Alana's 1973 Tradewind Project

[pxlchk1]

Well, looks like we have a big project on our hands, so I might as well start 1 thread to work through it all.

I just uploaded 48 photos of the bad, the ugly...and there might be some good in there somewhere. The set is here on Flickr. I would have posted them all here, but there were so many.

Looks like I'll be becoming a pro at smoothing out aluminum and replacing floors.

Still excited. The long road will be worth it when she's back to her ol' self and strutting down the freeway in style.



-Alana

[Minno]

Hi Alana,

Wow - you certainly have your work cut out for you! But yes, it'll be worth it all. Keep us posted on progress, and good luck with your project!

Chris

[barts]

Hi Alana -

You may be interesting in some of the articles in our blog on the Tin Pickle, a 1971 Tradewind....

Tin Pickle Adventures

Good luck with your project. I'd stop the water coming in first....

- Bart

[perryg114]

With all the skin damage you need to visit Aerowood's posts and Marzboy's as well. Do you plan on replacing most of the lower skins on about 3 sides? Good luck with your project.

Perry

[exthemius]

Good luck to you....looking at the interior of that sure brings back memories of when we brought ours home...especially that floor rot (almost identical places).

[pxlchk1]

I looked through the links you guys posted. Thank you for all the info and resources! I've bookmarked them for reference and inspiration.

We brought her home yesterday. The biggest find was that what looked like rot on the floorboards was mostly leftover carpet gunk. For the time-being it looks like only the area by the front door will need replacing. Whew! That's good news.

Here are pics from yesterday:
Flickr: Search Alana Waters-Piper's photostream

Even the dents in the skin don't look as horrible in person. All in all, no regrets for taking this one on.

Now for the weather to warm up so I can get at her!!

[exthemius]

Originally Posted by pxlchk1

For the time-being it looks like only the area by the front door will need replacing. Whew! That's good news.

That's pretty normal (we had to do the same thing)...check the wood in the front "corners" as well, as it's likely pretty soft.

The biggie is to check the wood in the back, as it is notorious for rotting out in the corners due to a bad design in the early 70's, which will eventually cause the dreaded rear-end separation (we'd had to had our fixed for rotten wood in the corners).

[azflycaster]

Make sure you take a good look at the floor where it connects to the rear of the trailer. You can see it from inside the cabinet under the bathroom sink. This is a very common area for leaks and rot.

Good luck with the project and keep updating.

[pxlchk1]

Thank you for the tips on the corners. Will check that asap.

In the rear, are we talking about the space in the closet and under the shower then?

Spent some time sweeping out today and it looks like she was home to some furry little squatters who liked to dine on pine cones and nuts.

Need to replace several tambor doors.
The Formica counters, in sunny yellow, are in pretty good shape.
The walls feel a little tacky to the touch. I read somewhere that folks had luck spray painting the vinyl covering with Krylon paint for plastics. Is that correct?
Any tips for the yellowed plastic / fiberglass (?) in the bathroom?

Very anxious for warmer weather to come so I can really dig in and spend a solid weekend exhausting myself with the shop vac and cleansers. I think she could be quite campable as-is once she's good and scrubbed down. We'll just keep working to make her prettier and prettier.

Thank you guys again for the tips! Airstreams are new to me, so I really appreciate the added confidence that comes from insights shared by folks who know the nooks and crannies.

Have a great week!

-Alana

[pxlchk1]

I've taken stock and am trying to get together a plan of attack.

So far I've inspected all the good/bad/ugly, read the Airstreaming for Newbies book, and purchased and received the 1973 Airstream owner's manual off eBay.

1. Title/tags
2. New tires, to do this weekend
   Just found out the tire size for a '73 Tradewind from @wasagachris:
   The original tire size was a 7.00 x 15 which translates to a 215/75R/15 tire today. (thought I'd leave this as a breadcrumb. maybe it'll help someone else.)
3. Install weight distribution hitch
4. Brake inspection/repair/update
5. Install brake controller in car
6. Hit the interior with the shop vac
7. Sweep and clean out all the presents left behind by the squirrels who lived there before.
8. Scrub the heck out of every surface to get rid of the rabies (see 6)
9. Replace section of wood floor near entrance.
10. Sand, seal, and prep floor
11. Lay down new vinyl planks (found some made of recycled materials. Figure these will flex with the trailer and add little weight, plus easy to wipe down.)
12. The yellow Formica in the galley is in good shape, just needs to be re-glued in a couple of places. Easy to-do to knock off the list.
13. Suction cup the dents on the exterior, see how that works out
14. Roll out the long crease along the street side lower panel, see how that works out.
15. Commit to painting the interior, though I'm still not sure what I'll do. Might paint the walls white and the wood panels pale gray. I'm doing a Scandinavian cottage treatment on the decor.
    (I've started a Pinterest board for the camper interior here.)
16. Sew curtains or blinds for the windows. Gray/yellow to play off the yellow counter top in the galley.
17. Try out the OxyClean/hydrogen peroxide treatment on the plastic in the bathroom to see if it can be whitened. No plan B for this yet, though I hear it works very well.
18. I've already spoken with Marti from Marti's Awnings about sewing a new replacement for what I think is a Carefree awning. She says, "No problem!" Marti's awesome.
    
    Great thread on dealing with Carefree awnings here:
    http://www.airforums.com/forums/f442...tml#post838200

I'd like to get this all done in the next 3-4 weekends. At least before Mother's Day weekend for our 2nd annual camp out at the Dunes in Michigan.



Also found a woman on Craigslist who has 2 new twin mattresses for sale, $40 for the pair, never used. They were in her guest room, less than a year old. Score! So that takes care of the back beds. I have a full-size mattress from our '55 Yellowstone that I'm going to put in the front.


That's the latest for now!


-Alana

[noreen&sal]

There are many threads if you search sticky vinyl walls. I just did mine using Andys method of cleaning with 409 cleaner and then 2 coats of acrylic sealer. What a difference. Sal.

[exthemius]

Originally Posted by noreen

There are many threads if you search sticky vinyl walls. I just did mine using Andys method of cleaning with 409 cleaner and then 2 coats of acrylic sealer. What a difference. Sal.

Acrylic sealer? I thought he used floor wax (like Future)?

[perryg114]

Ask a Question About SC Johnson Products | Home Matters

Perry

[exthemius]

Regardless, Future (now renamed) is what we used on our walls after cleaning them and scrubbing them with orange oil.

[noreen&sal]

Originally Posted by exthemius

Acrylic sealer? I thought he used floor wax (like Future)?

Your right. I did it 2 days ago so the name was out of my head. Sal.

[pxlchk1]

Well, thanks for the heads up on the search query! Lots of great info to be found.

Based on what I found in this search, my plan will be to grab a Scumbuster brush (or some sort of scrub brush that can be attached to a drill) and try any or all of the following de-greasing cleansers:

Spic-n-Span, Greased Lightning, 409, or Superclean (which is apparently available at Walmart).

Then the consensus seems to be to cover it in Future Acrylic Wax, meant for floors, which keeps the plastic seepage (the cause of the stickiness) down.

We'll give it a try!

-Alana

[Belegedhel]

Hi, and welcome 70s enthusiast!

I notice in your to-do list that you have a lot of decorative/aesthetic items, but few mechanical items. If you haven't already, you should check out your water system for leaks, and leak test your propane system as well. On my '73, the propane system was in pretty good shape, but every o-ring and seal had dried out in every fixture in the water system.

You should also determine if your axles need replacing (mine did)--if so, it might be worth doing before spending a lot of time working on your existing brakes.

I would be surprised if you don't have more floor rot than you think. When I pulled out my front gaucho, there was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I poked around along the front wall. With that dicey looking wing window repair, I would be amazed if you haven't been getting water in there. In the rear, open up the cupboard under the sink in the bathroom and look back toward where the water lines come up through the floor. This should give you your first indication of rot back there.

Good luck!

[pxlchk1]

Thankfully the previous owners have receipts for the LP system and electric upgrades and repairs. The plumbing is secondary for us right now to getting to campable since we're used to smaller vintage campers where we just used the campground showers. I'm kind of trying to prioritize some things that are easy to do with a small space heater inside the camper, too, while it's still cold here. A lot of the external stuff is better to take on when it warms up, but in the meantime I can do the inside stuff.

You're absolutely right about the section of floor by the gaucho. That's the section I refer to "by the door". That whole area needs to be cut out and replaced. The gaucho doesn't have any cushions, so we can see right down onto the floor.

A lot of what looked like floor rot in the photos turned out to be leftover adhesive and padding from the carpet, thankfully.

I'm still going to take the trailer in for a gas line pressure test before putting my family in it. Also plan to install a carbon monoxide detector.


Just got home a little bit ago with a trunk full of de-germing and de-gunking weaponry:



The suction cup handle is for yankin' out some dents.

Watch out squirrel poo! I'm a gonna get you!

-Alana

[pxlchk1]

Just so I have all my favorite resources and answers I need all in one place, here's the thread for how to whiten up yellowed plastics.

And the recipe for Retr0Bright.

[pxlchk1]

Went over to the Airstream today and scrubbed all the rabies off the left bunk area. MAN that was gross. There were brown paw prints underneath the hinged cover for the bed frame, in the closet, and up onto the thermostat and shelf. Yeeesh! Bleaugh! ::grossed out:: I'm convincing myself these are squirrel paws and not some less adorable rodent.

Tomorrow, the right half. I feel like I should be doing this in a HazMat suit.

On a fun note, I found a fabric I like for the curtains.



Also ordered a weight distribution hitch and got overwhelmed with tire selections. Took a good look at the wood under the front windows and YUP it's gotta go. Luckily 99% of the rot is all on one piece of wood. *Maybe* that'll make it easier to replace. Maybe that's too much to ask. That doesn't seem to be in line with The Alumiholics Rules of Rehab.