1967 Tradewind Travel Travails

[CDMDB]

Congrats on the new job, living "in" should be a fun experience. Hopefully not too many surprises!

[Diesel1]

Got the water heater plumbed in, it makes hot water and no leaks now ( had to fix a few to be able to make that boast). I'm remodifing the original outside vent/door/cover, hope to get that done next weekend. Helen has pics, soon I hope to show them. So after 3 years the old dog has hot water, what a great country! Also whilst crawling around undernieth and routing the new $70 worth of 3/8 gas pipe I replaced a few million rivets in the belly skin. We are well on our way to making this rat rod a keeper! Adios, John

[Diesel1]

Started my new job last Tuesday. So untill we find a house I am living in the Airstream. Having hot water is a major plus. I bought a 6 gallon water heater, after storing it for a year buyers remorse set in. I was worried that I should have gotten a bigger one. Having used it for three showers it seems big enough. The shower works better than I thought it would. So far the original shower curtain works well, hopefully it doesnt break anytime soon. The gas furnace is the last propane fixture that does not function. All the wires to it are disconnected. So for the time being I am using a small ceramic cube heater. In the mornings I light the stove to knock the chill back. The temps at night have been in the low 30s and the ceramic heater keeps the trailer interior at about 55 overnight. I ran a dedicated 12 ga. 110v extension cord into the trailer through the a/c condisate drain hole, I use this to power the heater. I was concerned that the original 110v outlets might not handle the load of the heater. A while back I pulled the 110v outlet above the sink apart and it showed signs of overheating, I assume at some point a coffee maker was plugged in. Thus my caution with the outlets. Adios, John

[Diesel1]

Lived in the Airstream for 3 months. I enjoyed the time, and am enjoying being back in a house. Some day I will post pics of the new casa.

[Diesel1]

Well its been a good year so far. Helen & I got married a year ago next week. The new house & new job are working out nicely. Sometimes after things fall apart they come back together in a pleasant fashion.
But with all the changes life gets very busy..... so I decided to sell ole blue, the 1961 F100. It just needed to much work, same ole story money & time. Plus I found a new easier (I hope) project. On Public Surplus Auction I found this very clean 1972 F350 with 16,145 miles on it. After selling ole blue I had to cough up another $600.00 to purchase ole red. Has a 360 V8, granny gear 4 speed, no A/C, no power steering but stunningly enough it has power brakes. Also a unique(read ugly) 9foot long bed. Much to Helen's dismay I've stripped the fire apparatus off ( may keep the Barney Fife lights & siren for a while) and just purchased $150.00 worth of steel to build a hitch. I wanted to use it to tow the Tradewind to William's for Memorial day but am running behind. So the 7.3 will get one last crack at the job, then my son is buying the diesel and ole red will be the truck of the day.

[Diesel1]

Well we bug bombed the Tradewind today and I just brought home a new battery. We go campin next week for the first time in a year. Yee Haw!

[Diesel1]

So here are a few pictures of the water heater, apparantly I don't have any of the cover. I was able to use the original cover so from the outside it looks normal.

[Diesel1]

We had a bit of linolium left over from an old project so Helen installed it in the Airstream as a temp floor. The goal is cork someday but for now we have a new floor.
The bathroom looks so good I had to throw in a few pics of that as well.
Helen has been cleaning like crazy...we are ready to go campin!

[Diesel1]

We had a good campout, altho a bit windy the first two days. The second night about 30 degree's, we certainly need to get some kind of heat installed. The old furnace seem's fried so am trying to decide if we should install another forced air furnace or just one of the catalist style. Any thoughts/experiance are encourged. Thanks, John

[Diesel1]

I got the reciever hitch built on the '72 F350, painted the bumper & got started wiring in the trailer harness. Also on Craigs list I found a set of original Ford camper special mirrors that belong on that year truck. $30 and they are mine. I took of the hidious J.C.Whitney mirrors today & installed the Ford set. Hope to get the Airstream hooked up this week & see how it pulls

[Diesel1]

Towed the '67 Tradewind this weekend with the 1972 F350. Just a short trip, about 75 miles round trip. We went down to Davis Camp @ Davis dam on the Colorado river. Davis dam is the next dam downstream after Hoover dam, which is just east of Las Vegas, Nv. From Union pass the mountain pass east of Davis dam down to the dam is 12 miles of 6% grade. Coming out this morning was 3rd gear only,top speed about 40-45 mph. At about the 5th mile it was down to 2nd gear and 20-25 mph. The truck pulled good though & no overheat. This 12 mile mountain is where Ford ran all their trailer tow duribility testing when the Ford proving grounds was still here. I am happy with the way the truck & trailer handled. This truck rides much nicer (gentler) than my 1995 F350 diesel 4X4 does! The ambiant temp was'nt to bad for summer...about 100-105 @ 10 AM. I hav'nt weighed the rig yet, I need to do that. I pulled as usuall with a bare ball. The trailer level, the truck with a slight nose high stance. The front fender rail lip came up about 1 1/2 inches with the trailer on the ball.
The original factory A/C on the Tradewind worked like a trooper although the 110 degree heat was more than it could keep up with. I think it is more a lack of insulation than anything. The A/C blew cold air all day long, but the interior only stayed at about 90 degree's untill the sun started to go down. The sun load is quite intense. After the sun went down it got cold inside! During the day we stayed in the water to stay cool. The fridge, also original, performed nicely as well.
All in all a good time & a good test for my new tow vehicle. Next on the agenda, A/C for the Ford!

[TouringDan]

Diesel

Interesting tht the A/C would not keep up, but that the fridge would keep your beer plenty cold in 110 degree heat. I suspect that the opposite would be true in my 66 Tradewind. I don't think I have camped in anything hotter than 90 degrees.

Your pictures look great!

Dan

[Diesel1]

It's raining, I mean raining.... 2 or 3 inches so far this evening. I love it when it rains in the desert.....except. The A/C on the Tradewind leaks! You would think a hole 3 inches in diameter would be able to be leak proofed. So far the hole is winning. Luckily a drip pan takes care of it, but it is still agravating, grrr.

[Diesel1]

A few pictures as we arrived @ the campsite in Williams,Az for Labor day.

[m.nolte]

The bathroom looks so good I had to throw in a few pics of that as well.
Helen has been cleaning like crazy...we are ready to go campin!

Thank you for the bath pictures. Ours is so faded I have been trying to figure out what color it is actually supposed to be, these pics are perfect.

[Diesel1]

Pulled the Tradewind out yesterday for a bit of cleaning. We are off to the Parker Strip on Thursday for a few days of R&R. Can hardly wait!

[Diesel1]

Well I'm back...now I have to learn how to post pic again. Wanted to show my new 1970 F250 but cannot figure out how to do it.

[Diesel1]

Here it is

[Diesel1]

[Diesel1]

It's been a while. Thinking about selling the Tradewind so have been cleaning and fiddling with it. Now I want to go camping, may head out to Alamo Lake for a bit of R&R. I'll try to figure out how to post pictures again.
Adios, John