pulley must be secured a bit beyond the top of the ramp/ladders. Roughly the centerline of the trailer seems to have been about right. I used a line attached to a solid object located on the "other side" of the trailer for this purpose.

Lean the A/C, complete with plywood down, against the ladder, attach things in the obvious way and commence pushing with one hand and hauling with the other. The hauling line is going to rub against the top rung of the ladder and this wouldn't be acceptable in a repetitive operation--but, this is a one-time shot. The ratchet pulley allows you to move and get a fresh grip as required, but I never would allow the line to that thing to go slack.

Once at the top of the ladder, tie things off and get a purchase so that the A/C can be "eased" into it's final resting place. Once you have arrived at the TLAR location (That Looks About Right,)put a block of wood under one end of the A/C, pick up the other end slightly and remove the plywood.

I think the end game is obvious, and needs no blow-by-blow description. Perhaps one exception . . .

The inside shroud is built for a flat ceiling. My bandsaw took care of that and there does not seem to be any adverse effect from this.

I reiterate, numerous hazards. Don't do it this way if you're uncomfortable with any part of it. Work slowly and deliberately in any event.

The new Coleman is quieter and more effective than the old Armstrong. I am most satisfied with it--the more so since I put it up there myself.

Clark
WA7GGV
27' '70