[VAC] Argosy plumbing issues . . . etc.

["Mr. Joy H. Hansen" <joytbrew@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi David,

You'll get lots of info on this and I asked the same a couple of weeks ago.
I got lots of information.  I opted to reply to the list as my experiences
may help other restorer activity or generate new suggestions to work smarter.

I found that the panel you need to remove to get to the plumbing is only
held at the top with pop rivets.  The down and bottom is held with caulk.
Remove the plastic trim from the channel and drill out the rivets.  Of
course, the trim strip starts at the shower forward wall and wraps across
the entire rear of the trailer.  I may cut the trim strip at the edge of the
sink to facilitate future removal of the panel.  You might cut the trim at
the edge of the sink to reduce the size of the job.  In my case, I couldn't
get the sink faucet out and removed the entire  basin assembly.  Also, the
wood backing had broken loose from the underside of the sink/drain.
Removing the entire unit for restoration was what I thought the only option
due to the access limitations.  Just use a sharp, right size drill so you
can use identical diameter pop rivets to reinstall the trim.  Removing the
panel was much easier than I thought.  I had plans to cut and weld the
plastic - wouldn't have worked.   You'll need room to work with the flare
fittings.

I decided to use the original flare and nuts for the repair.  I got a couple
of "swaged copper" 1/2 inch sweat to 1/2 inch PEX fittings.  The id of these
fittings are 3/8 od tube.  I cut the copper fittings so just the 1/2 inch
PEX portion could be fixed to the 3/8 tube.  To get deeper access, you might
run a drill down the PEX portion.  The copper is  folded back into the end
of PEX portion.  It's a thin layer of copper that can easily be removed.
It's was so thin that I pushed it out with the 3/8 tube.  Again, only the
copper PEX fittings will work.  The brass fittings are sized differently.
From this point, it will just be a matter of crimping the PEX pipe to my
fabricated adapter.  You could use a compression union on the 3/8 tube and
convert to 1/2 inch PEX by sweating the half inch into the 3/8 compression
to 1/2 inch sweat.  Messy and adds one more possible leak with the
compression connection.  I got one reply telling me that the same mixing
valve is available at Home Depot and that it has threaded connection rather
than sweat fittings.  He also indicated that the proper conversion fitting
to PEX was on hand.  I decided that the mixing valve and sink faucet were in
fine shape and opted to reinstall the original.

Haven't got to my air conditioner as  yet to see if it is functional.  I'm
not happy with the support for the air conditioner.  It was installed by an
amateur.  The AC power line got pinched between the wood spacer and the
skin - screws punched through the wire shorted the neutral to ground.
Meaning that my ground fault would pop each time I plugged in the shore
line.  Along another side, the installer missed the spacer and punched the
screws into air! :(  The support for the air conditioner is through the
inner and outer skin - no structural support as recommended in the
installation manual.  I had a terrible time getting the aluminum panel out
of the ceiling and had to cut it cross ways into two sections.  The panel
had to come out so I could trace and check the wiring.  The original
installation didn't come out easily and I may have to make additional cuts
to get it reinstalled.

Good luck,

                                                  '74 Argosy 22, Joy
                                                  WBCCI 1666
                                                   '69 Safari, 22