75 Overlander Improvements Journal

[dbj216]

Thanks for the info. Colin Hyde is where I got my axles back in early 2014 while living in Minnesota. Now I live in Colorado, another 1000 miles away. I had to drill new holes in the Trade Wind axle plate to fit up the new axles.

Inland RV in California is another source that people have had good luck with. As stated above, I did not have good luck with my local Dexter distributor. "What's an Airstream?" they asked.

I decided to give a Colorado business a try. I'm referred to Luke's Maintenance in Fort Collins, CO. 970 222 4065. I called, got an answer right away, and Luke spent an hour with me discussing axle specifications for my Overlander. I understand he has ordered and installed over 200 axles over the last 10 years. He also renovates vintage Airstreams. Maybe the Colin Hyde of the west? Luke could answer all my questions. He had some good recommendations for me. I will have shock mounts with welded in studs installed, and no interference when installing the shock nut.

I'm happy to find a source that knows Dexter's ordering process and can deal with them. I am confident Luke knows the necessary specs to get new axles under my old Overlander. I feel I have a recourse if they don't fit or are built wrong.

Luke did say that our friends at Dexter have a standard mounting bracket, will locate it for you on the axle beam, but won't be doing any hole patterns to fit my Overlander (9" hole spacing, 2 1/2" below the frame rail in the axle plate.) I have to adapt to the Dexter standard hole spacing. Luke suggested some drilling tools that would make the job easier for me. I'll be pecking new mounting holes to get the axles up.

I will also get 10" drums with 2 1/4 wide brake shoes. This was the same situation I got on the Trade Wind. Dexter builds to the "under 3500 pound" industry spec. Luke wasn't positive 12" drums are available unless I order over 3500 pound axle rating. Disc brakes are an option. I will have a six bolt wheel mounting studs on the drums. I live in Colorado and going down long, steep, curvy grades makes trailer brakes important. My new axles will have less braking force. The Overlander weighs 800 pounds more than the old Trade Wind.

Oh well, what's a guy to do? I wonder how many new Airstream models have 10" drums.

David

[TouringDan]

David

Sounds that you have found a good axle supplier, as you say the Colin Hyde of Colorado.
Glad that you will be getting a 6 lug bolt pattern that will fit your Airstream wheels. I was told that was not an option that the 3,500 Lb axles came with the #84 spindle (5 lug nuts).
10” brakes should be fine. You will have more braking force per pound than a new Classic with the 12” drums.

Dan

[dbj216]

My new axles for the Trade Wind came with six studs for mounting the wheel. See photo below. I'm hoping the new axles for the Overlander will be the same way. 6 stud drums on a 5.5 bolt circle are specified on my order form. I don't want to purchase 5 hole wheels.

I won't know for sure until the new axles get here in several more weeks. I do know it was done in 2014.

David

[dbj216]

Today was a "hump" day. Over the hump with needed frame welding. I found a local fella, lives close to me in fact. I had nine areas needing welding on my frame. He got these necessary frame welds done today. And we didn't set the trailer on fire. Yea, clap, clap, clap.

I inspected the frame, identified the weak spots, and made the parts needing welding. The biggie was the rear cross member welded to the frame rails ending the rear end separation. I also made a "stiffener" for the street side frame rail. This frame rail has some rust on the top flange. I also had a broken cross member, a rusty outrigger, and replaced the two skid rails at the rear of the trailer.

For some reason, the street side frame rail was quite a bit rustier than the curb side. The rear end separation was worse on this side too. I don't know the reason. On suspect is the wheel house. I see a gap between the bottom outrigger and the wheel well cover. I could see where towing in the rain would put a lot of splash pressure on this gap, and maybe drive water down the frame rail. I had some rotted subfloor just after the wheel well on the street side. Makes me suspicious.

With the frame repairs now done, I can move on to painting the rear half of the frame and mounting the new wastewater holding tanks. Then insulation, then belly pan, then mounting axles. You guys know the routine.

David

[dbj216]

I noticed another rotted out plywood subfloor hole while the welder was under the trailer. It is in a bad spot and I will repair it.

I had to take off the street side rear banana wrap to gain access to it. The photo shows the hole and the C channel that is no longer attached to the subfloor.

I cut back to solid plywood, cut a piece of 3/4" oak board to fit, and made a metal splice to link the patch to the frame rail. I glued and screwed the patch to the C channel. I'm satisfied it is solid now.

Since the rear cross member has been welded solid to the frame, I was able to "splice" my oak board to the old plywood subfloor under the bath. I could not use the traditiional way of making a splice joint out of plywood. My new black water tank will encroach into this splice. So I make a splice out of a piece of sheet steel. I glued and screwed this metal splice to the oak board and plywood subfloor. I will insulate the tank from the screw heads with a strip of rubber sheeting.

The rear end of the body is no longer separated from the frame and subfloor. The frame rails are straight and strong. Mission accomplished.

David

[Glenritas]

Hi Dave

When I ordered axles from Inland he suggested upgrading to 3500# axles which is what I did he also welded on the shock brackets.
I also ordered brakes bearings wheels lug nuts shocks and balancers and hardware .

The axles were a direct bolt in. The were not Dexters.

[dbj216]

Hi Glenritas: It's strange for me not to have a Trade Wind anymore. I was looking for a 70s Trade Wind when this Overlander popped up. What's 2' amongst friends? I'm not sure which model sold more during the 70s; Trade Wind 25' or the Overlander at 27'. I bet it was the Trade Wind. I consider the Overlander the shortest of the long trailers; Overlander 27', Ambassador 29', and Sovereign at 31'. I think it was 78 when Airstream went to 3' increments instead of 2', and the Overlander went away at that time. The Ambassador became a 28'. The 25' trailers remain the most popular, it's a perfect size.

I wonder who did build your new axles? The "dura torque" axle business has shrunk to one supplier now, Dexter wins. Henshen is gone, Axis was bought by Dexter. I know of no other manufacturers in North America. I wish Airstream Jackson Center would distribute these special order axles for vintage trailers. They have all the specs and have the relationship with the axle supplier. Heck, Henschen used to build axles in a factory right there in Jackson Center, see photo of my axle serial number tag.

My old Henschen axles of 1975 were 2800 pounds. I've ordered 3100 pounds to accommodate some extra cargo weight like larger water tanks and a microwave. I also ordered the high brackets for a bit more ground clearance, welcome here in Colorado.

Thanks for signing on to my Overlander thread.

David

[dbj216]

My Overlander has a 7 pin receptacle on the front of the trailer. So you plug the umbilical cord in to the trailer, and then into the tow vehicle. I have never seen such an arrangement before. You can take your umbilical with you into the restaurant. Hang it around your neck like a snake. I feel it doubles the chance of trouble due to a loose connection or corrosion in one of the plugs. My old 66 and our 86 are hard wired in to the trailer.

So I aim to hard wire the 75 Overlander 7 pin umbilical cord in the same way. This trailer has 12v circuit breakers on many of the 7 circuits from the tow vehicle to the trailer. They are 1. brake lights, 2 tail lights, 3 turn signals, 4 brakes, 5 marker lights, 6 back up lights, 7 battery charging, and ground wire. I believe these are old fashioned "thermo"style breakers than open when the element gets hot from an overloaded circuit. Then they close back up when they cool down. I much prefer fuses as they go open and stay open until you find the problem.

Most tow vehicles have fuse protection on the 7 pin circuits too.

Do I need circuit protection for the exterior trailer lights? Are fuses adequate? Has anyone else eliminated the trailer plug and hard wired the umbilical cord to the trailer?

David

[Glenritas]

Our '69 has the detachable cord also , but yours has oneuped ours by adding circuit breakers.

Are the breakers near the inlet ?

The good thing is they protect the TV from the trailer and by resting they give you an indication there is a problem by "flashing" the troubled circuit on and off.

[rmkrum]

Should not use self-resetting thermal breakers. Given enough cycles, the self-resetting kind can fail closed, frying wires in the walls. If you must use circuit breakers instead of fuses, use the kind that need manual reset by pushing a button. That way the circuit wiring is truly protected from overheating which is what a protection device is supposed to do.

[dbj216]

I'm going to move forward and replace the circuit breakers with a fuse panel similar to the wife's 86 Limited. I'll label everything and make it easier to access than behind the gaucho, a plastic cover, on the floor. I will eliminate the second plug into the trailer. The umbilical cord follows the A frame on the other Airstreams I've worked on. This one will too.

I'll book it as an improvement.

David

[dbj216]

I farmed out three black tank supports for the Overlander. The new black tank will sit in the original location. The new tank is 27 gallons, the old one was 20 gallons. The old tank toilet flange spinweld was broken off. The old tank was "U" shaped with the drain port in the middle of the U. I saw no way the tank could drain completely. This may have been done so the dump valve pull rod was in the rear storage compartment through the subfloor. See photo. The old tank needed replaced, big improvement project.

So today I put the tank in position and fitted the new tank supports. They are 'stepped" as I will route the gray tank 1 1/2" drain pipe next to the black tank. The tank supports will be bolted to the lips of the frame rails. Removing the black tank if needed means dropping the rear section of belly pan and unbolting the tank supports. Removing the belly pan was the case with the old waste water tank layout also.

I am considering operating the black and grey tank dump valves horizontally through the bumper storage compartment, and not running them vertically through the subfloor and into the rear storage compartment. The bumper storage compartment in these 70s trailers is mostly full of 3" drain piping. Can't put much back there anyway. The slinky is stored in a tube below the trailer. No decision made on that one yet.

David

[dbj216]

So I have the new black and gray water holding tanks fitted under the trailer. Now I have to plan and install the drain plumbing so I know exactly where the floor penetrations will be over the tanks. Then I can mark the tanks and drill holes in them. I like the rubber grommets for the tank penetration seals. They are press fit into the tank and ABS pipe. They allow some flexibility in planning the drain plumbing. It would be difficult to dimension exactly where I want my spin weld fittings and order the tanks accordingly. And I would likely end up with plastic tapered pipe threads spin welds which aren't my favorite.

This aspect of my project is a good example of how many multiple hours there is in the time for reassembly compared to disassembly. I took the old drain plumbing out with a sawzall and not much time spent. Putting it back is plan, measure, cut, fit, and again, and again for each piece of pipe in the routing. It takes much, much longer to reassemble.

David

[dbj216]

I've run new drain plumbing from the galley sink, shower tub, bath sink, toilet, and two of the three vent stacks. I have not glued it together yet as I want to finish the fresh water plumbing, and review my proposed penetrations into the new holding tanks.

I am seriously considering locating the dump valves in the bumper storage area. Why? So I don't have to make subfloor penetrations for the valve handles. I want to keep the rear subfloor as strong as possible. I have trial fitted the valves in the rear bumper storage area and I find it acceptable to lift the cover, and actuate the valves that are mounted blade valve actuators going horizontal. The gray dump valve is just a 1 1/2 valve that pulls easy. The black dump valve is a standard 3" Valterra. I can pull them okay in this location. The rear bumper storage area is really the drain pipe chase. There isn't much storage room there. By locating the valves there, I have more room in the rear storage compartment.

David

[Airee75]

Well, 2 days ago (1/25/18) we joined the elite club of renovators for this baby! Bill and I are excited to get her back in shape and sure appreciate learning from all of you that have experienced this project and the possibilities that we have in front of us! Following along with your journey and documenting our own at the same time! /c

[dbj216]

That's great. I need all the help I can get. David

[dbj216]

Ever notice how sometimes in a big project the little things slow you down? I've had several days in the shop with little to show for it.

I'm having trouble figuring out my toilet floor flange to black tank scheme. I elected to use a press fit rubber grommet connection in my tank. The top of the grommet hits the floor flange. I may have to make a 3/4" spacer under the toilet to gain enough clearance. I'm okay with that as the old subfloor around the toilet hole isn't the greatest. But I don't like getting the toilet too high. So I've been thinking about that. What would be perfect is a square corner toilet flange, 3" hub, about 2 3/4" long. They don't make them that I can find.

I've been having these "brown outs" in the overhead light fixtures in the trailer every now and then. At first I thought I had a bad 12v ground connection. I cleaned and renewed the ground and things seemed better for a while. But yesterday I had hardly any lights at all. I checked the 115v AC to the converter and I measured 124 volts. Kinda on the highside. I checked the output from the WFCO 9800 converter at 5 volts DC. Why would that be? It ought to generate 13.5 at a minimum. I fear some circuit board in the converter is going bad. I've not smelled any "electrical burning" like the transformer coil melting down. I unplugged it and I'm working in the dark as usual. I'm starting to research new converters that would handle a AGM battery nicely.

David

[dbj216]

I purchased and installed a new Progressive Dynamics converter. I now have lights. I'm a little concerned the converter is sending too much voltage to the battery. I'll have to figure that one out.

I assembled my new drain plumbing. All joints but one are glued. I have made the new subfloor penetrations for the drain pipes. I have marked the tanks and now have to drill the tanks for my sealing grommets. Then I bolt the tanks up to the frame and hope it doesn't leak.

Still having a bit of trouble with the black tank. It is warped on the top surface and messing up the squareness of my toilet seal. I've experimented with adding a center support inside the tank using a piece of 3" ABS pipe. I think I can slip it inside the tank to prop up the center of the tank. I believe once I clamp the tank tight to the subfloor, the center support isn't going anywhere. I'll sleep on it.

David

[rmkrum]

If the tank is also ABS you could puddle a bit of ABS glue on the bottom once the brace is in place.

I would be a little concerned about the ends of the pipe gradually chewing their way through the tank, however. Is there room to add an ABS flange to the assembly and still get it in there?

[ALUMINUMINUM]

Hello David,

Could you warm the ABS with a heat gun, then push, or glue-tab pull, the the warp out??