What kind of heater is this?

[PetervB]

From out of my '60 Tradewind. the metal parts are in good shape, but the controller is messed up. Bench test shows it doesn't shut off properly and has a pinhole leak in the pilot tube. See the pictures. There's a strange part that might be a air door control, but it wasn't obviously attached to anything. I'm sure the furnace is a junker. Where can I get one like it?

[Silverhobby]

Looks similar to a Glen-Aire furnace in one of my older trailers. Some were radiant heat only and some had a blower fan to distribute heated air throughout the trailer. It's a real shame these are not still in production. The roof mounted vent allowed for leaks, so newer styles were created.

[putback]

Looks very similar to one in my '63 Catilina, Travel Heater [Elkhart Indiana]. Works flawlessly, simple design. Used another in my ice shanty, comon to early campers in my area. Your high limit shutoff may not work on the bench. Both of mine have a small thermostat aprox. [1 1/2" dia x 3/8" thick] behind the grill near the top that shut off the gas at high temp limit. My heaters wo'nt cycle properly if not enclosed. You can replace pilot tube with common stock. Right now on Ebay someone has a number of Airstream pilots and thermocouplers for sale, N O S, I picked up a couple of spares. If I could find two of these heaters that match I'd kick that nightmare furnace in my safari right out the door! Hope this helps.

[Mark Wiltrakis]

Peter -
The furnace in my '59 Tradewind was a Thurm brand. It was mounted in the same location as your '60, and the louvered grill looks the same though mine is brown in color. I'm replacing mine with a new Suburban furnace once I get to reworking kitchen cabinetry. If you can find a new furnace that fits the original space, that would be great.
Mark