Airstream Rookie tackling a 1970 Tradewind Reno

[TxAgStreamer]

Howdy,

I recently picked up 1970 Tradewind 25' that is in decent condition for the price (I think) and am planning to bringing it back to life over time. I have several ideas and inspirations from which I am dreaming about, but no hardened or fastened plans yet.

I am hoping to get a little guidance before jumping in head first. My trailer has some exterior cosmetic damage that I wondering about the best way to repair...

IF I go ahead and gut the interior down the frame and exterior skin, would I be able to remove much of the hail damage and dents on the exterior skin from the interior? Could I build some type of rounded rolling pin and roll them out from inside? I realize I am showing my ignorance but am hopeful that someone can shed some light on whether I can be creative/innovative and fix the damage without investing much $.

For the record, I plan to do all the work myself and with friends that will lend a hand. I will post pics from my phone below. Thanks.

Wes

[TxAgStreamer]

[Bubba L]

Sounds like a nice project. There is a library of information here on the forums. I can't imagine any subject or question that hasn't been discussed, debated, and reburred. Do a lot of reading before you jump in. It may save you some grief down the road. Also, don't know where you're located, sounds like may be Texas. But there are a lot of vintage AS owners here that are knowledgeable in renovations. Good luck. Bubba

[TxAgStreamer]

Thanks Bubba,

Yes, located in Texas. In the Hill Country and there are plenty of AS owners in the area.

I will take a deep dive into the trailer this weekend and have a better idea of some of the work ahead of me. I'll post updates as I learn and go. Thanks!

[Bubba L]

We are in Fredericksburg area. If you need insight, let me know.
We have five vintage Airstream trailers meeting us at Inks Lake SP today for a few days. Most have been fully renovated. Take care. Bubba

[riowerks]

Check out this thread on removing dents using an inner tube, piece of plywood, and a shop vac:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f4/h...ap-153091.html

My husband thought I was nuts when I suggested we should try it on a dent similar to the two you have on your front panels. It worked like a charm!!! Don't turn off the vacuum till you hear the big POP.

We weren't able to eliminate 100% of the dent because the outside corner of the dent was sharp enough to crimp the aluminum a bit, but it got most of it.

Here's a picture of our dent before & after:

[DDickey]

I've been doing a shell-off on a '57 Custom, and I'd be happy to help you with anything I've learned. Here's the link to my journey http://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/...150509-12.html

[64airstream]

TxAg,

Welcome to the forums and to Airstream restoration. As you are already noticing, this is a tremendous community. We've always found folks helpful and encouraging. When you run across a problem during your project, someone here has solved it before and will be willing to offer their advice and experience (including mistakes they were unable to avoid, in hopes you may avoid them.)

I agree with BubbaL, read a lot of the posts here and you'll begin to know what questions to ask. Our most recent project is documented here; https://www.airforums.com/forums/f39...er-155180.html if you're interested. It's a '68 Overlander, so a little longer, narrower and older than your project.

Another consideration for rolling out the dents, if you remove the inner skins (which is a considerable amount of time and work) is Aerowood. He periodically makes a few dent rollers, of his own design and offers them to folks here. https://www.airforums.com/forums/f38...ler-87127.html

We hope you enjoy the project phase of Airstreaming as much as we're sure you'll enjoy traveling with her when she's done.

Roy and Marie

[TxAgStreamer]

Thank you everyone for the info and guidance.

I have found this forum to be an incredible community and am looking forward to learning from you all.

I will certainly share progress and pics as we make progress.


One question I have is, based on the pic above...is that amount of hail damage really that much to worry about? I plan to fix the big dent following some of the ideas mentioned, but am not sure what (if anything) to do about the small dents.

After a few more hours of research, I am less keen on the idea of removing interior skins unless I have to...

Thanks again!

[64airstream]

TxAg,

Our approach has been to remove interior skins when it's needed for other work. On our '68 we removed the front lower skins to get to the C channels to replace two small sections of floor. The wall insulation was in reasonably good shape, but we replaced it with styrofoam type insulation. That insulation looked good enough that we didn't suspect wide spread problems elsewhere. All of our electrical was in very good condition as well, so no need to remove skins to get to wiring. I found a method to run the wiring and condensate drain for the Air Conditioner here on the forums without removing the inner skins, so in all, the remainder of the interior skins remained intact, for us.

We also have hail damage (character - remember, "scars are like tattoos, but with better stories") and quite a bit more than you have. We had no large dents in that area, so the hail marks stayed. They are rarely noticed. Your big dent may come out acceptably with the suction cup or vacuum methods. If it does, and it was us, we'd probably leave the small dents. If we had to remove the inner end cap and skins to get the big dent, we try to roll the small dents out. Some folks are going for a perfect trailer and we respect and appreciate that and love to see them. You'll need to decide what's right for you.

Good luck and enjoy,

Roy and Marie

[TxAgStreamer]

I made some progress today. Tore out much of the interior cabinets and wall partitions and removed the many years of floors.

Engineered hard woods covered up lovely orange carpet with a pad that covered up lenoleum floor tiles over the sub floor. The sub floors looks pretty good a few small patches that need some attention but nothing that appears that the structural integrity is compromised.




I am right smack in the middle of trying to figure out what to do next.

What seems to be the preference of the interior skins? Leave the vinyl cover and clean and paint or remove and polish?

Love to hear input and ideas; I'll post more updates tomorrow.

Thanks

Wes

[fromthegitgo]

I am planning on cleaning and painting the skins on my 69 Tradewind restoration but not until I put a new subfloor in.

Are you planning on leaving your skins on? Here is what the mine looked like after the skins are off (not trying to scare ya)...

[Iansk]

Your path reminds me of the onion analogy: the more layers you peel away, the more you cry. My take is to take those layers and carmelize them, add them to the main dish until you have the meal you desire. In essence, where do you want end up? What "tastes good" to you? Me? I want a safe and reliable coach to create memories with my family in.
Will the dents matter? If they don't structurally compromise the integrity of the trailer, will they annoy me when I look back at the photo albums (print your photos, iOS whatever will lose them eventually)?

Safety
Adventure
Memories

For me, that's what it boils down to... I'm a professional photographer and aesthetics do mean a lot to me, however, at some point I need to live my life with those I love. One way is with a vintage aluminum travel trailer, and I could give a rats a$$ about the perfect airstream contest.

Just my .12¢

Ian

[1973Argosy]

One approach for the hail damage would be to bondo the dents and paint your top white. Not only will it hide the hail damage but would also help keep your interior cooler on those hot Texas days. Another approach would be to accept the dents as war paint and be happy with your airstream. As a certified painless dent removal technician removing that amount of hail damage would be very tedious and expensive if you hired it out.

[64airstream]

Tx,

We cleaned and painted. A note here is that latex paints will often allow a stickiness to bleed through. We found a paint at Lowes (big box store) called "cabinet enamel" which covers well, comes in any color, and prevents the stickiness.

There are other threads here on the forums with many successful outcomes and a few not so much.

Keep reading, asking and enjoying,

Roy and Marie

[mimiandrews]

Stop the leaks, fix the floor, make it safe to tow (check to see if you need axles). As for the interior, make it yours.

But remember that Airstream had a lot of experience under their belt when they designed the interior layout. I'd suggest using their work as a guide. People who gut their trailers and plan to re-design everything inside often end up selling a gutted trailer with a pile of junk that used to be the interior furnishings.

Also remember to keep it light and keep the heavy stuff low. You want to tow this thing, so marble countertops might not be a great choice.

There is lots of help available here on the Forums, and there are a bunch of Airstream restorers in your area. Welcome!

[TennTex]

Hi Tx,

That's going to be a nice trailer when you're finished, regardless of a few beauty marks.

To your interior wall question, I agree with clean and paint. I think the consensus on the forums is that removing the vinyl is not worth the effort. A good brush and some Krud Kutter, etc. works fine; some advocate sanding but the texture on mine was too deep. Choosing a primer for the vinyl surface is key.

Have you checked the floor in the very back, just inside the rear hatch? Almost all trailers of this era have damage from water intrusion via the bumper deck funneling water under the subfloor. You will have to drop the belly pan to know the extent of damage to the frame, tank area, etc.

Have fun,

Alan