‘63 Sovereign

[Laflerd]

I have inherited my grandparents ‘63 Sovereign. I believe this trailer came new with baby Moon hubcaps and split rim wheels. Am I correct? The split rim wheels as well as the original hubcaps are long gone. I would like to install Baby Moon hubcaps once again if possible. But having difficulty determining the correct size.

I have enclosed a picture of the current wheel as well as a photo of the Airstream when it was new.I had them painted green to match a green and white stripe awning I intend to install.

[jmonk]

That trailer is amazing. Sorry for the loss of your grandparents.

etrailer.com has some baby moon hubcaps for about $17 each.

Tough to say exactly when the split rims went away. Light trucks were supposed to have stopped using them as early as '54 but that may have been as per the manufacturer. It's even tougher to say when Airstream quit installing them. I've seen lots of windows that I thought were "out of use in the 50's" but wound up installed as late as '65. That was on a 35 foot special order for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Windows, however irrelevant to this conversation, are a good example of the way Airstream would use things that just hadn't completely disappeared from their "bench stock".

If the rims are the old 14.5 x 7 inch variety I'd get rid of them. Tires are hard to find.

I've got a '59 that had single piece 14.5's on it that may have actually been original but I replaced them with 15's that have as close to a zero offset as possible. I think mine may have had an eighth of an inch offset or something like that.

Thanks for sharing Pictures of your trailer. The first airstream I really looked at was a '61 Sovereign. I still kick myself for not buying it.

James

[putback]

Any originals I've seen from that era had 15" split rims with moons. Most replaced the split rims yrs ago. They're so dangerious most shops won't touch them today. When you buy the baby moons check the metal thickness. A lot for sale out there that are so flimsy they damage just going on and off. Guys I know doing cars get them from Eastwood. Vintagetrailer supply has had them, I would exepect good quality from them. In the pic the bearing/dust cap on your axle indicates original axles. You may want to check them for "set". Fine trailer.

[cole3444]

If your rims are from a Airstream and 15" a fellow has two baby moons on ebay for sale a little pricey but you mat be able to get the size from him. They fit the rims like yours with the clips.

[66Overlander]

No one makes a current Baby Moon that will fit the wheels with retaining clips. You need to look for the vintage Baby Moons that have two grooves around the outside edge.