A '63 Overlander Followed us Home

[Lance M]

Hey Y'all! Look who dropped by Top's Vintage Trailer Works the other day-



Thanks HiHo! It was a pleasure to see your wonderful Dolly. It is a beautiful trailer.

[utee94]

Man that's one good looking trailer!

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by Top

Hey Y'all! Look who dropped by Top's Vintage Trailer Works the other day-



Attachment 243834



Thanks HiHo! It was a pleasure to see your wonderful Dolly. It is a beautiful trailer.

I enjoyed the visit and getting to see Abby and some of the work you are doing.

[twolanehwy]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

Here's the closest bolt I have to the one I'm searching for. These would work except for 1) the end isn't self tapping and 2) the are almost $1 each at the big box store!

Yes, thats a Ronco tank I bought thru PlastiMart.

Axles? hummm...as you have seen, I've done the Dexter route - I have considered AXIS but have sent a couple of e-mails to Colin and never heard back. I'm still on the fence on that one. I hadn't thought about continuing the Shock vs no-shock but that may be possible...

Japan? nah...the folks found out I am restoring a '63 Airstream and figured I have a loose nut...they were looking for SMART folks!

I did get the wheel wells fitted and most of the holes drilled thru outrigger/floor and C channel. Awaiting on Epoxy and bolts. I'm supposed to be in Atlanta in a week or two...Aircraft Spruce may get to sell me some bellypan aluminum!

Hey Vernon,
what were the specs on those bolts? Did you find a bulk supplier?
did you find self tapping or did you use nut and bolt combo?

[HiHoAgRV]

Here is what I've used recently. They are self tapping on thin stuff like cross members but I had better luck on thick stuff like the main rails and cross members that I replaced with thicker tubular steel if I ran a tap thru first. I did add nylon lock nuts underneath.

[twolanehwy]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

Here is what I've used recently. They are self tapping on thin stuff like cross members but I had better luck on thick stuff like the main rails and cross members that I replaced with thicker tubular steel if I ran a tap thru first. I did add nylon lock nuts underneath. Attachment 250921

thanks Vernon
I'm having channel made, getting plywood, paint and screws. Have most of the other stuff for now.

[HiHoAgRV]

Since Dolly was built in November, she got a birthday present this week. Well, really it is MY birthday present from Ms HiHo but who is counting?

[Aerowood]

Very nice I can't wait to install mine.

[HiHoAgRV]

It's pouring rain so I figured I'd run the wiring. The display will mount above the stove hood and the wires snake up into the false floor in the overhead cabinet, then toward the rear, thru a wall and into the hollow floating shelf above the bed and finally into the closet. The black tank is accessible here and the water heater drain hole is right at the gray tank in the belly pan. Also from the closet I run forward under the bed, below the kitchen cabinet and into the dinette where the fresh tank is located. I'm using 3x 22ga shielded wire.

The first hole I drilled pulled out blue plastic. Yep, drilled into the pex.


Grrrrrr.

Much to my surprise the black sensor actually reads thru the original fiberglass black tank! I doubt it will be 100% accurate and testing indicates this but it does read and the %full increases as the tank fills.

I'll have to wait for a dry day to install the gray sensor.

So far this is a fun, simple project (even fixing the pex wasn't too bad)

[mimiandrews]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

Since Dolly was built in November,
Attachment 251399

Can you tell me how to find out when an Airstream was built? We've been trying to find the build date for ours.

Thanks.

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by mimiandrews

Can you tell me how to find out when an Airstream was built? We've been trying to find the build date for ours.



Thanks.

On some trailers, it's stamped on a plaque, I'm guessing yours isn't. Although I've seen conflicting statements, on my '63 the build date is the year followed by the month, 6211. Some folks say that it's year followed by week but a March 1962 build on Dolly doesn't add up. The '63's didn't start production until later in '62 so it's a good argument that 6211 is 1962, November.
My 1991 is pretty easy to decipher the build date. ;0)

[scf31]

can anyone help with this VIN? Having trouble with the desipher

[65CV]

Originally Posted by scf31

Attachment 251476can anyone help with this VIN? Having trouble with the desipher

Does it look like this?

[HiHoAgRV]

We had one of the hottest, driest summers on record so of course I was looking forward it cooling off. I've got a ton of work lined up so what happens? Yup, it cools off and starts raining on the weekends.

I got the internal wiring complete, the black and fresh sensors installed but it's just too mushy to crawl underneath for a :15 minute install of the gray sensor. I also built and installed a housing for the display.

The black sensor works much better than I hoped. The old fiberglass tank is slightly tapered so the edge is only about 3" tall. I used the JS sensor, cut to the shortest length and wrapped the lower edge around the curve and under the tank. At full, it displays 100% and drops to 0% just before the tank is empty.

Now I'm standing in the garage staring at the rain and all of the stuff that isn't getting worked on.

[twolanehwy]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

Here is what I've used recently. They are self tapping on thin stuff like cross members but I had better luck on thick stuff like the main rails and cross members that I replaced with thicker tubular steel if I ran a tap thru first. I did add nylon lock nuts underneath. Attachment 250921

I bought these today but looking back to page 10 you had used these?
I'm confused now...which is for what?
thx
Chip

[HiHoAgRV]

Yeah, I did use those but have switched. Those tended to snap off the head too easily.

[HiHoAgRV]

Today Dolly got an upgrade. I've been using portable solar for a couple of years and I finally decided to add 200W of roof mounted panels. This only took about 2 hours since the controller was already installed. Yes, I drilled holes. The Gopower thru roof assembly is way overpriced but it works nice. This is the 3rd one I've installed and it makes for a simple way of getting wires into the trailer. I dropped thru into the closet where the controller is located, only needed about 8' of wire.
Yeah, I know. The roof is nasty but I'm waiting for the pollen to stop before I wash it.

[wxbuoy]

How much did the set up cost you. Debating weather to take the leap or not...

[HiHoAgRV]

$300.

$225 for the Renogy panels, $25 for the legs, $30 for the GoPower adaptor and I split a $40 roll of VHB tape with another friend.

Take into count that I already had the connectors at a couple of bucks each, I have tubes of sealant in the freezer (adds flavor to the frozen shrimp) and I had the heavy gauge wire.

There is nothing better than having a few watts of solar running all day. It suks having to sit at camp while the generator tops off the batteries.

I parked Dolly under the shed, went inside and was still getting enough solar to add .2 amps to the batteries. That offsets the 24/7 draw of my various displays.

[twolanehwy]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

$300.

$225 for the Renogy panels, $25 for the legs, $30 for the GoPower adaptor and I split a $40 roll of VHB tape with another friend.

Take into count that I already had the connectors at a couple of bucks each, I have tubes of sealant in the freezer (adds flavor to the frozen shrimp) and I had the heavy gauge wire.

There is nothing better than having a few watts of solar running all day. It suks having to sit at camp while the generator tops off the batteries.

I parked Dolly under the shed, went inside and was still getting enough solar to add .2 amps to the batteries. That offsets the 24/7 draw of my various displays.

Hey Vernon, where did you get the panels?
all I see on Ebay is about $200 for each panel.