1978 31' Airstream ... HELP! need to restore in a short period of time

[spanky1313]

My brother is the founder of "AEG" (angling exploration group), a company that makes fly fishing movies (the trout bum diaries series.) For his next film he wants to travel around the USA in an airstream for 3 months. If your into fly fishing I'm pretty sure you've heard of them.
Anyways... They're supposed to leave on february 1st... and they've bought a 1978, 31' airstream that looks like it was previously used as a meth lab. Being jobless I volunteered to be the one to restore it.

I plan on ripping up the moldy carpet and restoring all the appliances. The couch and bath tub have to go, along with the cabinets and the water heater. Considering I only looked over this monstrosity for about 30 minutes I already know that there will be more things that need replacing. I'll update you guys with pics and info sometime this week.

Being new to the airstream restoration community, I have a lot of questions to start out with:

1. Where can I find a new couch? I've been looking throughout the internet and can't find one. Is there anything that can replace one of those couches? It seems like you need that very same couch considering it gives you leg room when your eating at the kitchen table.

2. The trailer doesn't have a power source. What's the best battery/ converter to use?

3. Would you recommend lynolium or carpet flooring?

aegmedia.com

[juel]

As the owner of a "new" 76, 31ft Sovereign, I welcome you to the Forum; however, you certainly have your work ahead of you. You can actually put a futon or sleeper sofa (like Flexsteel) in these trailers. If you don't need the extra bed space, you can put lots of different sofas or loveseats in. Deep cycle marine batteries are what most of us use, with the Intellipower (60), which is what I have. There are other converters that are equally good. Go to the SEARCH up in the right hand corner of this site and type in what you're looking for. You can also go to the different Forums on this site for repair and remodeling information. You have come to the right place for all the information you want. For men out fly fishing, I would recommend not putting in carpet. Good luck and post some pictures of "before", "during" and "after", please.

[ALANSD]

good tips from Juel. I have a 78 31 Soveriegn.
Be sure to check the floors especially at the curved areas and bathroom, for wood rot. If the beltline molding outside is not sealed, I would seal it along its top edge with ParBond, as this is a fave spot for water to get in the trailer.
a futon will fit nicely and be less exensive than an RV sofa.
I would recommend laminate flooring, its inexpensive , easy to clean and maintain,

[CanoeStream]

Hello Spanky -- Welcome to the Forums! Note at Airstream's FAQ page that the empty weight of your trailer was about 4800#. I'm just guessing that the trailer's GVWR may be about 1000# higher -- this is probably in the manual. Just keep an eye on total weight as you plan mechanicals, partitions & cabinetry. Leave enough payload for the users. And avoid plans that concentrate weight at the tail. Before, during & after pictures are great!

[spanky1313]

Hello, I finally found out how to upload images.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by CanoeStream

Hello Spanky -- Welcome to the Forums! Note at Airstream's FAQ page that the empty weight of your trailer was about 4800#. I'm just guessing that the trailer's GVWR may be about 1000# higher -- this is probably in the manual. Just keep an eye on total weight as you plan mechanicals, partitions & cabinetry. Leave enough payload for the users. And avoid plans that concentrate weight at the tail. Before, during & after pictures are great!

GVW on the 1978 is 7200# per the ID plate, mine is a 1975 and runs the scales at 5400# with empty water and holding tanks and minimal load on board.

Aaron

[Darol Ingalls]

Spanky, Check the mfg date on the data plate. I doubt your trailer is a '78 with the wall mounted oven. I think '74 was the last year for that. But, what's four years? Exterior looks good except for the door latch. Someone really wanted in or had no idea out to replace the lock. If the original Univolt is missing, I recommend replacing it with an Intellipower 40 amp converter which is plenty to power lights, fans, furnace, and charge the battery. I'm a fan of gell-cell batteries since you can put them anywhere inside the trailer and not worry about gassing. Put it in a warm place to get the best results. You may have to get creative with the couch. I had one about a year ago, but gave it away. Have you considered a dinnette? May be more appropriate for the use of the trailer. I like carpet (no pad) so the plywood floor can breath, and it can be replaced inexpensively when it gets too dirty to live with. Linoleum is good if you can wrestle it in place. Vinyl tiles would work, too. Consider your time-line and do the quickest! I like the note. In the trailer I'm working on, I found instructions for operating the toilet: "To flush the toilet, get a bucket of water from the faucet at the rear of trailer." Darol

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by spanky1313

that looks like it was previously used as a meth lab.

A trick I learned from law enforcement is spray some spray starch of the surfaces. If it turns purple it may be an indicator it has been used as a lab. That stuff will permeate into the walls and insulation and if extensive cooking has been done inside it may not be safe without a total gutting. The demolition is a real deal. Chemical suits and respirators.

Originally Posted by spanky1313

Where can I find a new couch?

If you can't find one at a boneyard or ebay places like Campers World sell pull outs, but check on getting them in the door too.

Originally Posted by spanky1313

Would you recommend lynolium or carpet flooring?
aegmedia.com

Personal preference.
Another option would be wood or laminate flooring which would not really be any more work to install.

[spanky1313]

Thank you guys for your advice, you've been a HUGE help. I'm going to go with the futon. and put down some lynollium flooring. The airstream being from 1978, is just what I was told, I'll update you guys with the actual year tomarrow.

Anyways, the first thing I did was use bleach water to clean up the mildew stains and it surprisingly worked a lot better than I thought it would. The previous floor was half black. I want to put some borax (boric acid?) to finish the mildew off. The windows up above the living room are leaking and do need parbond.
I hooked up my 12 volt car battery to the battery compartment towards the back and recieved power to the box above the oven range (I was between fair and good.) From there I went to the bathroom and started to flip all the breakers and the power went out. I left the main switch on and turned off the air conditioning and the circuit board switches. I established a better ground connection and recieved my power back. I tried to turn on the lights, the radio, and the fridge (on electric mode) and nothing worked. The only thing in that place that worked was the fan above the range and the "water pump." I instantly thought that it was because the circuit board switch was not turned on, so I switched it and lost power. After I lost power, I couldn't get it back on to its original state. (even with a good ground) So... if you've followed that... my question is, is it the circuit board switch? Or is it just bad wiring. Tomarrow I'm going to take apart the power box and see if any connections are bad. Then I'll proceed to check all the connections with a volt meter.
My second problem is, when I turned on the water pump I never recieved water, Instead the water stopped its journey at the pump and spewed out onto the floor...underneath the cabinetry...through a crack...and out the bottom of the trailer. (pic above-under trailer ) The main source of the mildew problem was found. Anyways, the pump needs replacing, I wouldn't be surprised if this was the root of my problem up above. (water and electricity don't mix) My question is, how do I replace rusty siding, I've been all over the internet and cannot find airstream siding.
My third question is... the propane connection up front was cut... and kind of rusty. should I replace the whole thing? weld on another connection? or what? (pic up above)
haha yeah the note was kinda funny...kinda sad. on the back was a list of treatment centers.
Once again thank you so much. These responses are more than what I expected, and are exactly what I need. I had no idea airstream restoration was so big.

[ArtStream]

Did I miss something, or has no one mentioned replacing them axles, checking them brakes and repacking those bearings?

At 35, don't ya think she needs a little foundation work, hum?

[azflycaster]

Check the classified section on this forum. You will see some of the parts you are looking for from time to time.

The axles look better then I thought they would, unless the trailer is jacked up in the picture. It looks like someone tried to unlock the door with an ax. You might be able to cover some of that with a piece of aluminum riveted over the top.

You have a ton of work and a short time to get it done. Stick with the basics. Good luck!

[spanky1313]

Originally Posted by Artstream

Did I miss something, or has no one mentioned replacing them axles, checking them brakes and repacking those bearings?

At 35, don't ya think she needs a little foundation work, hum?

Les schwab did some work, and they said everything checks out. surprisingly.

[juel]

Be careful of the syringes. Hep B and Hep C can live on objects like that for an extended period of time. HIV is a whimp virus compared to the Hep virus. Good luck with your project and if this was a meth lab, be careful gutting it. A mask and gloves are a must, probably more protection would be better. It's a nice looking trailer from the outside. I lived in mine during our power outage this week in Oklahoma. Someday I hope to see it without the limbs again.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by spanky1313

My second problem is, when I turned on the water pump I never recieved water, Instead the water stopped its journey at the pump and spewed out onto the floor...underneath the cabinetry...through a crack...and out the bottom of the trailer. (pic above-under trailer ) The main source of the mildew problem was found. Anyways, the pump needs replacing.

The pump may be OK, don't be surprised if you have broken pipes due to freezing

Originally Posted by spanky1313

My third question is... the propane connection up front was cut... and kind of rusty. should I replace the whole thing? weld on another connection? or what?.

Don't weld. Use threaded gas line fittings and lines. Flexible gas line from the tongue to the regulator

Originally Posted by spanky1313

These responses are more than what I expected, and are exactly what I need. I had no idea airstream restoration was so big.

Welcome to the club. Are we having fun yet?

I agree with the above statement about the axles. From the photo the trailer is sitting high enough that the axles may still have a lot of life.

[greywolf]

My dad always told when it comes t projects there's 3 ways of doing it, good, fast, cheap. You can normally do it with a combination of any 2 but never with all 3 and the project will end up being the opposite of which ever one you leave out.

[malconium]

Originally Posted by spanky1313

My question is, how do I replace rusty siding, I've been all over the internet and cannot find airstream siding.

If you are talking about the inner or outer skin of your airstream it is all aluminum - hence probably not really rust. The outer skin is what they call Alclad aluminum which basically means it has a coating of aluminum that can be polished. The best places to find replacement aluminum are from companies that supply the home built aircraft industry. Here is one supplier:

Airparts Inc. Homepage

You will need information about riviting. The inner skins are attached with standard aluminum pop rivits of the type you can find at most any hardware store or at Lowes or Home Depot. They are the 1/8" diameter ones. The outer skins most typically are replaced using Olympic blind rivits from the outside. I would suggest typing "rivits" or "aluminum" in the search box at the upper right to get more information. Also, one of the bes buys I made for my Airstream work was an air powered pop rivet gun from Harbor Freight. Here are a couple of riviting related threads:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f381...ols-13329.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f206...tip-13671.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f381...ets-15182.html

I am giving serious thought to installing a dead bolt lock on my AS along the lines of the information at the following link:

Dead Bolt Installation

For flooring I would suggest a really good alternative to look at would the Trafficmaster Allure line of vinyl plank flooring that Home Depot has started to carry. Check out the products on their website as follows:

Search Results for vinyl flooring

Much of it is shown to be online order only and they may be a little short of supply right now. I found that my local store carried 3 wood plank look types. Some nice things about the product if you can find some are the following:

1.) The price is good at less than $2 per square foot with very little waste since it comes in strips.

2.) The resulting floor is floating so it would be easy to replace or fix later.

3.) The material is a tough vinyl that should hold up pretty well.

4.) Installation is by gluing the strips to each other - not to the floor. They have an adhesive strip built in that overlaps the next sheet.

5.) I was pleasantly suprised at how nice the 3 varieties that I saw locally looked.

One place to check for charge/convetors is a company owned by a Forum member. They offer good advice over the phone too.

BestConverter - Converters, Inverters, Electrical Supplies, Electronics

There is a tremendous amount of information about almost everything Airstream here in the forums. It is well worth using the search feature. Just ask for help if you are stuck.

Malcolm