bought a Spartan...need to evict the rats and get it home??

[mistermike]

I would highly recommend joining AAA and get the + membership and the RV/Trailer/Motorcycle add-on. That way if the unthinkable happens you have someone to call.

[Distantdrummer]

Spit you are getting some great advice, especially from tallytwo1994,. Amazing that you found it here on an Airstream site IMO.
But not sure you are taking it.
First I'd say you need the patience of Job in prepping this trailer for the long trip home. If you get in a hurry and don't allow yourself plenty of time and take ANY prep shortcuts, you are going to forever regret it.
Tying down as well as duct taping every door, hatch, vent, stack, absolutely everything that could possibly come loose is a must. That includes any "siding" that may be prone to peel back in the highway wind. Don't forget to take a ladder so you can check what needs to be tied down up on the roof. Find out how/where to step on the roof first. But by all means get up there and check things out.
Research places in route where you could stop or even store it for a few days if the worst happens, Get numbers of towing companies along the way. Call them and see what they have to offer such as roll back for something that size etc.
Don't worry about wiring lights so much until you get it home, just consider the temp type that was advised above if the 12 volt trick doesnt work. I suppose you could rig up something to reach the brake harness fairly easily if you are unable to use the existing 12 volt lifeline. Be prepared to spend hours in that junkyard before you ever pull out. Take a shovel & hoe for the tire mounting. Find out where you need to place the jack and take some lumber to put the jacks on. Of course take a coupe of good bottle jacks.
Take some help (advisably not your wife or maybe not without her) if possible, and make sure you all are physically (and mentally) up to the labor of getting it out of there. It can be a real ordeal. Then you are too exhausted for a safe journey home, which might present even more stressful happenings.
Take money.
Good Luck.

Oh and by all means when you get it home, take the damm duct tape off within a few days, I'm sure you know the damage it will cause if the sun "sets" it.

[Spit]

can anyone help me with the wiring?

[Ganaraska]

I could help but I'm too far away from Savannah.

The best suggestion I can offer is to redo the wiring according to the diagram. Make sure the wiring is well fastened to the frame.

It always takes longer wires than you expect, a lot longer. Don't worry wire is cheap and it is always better to have extra.

When rewiring it helps to break the job down and do one thing at a time. It is just too confusing to try to figure it all out at once.

So, wire the brakes first (for example). Then move on to the tail lights. Then the turn signals etc. Of course you start with the ground wire or the other wires will not work.

Maybe you can find a local electrician to help you. It is not that hard to do especially if you can solder wires.

[Ganaraska]

Get lots of tie wraps and put one every 3 feet or so. Figure out how much wire you need and get at least 10 feet extra. For example if you have a 35 foot trailer and you want to go from the front to the back bumper you need at least 45 feet of wire and that is cutting it fine. I don't know where it goes but it goes.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Sorry, I did not follow that last part too well, but I am trying to follow. You will be using tempory lights to get her home. The string of tow lights is about 22 feet out of the box. If you go to the orange or blue box they will have the same yellow/white/green/brown wire and you should get about 20 feet of that along with wire connectors and electrical tape. The plug will need to be cut off a few feet back and the wires spliced to make the whole thing longer. you can just tape the wire to the trailer using blue tape. It will come off easy within 7 days leaving no residue. The same tape works well to hold windows tight.

[PINKBIKE]

If you go to the orange or blue box (home depot and lowes )

[Frank's Trailer Works]

right, I try hard not to offer them any free advertising. They both have already killed all the real hardware stores, but that is a different thread.

[Spit]

was actually hoping to order it, but may be out of time as i need it friday. is there a place online you guys suggest? i'll order 100' spool of 4 way flat. then do i need another spool of blue wire for the brakes? can i just use the blue wire for the breakaway switch as well? and what about the auxiliary pole...do i use it for something or not?
thanks for the help

[mandolindave]

Hi Spit, You have a lot of work ahead of you. I for one, think that your
project is well worth the effort, as The Spartan Manor is one of the very few trailers that is as cool as an Airstream. By the way, the Spartan in the picture that I posted, was selling( about 6 years ago ) for 46K.

[Ganaraska]

The wire should be a stock item (off the shelf) at any auto parts store and most hardware stores.

Trailer supply and possibly farm supply stores should have the wire on a roll and can cut off as much as you want. I suggest the length of your trailer plus 15 feet.

You can get wire that includes the blue brake wire and also wire to hook up your battery all in one. This is what you need for a permanent job.

[tallytwo1994]

Andy,

Have you looked at the info I posted on wiring a trailer? If you don't get it, try going to an RV/Trailer store where they wire trailers every day. Ask them how, but tell them you need to wire it to bring it home only, and will be installing the wires permanetely when it's restored.

Just go to a local store to buy the wire by the foot. I agree that 10 to 15 feet longer than the trailer is plenty.

For your trailer (2 brake system) you need 12 gauge blue for the brakes.

Carol

Noticed that the vintage camper link didn't work - try this:
VintageCampers.com :: Vintage Campers, Vintage Trailers, Vintage Parts, Vintage Restorations

[Ganaraska]

Official wiring colors for 12 volt (or 6 volt) trailer wiring according to Bargman early 70s book.

Numbers are the same as numbers on the plug. This is the 7 wire trailer wiring with the black plastic or rubber covering. It is what you need to wire up your trailer.

White - #1 terminal - ground (to frame and/or body)

Blue - #2 terminal - electric brakes

Green - #3 - tail lights, running lights, and license plate light

Black - #4 -battery charge for auxiliary power in trailer

Red - #5 -Left turn signal/stop light

Brown - #6 - Right turn/stop light

Yellow - #7 - Auxiliary ground or extra circuit. Sometimes used to ground electric brakes.

If a wiring job seems too confusing break it down to its simplest elements and do 1 wire at a time. When that one is done, check it, make sure it works correctly, then go on to the next. That is how I always do them.

PS you will probably need quite a few new bulbs and sockets. If it is a 6 volt you will have to change all the bulbs to 12 volt.

[Lower Delta]

Hi yall,

Realizing this is a 2 yr old post but....Ive got a similar situation!

Pics forthcoming.

Ive going to pick up and resurrect a 1949 Spartan Manor. That. Is missing rims and tires and resting on the axels/hubs.

Its a long shot, but im going to try 2 or 3 methods to get her road worthy again...at least to get her home (700 miles on flat land)
First Ive got to figure out if these hubs are the 5 or 6 lug pattern...its been saud that aroubd 47-48 Spartan went to using the 6 lug pattern on all TT. However the pics look conspicuously like 5 lugs. Add to that, the center hole issue, of not being large enough to allow the rim to fit and you can quickly have a small project for awhile boring 4 rims out.

But that really just the start of getting this classic on the road.
Since shes been sitting on her axels for nearly 15-20? years, the axles maybe fine but the hubs appear by the photos to be rusted frozen. These Spartan hubs are supposedly 3 plates bolted to each other and so you will see in the picture 5 bolts in between the lugs...which means if I cant find the right rims, ill need to find something close and use 1/2" "spacers" between hub and rim...Does anybody know what im describing?

Does anyone know of a means to "break free" old rusted and frozen hubs?

Trailering her home is not really an option at this time. Switching out a completely different hub/axel combination is more likely but even that is a last resort.
Of course safety is a primary concern and yes I have several years experience towing trailers, flatbeds etc. Im not a pro, but I'm nit a beginner either.
Any info, advice is greatly appreciated. I will contact Dan Piper as someone kindly mentioned above.

Thanks well in advance!

Originally Posted by tallytwo1994

Andy,

Call around and see if you can locate a tire store that caters to BIG HEAVY TRUCKS. They may have the cage for split rims. Actually I should clarify that these rims are really “Lock Ring Rims” and they have liners and tubes (remember them?). The “for real split rims” are 2 halves and were sometimes called suicide rims. Describe them if need be, and they won’t think your crazy. If you’re handy there’s a method that "country boys" and farmers use that involves a chain. I wouldn't try it - but I'm chicken! A number of people on the Spartan site have used their original rims. Several people have also used old truck rims. They have reported using wheels from an early Ford truck, early Jeep, and Suzuki Samurai or Gran Vitara. These are the specs if it's 16 inches:
16x7.5 size with a 5 x 5.5 lug pattern

Be prepared to have to dig a hole, and maybe let the air out of the tires to get them installed even after jacking it up pretty high, it’s a real tight fit. The original tires were very narrow as is the wheel well. Luckily, you only have two.

All Spartans came with brakes (most had electric), and all trailers that weigh that much (1948 = 3700 lbs.) should have them operating (I told my husband this too). More than likely they will be in almost perfect condition. If the wires are bad run some new ones in their place. The old electric brakes systems are very simple. You will also need to add chains, and a breakaway switch with battery. All of this is required equipment for any TT of this size.

The Dexter Axle web site has a modern color-coded wiring diagram. Go to:
www.dexteraxle.com/trailer_plug_wiring

I've so found this site helpful for wiring issues:
www.etrailer.com/faq_wiring.aspx

When I was trying to get up to speed on electric brakes I found the Dexter Axle site most helpful. Check out their resource library at:
http://www.dexteraxle.com/resource_library .

Two more web sites are:
http://www.maxitear.com/brakes.htm ; and
http://www.vintagecampers.com/hitch.html .

The Maxitear site has a Popular Mechanics article on trailer brakes, and although it's from 1969 it briefly addresses all systems. Vintage Camper site has a photo of a modern brake controller (as well great photos of other towing/hitch parts for those who know nothing).

My '55 Manor had a 6-prong plug. It was totally unusable. Go ahead and plan on replacing the plug so is conforms to modern standards. I used a couple of temporary lights but hooked them up with new wire. In fact I decided to put the wiring through the interior of the trailer and made sure I had enough for a permanent installation later on. I removed the original taillights and tie wrapped the temporary lights in their place. Worked great! There are two wiring diagrams on the Spartan site for an early Manor. I’ll attach them here.

I don't know why there wouldn't be a title if it's been registered anytime in the last twenty years, although I know Alabama had some very lenient laws, I thought Georgia would have been more advanced. If it hasn't been registered or titled you should check with your DVM to see what you need.

Remember anything worth something, to you, is worth the time and effort to make it right.

Good Luck and Good Trailering,
Carol

[tallytwo1994]

Originally Posted by Lower Delta

Hi yall,

Realizing this is a 2 yr old post but....Ive got a similar situation!

Pics forthcoming.

Ive going to pick up and resurrect a 1949 Spartan Manor. That. Is missing rims and tires and resting on the axels/hubs.

Its a long shot, but im going to try 2 or 3 methods to get her road worthy again...at least to get her home (700 miles on flat land)
First Ive got to figure out if these hubs are the 5 or 6 lug pattern...its been saud that aroubd 47-48 Spartan went to using the 6 lug pattern on all TT. However the pics look conspicuously like 5 lugs. Add to that, the center hole issue, of not being large enough to allow the rim to fit and you can quickly have a small project for awhile boring 4 rims out.

But that really just the start of getting this classic on the road.
Since shes been sitting on her axels for nearly 15-20? years, the axles maybe fine but the hubs appear by the photos to be rusted frozen. These Spartan hubs are supposedly 3 plates bolted to each other and so you will see in the picture 5 bolts in between the lugs...which means if I cant find the right rims, ill need to find something close and use 1/2" "spacers" between hub and rim...Does anybody know what im describing?

Does anyone know of a means to "break free" old rusted and frozen hubs?

Trailering her home is not really an option at this time. Switching out a completely different hub/axel combination is more likely but even that is a last resort.
Of course safety is a primary concern and yes I have several years experience towing trailers, flatbeds etc. Im not a pro, but I'm nit a beginner either.
Any info, advice is greatly appreciated. I will contact Dan Piper as someone kindly mentioned above.

Thanks well in advance!

Lower Delta,


Are you still planning to post photos? Unless the trailer is a tandem or one of the rare exceptions, it would have had 5 lug 16 inch wheels. See the list I provided in my previous message for the wheels that are reported to work. There is no modern equilivant that I' familiar with. A couple of people reported ordering aluminum cars wheels but I was unable to verify the center would work. The drums on my '55 Manor were rusted solid. PB Blaster, a 3 lb. sledge hammer, and large crowbar made it possible to remove them this century. Let me know if you have any more questions.


Carol

[Lower Delta]

As fate would have it...I missed out on that particular Spartan TT. So now im hunting another...a vagabond. Do you happen to know what size vagabond rims would have been? 15" or 16"? And the lug count?
Also you mention simply rewiring old trailer brakes, and getting them working...is it that simple? Is there a punch list anywhere to go over when prepping an old TT for the highway?

Thanks for all help,

Lower Delta

[tallytwo1994]

Originally Posted by Lower Delta

As fate would have it...I missed out on that particular Spartan TT. So now im hunting another...a vagabond. Do you happen to know what size vagabond rims would have been? 15" or 16"? And the lug count?
Also you mention simply rewiring old trailer brakes, and getting them working...is it that simple? Is there a punch list anywhere to go over when prepping an old TT for the highway?

Thanks for all help,

Lower Delta

Delta,


Too bad about the Spartan! Sorry, I have no idea about the wheels on a Vagabond. I suggest you keep looking for a nice Manor, but I'm rather prejudice when it comes to Spartans. Yes it's pretty simple to rewire Spartan brakes, at least to do so for a trip home. I would never suggest someone try to install the wiring as the did originally but rather do a temporary install using tie wraps and duct tape for the trip home and plan to replace the wiring later on during the renovation. There's a check list for prepping a trailer on the Spartan site ( see the links in a previous message on this thread).


Carol