Hope's Log - '71 23' Safari Twin Renovation Journal

[Kei]

So, last time I was in Hope cleaning and laying out the bathroom, I took a small amount of time to troubleshoot a problem I'm having with the overhead light in the twin bunk area (Just aft of the air conditioner).

I thought by separating the three red wires and the three white wires then using my volt/ohm meter to test all the red & white wire combinations I would find at least one that had power and maybe another that had a short. Unfortunately, I didn't find either in any combination.

So...before I go into the bake oven again this weekend, does anyone know where these wires are running to and from? If you have removed the interior of your AS, it may be possible that the wires are run in a similar fashion, although model and year may make a difference. Pictures and/or advice always welcomed and appreciated!

I just remembered one of my fellow Airstreamers posted pictures of the wiring in the front of his trailer, which was very helpful to solve a problem with the curb-side spot/scare light (I'm going to look him up right after I finish typing this journal update)....

[Kei]

Originally Posted by Bullit

Hey Kei
These wires all go to the front under the window... Could be ambilical to tow vehicle. Attachment 213089Attachment 213090. Was able to follow large round white wire all the way to the Univolt. Others go up behind front cap to control pannel

Also have pic of floor rot in front of doorAttachment 213091

Hello Bullit!
Is there any chance you took picts of electrical wiring for the overhead light just aft of the ceiling air conditioner? I'm making a big assumption that your Caravel has a similar wiring layout as my Safari, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I tried separating the three red wires and the three white wires then using my volt/ohm meter to test all the red & white wire combinations and hoped that I would find at least one that had power and maybe another that had a short. Unfortunately, I didn't find either in any combination.

Any pictures and/or advice will be welcomed and appreciated!

Kei

[Kei]

After searching the Internet, I was returned to AirForums to find an electrical diagram for a '72 AS (I should have known to look on the electrical forum first!).

It turns out there are owner's manuals for the '71, but service manuals with the electrical diagram were not published until the '72 models. Regardless, this diagram should be all I need to have fun troubleshooting my ceiling light issue. Life is Good!

[rucos]

Kei ... so i installed my new axles as stated last week and here are a few photos ... my biggest problem was that the holes where out by a small amount (see photo) .... and they don't supply the 4 bolts needed for mounting ....considering they are special bolts and how much I spent on them I would think it would have been a small extra??.. luckily my friend (mechanic) came by to help and he told me that i needed special "grade 8 fine thread" or better bolts (VERY IMPORTANT!!)... i would have just bought any bolt the correct size... had to delay finishing to go into the wholesalers and get the correct ones nobody had them locally.... drilled out the holes and mounted Grade 11 bolts and we are good to go..... not too much to see in photos (hopefully they post as this is my first attempt at photo posting!!!)...... LOL

[rucos]

sorry ... anyone explain how to move photos from my mac to forum ... mine are in Iphoto and i don't have a clue as to what their URL is??
never been asked that when posting photos on other sites.... thanks

[Gnorts]

Rucos, do your images reside on your local hard drive or in the cloud (on the internet)? If they are on your local drive, they don't have URL's. You will need to move them to a storage service in the cloud before you can link to them and post them. Since you compute with a piece of fruit, I can't help you any further.

[Kei]

In July, after entirely gutting the interior, we were about to paint the walls and floor when it got too hot (115 degrees!), so we took the summer off. Now that the temps are in the 70's, it's time to get back to work.

Rather than working on the interior, the plan is to
1) Replace the axles and drum brakes with new axles and disc brakes.
2) Remove the belly pan and add new gray and black water tanks.
3) Bang the dents out of the banana wraps or replace them.
4) Add new insulation and new aluminum belly pan.

This will give us peace of mind and the ability to use the AS before finishing the interior.

It feels great to be working on Hope again! Pictures to follow shortly...

[Kei]

With some penetrating oil, the nuts that attached the axles and the shock absorbers came off fairly easy.

[Bullit]

Hey Kei
Good to see you back at it. Trailer looks great. Amazing how similar early 70s trailers look.



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[Kei]

It's amazing how fast life goes by...I finally have found the time to add a log entry for our renovation of "Hope".

Since Thanksgiving weekend, 2014, we have accomplished the following:

December:
Ordered and installed the two new axles and brakes.

January:
Removed the belly pan, water tank, pink insulation and inspected the floor (Some dry rot in the back corners and near the doorway).

March:
Took a 2-day road trip to InLand RV in California to save on shipping and purchased a new:
- AC Shroud
- Water Tank
- LED brake lights, backup lights, clearance/marker lights
- 7-way pin connections and cable for Tow Vehicle and Airstream
- Sealant, door and window trim
(Special thanks to Andy, Liz, Tessa and Sue for the great conversation during our visit to InLand RV! Your advice is priceless and so worth the trip...look forward to doing it again!)

April:
Installed:
- AC Shroud and aluminum taped the seams of the Armstrong unit
- 7-way pin connections
- Tekonsha P3 Brake Controller
- Reese Weight Distribution and Anti-Sway Dual Cam tow system.

I will post pictures shortly...

[Kei]

The installation of the new Dexter axles required that I cut the frame to accomodate the wider axles, which I accomplished using my grinder and cutting disk.

After painting the frame black, installing the axles and shocks, my wife and son helped me install the new electric brakes and wheel bearings, which I greatly appreciated, since 6 hands made the work of greasing everything so much faster!

[Kei]

Although I originally never expected to, or should I say, wanted to, remove the belly pan, it became obvious that in order to do a proper renovation and reconfiguration of the water-related systems, I needed to do a full inspection of the area beneath the floor. So, I started by removing the four banana wraps then all the aluminum belly pan.

I am very happy with the underside of Hope. There is some dry rot in the back corners and near the door, but I should be able to repair it by cutting out the rot and installing new plywood without adversely affecting the overall integrity of Hope's structure. Thanks again to Andy at Inland RV for taking the time to fully explaining the Airstream's monocoque structural design, which will prove very helpful when I perform the floor repairs.

The removal of the pink insulation brought back bad childhood memories of helping my father install the stuff in our Rhode Island home's attic. I had my 14 year old son help with the removal of the insulation from Hope, so that he too will have a lasting father-son memory! )

I also was fortunate when I removed the old water tank without too much trouble and plan to re-engineer the plumbing to make it a gray water tank for the sinks and shower. I purchased a new above floor water tank that will sit along the road-side wheel well.

[Kei]

After 44 years, I suspected the original Armstrong AC unit was in need of replacement. However, after removing the old plastic extruded shroud, which crumbled into small pieces in my hands, and cleaning years of pine needles and dirt from the exterior part of the AC unit, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the AC unit works great!

In less than 20 minutes, the AC brought the interior of Hope down from 102 degrees (Typical Airstream interior temperature in April in Phoenix, Arizona) down to a very comfortable 80 degrees at the far corners near the floor!

So, after learning that Inland RV had a new fiberglass shroud, my wife and I enjoyed a 2-day road trip to California to go pick it up (The trip cost less for gas and hotel than the UPS shipping cost would have been for the oversized shroud dimensions).

I used aluminum tape to seal up all the seams of the exterior unit and sprayed two coats of flat white paint on the shroud before installing it. Again, special thanks to Andy for letting me know that 4 original screws are all that is needed to secure the new shroud (Previous owners used 8 screws and gobs of silicone caulking to try to secure the old shroud).

This new shroud will definitely last another 40 years (unless I drive under a low hanging branch or bridge )

[Kei]

Back in May, 2014, when my wife and I purchased Hope, I had originally wanted to strip the interior and focus on the really fun redesign of her bathroom, bunks and kitchen. However, it became obvious that after removing everything from the interior, I couldn't start to rebuild Hope until I addressed the axles and brakes, which changed the entire plan.

After nearly a year of on again/off again work on Hope, I am happy to report that she is a joy to pull down the highway as an "Aluminum Tent" thanks to brand new axles, electric brakes, brake controller, 7-way pin connections and cable and a Reese weight distribution and anti-sway dual cam towing system.

The short time I spent speaking with Andy at Inland RV and the physics lesson he taught me provided valuable information about what to purchase and how to configure my 2014 Toyota Tacoma to properly tow my 23 foot Airstream. This saved me from second guessing all that I had read on the forum and the various hitch manufacturing web sites.

Now, I can begin the process of installing the new plumbing, insulation and buttoning up the belly pan then get back to designing Hope's interior! WhooHoo!!!

[blkmagikca]

Excellent choice , Kei. The dual cam, properly set up, works very well.

[Kei]

Originally Posted by Bullit

Hey Kei
These wires all go to the front under the window... Could be ambilical to tow vehicle. Attachment 213089Attachment 213090. Was able to follow large round white wire all the way to the Univolt. Others go up behind front cap to control pannel

Also have pic of floor rot in front of doorAttachment 213091

Hey Bullit,
I was just reviewing old posts and wanted to catch up to see how you went about fixing the rotted floor in the front of your door. I'm going to be addressing a similar spot on my Airstream next weekend.
Regards,
Keith

[Bullit]

Mornin Kei
I have not addressed the floor rot Tet. Besides time, money and good weather running in short supply, I am going about this resto-mod in a lil different way. Theoretically... I am addressing the shell and waterproofing (to include initial polishing, windows, seems, vents, A/C, etc) before removing the it and rebuilding or replacing the frame and floor. This (again theoretically) will allow me to work on the interior without as many leaks.

Good weather has arrived and I should be back to it this week

Yours is looking really good


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[Kei]

Originally Posted by blkmagikca

Excellent choice , Kei. The dual cam, properly set up, works very well.

Thank you, blkmagikca! I took the Airstream down the highway and tested its sway and recovery and really can tell the improvement. Now it's time to start on the floor and water system!

[Kei]

After a thorough inspection of the floor using an ice pick to search from soft spots, I realized that in addition to the rot in front of the door, I needed to replace the corner of the floor in the back curb-side. Using a Harbor Freight cutting tool, I was able to slowly and methodically remove the rotted material without too much effort.

The cutting of the new 3/4 plywood went smoothly too, however, fitting the two new pieces under the shell and into the opening took a bit of finesse but it turned out very nicely and I'm so glad to be done.

The next objective is to bang out the banana wraps as best I can and start to put Hope back together...

[Kei]

I had hoped to be able to purchase new banana wraps in order to avoid trying to bang out all the dents in the original ones. Unfortunately, the only reproduction wraps I can find are black plastic and not the look I'm going for...

So, I grabbed my auto body hammers and got to work banging out the wraps with a bag of play sand that I placed in a cloth shopping bag. Although the wraps were in pretty bad shape, several hours of banging produced fair results.

The first rivet to begin the rebuilding process was added to the front street-side banana wrap! It felt great to start to add the pieces back onto Hope!

The next step after adding the banana wraps is to prepare the interior for paint. Once the interior is painted, I will be able to start building the bathroom and plumbing the tub, sink and toilet...that's when the real fun will start!