New Overlander

[mccrosti]

Well Folks, after four years of hunting, looking, and rejecting I finally found one.. (well not actually *found*, but that's another story). We only had to drive over 1000 miles to get her, over hill (Adirondacks), over dale, Over river through Woods....dealt with four hours of backup's due to accidents on the highway...Night driving... Through this the beast performed admirably. She (no name yet) is a 1972 Overlander International. I pulled her with an 03 Chevy Tahoe Z71 setup with Hayes genesis E brake, and a Reese double cam hitch system and she traveled like she wasn't even there.

I've been routing through all the stuff that came with her and found among other things, the original owners manual all the manuals for the furnace, water heater, AC Fridge etc. and a "How To Manual" created by the previous owner. No rear end sag, two year old inverter, water heater and furnace and brand new running gear installed by an infamous Canukian .

Other than that she is vintage 1972.... As I remember 1972, that would include such fashion touches as carpet in the bathroom... She looks so much like the inside of a 737 I expected to lift up the armrests and see ashtrays.... Well, my wife is already reconfiguring the interior, and I want to go play, so...

Peace Ya'll

Dave

[Condoluminum]

Sounds like a good "Find.." A thousand miles of driving in the snow will seem like a minor inconvenience at some point, after you've finished all of the necessary upgrades and enhancements to make it your Airstream...

John

[Aviator]

Terrific, welcome to the world of Airstreams!

[mccrosti]

Thanks to both of you. My thought is to camp, enjoy and learn about what I have before I make changes.

[Condoluminum]

Probably best camping accessory you can have is "Sense of Humor" for early trips.. Stuff will break, go wrong, and otherwise surprise you, and you will someday convert these mini-crises into great stories... The Happiest Campers start laughing early, to get a head start... I love the old motto: Experience helps you avoid mistakes.. Experience comes from making mistakes... It won't take too long to decide what you like and would like to improve in your new trailer.. Not using it doesn't help...

[mccrosti]

Hey Condo,

Thanks for the advice. The plan is to Camp, Camp Camp...followed by more camping... Lets see what works, what breaks and what fun we can have. She's 40 years old, still very functional and Very unique. I don't plan to gut her as most of what is in there still functions well.

Dave

[exthemius]

Originally Posted by mccrosti

Hey Condo,

Thanks for the advice. The plan is to Camp, Camp Camp...followed by more camping... Lets see what works, what breaks and what fun we can have. She's 40 years old, still very functional and Very unique. I don't plan to gut her as most of what is in there still functions well.

Dave

I can tell you that from personal experience, that eventually, it will likely all fail at some point We've done the same thing you have, and use the crap out of our 40 year old trailer, and haven't done anything other than cleaning and that stuff that *must* be done. Having said that, over the past year of use, we have replaced the following (all were in working order when we originally purchased) because of failure:

• Tires
• Bearings
• Shower head
• Refrigerator
• Magic Chef oven
• Air Conditioner
• Water pump
• Toilet
• Gas regulator
• Gas lines from tanks to main branch
• City water and in-line connections
• Battery
• Univolt/Converter Replacement

Just expect that just because it's currently working (and, of course, depending on how much its used), that it won't suddenly break!

[mccrosti]

Hey Shawn,

Thanks for that. I know the Axles and all running gear were replaced two weeks ago. Univolt, furnace, water pump and heater all replaced two years ago. I'm not too worried, I also realize she is a 40 year old trailer and things break. As long as you fix them correctly when they break *and* stay ahed on maintenance, you can use her for another 40 years.. However...I guarantee my wife will have me gutting and renovating her long before that