Here goes nothing! Our first Airstream: '65 Overlander Int'l

[ALANSD]

Might check out Letchworth Gorge since you are out that way. The Grand Canyon of the East, is what they call it.

[Gene]

We got a Verizon data plan with a magic box which is actually a cellphone inside. We have used it on Grand Mesa, far from any cell towers and it worked well. Works in the truck while driving anywhere there are cell towers. Frees you from looking for wifi all the time and it is tax deductible for you as a business expense. About $60/month for 5 Gb—maybe you need more or you can use it when you don't find wifi.

When in Niagara Falls, you are not far from London, Ont. CanAm RV is there and Andy can see what he can do with your truck—he specializes in suspensions and hitches, but maybe he can help with an underpowered truck too. I understand he is good with advice over the phone too. He posts frequently on the Forum.

Gene

[Minno]

Definitely try to find somewhere to get your trailer weighed. We just did that last week, and were surprised that Little Girl weighed more than we had guessed. We're still well within axle ratings, etc. and our trucks tow ratings, but it gave us a better idea of what to manage. We weighed with some gear in the trailer, and full propane tanks, but no water, etc. We had added weight with the floating cork floor and putting wood in instead of the laminate that was originally here, 2 AGM batteries, etc. We weighed at a local moving company scales. Many truck gas plazas have scales.
You'll figure out after a month or so what works and what you don't need. I seem to always be getting rid of stuff that seemed like a good idea at the time..... Occasionally, I put something back in that I had taken out (like silverware), but not often.
Good luck on your travels! Keep us posted. If you get to Minnesota, we have parking available with water and electric.

Kay

[Aage]

Originally Posted by KristinS

and that we packed too much stuff, but we'll get it figured out with time. Right now we have no idea what we'll really use regularly. Need to get our trailer weighed too because our tow vehicle seems to be struggling a bit on hills and we don't want to damage it if we just need to trade up for a bigger truck.

You forgot what they say about travelling? Pack half the clothing and twice the cash.

Seriously, have you had your hitch set-up looked at? In your photo, the rear seems a bit high.

Also, don't be afraid to go into a lower gear if your engine struggles on grades. It doesn't hurt to run the rev counter a bit higher, IMHO...

[KristinS]

Thanks everybody for your replies! We were in the Adirondacks for a week and had no cell reception (towers were down for maintenance) so I haven't had time to respond til now. Thankfully we found a pub in town that let us work there on their wi-fi while having some cold ones!





We have the Millenicom hotspot (a Verizon reseller) - 20 GB/month for $70. It works great, but we still have to watch our usage carefully. We can blow through it in no time emailing attachments and downloading files. It takes a lot of bandwidth to run a business versus just checking email and surfing the web.

We stopped at Niagara Falls, Letchworth State Park (great suggestion, thanks!), then stayed in Ovid, NY to tour the Finger Lakes. Stayed at Cinderella Campground in Grand Island, Sned-Acres in Ovid, then Blue Jay in Tupper Lake. All were wonderful, family-owned gems. There was another Airstream and an Argosy at Cinderella with us. We've given a lot of tours in the past two weeks - good incentive to keep the trailer clean all the time at least!

Met some really nice seasonal campers and local folks at Tupper Lake, and picked up some clients as well. Sweet little town with lots of local food and drink, and off the beaten tourist path, but still in the middle of all the beauty of the Adirondacks. Highly recommended! The only issue was that all the campsites were on sand and it rained every day. It seems like we'll be cleaning it and pine needles out of the trailer forever!










The trailer and truck are doing okay so far. We haven't had truck issues except going up very steep grades and we're going to go to our dealership when we get back to our hometown in November and talk to them about towing. We'll get the trailer weighed before then, but it seems like we may need to step up in engine size.

Our tow rating is 8500 on the Chevy and we think the trailer is probably about 7000 loaded. We also have a lot of tools in the truck bed doing the full-timer thing. We aren't finding the Chevy to be all that comfortable to ride in either, so it may be a good time to change vehicle brands too. We like the looks of the Toyota Tundra. If anyone has one or another favorite tow vehicle and wants to give their experience we'd appreciate it! We do a lot of sightseeing in the truck when not towing, so comfort and size are important. We don't want something that's impossible to fit in a standard parking space in a city.

Our hitch and trailer is pretty level now. We haven't had any sway issues and almost nothing has fallen over or come open in the trailer during our drives, so it seems to be riding smoothly. My profile pic is of the day we picked it up and just used a standard ball without the Reese stabilizers and weight distribution, so it doesn't look that unlevel now. All the cabinets and the oven were piled in the front center of the trailer then too. We also didn't have trailer brakes or lights that day either. We've come a long way!

We just got to Maine today after driving from the Adirondacks through VT and NH. Lots of people in New Hampshire took pictures of us on the interstate. It was pretty funny! We're staying near Portland, ME until next weekend, then heading up to Acadia National Park. Staying at Hemlock Grove Campground in Kennebunk - nice little place in the woods with a state park feel but good wifi, cable tv and full hookups. Got a lot of work to do this week before we can play outside and eat lobster, so we wanted guaranteed internet access to make life easier. We'll do the state or national park thing up in Bar Harbor and disconnect.



What's the best way to keep condensation to a minimum in the trailer when it's 35-45 degrees outside and 65-70 inside? We ran into that problem yesterday, and while we normally won't camp in that cold of an environment, that may happen a few more times this fall before we can head south.

[Gene]

The Tundra is a good truck—plenty of power, rides well, especially with Michelin tires. I think the redesign is for 2015, so if you can hold out that long, it may be worth waiting for. They need to improve mileage, so we'll see what they come up with. Payload may be a question for you, so check the statistics carefully for each trim line.

Chasing the internet is a pain. Big differences between 3G and 4G on the Verizon network. Sometimes it pays to go to a library for really big down- or uploads.

Condensation—open the windows, turn on a fan, get a dehumidifier—those are the standard solutions. If you have 120 v., get a small ceramic heater to dry out the trailer and save propane for heat.

Gene

[m.hony]

Originally Posted by Gene

The Tundra is a good truck—plenty of power, rides well, especially with Michelin tires. I think the redesign is for 2015, so if you can hold out that long, it may be worth waiting for. They need to improve mileage, so we'll see what they come up with. Payload may be a question for you, so check the statistics carefully for each trim line. Chasing the internet is a pain. Big differences between 3G and 4G on the Verizon network. Sometimes it pays to go to a library for really big down- or uploads. Condensation—open the windows, turn on a fan, get a dehumidifier—those are the standard solutions. If you have 120 v., get a small ceramic heater to dry out the trailer and save propane for heat. Gene

The Tundra redesign is for 2014. They are already on the dealer lots. I have already seen 2 driving around.

[Gene]

The redesign is cosmetic. Same running gear so far as I know. I'd like to be wrong about that. I keep hoping for more from Toyota to improve gas mileage. Our '07 has 87,000 miles and is going strong. There's no need to replace it until they come out with a more efficient engine.

Gene

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by Gene

The redesign is cosmetic. Same running gear so far as I know. I'd like to be wrong about that. I keep hoping for more from Toyota to improve gas mileage. Our '07 has 87,000 miles and is going strong. There's no need to replace it until they come out with a more efficient engine.

Gene

Gene

I think the 5.7L motor is already reasonably efficient. When you have a 6,000 lb truck with a gasoline motor producing 400 ft-lb of torque, it is tough to improve fuel economy much. I don't see significant increases in fuel economy unless a small turbo charged diesel is used.

I think it is a wise move to keep the Tundra. Even though the design is 7 years old, I don't see anything being offered by any of the competition that is any better, at least in a half ton truck. The only exception might be the possibility of increased payload in certain configurations offered by Ford.

If I were in the market for a new truck today and needed more payload, I would probably look at the 3/4 ton gassers offered by the big three.

Dan

[Gene]

Dan,

We are keeping it. Just put new tires on it today—the Michelins we put on at about 18,000 miles had 70,000 on them and some tread left, but winter's coming and we decided to spend the money.

It is running fine and just replacing it because we might get better mileage with another brand is a costly decision. It would be nice to get better mpg, but when you figure the costs of buying a new truck and selling the old one, then figuring the in the difference in fuel costs, the numbers just don't add up for a long time.

Gene

[KristinS]

Wow, sorry for the long absence! We've been so busy, having logged thousands of miles towing so far and loving our first two months of full-timing, but are back "home" in Tennessee for Thanksgiving for three weeks, camping on a family member's farm, fixing a few things on the trailer, shedding a lot of stuff we didn't end up using, and looking for a new tow vehicle. We had our trailer weighed and were lighter than we expected, even fully loaded: 4500 lbs, with 400 lb tongue weight. That's very close to the original trailer weight! We did take out a lot of weight in the renovation, thanks to lighter-weight versions of old systems: the water heater/furnace, refrigerator, oven, and less wood cabinetry. We've also figured out that it's not the trailer weight giving our Chevy Silverado the issues getting up hills, it's the transmission. We've met a lot of other trailer owners who have the same complaint about the torque being insufficient, and our transmission has been heating up substantially going uphill, so we have to look for something else before we go out west. Now that we know we don't need a bigger engine because the trailer is well within the weight range we originally guessed, we're looking for something a little smaller and easier to drive around town. Before we left our sticks 'n' bricks house for the open road, a friend of ours interviewed us and filmed us finishing up our trailer preparations, including our going-away gathering/trailer-warming party. He entered the short film in a documentary contest. It was his first film, and he won second place overall and first place for music! We were just honored to be the subject of any film, much less an award-winning one. They're also showing it on the local PBS station! I wanted to share our little video with anyone here who might be interested, both so you can see more of our renovation and since you can all undoubtedly relate to our love for our Airstream and Adventure, Everyday: Adventure, Everyday - YouTube

We're headed to Cedar Key, Florida for Dec/Jan, then Mardi Gras in Feb, and westward for spring. We couldn't have done this without the support and wisdom of everyone on Air Forums! Thank you all so much for your kind words and help throughout our journey! We're having a blast so far, even with some of the challenges that living on the road can present.

[Cochese]

Hi , trailer looks great, I also have a 65 overlander that I am restoring! Do you still have the bath sink top? I removed my entire bath & had the sink & tub repainted look great, but crack in sink is returning. Thanks, Brian

[lonewolf1977]

I *loved* the video!!! So fabulous.

[KristinS]

Cochese - No, sadly, ours was cracked too. I think our crack was around the drain in the sink. We had to rip out the whole tub/sink assembly, and opted for a center bath since we were completely changing it out anyway. Best of luck with yours! I'd love to see pictures.

lonewolf - Thank you! You have an awesome trailer! We'll be following your progress. Hopefully one day we can meet up!

[Gene]

Can the transmission be upgraded with a new transmission cooler (does it even have a cooler)? Perhaps a newer version of the transmission may fit in the 2008 truck. There may be a cheaper way to solve the problem than buying a new truck—of course, a new truck is hard to resist.

Gene

[KristinS]

Thanks for the suggestions, Gene! We had a tow package with transmission cooler on our Chevy and someone recommended that a transmission flush might help, but had a hankering for a more comfortable tow vehicle for a while now, so we went ahead and traded in for a SUV while we were back "home" for Thanksgiving this month.

We like to unhitch and venture into cities wherever we are and the truck was so incredibly difficult to park sometimes, so we went with a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Hemi V8. We know the newer ones have 6 and 8 speed transmissions, but we couldn't afford $45-55k for a newer vehicle, so we found a 2 year old 5-speed with 34k miles for just under $35k.

We extended the bumper to bumper warranty to 100k miles since we're full-timing, and just ordered a new Andersen hitch today to replace our original Reese that was old and bent. After finding our trailer only weighed 4500 lbs I think we're going to do very well with this Jeep, rated at 7200 lbs. It has more horsepower and torque than the truck, and is far more comfortable. Now to whittle down our belongings to fit in a SUV instead of a full-size truck..

[reinergirl]

Nice video , I really enjoyed the story, best wishes on your travels.
Your Airstream looks fantastic! It's funny how you think the dogs are people magnets because I think the Airstream does the same thing!

[KristinS]

Thanks, Shelly! I love watching your trailer restoration too. I hope to see it in person someday!

You're right: between the dogs and the Airstream people never really leave us alone! It's fun to meet so many folks in our travels, except for when they come knocking at your door unexpectedly and you're still in pajamas or in the middle of dinner and they still want a tour! Just be ready for that when you start traveling in yours. I've become a neat freak too because I never know when someone's going to want to see the inside!

[sleepybear74]

awesome video! very jealous that you will be able to full time it and work at the same time! enjoy and keep us posted on your travels!

[Del Gurney]

Hello and congratulations on your restoration:
I took delivery of an AS '65 Overlander/International
yesterday.
It's gutted and a lot rougher than what you started
with.
Your thread here has been uplifting after a night of
wondering what foolishness I got my self into.
I full time in an 25' Safari and got the Overlander
in a fit of Aluminitus.
Would you be so kind as to refer me to your family friend
who made molds of the tail lights please?
I will also need new axels so the contact info for them
would be very help full.
Kind regards
Del