Brand new RVers went off deep end with 1968 Globetrotter

[rickyfish]

Hello to all. We are brand new to RV'ing, and of course, my wife went off and bought a 1968 Airstream Globetrotter.
Thats what she wanted for-ever, and so here we are now, brand new to RV'ing, and with a 1968 Airstream that I need to "up-date" and get in functional order.
We are very exicited, we have a 2003 Toyota Tundra that we are towing it with. We live in Longview Washington and would appreciate any input on the "Vintage" trailer life from any and all sources, and would appreciate learning the right way for every aspect of this new path we have started down. We have never towed a trailer before, never restored a vintage trailer before, but we know how to listen to others, and we are both very handy and can accomplish what ever we set our minds to, given enough time.
Hope to attend a lot of "Rallies" in the next couple of years, and to get the Globetrotter to the point where we feel comfortable just hooking up and taking off.
Appreciate all comments
Rick and Vicky Fisher

[Silverflames]

Welcome to the forums! There is a lot of friendly folks around here.

Some people volunteer as trailer inspectors, one might be in your area to come by and check out the basics. Axles, AC, possible floor rot.

If you have not heard of the VAP ( vintage airstream pod cast) check them out. They answer questions, and are very informative. They covet lots of topics!

Welcome again! If you got questions throw them out there!!

Oh yea, we love pictures around here! If you have a smart phone there is a app for the forum. Very easy to use, and post pictures.

[Condoluminum]

Rick-

Welcome aboard, and congratulations on new Airstream! One of most useful features here is "Search" tab in blue bar above to right.. You can enter any key word or words and find threads or discussions on hundreds of topics from among hundreds of thousands of messages here. From complete trailer rebuilds to cosmetics to fixing appliances and plumbing/wiring, you are not alone.. Someone has dealt with issue already, and probably documented it here..

You should also start looking for Forum or WBCCI "Vintage Airstream Club" events, like the one down in Lone Pine CA in October.. Even if your trailer not movable, you could put on Airstream hat or T-shirt and drive in and find dozens of people to show you their trailers and answer questions about repairs or renovations...

Finally, if you need help from others, there are Airstream-only service shops in LA Area, and Airstream dealers with shops in Portland and Eugene, as well as Seattle.. They are the source of Airstream-specific parts, while many RV shops can provide generic parts, like things for Refrigerator, A/C or Furnace and Water heater...

Good luck with your project, and you'll eventually enjoy the deep end, though it may take a while...

[RM66caravel]

Welcome are you ready for some serious fun? I have found it rewarding and have gotten more than a few new tools over this on. Take some before pictures and post some please.

[webspinner]

Welcome to Vintage Airstreaming!

We've renovated nearly everything except the shell in our '71 Tradewind over the past 3 1/2 years. It's all possible to learn about. Good tools help.

My first advice would be to do an open eyed survey of what needs to be done and start with the structural parts first. It's tempting to start with appearances - new curtains, new upholstery, etc. But it's a lot harder to do the repair on the floor rot if you need to remove your newly built dinette to get at it.

For vintage supplies, look at:
Inland RV
Vintage Trailer Supply
Out of Doors Mart

With a bit of planning, you can keep camping, even if you just have a bare bones aluminum tent. Ours always had a kitchen sink, but we've camped without just about everything else while renovation was underway. Axles, running lights and floors are items that need to get done before you camp, but most of the other stuff is less urgent. It also helps to camp in the trailer for a while to figure out what you need in it.

Good luck!

[switz]

Welcome aboard. There are lots of folks with Vintage units.

This forum is a virtual fountain of knowledge and opinions. The previously mentioned search tab can be fine tuned by the proper selection of key words to really narrow the response to a manageable level of reading.

[68 TWind]

Welcome. I think, and I'm a tad bit biased, that 68's are the "best". We did a complete redo of ours, we had to as it was a mess. We did try and keep everything as close to original as possible. Hopefully your 68 is is pretty good shape so you can enjoy it while you do all the little upgrades. If you have any questions specific to 68 please send me a PM.

[Safari-Rick]

Just wanted to say ..... Welcome Aboard ! Make ready to get Underway !

Safari-Rick

[Dilla]

How's it going? I'm looking at one!