New to us and what we did to it!
Just thought I'd make a post of the 1978 Excel 22' TT we picked up cheap and did some fix up. Hope the post is helpful to some.
If you want to buy an old TT and resurrect it as I did, here's what I found in my search and rehab.
We looked at 6 TTs (all craigslist) all said good or excellent condition in the $2000 to $3500 price range. Yes I know, bottom feeding just for fun. ALL were junk when we got there. We wanted a road trip anyway, it was actually fun for the 1400 miles. We finally found #7 and when we got there it was OK for what we wanted. 1977 20' Excell with N/S sleeping. Not perfect by any means, but not rotted out like ALL the others. One owner since new, sitting with cover for sometime. Inside cabinets and furniture in very good shape thanks to the cover. No water leaks at the windows and just a few stains at the roof. Roof completely solid with no soft spots of rot- WHOOPPEE!
Everything worked, stove, oven, REFER, furnace, water pump, A/C! Paint dull but OK, some corrosion on all the aluminum frames and channels. All interior lights work. Now what does it need?
1. Tires. Old ones wouldn't make 50 miles and we have 550 to go. This being Sunday we called all the usuall, Costco, Wally World, Goodyear, Firestone, all open, no ST tires. Finally thought of PEP Boys in La Habra, CA. They said they would go to other stores to get 2 more as they only had 2. Deal done! In and out in under an hour. Great service.
Now the rest of the story:
On the way home I make a list and I find I need:
Stop/turn lights are weird, re-wire and rebulb, remove corrosion
No clearance lights work, replace all
No brakes ( well I don't have a brake controller)
Reseal roof seams that are wearing out from the sun
Remount the new skylight covers that are not secured to the hinge
Weld a small leak at the outlet to the grey water tank
Refasten the dump manifold that is falling off
Rewire the trailer harness hookup and new breakaway switch and clean all grounds (very important!) due to corrosion.
New hoses for the propane tanks
New cover for refer outlet and stove vent outlet
New washers and orings on all faucets.
Fix leak in vacuum breaker on toilet
Remove DEAD battery and replace with 2 T105 Trojans with new plastic boxes and rewire all battery connections with new crimp connectors.
Install POD brake Controller, Inexpensive and works fine on this little TT
Tighten some cabinet screws
Deep clean the entire inside and wash the outside.
All in all, not too bad for a 35 yr old box compared to most we looked at.
Got all the above done and went on first week out. Did 1400 miles.
After first trip stuff:
Found another leak on the grey tank when it was almost filled. Weldable
Checked and cleaned and regreased all wheel bearings and adjusted all brakes. All brakes work.
The "box" is doing good for its age. For the amount invested (under $3K total for everything) I'm pleased. Anyone wanting to do the same remember-you gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you find the Prince! And, you gotta have some understanding of what to look for and have the capability to fix it
Up next is the cosmetics, outside paint, clean and reseal all the drip channels, figure out how to clean and reseal all the windows.
No one can expect to find any trailer over 30 yrs old and for under @$2000 in perfect condition. It just ain't going to happen. You can find them without roof or floor rot though. It's not easy, but it can be done. 9 out of 10 will have rot somewhere. The mechanical systems in trailers are not too complicated or expensive to fix if all the appliances work. All the appliances MUST work or the deal is over at these prices, especially the refridge.
Tires always need replacing. Unless someone can prove they are 1 yr old or younger- they need replacing with good ST tires. There are ways to check the wheel alignment for bent axels that you should do. My neighbor found out the hard way last year and had to put in a new axel on his recent purchase. Never trust the wheel bearings and brakes until they are taken apart, cleaned, inspected and repacked with grease and then the axle nut tightened correctly.
Battery (ies) always need replacing. I put 2 Trojan T105s in with new cables and inside plastic battery boxes. I can boondock for 5 days and never use half the battery even with using the furnace at night.
For under $3000 all in, one can find a great trailer that will last several more years.
Now we just finished 7165 miles in 65 days on the road and all we had go wrong was the pilot lite gas line to the water heater leaked. Fixed it with soft tubing and compression rings, $7 and 1 hr work. The Carlisle tires now have about 8000 miles on them and they look new. They are D rated and have about 22% more capacity even at 50 psi instead of 65 than our TT weighs loaded.
Have already resealed all the outside trim channels on all corners and repainted the entire trailer. We have "woodgrain" style aluminum siding so I used a good grade of exterior house paint and a brush plus Rustoleum spray paint for the 2 strips. Looks great! Did lose 1 wheel cover somewhere in Tenn. If you see it let me know where :-)
If you want to buy an old TT and resurrect it as I did, here's what I found in my search and rehab.
We looked at 6 TTs (all craigslist) all said good or excellent condition in the $2000 to $3500 price range. Yes I know, bottom feeding just for fun. ALL were junk when we got there. We wanted a road trip anyway, it was actually fun for the 1400 miles. We finally found #7 and when we got there it was OK for what we wanted. 1977 20' Excell with N/S sleeping. Not perfect by any means, but not rotted out like ALL the others. One owner since new, sitting with cover for sometime. Inside cabinets and furniture in very good shape thanks to the cover. No water leaks at the windows and just a few stains at the roof. Roof completely solid with no soft spots of rot- WHOOPPEE!
Everything worked, stove, oven, REFER, furnace, water pump, A/C! Paint dull but OK, some corrosion on all the aluminum frames and channels. All interior lights work. Now what does it need?
1. Tires. Old ones wouldn't make 50 miles and we have 550 to go. This being Sunday we called all the usuall, Costco, Wally World, Goodyear, Firestone, all open, no ST tires. Finally thought of PEP Boys in La Habra, CA. They said they would go to other stores to get 2 more as they only had 2. Deal done! In and out in under an hour. Great service.
Now the rest of the story:
On the way home I make a list and I find I need:
Stop/turn lights are weird, re-wire and rebulb, remove corrosion
No clearance lights work, replace all
No brakes ( well I don't have a brake controller)
Reseal roof seams that are wearing out from the sun
Remount the new skylight covers that are not secured to the hinge
Weld a small leak at the outlet to the grey water tank
Refasten the dump manifold that is falling off
Rewire the trailer harness hookup and new breakaway switch and clean all grounds (very important!) due to corrosion.
New hoses for the propane tanks
New cover for refer outlet and stove vent outlet
New washers and orings on all faucets.
Fix leak in vacuum breaker on toilet
Remove DEAD battery and replace with 2 T105 Trojans with new plastic boxes and rewire all battery connections with new crimp connectors.
Install POD brake Controller, Inexpensive and works fine on this little TT
Tighten some cabinet screws
Deep clean the entire inside and wash the outside.
All in all, not too bad for a 35 yr old box compared to most we looked at.
Got all the above done and went on first week out. Did 1400 miles.
After first trip stuff:
Found another leak on the grey tank when it was almost filled. Weldable
Checked and cleaned and regreased all wheel bearings and adjusted all brakes. All brakes work.
The "box" is doing good for its age. For the amount invested (under $3K total for everything) I'm pleased. Anyone wanting to do the same remember-you gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you find the Prince! And, you gotta have some understanding of what to look for and have the capability to fix it
Up next is the cosmetics, outside paint, clean and reseal all the drip channels, figure out how to clean and reseal all the windows.
No one can expect to find any trailer over 30 yrs old and for under @$2000 in perfect condition. It just ain't going to happen. You can find them without roof or floor rot though. It's not easy, but it can be done. 9 out of 10 will have rot somewhere. The mechanical systems in trailers are not too complicated or expensive to fix if all the appliances work. All the appliances MUST work or the deal is over at these prices, especially the refridge.
Tires always need replacing. Unless someone can prove they are 1 yr old or younger- they need replacing with good ST tires. There are ways to check the wheel alignment for bent axels that you should do. My neighbor found out the hard way last year and had to put in a new axel on his recent purchase. Never trust the wheel bearings and brakes until they are taken apart, cleaned, inspected and repacked with grease and then the axle nut tightened correctly.
Battery (ies) always need replacing. I put 2 Trojan T105s in with new cables and inside plastic battery boxes. I can boondock for 5 days and never use half the battery even with using the furnace at night.
For under $3000 all in, one can find a great trailer that will last several more years.
Now we just finished 7165 miles in 65 days on the road and all we had go wrong was the pilot lite gas line to the water heater leaked. Fixed it with soft tubing and compression rings, $7 and 1 hr work. The Carlisle tires now have about 8000 miles on them and they look new. They are D rated and have about 22% more capacity even at 50 psi instead of 65 than our TT weighs loaded.
Have already resealed all the outside trim channels on all corners and repainted the entire trailer. We have "woodgrain" style aluminum siding so I used a good grade of exterior house paint and a brush plus Rustoleum spray paint for the 2 strips. Looks great! Did lose 1 wheel cover somewhere in Tenn. If you see it let me know where :-)
