New owners of '70 Overlander, Apex, NC

[thecarman]

Got the afternoon off work yesterday but didn't get much done to the camper other than ordering the new axles and some gaskets for the doors.

Thought about ordering the axles from Colin Hyde, but his prices were *exactly* the same as Inland (I had heard they would be cheaper).

I also thought about ordering the gaskets and stuff from Out of Doors Mart in Greensboro, but the guy on the phone (while nice) didn't seem interested in helping me - every response was either "well if you think you know the part number, just order it online", or "just come in to the store and we'll figure out what you need" (to which I asked "can I make sure you have what I need in stock before I drive to Greensboro" and he said "oh, we have everything in stock, unless it's listed as out of stock on the website" - which really didn't help me. ) Inland was very helpful and had recommendations (like switching to the "D" gasket rather than double-lip, and using weatherstrip adhesive on the gaskets rather than just the adhesive backing) as well as double-checking me (like my measurements for how many feet of gasket I need).

The axles won't make it here in time to install for our first trip, but that's OK. I pulled one drum and the existing brakes have over 1/2 pad life left on them, and the bearings and grease look good. I did find a HUGE mud dobber nest on the backing plate inside the drum, so pulled that out. I'll pull the other 3 drums before our trip, just to make sure they are OK too.

I also ordered a new battery and will be picking it up this morning. Sears has a sale on all the DieHard batteries. Look it up on Sears.com if you're thinking of getting one. I'm getting the big Marine AGM that is a re-badged Odyssey. I've run an Odyssey in my Cummins truck, then moved it to my wife's mini-van (which often gets interior lights left on by the kids), and I also have a small one in my RallyCross car which sits for a month or more between races, and gets bounced around a lot . They have been great.

Went to the camper show at the fairgrounds in Raleigh last night. The kids had a great time climbing in all the campers, but there really wasn't much there. It was just campers for sale, other than a few campground info booths and Camping World having a set-up with a fake sale - was getting ready to buy some "on sale" leveling blocks until my wife looked them up on her phone and saw that the "sale" was just regular price. I remember there being more vendors at the show last year. The show at the Raleigh Convention Center a few months ago had more. Did have a good time seeing the "Pat and Mike's Camp Cooking" comedy/cooking show, eating their free food, and bought their cookbook for us and DVD for my aunt. About Ultimate Camp Cooking with comedy hosts Pat Mac and Mike Faverman

[thecarman]

Went to Sears to pick up my battery just now, and they didn't have it in stock - had sold 2 of them yesterday rather than holding this one for me (I had bought and paid for online for in-store pickup). Not a huge deal - I pass by the store going to work, so they're supposed to call me when they get one in later this week. Although it would have been nice not to drive up there for nothing. At least I'll know I get a fresh one.

Drove down the road a few mile to where I have seen an Airstream sitting for years. Couldn't keep myself from leaving a note in the mailbox asking them to call me if they want to sell.

[thecarman]

Originally Posted by AIR-Quarius

did it also come with the owners manual?

Yes, I was happy to find that the seller had the original owners manual, and the original bill of sale ("window sticker"?) showing all the options and the prices. It also came with a bunch of old paperwork about the appliances, antenna, etc.

[thecarman]

Finally got around to uploading some pics

[thecarman]

A few more

[thecarman]

One more pic

[AIR-Quarius]

Looks just like ours , save for some of the light fixtures. You are going to love this style of Airstream, the the twin beds and straight passage to the rear and front. Lot's of storage too. One thing I do not like is the way food storage is made. Because when you stock it with more and more food stuff- it will tend to get 'Lost' back in there, and you cannot see whats there. We store our pyrex over the freezer. Can you check and tell me what the weight of this Airstream is? Our manual has it hand written in as 4600 lbs. What is yours?
Oh - if you look on you tube...type in Altus Oklahoma, and then look for the channel name 'headacherack' and you will see the Airstream we have in some of the older videos. Your Airstream has a very heavy coating of Aluminum and it will polish really well. Also that windows' frame over the kitchen area sink I bet is very very brittle until you replace it. The special plastic part.

[thecarman]

Originally Posted by AIR-Quarius

Can you check and tell me what the weight of this Airstream is? Our manual has it hand written in as 4600 lbs. What is yours?

There are some weights written in pencil in the front of my manual. I'll check them for you tonite. One of them I remember is "TW 680", which I am guessing means tongue weight = 680, since that's the same number I got when trying to weigh the tongue.

I am trying to borrow some race car scales from a friend. Haven't been able to get to his house yet to pick them up. If I can get them, I'll have accurate tongue weight and axle weights for you.

[Wabbiteer]

That 680 is way heavy, maybe you have a frozen front torsion axle not taking up its load fully?

Factory specs listed in a PDF floating around here:

1970 OVERLANDER DELUXE LY 27 TWIN: 4515 450 19
1970 OVERLANDER DELUXE LY 27 DOUBLE: 4565 460 19
1970 OVERLANDER INTERNATIONAL LY 27 TWIN: 4525 455 19
1970 OVERLANDER INTERNATIONAL LY 27 DOUBLE: 4575 465 19
(Figures: Dry Weight, Hitch Weight, Ball height)

[thecarman]

Originally Posted by Wabbiteer

That 680 is way heavy, maybe you have a frozen front torsion axle not taking up its load fully?

This trailer does need axles, but the axles do move *some*. But that could be affecting the tongue weight.

I had seen those factory specs you quoted. I hope it is closer to that weight.

I weighed the tongue using a bathroom scale (using a bar to divide the weight in half because the scale wouldn't read high enough). When I got 680, I thought I must not have been doing it right. But then saw "680# HW" (for hitch weight?) penciled into the owners manual.

I am supposed to pick up the corner weight scales tomorrow night, so hope to be able to get some accurate weights this weekend.

Plus my weight distributing hitch arrived today, so can play around to see how it affects the trailer axle and tow vehicle axle weights as well.

The other things penciled into the front of my owners manual seem to be for other trailers - it has:
28 - 6720 unloaded
8200 GVW
25 - 6000 unloaded
7300 GVW
Mine is a 27 foot, and these are nowhere close to the factory weight estimate, so I don't think they are for my trailer. My trailer has dual 2800 pound axles, so the max gross trailer weight should be 5600.

Also, car wash soap and an extension pole with microfiber "sponge" arrived from Griott's Garage today (recommended on this forum). I got to do a *little* washing before it got dark. Still needs more washing. I don't know if you could tell in the pics, but this thing is DIRTY on the outside. I'm glad I searched this forum to see that I didn't want to pressure wash this camper - I was about to do it, and then thought I should search first.

[thecarman]

Picked up the race car scales last night, and found time to get an official tongue weight tonite. 711 pounds!!! So I was fairly accurate (or lucky ) with the bathroom scale method I used before, when I measured 680.

I made sure to zero out the scale after the bottle jack was on it, so the weight of that jack wouldn't be included. I also used a level to make sure the trailer was level. And it was on a level concrete pad.

So I am far from the factory tongue weight estimate of 450 pounds. What could account for that? Is it the dual 40 pound propane tanks? Looking online, it looks like they are 30 (empty) - 70 (full) pounds each, so that would be 60-140 pounds added right to the tongue. My interior is original, nothing stored inside, and the fresh water tank is empty. I do have a ThermX heater, and a later-model fridge, so that could be some of it too. I guess every little bit in front of the axles adds up. The weight distribution brackets are on the tongue, but not the bars. I also have the battery removed from the rear compartment - it would remove some tongue weight if I put it back in there. I have seen others on this forum mentioning 800+ pound loaded tongue weights for similar trailers, so maybe it's not uncommon to be that heavy?

Will spend some time with the scales this weekend to get axle weights, total trailer weight, etc.

Sorry that we won't be able to make it to Alumilina tomorrow. Too much left to do on the trailer, and had a family commitment pop up in the evening. I hope you all are having a great time!

[Wabbiteer]

Oh. Great. Now I got another itch I can't scratch. Thank you for your reporting, with a full water tank my little 1973 27' 4500-pound trailer may have an 800-plus pound hitch weight and I am not happy with that.

Do you have the ability to lift the trailer at the mid-point of the axle mounting plates until the tires clear the ground, level the frame and retest?