Airstream Reno - 1975 Airstream 27' Overlander

[blackbear]

Originally Posted by TheGreatleys

3m super gasket adhesive. Your local auto parts store probably carries it, or you can find it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00063X38M

It's a contact adhesive. You apply a layer to the window frame and a layer to the gasket, then you stick them together for a permanent seal. Careful not to stretch the gasket when you apply.

Have you removed the old gaskets yet? If not, my preferred method is as follows. Remove the bulk of the gasket with a fresh razor blade. Soak the remainder in GooGone and scrub with a soft bristled stainless wire brush. Reapply GooGone and repeat until pristine. Wipe down with mineral spirits or carburetor cleaner to remove solvent before reattaching gaskets. This method will scratch the aluminum a bit, giving you a "brushed" finish, but the area will be hidden with a gasket anyway.

Thank you for the advice! That sounds like a solid way to put the seals together. I am in the process of removing the old but always like to hear a different method. I have been scraping the old gaskets off and wire brushing it with my drill. Slow but efficient process. Leaves the same scratched aluminum but like you mentioned, this will be covered anyways. Thanks though for the tips, I think I would like to see how long your method takes over mine and see what is more efficient in the end.

Cheers!

[dbj216]

Hi: I see you moved your Overlander project thread to the 75 Overlander section of the Airstream Knowledgebase. Good deal. I think this is where folks come to learn all about Overlanders. I think categories like "Frame Repair" is where folks go to learn about just that subject.

I think your thread will inspire others to dig into a vintage Overlander...

David

[blackbear]

Hello!

It's been a while since my last post. I have had a very busy couple of months with work and my new baby which has slowed down my project tremendously. I have had however a few weekends to work on it in which I did the following:

- Resealed (gasket) all the windows
- Removed the old Air Conditioner (worst job on the planet on a hot day)
- Purchased a new Dometic Air Conditioner and breakaway switch
- Replaced all the rear Monarch tail light tin cans (Can I replace these regular bulbs with LED, someone recommended this but not sure if it would work?)

Next up - Insulation, Electrical and Belly Pan Install.

For the Insulation, I am looking to use insulation spacers, then Reflectix all around.

For the Electrical, I want to replace all of the existing power outlet casings. I have decided to re-use all of the existing wiring as it's in good shape and get all the wiring tested by a certified electrician once things are hooked up (AC / Hot Water Heater).

For the Belly Pan, I have pre cut all my banana peels using my old templates and have sheets of 8X10 aluminum ready to be installed. Considering putting insulation boards underneath subfloor (screw to subfloor) to keep it nice and toasty in the winter.

Happy to take any suggestions or last minute advice on the above!

Thanks everyone!!

Bas

[dbj216]

Hi Bas: You are indeed busy. I remember those days. The Airstream sits until all other priorities on your time are taken care of. Our grandson is one now, but still requires 24/7 care. My son and wife both work. We are building a new deck on their home. Only on weekends and only for a few hours. They are just too busy. We are making "slow progress" as he says.

The air conditioners are pretty heavy. It was all I wanted to lift it up there, first to my scaffolding, and then to the roof of the trailer. But I got it installed and it seems to work. It is nearly 10 years old now.

I know little about insulating the walls of your trailer. I do think insulating under your subfloor is a good idea. I used foam board with good success. But on my Overlander I'm going back to good old fiberglass 4" thick. Why, because Colorado isn't all that cold, and my trailer sits inside most of the time and doesn't see much moisture.

You are wise to get the electrical inspected. The electrician out to inspect every screwed connection, every circuit breaker, and every outlet. I have a little "tester" that plugs into the outlets that checks polarity, grounds and leakage to ground. It builds my confidence a bit when the lights say I'm okay.

Now, go give the baby a bottle...

David

[blackbear]

Oh yes, those are the days David. You have not been sitting still however, I very much enjoy tuning into your project.
Slow progress can still be good at times so that you have time to think about your next steps.

I shouldn't tell you that I lifted the new AC unit up onto the Airstream by my lonely self. I will do that differently if I would have to do it again.
Thanks for the pointer on the little ''tester'', I will get myself one of those!

Went up today, started removing the old vents to replace these with Fantastik Vents. I also put some wood filler into the floor where I installed the elevator bolts which looks pretty decent. I am debating to seal the entire top of the roof with that white rubber paint. Anything to deflect some heat on these hot summer days in Ontario.

The good thing is... I am not in any rush!

Thanks for your continued support David, keep up the great work!

Bas

Originally Posted by dbj216

Hi Bas: You are indeed busy. I remember those days. The Airstream sits until all other priorities on your time are taken care of. Our grandson is one now, but still requires 24/7 care. My son and wife both work. We are building a new deck on their home. Only on weekends and only for a few hours. They are just too busy. We are making "slow progress" as he says.

The air conditioners are pretty heavy. It was all I wanted to lift it up there, first to my scaffolding, and then to the roof of the trailer. But I got it installed and it seems to work. It is nearly 10 years old now.

I know little about insulating the walls of your trailer. I do think insulating under your subfloor is a good idea. I used foam board with good success. But on my Overlander I'm going back to good old fiberglass 4" thick. Why, because Colorado isn't all that cold, and my trailer sits inside most of the time and doesn't see much moisture.

You are wise to get the electrical inspected. The electrician out to inspect every screwed connection, every circuit breaker, and every outlet. I have a little "tester" that plugs into the outlets that checks polarity, grounds and leakage to ground. It builds my confidence a bit when the lights say I'm okay.

Now, go give the baby a bottle...

David

[dbj216]

We saw a full grown black bear walk through our back yard the other day. Thought of your thread. For some reason there is pretty high bear activity in our neighborhood this summer. They are fun to see, but I keep my distance.

David

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by blackbear

I also put some wood filler into the floor where I installed the elevator bolts which looks pretty decent.

Congratulations on your new addition!

Just a comment on wood filler. I used a product called “Rock Hard”. It comes in powder form in a can and is available at the big box stores. It works great, is very inexpensive and keeps for ever.

Dan

[blackbear]

Originally Posted by dbj216

We saw a full grown black bear walk through our back yard the other day. Thought of your thread. For some reason there is pretty high bear activity in our neighborhood this summer. They are fun to see, but I keep my distance.

David

No way! Apologies for the delayed response. I have been taking a few months to get adjusted at home with the lil one occupying most of my free time now. Let's hope those bears won't try and enter your silver bullet thinking there is food in there. I have been following your thread along, you are making some great headway! Keep up the great work David.

[blackbear]

Originally Posted by TouringDan

Congratulations on your new addition!

Just a comment on wood filler. I used a product called “Rock Hard”. It comes in powder form in a can and is available at the big box stores. It works great, is very inexpensive and keeps for ever.

Dan

Thanks Dan! Never heard of it but will see if the Canadian Hardware stores carry this brand. Sounds rock solid. Thanks sir!

[blackbear]

So here I am, a little over 3 months not posting anything. There has actually been little progress due to my personal life. Like mentioned before, I am not in a rush and taking my time with the project. Also, I am fortunate enough to have a good friend of mine allowing me to park it at his place for free.

In the last three months, I have been debating a lot about my next steps. This means, electrical, insulating and plumbing. I want to hire an RV Tech to help me with the electricity work that needs to get done. I've decided to keep all existing wiring as it's functional and to upgrade batteries/converter etc. I want to ensure that my breaker boxes, batteries and appliances are properly hooked up. I'll try and do most of the work myself but will try and get guidance along the way. Finally, I want to have a professional RV tech/electrician check it out to ensure it's properly connected.

If anyone has any good Airforum threads that they could recommend on anyone going through the above process dealing with electrical, please let me know. It's a little daunting to me not knowing exactly the ins and outs.

I have not been sitting still either in these past three months. I had to fix and re-adjust all of the window latches after installing the new gaskets on the windows. A few of the window latches just simply broke and unfortunately had to dive deep into my wallet to get another 2 brand new ones at 42.99 a piece. The rest of the ones that had broken in the process of adjusting, I was fortunate enough to replace with spare parts (2 shafts replaced). Furthermore, I needed to shave of some the newly installed excess a frame on the front to ensure my banana peel wrap would fit nicely which worked out well. I am debating to start the insulation process now so that I can continue to work inside throughout the upcoming cold Canadian Winter, at least start with the air gap and reflectix. Anyone has any good advice on how they properly adhered the reflectix to the air gap pieces? Lastly, a friend of mine who gave up on his Airstream Reno unfortunately had some spare stuff to sell me such as MonsterPolish and many various size rivets which always come in handy! MonsterPolish for those who don't know is a one step process for polishing your Airstream to a mirror shine.

I look forward to hearing from more forum members on their experience on the above.

Thanks,

Bas

[dbj216]

Hi Mr. Bear: Good to hear from you. We spent the afternoon at my son's place and visiting the grandson. He is 18 months now. I fully understand the lifestyle changes when the baby comes. I used to say your're not married until you have a baby. Family is very rewarding experience, way beyond the Airstream.

Electrical isn't too bad. I've replaced the battery, converter, fuse panel, AC circuit breaker box and the like. I think you will enjoy it when the time comes.

Thanks for following my project thread on my Overlander. I was out there again today when we got home. Putting the bath back together has been a slow slog. Today I finished the "cabinet" behind the toilet that used to be a "clothes hamper", and a fold out padded seat for over the toilet. Airstream was big on that feature for many years. Hey, I've done some water testing of the plumbing and so far, so good. I have water in both the new gray and black tanks now, and no water leaking to the floor. Yea!

Keep in touch. And just let your Overlander sit this winter like it has for the last 43 winters. Not a big deal. Airstream time will come later, maybe with springtime.

David

[blackbear]

Originally Posted by dbj216

Hi Mr. Bear: Good to hear from you. We spent the afternoon at my son's place and visiting the grandson. He is 18 months now. I fully understand the lifestyle changes when the baby comes. I used to say your're not married until you have a baby. Family is very rewarding experience, way beyond the Airstream.

Electrical isn't too bad. I've replaced the battery, converter, fuse panel, AC circuit breaker box and the like. I think you will enjoy it when the time comes.

Thanks for following my project thread on my Overlander. I was out there again today when we got home. Putting the bath back together has been a slow slog. Today I finished the "cabinet" behind the toilet that used to be a "clothes hamper", and a fold out padded seat for over the toilet. Airstream was big on that feature for many years. Hey, I've done some water testing of the plumbing and so far, so good. I have water in both the new gray and black tanks now, and no water leaking to the floor. Yea!

Keep in touch. And just let your Overlander sit this winter like it has for the last 43 winters. Not a big deal. Airstream time will come later, maybe with springtime.

David

Ha-ha, that's a great way to put it. Throwing in a baby certainly makes life interesting! I appreciate your input on anything electrical related and will likely be in touch with you in regards to that if you don't mind.

Good to hear your progress with your bathroom, you surely have done a very thorough job! How do you deal with that water in the tanks now that winter is here? I agree, I have got take a step back and look what I achieved this past year with Stormy.

Keep up the great work David and let's keep in touch!

[dbj216]

I'm so fortunate to have a heated shop. I keep it at 45f which is chilly, but good enough for work'in. Lucky for me the wife liked the house on the property where this building was. I didn't care about the house much, I just liked the building.

In all actually I should winterize the trailer as if I loose power during a bad winter storm, I could be in trouble pretty quickly. I'll do so once I finish my water testing.

Sure, I'll help where I can. There are other Forums members who know electrical better than I. I did redo the old Trade Wind components and I've done this Overlander too. So I know a enough to keep the lights on.

Let's see, a new AGM battery is $250, a modern converter is $250, a new fuse panel (if needed) is $75, a new AC breaker box is $100, the breakers are about $35 each for 4, a new shore power inlet is $100, and some wire if needed.

That's a lot of diapers!

David

[blackbear]

Hey David and other forum members reading along.

A much needed update after a few months of being absent. Lucky for me, a lot more progress with Stormy. As you could read in my previous posts, I required a local electrician to setup the electrical for me before being able to carry forward. While scrolling through some ads on Kijiji, I came across Dominic with Nomad Custom Trailers based in Hamilton Ontario. They are a company that specializes in vintage trailer restorations for Airstreams and Bolers and other vintage brands. Finding someone or a company in Ontario who specializes in this is very hard to find!

Dominic was very professional and quick with a response and provided me with a very reasonable quote that same week. He suggested to put all new wiring into the unit as this would actually work out to be cheaper and more time effective rather than re-using old wires that may have shorts. And while it's in the shop, why not redo the insulation and install the interior wall panels at the same time?!

The week after I spoke with him, I dropped the unit off in Hamilton for him and his team to work on. I requested as well for him to replace the tires and check up on the brakes. He ended up replacing all four tires and brakes. In addition to doing a fantastic job with the electrical, he also installed 1/2 '' insulation spacers before applying reflectix and installing all of the interior panels for me. He and his team went above and beyond to help me with my trailer. Constantly updating me with pictures of their progress and asking me for approval before purchasing new items. They also installed the solar on the roof. He even allowed me a day in the shop to prime the walls before Stormy rolled back into the harsh Canadian Winter again.

In summary, I can say this is all now complete:

Electrical
Interior
· replace and install 12volt and 110 volt wires
· Install and connect 12 volt and 110 volt Breaker Boxes
· Install and connect 12 volt batteries, Water pump, Power Converter, Inverter, AC, Electric Water Heater, Solar Controller, Control panel and replace electrical outlets with GFI outlets
· Install Pod Lights into ceiling of Airstream.
Exterior
· Install LED Marker lights
· Install and connect 4x 100 Watt Flex Solar Panels on roof
Interior Panels and Insulation
· Install 1/2 inch spacer insulation
· Install Reflectix insulation
· Install original inner skins
Brakes and Breakaway Switch
· Install new drums and brake bearings
· Install and replace breakaway switch
I am very happy with the results and you can rate for yourself the level of service I received. I would highly recommend these guys to anyone in the Ontario area that requires renovation work done to their rigs. Another cool insight into Dominic, he does not only renovate client airstreams, he actually owns quite a few airstreams and bolers himself and uses these for his photo booth business. http://www.snaptique.ca/ is his website and his contact info is

dominic@snaptique.ca

647-405-7938

I am one very happy guy!

Check out the pictures attached. More to come!

[dbj216]

blackbear is back big time! Thanks for sharing your positive experiences with this vintage Airstream shop. Good shops are hard to find. It looks like they did a lot of good work for you. Your electrical systems are now brand new, same with good insulation, and new solar panels as well.

All the while you were home rocking the little one to sleep. That is important work.

David

[blackbear]

Originally Posted by dbj216

blackbear is back big time! Thanks for sharing your positive experiences with this vintage Airstream shop. Good shops are hard to find. It looks like they did a lot of good work for you. Your electrical systems are now brand new, same with good insulation, and new solar panels as well.

All the while you were home rocking the little one to sleep. That is important work.

David

Thanks David!!! I am a very happy man, and indeed, in return received the quality time back with the little guy at home.
Hope all is going well on your end as well!

[dbj216]

Don't be jealous, but I have a lot more time to work on my Overlander than you do. Your little one is going to love traveling with Mom and Dad in your Overlander even though it might be some years in the future to get it all together. Not a problem. It's a free time activity, after family, jobs and all the rest.

David

[blackbear]

Originally Posted by dbj216

Don't be jealous, but I have a lot more time to work on my Overlander than you do. Your little one is going to love traveling with Mom and Dad in your Overlander even though it might be some years in the future to get it all together. Not a problem. It's a free time activity, after family, jobs and all the rest.

David

For now, I can only dream about the day I set off on my first journey with the family. I continue to make good progress but it's slow and whenever I can find time. As of now, this is my to do list for these next few weeks/months/years??:

• Finish up priming interior walls and airgun spray all walls with paint.
• Build Wheel well boxes and insulate in-between wheel well and box.
• Install Screen Door and door frame trim (interior)
• Create Vista Window Ring Frames, not quite sure how I will go about this, any advice is highly appreciated. Likely will do wooden face and cut out wooden ring for the window to attach to the wooden face.
• Build wooden square frame into front endcap.
• Reseal all edges around windows of the Airstream
• Install Belly Pan and banana wraps.
• Install flooring
• Install plumbing
• Install interior walls and all furniture build outs.

Pfffhoe that's it for now. Back to work!!!!

[dbj216]

Hi daddy blackbear: It is a familiar list for renovating a vintage Airstream trailer. I think there is little difference in work load between a 17' trailer or a 27' trailer. I do believe the second one goes better than the first.

Some folks work toward an "aluminum tent" and actually take a few trips with air mattresses and sleeping bags on the floor. Water, coolers, grills and snacks keep everyone nourished. It least you get a little bear protection that way.

David

[dbj216]

Hi pappa blackbear: It is a familiar list for renovating a vintage Airstream trailer. I think there is little difference in work load between a 17' trailer or a 27' trailer. I do believe the second one goes better than the first.

Some folks work toward an "aluminum tent" and actually take a few trips with air mattresses and sleeping bags on the floor. Water, coolers, grills and snacks keep everyone nourished. It least you get a little bear protection that way.

David