2nd Airstream - 73 Overlander Gut and remake.

[Gary McCray]

Hi All, just bought a 1973 27' International Overlander and am ripping out almost all of the interior to rebuild it primarily as a short term rental.
The first Airstream I bought already had almost all of the interior removed, this one has almost all of it still there.
Removing the "furniture" really lets you understand how thoroughly engineered the Airstream is.
I actually hate removing it because they did such a great job, but for my use I need a lot more open space.
So far it is going really well I got the most valuable tool already - the 1973 Service manual and that prevents costly errors.
I am going to have a tremendous collection of good condition Airstream interior stuff when I am done.
It will still be fully functional and "travelable" when I am done with on board independent water, gray water, heat and 12 volt lighting, but it will primarily be powered by 110 volt from my hybrid photovolataic system in it's main use.
I am eliminating most of the propane stuff in favor of electric especially high efficiency LED lighting, induction and microwave cooking and a small high efficiency refrigerator.
I may keep propane for water and space heating.
The interior will be greatly simplified with a lot more open space.
I am keeping the center and back divider and am going to try and restore the back "full" bath room.

[dbj216]

Hi and welcome from Colorado: You have big plans for your 73 Overlander. I agree the 70s trailers and later were built completely different from a conventional traveler trailer. A lot of very modern materials and techniques utilized there to make the trailer last a long time and be light weight. Mine has held up well through the years.

I have a 75 Overlander I've been working on for many hours. I'm just "renovating" the thing to make it a comfortable and reliable trailer the whole family can use. It will maintain the existing layout and much of the existing interior.

You might like to start a "project thread" in the Airstream Trailer Knowledgebase found near the bottom of the Forums page. Click on Overlander, and click on the year range. I think you will find vintage Airstream enthusiasts there who are interested in your project and all you learn about your trailer. Photos are always welcome.

You can check out my Overlander project thread with the link below.

David

[Gary McCray]

Update, decided to remove center dividers too and moved sink back to same side galley was on originally.
Have nearly finished the stripping stuff out portion.
Here is revised floor plan.

[dbj216]

Hi Gary: I wonder if your 73 Overlander had a big horizontal tambour sliding door under the cooktop? I'm looking for one for my 75. The interior design may be different between the different model years.

Will the bath still be in the rear of your 73? Just wondering.

David

[Gary McCray]

Hi David, Yes, "Galley" had the big horizontal Tambour Door, But one side was badly damaged, I think the other side may be OK but I will have to check.
Personally I think this was the worst single use of the tambour doors as they have to wrap too many times in the scroll mechanism provided and they are not inclined to do so.
The one that was broken was also slightly warped just due to age and the weight of the door slats which made it impossible to move.
The tambour doors are kind of cool and I have a lot of them, but honestly that big one on the galley was a tambour door too far.

I am going to try and save and restore the entire back bathroom, it is just too cool to remove albeit I could probably make a bit more functional one.
Also saving the very front overhead bulkhead with the nifty instrumentation for the same reason (sort of an Airstream icon.)
At this point the entire rest of the interior of the Airstream has been removed including the floor duct, an Oscillating tool with a carbide bit came in handy for that where it goes into the bathroom.

I will take some pictures of the stuff I have pulled out and post them here.
I will probably start a new remodel journal as you suggested on this forum with more details on my remake.
So far I am very happy with the progress I have made and how little damage I have caused.

BTW I bought a pair of panel access keys from a seller on EBay and they work fine, great since my Airstream didn't have these keys.
Worth trying for anybody out there who doesn't have them.

[dbj216]

Mine was damaged also. You are right, big horizontal tambor doors is a miss application of the material. Seems like Airstream may have gone overboard on the use of tambour material in the 70s. Small vertical tambour doors seem to work better, last longer. I will likely have to make cabinet doors for this area. I was just wanting to keep the 75 Overlander features in tact.

David

[Jeremy9107]

Gary. Wishing you luck on this project and the fortune of minimal unanticipated setbacks. I like your plan for it's intended use. Just curious, are all the holding tanks up to snuff and was there a gray tank already in place?

[Gary McCray]

Hi Jeremy,
Thank you for your consideration, definitely so far so good.
Holding tank condition has yet to be determined, but so far the clean water tank seems fine.
I will replace any tanks with any problems and yes it does seem to have a Gray water system.
I have moved all of the interior stuff out of the trailer now and the space looks as good as I hoped for my remodel.
Stock Airstreams are put together beautifully, but they put in so much stuff it is a bit claustrophobic.
I think my much more open concept approach will be a lot more aesthetically pleasing and show off the great rounded interior space to good effect.

[dbj216]

I think Airstream designers felt LOTS of storage space was what customers wanted. I think Airstream designers tried to emulate airliner designs to a certain extent what with the overhead lockers and storage under the seats.
There is not much wasted space in an Airstream. If the trailer will be used for multiple week trips, the storage space is handy. I have the impression your trailer will be a "short term rental" something like Airbnb where folks stay in it like a hotel room. If so, then the storage space is not needed so much.

I think 75 was the first year of "mandatory" grey water tanks. Some of the high end Airstreams started earlier. My 75 had a 10 gallon grey tank, whoopee ding. It now has a 27 gallon tank. Better.

David

[Gary McCray]

Hi Rivet Master,
Right you are, Mine has two tanks, Clean water and waste.
You are also right about the storage, my remake will have a lot less storage, but still a substantial amount in the large front cabinet on the left side and under the beds and in the back right side console I am putting in.
Everything about the Airstream exudes aircraft manufacture from that lovely formed shell to the airliner cabin design of the interior and they really did give you the most storage possible.
It was really possible to live and travel in them for months at a time or even permanently.
In fact I lived in my previous one which was a partial remake with my wife for two years (but that was long enough for both of us).
My trailer will still be a fully capable traveler but not so long term.
It's primary use as an AirBnB means the impression of an Airstream is more important than its perfect restoration and it will be open from the front to the back bathroom bulkhead.
This one also had the dark interior (which in my opinion is way too dark), my previous older one had the light interior which was much better.
Started cleaning the stripped interior yesterday and happy to find it is cleaning up really well, I will still be painting it after I cover some of the now open spots, but it should provide a good bond surface.
Looking a lot better inside without all the stuff in it and cleaner.
I am a retired electronics engineer with my own machine shop, so for me this is actually fun relaxation.

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by Gary McCray

Hi Rivet Master,
Right you are, Mine has two tanks, Clean water and waste.
You are also right about the storage, my remake will have a lot less storage, but still a substantial amount in the large front cabinet on the left side and under the beds and in the back right side console I am putting in.
Everything about the Airstream exudes aircraft manufacture from that lovely formed shell to the airliner cabin design of the interior and they really did give you the most storage possible.
It was really possible to live and travel in them for months at a time or even permanently.
In fact I lived in my previous one which was a partial remake with my wife for two years (but that was long enough for both of us).
My trailer will still be a fully capable traveler but not so long term.
It's primary use as an AirBnB means the impression of an Airstream is more important than its perfect restoration and it will be open from the front to the back bathroom bulkhead.
This one also had the dark interior (which in my opinion is way too dark), my previous older one had the light interior which was much better.
Started cleaning the stripped interior yesterday and happy to find it is cleaning up really well, I will still be painting it after I cover some of the now open spots, but it should provide a good bond surface.
Looking a lot better inside without all the stuff in it and cleaner.
I am a retired electronics engineer with my own machine shop, so for me this is actually fun relaxation.

Here’s my 72 Sovereign. Not much stock is left inside.

[dbj216]

Hi Gary: Well said about Airstream design and construction. I've been impressed with all the aluminum extrusions, melamine laminated plywood, tambour doors, plastic parts, and the like. They were built light weight yet strong. Some say the lack of "real wood" make the trailer feel cheap. Maybe. But it isn't built cheap.

My Overlander has the "light colored" interior. You could also order a darker tint to the melamine. My trailer does not have the "visita view" windows which do allow more light in the trailer. I find when we are traveling we do not spend a bunch of daylight hours in the trailer. We come back from exploring, fix dinner, and crash for the night with the curtains drawn. I disagree with Airstreams insistence on a big window in the rear bath so you could look through the trailer with your rear view mirror. Who wants a big window in the bathroom? Shade is almost always down. But I understand vehicle side mirrors were not very good back then.

Here is a photo showing the "light colored" interior walls in my Overlander. Focus on the rear bath bulkhead walls. The lighting isn't the best. Maybe they are lighter than your originals. And here is the cabinet doors also showing the light colored melamine. I'm rebuilding this galley cabinet.

A "rivet master" is nothing more than a Forum participant posting more than 100 times or something like that. I too have a building I use for working on the Airstream and enjoy it in my retirement. A guy has to have something to do.

David

[Gary McCray]

Hi David,
Got it about the rivet thing I see I am a 1 rivet member.
Your Sovereign is really gorgeous.
Honestly if my Overlander had the light interior your does I really might have gone for a restoration, as it is it was way too dark.
Who in their right mind would think a dark walnut finish on everything was the way to go?
Purposely make it look as small as possible inside!!!!
My shop isn't tall enough to get my trailer in at least without removing the AC, but it's easier for me to work on it outside anyway.
The interior is clean and dry and I probably won't polish the exterior till after the rainy season anyway.
Any recommendations for cleaning off the interior vinyl prior to painting or what primers / paints are best for painting over the vinyl for that matter??
Just using Lysol it is already a whole lot better, but I want a good stable base for paint to stick to.
I can paint by any means air or airless or brush or roller and have a proper cartridge mask.
I am checking out others comments on this as well.
Thank You for your input.
Gary

[dbj216]

Me again: We should start a project thread in the Airstream Trailers Knowledge Base. We're probably beyond member introductions. There are likely more folks monitoring the Knowledge Base than the member introductions category. I think Forums members would be interested in your "open layout" project to create a more comfortable "cottage" for short term rentals.

Maybe a good title for the project thread would be "73 Overlander Complete Remodel" or something like that.

Anyway, just a suggestion.

David

[Gary McCray]

Hi David,
I agree, I will try to get it together with some photos to get it started.
I definitely appreciate your input.
Gary