Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 10-24-2010, 08:06 AM   #21
Rivet Master
 
moparjohn's Avatar
 
1973 25' Tradewind
Bloomsbury , New Jersey
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 696
Images: 2
Really cool Tradewind, I can see why the 60's trailers are so popular, then again, so are the 70's, 50's..... I love the spare tire carrier/bumper. MPJ
moparjohn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-24-2010, 11:41 PM   #22
1 Rivet Member
 
1961 24' Tradewind
Langley , Washington
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 15
I like this vintage (and earlier) as it's easy to see the original handwork of the trailer. The arched door skin, for example, is hand cut, and the interior panels of the door are not a "machine fit".

Since I had no keys, I had to open the compartment doors from the inside to get to the lock cylinders. I removed the cylinders from the compartment doors, and had the local locksmith make some keys. It turned out the cylinders were all frozen, and he rebuilt them with new springs and pins. Got them all installed.


I bought a new silver Kwikset lockset at a garage sale. I don’t know if the Weiser deadbolt is original, but it turned out that the key blank is the same, so I was able to get one key for lockset and deadbolt. This makes me happy.
Temporary install:


When I took out the deadbolt, I immediately dropped one of the backing nuts down into the door. I thought about the aggravation this design would cause each time the lock had to be serviced, so I made some backing plates with rivnuts to thread the screws into. This also was needed because the new Kwikset lock had different screw spacing than the old (missing) lockset. The lockset uses 8-32 screw, and the deadbolt uses 10-32. The aluminum is about 3/32", and it’s cut on my woodworking bandsaw, with a regular wood cutting blade. I also made some cedar blocks to hold the door skins apart at the 1 ˝" spacing, so the locks wouldn’t crush the door. The blocks are 3/4 x 1 7/8 x 1 ˝. I had to chamfer the edges of the blocks to get them in the 2 1/8 holes.





The installed locks, with weatherstripping (outside edge). I didn’t put any sealant under the locksets, since I will have to remove them to do the interior painting. Also have to pick up some silver screws at the HW store.

CDMDB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-04-2010, 01:12 AM   #23
1 Rivet Member
 
1961 24' Tradewind
Langley , Washington
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 15
This 60/61 Calif. Tradewind has Hehr “L” windows. One had broken glass, and all had shrunken glazing strips after 50 years (I know the feeling...)


I ordered the replacement glazing strips and glazing tape from VTS, and some glass from the local supplier. This glass is 3mm, “double strength” non-tempered. For the narrow bunk windows, the glass size is 37 7/16" x 7 7/8", and the larger windows (all the others) is 37 7/16" x 16 3/8". Here’s the aluminum channel, cleaned with Simple Green, carb cleaner, grey ScotchBrite, and brass brush. I wiped the surface with acetone just befor placing the tape.


The glazing tape comes in a roll


And looks like this


Trouble is, the tape has to fit directly against the corner of the aluminum extrusion, and the paper backing tape makes it very difficult to get it placed correctly. So I cut the tape to rough length, and trimmed the paper first


And was able to install easily.


Here’s the old rubber strip, and the new plastic strip.


Everything I read just said “ cut it at 45 degrees”. However, it’s somewhat brittle, and the angled leg makes it difficult to cut with shears. So I jigged it up in the miter saw like this


Note that the strip is supported on the underside with about 1/8" of material, to mimic the position that it is in when installed. The larger piece of wood backs the cut, and the smaller piece is curved so that it provides downward pressure and keeps the plastic from chattering.


After cutting the first joint at 45 deg, I determined that 44 3/4 deg made for a better fit. While this strip is not the main weather seal, a tight joint does help keep the water away from the tape. I‘ll caulk the slight open joints. On the narrow bunk windows, I cut the short lengths to exact size, and the longer ones about 1/16th long. Pressing the strips into place was hard on the thumbs.

Final picture to follow, I forgot to take one!
CDMDB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-28-2010, 11:33 PM   #24
1 Rivet Member
 
1961 24' Tradewind
Langley , Washington
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 15
So, here's what happened with a 45 degree cut:


And here's the nice joint with the adjusted angle
CDMDB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-28-2010, 11:42 PM   #25
1 Rivet Member
 
1961 24' Tradewind
Langley , Washington
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 15
Somewhat OT (hey, it's my thread)
Another extraction today, this one was quite a bit easier:


Big Brother has arrived:


Did I mention Big? 1955 Spartan Imperial Mansion. Spent the rest of the day washing.
CDMDB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2010, 08:06 AM   #26
moderator
Commercial Member
 
Airslide's Avatar

 
2016 27' International
Currently Looking...
Wilton , California
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,711
Images: 50
Love those Spartans..
__________________
"Old fashioned service on your late model Airstream"

https://www.facebook.com/VinniesNort...ir?ref=tn_tnmn
Airslide is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2010, 01:31 PM   #27
Rivet Master
 
3Ms75Argosy's Avatar
 
1975 Argosy 26
1963 24' Tradewind
Seattle , Washington
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,341
Images: 7
Wow, and those front windows are intact too! Can you start another thread with pics of the inside? I love those things.. how was it to pull?
Marc
3Ms75Argosy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-29-2010, 02:04 PM   #28
Rivet Master
 
cclarkego's Avatar
 
1966 24' Tradewind
Oak View , California
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 1,063
Images: 8
I want to see interior pictures too, that rig looks very cool.........
cclarkego is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2011, 03:05 PM   #29
1 Rivet Member
 
1961 24' Tradewind
Langley , Washington
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 15
Well, didjya ever notice how time keeps passing even when you have other plans? It's not like I haven't been busy, but meanwhile the trailer projects have been slowly maturing.

So, to start with the Tradewind. The only recent activity was using it for a temporary home for a rescue cat. I often like to let some time pass in my projects before committing to anything big, and in this case I'm glad to have done that. After getting the big Spartan, my outlook on the future of the AS changed a bit. Like everyone else with an old AS, I have looked at innumerable websites, threads, build diaries, beautiful photos, and so on, as well as getting the recent David Winick book on custom interiors. Just hoping that something would start resonating with me. To start with, choosing between keeping it mostly original vs. restomod vs. really custom. What has finally come to me;
1. I'm going to commit to a full interior remove, to allow plumbing and electric updates.
2. In which case, I'm very tempted to change to a rear bedroom configuration. The front kitchen and dining area might stay basically in the same format.
3. If the floorplan is changing, then the sky's the limit for interior design.
4. This is not going to be a quick process.
5. I need to pour a concrete driveway near the garage to make working on this a lot easier. Etc...

The Spartan is pretty nice, and will hopefully become a semi- permanent guest space.

Meanwhile, I built this in the spring:




The purpose is to house a mobile battery powered movie theater projection system. Here was the world premier (a rainy night in June):


More recently, this showed up:


And I did a temporary art installation. It's raised off the ground a bit and a pulsing LED light source is inside. The current plan is to make some metal arch legs and make it into a patio shade cover outside the Spartan entry.


Silver aluminum and rivets!!
CDMDB is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Our '69 tradewind goransons 1959-69 Tradewind 48 07-28-2010 07:11 PM
66 Tradewind nrephil Fresh Water Systems 10 08-03-2009 04:25 PM
our '63 Tradewind jacknshell 1959-69 Tradewind 0 05-31-2008 08:20 AM
'67 Tradewind-New to me -New to AS SilverTravelers Member Introductions 12 02-02-2008 07:52 AM
Emergency refridgerator extraction help needed! davida Refrigerators 14 08-05-2006 11:26 AM


Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Airstream, Inc. or any of its affiliates. Airstream is a registered trademark of Airstream Inc. All rights reserved. Airstream trademark used under license to Social Knowledge LLC.



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:01 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.