My '64 Overlander Adventure

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by GreatPumpkin

Hey - I noticed on your wish list you want/need parts for your Eaz-Awn. What parts are you needing? As you know my mounting brackets went T.U. The replacements another member was going to fabricate never made it off the drawing board. Mine is complete with the exception of the mounts, so if I've got it and you need it...let me know.

JB

JB, I need the roller ends from the tube. If you can't get the ends out without damaging them, I can probably use the roller, with the material if it is still in good shape. I'll post a pic tomorrow. Thanks.

[DavidsonOverlander]

Hi GreatPumpkin,
We have a 64 Overlander too, and it has the same layout as yours. The main difference I found in looking at your photo gallery is that ours has the quilted ceiling in the bedroom, or maybe yours has it but I couldn't tell from the photos.
We've been through a lot of the same repairs as you have. Our original fridge worked for a couple of years, but has since died and we replaced it with a Dometic from a mid70s Argosy.
Our furnace was a pile of rust too. What did you end up doing with the space? I added an access panel and used it for storage, but now I'm thinking of moving the batteries up there. I installed two 6 volt golf cart batteries batteries in a box under the bed, right at the rear of the bed and vented through the access panel, but I find they're too hard to get to for checking water level. I think I'll move them to the space where the furnace used to be. That will mean moving the inverter as well and changing the wiring, but on the plus side they won't be as far from the tow vehicle for charging while driving.
We took out the front gaucho and replaced it with a dinette. The gaucho just didn't suit travelling with 4 kids. Photos of the dinette are here:
New Dinette
Are you still using the original axles? Ours were okay when we bought it, but after about 20000 miles of use we found that we needed to replace them.
A lot of our plumbing had been frozen as well. I still haven't got it all fixed in the bathroom. That's one of the projects I'm hoping to get to this summer. I also want to replace the counter tops, and we haven't even started on polishing yet.

[GreatPumpkin]

Originally Posted by DavidsonOverlander

Hi GreatPumpkin,
We have a 64 Overlander too, and it has the same layout as yours. The main difference I found in looking at your photo gallery is that ours has the quilted ceiling in the bedroom, or maybe yours has it but I couldn't tell from the photos.

I think that was one of the options with the International trim package. Mine doesn't have it.

Our furnace was a pile of rust too. What did you end up doing with the space?

I put a patch panel on the outside and left the inside open for storage accessible thru the cabinet door. Still debating on if we need the furnace or not, keeping my options open.

We took out the front gaucho and replaced it with a dinette. The gaucho just didn't suit travelling with 4 kids. Photos of the dinette are here:
New Dinette

I think I've run across the photos of your dinette before. That is some nice work you've done. It looks great. I especially like how creative you were in working with the streetside window. The windows are great for the extra light, but limit what you can do there unless you get creative.
We kept it original up front with the gaucho, but after one season of using it, I'm thinking a convertible dinette would be more practical.

Are you still using the original axles? Ours were okay when we bought it, but after about 20000 miles of use we found that we needed to replace them.

Still the originals. They're up for replacement next season. They've got some life left in them, but I'll feel better putting some new ones in.

It's always good to see others efforts on the same units. When I first joined the forums It didn't seem like there were too many of our year/length out there!

[GreatPumpkin]

The compounding/polishing progress from last year. You can see the lines where it hasn't been touched. It was a little shinier than this, but use over the season, rain/weather have clouded it up some.

[GreatPumpkin]

I worked over the door again today using my new (to me) cyclo with wool heads, and also wrapped with some microfiber fabric. It's shinier again, but I've exposed more scratches and imperfections that will take a more aggressive aproach.

[GreatPumpkin]

My gate valve doesn't fully close. I've tried the metal coat hanger approach, but can't seem to break loose the crud that the P.O. allowed to build up.
I've searched the forums and it seems there is no easy fix for this. I see that a few people tried soaking it in a water/muriatic acid approach, but didn't see any postings as to if it worked or not. Anyone tried this approach successfully?

[GreatPumpkin]

Well the gate valve fully closes now.

1) Muriatic Acid
2) Propane Torch
3) Cheap screwdriver
4) Pressure Washer

I dumped water and muriatic acid down the sink drain with the black tank dump valve closed as far as I could get it. Let that sit for 2 days. Torched the head of a cheap screwdriver and bent it over 90 degrees. Used the screwdriver (tried a hanger, not strong enough) to scrape and pry the "crud" loose. Used the pressure washer to clean out all the loosened stuff. The valve now fully closes and locks into place.

However...
look at the second last photo - the seal came out also. Is it necessary? Am I now going to have to drop the belly pan, remove my black tank and rebuild/replace the valve?

[GreatPumpkin]

From our trip to Priest Lake this weekend. The black tank did not appear to leak. (although 4 females filled it quite full in 2 nights!)

[GreatPumpkin]

Get outta my way!

My daughter's first solo trip on my TY350.

[GreatPumpkin]

Well…
I haven’t been able to do much to it lately, I can dream of my airstream, but sometimes reality gets in the way of progress!

I had a little bit of spare time, so I thought I would tackle the rusty tongue. Here’s what it looked like before:

[GreatPumpkin]

Here’s a look after wire brushing one side (I used a heavy duty braided wire wheel):

[GreatPumpkin]

Opting to try something besides POR-15, I went with Klean-Strip Rust Converter (Page 4, letter A).

Two reasons why: 1) I wanted to do it now, and didn't have POR-15 readily available. 2) It's much cheaper (yah, I know) and I could pick it up NOW when I needed it! 3) Did I mention it was available without ordering it?

Here's a shot with the rust converter applied, and most of the A-frame already painted. The coupler is not yet painted, only treated with the rust converter - notice how it turned black. The stuff went on clear and dried to the black you see. (close-up in the second photo)

[GreatPumpkin]

I was debating on painting the coupler a slightly darker color, but couldn’t find anything that was a close as I wanted. I ended up completing it all in the same color.

I used a Hammered Silver color by Rustoleum. It has the added benefit/claim of being able to be applied directly over rust.

Notice the new chains also - I welded in a replacement prior to painting. The replacement is a step up in size from what was there. It was rusty, with a bolted on extension, and just seemed to be too lightweight.

[GreatPumpkin]

Decided to work on the VIN plate at the same time. I had already done the nameplates at an earlier date, but wasn't sure how to tackle the VIN plate.
Here's the before: