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

[Kei]

[QUOTE=aquinob;1472797]What I have found is that you can start out with a plan in your head, but as soon as you start actually looking at the interior space with all its curved surfaces, you have to transition to a design as you go mode. Be mindful that more mistakes crop up when you go that route.

Hello Bob,

Thank you for the insight! I agree that the drawing was helpful, but now it's time to design the rest of the bathroom and make adjustments as I build it. Exciting stuff!

I like what you did with the corian corners in your shower and anticipate doing similar work with teak. ( My Airstream Adventure, Making a 1973 Overlander Our Own. ). I also plan to customize a stainless shower curtain rail to overcome the issue with the big window.

The kitty-corner tub will allow me to avoid the battery hatch all together, which was what I was struggling with in the original tub layout (The chalk lines in the picture show the compromise I made to avoid the hatch while moving closer to the window, which will lead to a creative sink cabinet design that my wife has asked for with a bowl-like sink that sits on top of the cabinet and can be seen from outside the back window.

Also, thanks to your blog on how you used the Attwood marine boat fill, I have come up with a great idea for not only replacing the existing water inlet to fill the fresh water tank, but also installing a second one to flush the black water tank and possibly be able to reconfigure the vent pipes to avoid having it in the middle of the shower. So many ideas, so little time...

Unfortunately, it is 108 degrees in the AS right now, so we have decided to stay inside today and search for the correct primer/paint brands for the vinyl and plastic end caps, so it will probably be a couple of weeks before I start to buy the wood material for the tub and sink bases.

Kei

[aquinob]

In my bath, I used oil based rustoleum enamel for both the plastic cap and the vinyl covered aluminum. So far so good, covered well. I'm happy with it.

[golopogos]

Hello! So exciting to see other 70's in progress! We have a 25' 1971 Caravanner that my husband and I are just finishing up. We replaced some floor & installed bamboo interlocking floor planks, reworked & cleaned all appliances, took out most the interior panels & front endcap (painted them bright white after a good scrubbing), we also painted the tambour silver which is a nice contrast to the white, re-insulated after much research before reinstalling the panels, added a grey tank & new black tank. We did new shower, sink and toilet but kept the back bathroom configuration. Built a custom "J" shaped lounge/dinette in the front that extends down the street side. We replaced 2 front upper street side panels last summer. Ryan just replaced the axels this past week. This weekend was our first weekend out this season. I wish I had documented our progress better. I have lots of pictures but have yet to get them uploaded. Will look forward to seeing your progress. Good luck on your journey.

Amy & Ryan

[Kei]

Originally Posted by golopogos

...took out most the interior panels & front endcap (painted them bright white after a good scrubbing)...

....added a grey tank & new black tank.

Amy & Ryan

Hello Amy & Ryan,

What type of paint (Brand, type) did you use to paint the interior panels & front endcap?

Also, I would love to see pictures of where you added the grey tank & new black tank. Did you remove the belly pan or the plywood sub-floor to install each one?

Kei

[Kei]

Originally Posted by aquinob

In my bath, I used oil based rustoleum enamel for both the plastic cap and the vinyl covered aluminum. So far so good, covered well. I'm happy with it.

Hello Bob,
What did you use to apply the oil based rustoleum enamel, brush, roller or sprayer? Did you apply a primer before the final coat of paint?

Kei

[Kei]

So, since it was too hot to paint today, rather than just search for the proper primer and paint products to use, I created a smail list of to-do items that I have been thinking about, but haven't had the time to address.

1) The electric hitch motor works great, but when the jack gets lowered it doesn't have the torque to lift the trailer. So, I took it apart and found the problem. The pin that fits in the slot that's used to raise and lower the jack is either wore or broken. I took the power jack off the trailer, so that I can work on it sometime during the week. In the meantime, I lowered the jack manually at the storage site and it worked fine.

2) The outside "Scare" light didn't work and I was concerned that the wiring had been damaged when someone had performed the repair on the curb-side front window. It turns out the switch is bad, so I bypassed it to prove the wiring and light works properly. The lighthouse-type lens is wicked cool and casts a lot of light at night.

3) The only other electrical issue is the overhead light in the bunk area just behind the air conditioner. I tested all the red and white wires and cannot find any power, so without a wiring diagram, I'm going to have to ohm out all the wiring back to the inverter to figure out what is going on. Please let me know if anyone else has had to troubleshoot a similar issue. This issue may cause me to have to remove an interior panel, but I'm trying to avoid doing that, since we are so close to being able to paint. The interior looks and smells really good after yesterday's thorough cleaning!

4) The last thing we did was put the recently delivered 4' x 12' Alcad aluminum sheet in the AS for safe storage. I look forward to cutting the first new wall panels with my recently purchased electric metal shears!

Next weekend, I'm taking my family to a U.S. Forestry cabin in Flagstaff, Arizona, so we will not be able to work on Hope until the July 4th weekend, so it's going to be a long two weeks...

Happy Summer Everyone!

Kei

[aquinob]

Originally Posted by Kei

Hello Bob,
What did you use to apply the oil based rustoleum enamel, brush, roller or sprayer? Did you apply a primer before the final coat of paint?

Kei

I used a foam roller and a brush to cut in. No primer, but two coats since it was white.

[aquinob]

Originally Posted by golopogos

Hello! So exciting to see other 70's in progress! We have a 25' 1971 Caravanner that my husband and I are just finishing up. We replaced some floor & installed bamboo interlocking floor planks, reworked & cleaned all appliances, took out most the interior panels & front endcap (painted them bright white after a good scrubbing), we also painted the tambour silver which is a nice contrast to the white, re-insulated after much research before reinstalling the panels, added a grey tank & new black tank. We did new shower, sink and toilet but kept the back bathroom configuration. Built a custom "J" shaped lounge/dinette in the front that extends down the street side. We replaced 2 front upper street side panels last summer. Ryan just replaced the axels this past week. This weekend was our first weekend out this season. I wish I had documented our progress better. I have lots of pictures but have yet to get them uploaded. Will look forward to seeing your progress. Good luck on your journey.

Amy & Ryan

Wow, all that work and no posts showing before and after shots? Please start a new thread and show us how it all looks. Pix are the inspiration for others just starting out, which is all of us at one point.

[golopogos]

]

Originally Posted by Kei

Hello Amy & Ryan,

What type of paint (Brand, type) did you use to paint the interior panels & front endcap?

Also, I would love to see pictures of where you added the grey tank & new black tank. Did you remove the belly pan or the plywood sub-floor to install each one?

Kei

Here are some of the "almost" finished pics showing how bright white the paint turned out and placement of our bathroom we kept much of the original layout..we are very pleased.











[ATTACH]214785[/ATTACH

We used White #K7792 Rust-olem Professional Performance oil based enamel paint and primer. We picked it up at menards. (Not sure it really needed a primer, but ours had some "wear" so it also evened out the surface a bit. The walls/celing still have the original texture though. We did all the inside with this except the plastic end caps we used Krylon Fusion paint for plastics. - Read the instructions on this -it worked good, but learned you cannot apply additional coats or it peels. We used the silver Krylon paint for the tambour-it painted much better than anticipated. I used the oil based enamel on the orginal wood look panels with the storage and shelves. Everything else we used that krylon fusion paint on. Im sure we were on some sort of watch list from walmart for the number of cans of spray paint we bought-ha..

The Grey and Black tank we installed under the bathroom in the back with the Grey tank just behind the wheels and the Black nearer to the bumper. They lay side by side with the long way across the trailer. Open valves to tanks on curbside and empties on street side with valve. The toilet and bathroom sink drain directly to the black tank. The shower and Kichen sink are ran to the grey. They barley fit- Ryan had to do a little welding to get them in securely. We had the back 4-5 foot of the floor removed to repair some water damage and pulled back the back belly pan about 5ft also to get to everything. We ordered them online. I will try to attach a few pics. I have got to do a thread and get some pics out.

We didn't intend to to as full as restoration as we did. I used to look at those stripped down airstreams and say "thank god we arn't them people" a few months into our project...we were those people. So glad we did. PM us if you have any questions. We have learned so much from everyone on here.

Amy & Ryan

[Hopeismine]

Love the colors. Very sophisticated. Great job, she's a beauty. OK, Kei... Get to work on Hope!

[Kei]

Originally Posted by golopogos

]

Here are some of the "almost" finished pics showing how bright white the paint turned out and placement of our bathroom we kept much of the original layout..we are very pleased...

...The Grey and Black tank we installed under the bathroom in the back with the Grey tank just behind the wheels and the Black nearer to the bumper. They lay side by side with the long way across the trailer. Open valves to tanks on curbside and empties on street side with valve. The toilet and bathroom sink drain directly to the black tank. The shower and Kichen sink are ran to the grey. They barley fit- Ryan had to do a little welding to get them in securely. We had the back 4-5 foot of the floor removed to repair some water damage and pulled back the back belly pan about 5ft also to get to everything. We ordered them online. I will try to attach a few pics. I have got to do a thread and get some pics out....

Amy & Ryan

Amy,
Thank you for posting the pictures and sharing all the information on painting and installing the grey and black tanks.

Your AIrstream is beautiful! The bright white paint and the bathroom's bowl sink is a great visual for what my wife and I want to do with ours!

You mentioned ordering the grey and black tanks online. Can you provide the web site or the company name?

Thank you again, and we look forward to seeing more of your pictures!

Kei

[rucos]

hello Kei .... this is my first post... I've been following your work and lots of others and am curious where you are going to install your battery (ies?).... I purchased a 23' safari twin (SILVER STAR)with the rear side bath in early May and am well into modernizing and renovating her.... I've removed all of the rear inside half and am installing 2 new grey tanks (just behind the axle)... new black and new axle.... my big issue at the moment is Battery location .... the original had 1 located in the rear storage area and i would like to go with 2 6volt golf in the upgrade ....ive considered moving the propane tanks and putting it there .... this is my favourite but I'm probably going to reject to due to the tongue weight issue ... I've gone round and round on this issue and am starting to go back to the original compartment !!..... Im well aware of the tail wagging the dog but think all that weight on the tongue (2 30lb tanks there now) is a bigger issue .... the rear frame is solid and has had 1 side beefed up by a PO .... I've searched the forums etc and haven't come up with anything that i like yet .... any thoughts and where are you all putting yours .... thanks for any help and keep up your great work

[Kei]

Originally Posted by rucos

hello Kei .... this is my first post... I've been following your work and lots of others and am curious where you are going to install your battery (ies?).... I purchased a 23' safari twin (SILVER STAR)with the rear side bath in early May and am well into modernizing and renovating her.... I've removed all of the rear inside half and am installing 2 new grey tanks (just behind the axle)... new black and new axle.... my big issue at the moment is Battery location .... the original had 1 located in the rear storage area and i would like to go with 2 6volt golf in the upgrade ....ive considered moving the propane tanks and putting it there .... this is my favourite but I'm probably going to reject to due to the tongue weight issue ... I've gone round and round on this issue and am starting to go back to the original compartment !!..... Im well aware of the tail wagging the dog but think all that weight on the tongue (2 30lb tanks there now) is a bigger issue .... the rear frame is solid and has had 1 side beefed up by a PO .... I've searched the forums etc and haven't come up with anything that i like yet .... any thoughts and where are you all putting yours .... thanks for any help and keep up your great work

Hello rucos! Welcome!

Since deciding to turn the tub at a 35 degree angle, it frees up the entire area of the curbside hatch to allow me to keep the battery right in front of the opening. I intend to replace the original Univolt inverter with a new Intellipower unit of the same approximate size and will rewire a bit to fit the new unit in the understorage of the twin bunk to ensure it doesn't interfere with the pocket door I plan to make for the bathroom.

I would love to see pictures of where/how you installed the 2 new grey tanks (just behind the axle) and the new black tank. Also, if you bought the tanks online, please send me the company/website.

Thank you!

Keith

[rucos]

Kei ...I have purchased my tanks thru Vintage trailer supply .... they come from Inca plastics .... i received my black tank and my axle (from Inland RV) 2 days ago .... the 2 greys I'm hoping may arrive today ... because I'm in Canada i get everything shipped to Washington and then reshipped here to avoid dealing with custom brokers it is a bit slower as its 2 shipments .... I have installed my new axles complete with drums brakes etc yesterday and if the tanks arrive i hope to do them over the next few days ..... the black tank is a replacement for the old one which was in horrible shape (epoxy patched!!)....it is mounted under the toilet above the floor in the rear corner

The 2 greys are the 21x50x4 vintage tanks that Vintage sells .....I've removed the plywood floor behind the wheels and am installing 1 in each frame section behind the axle ... i have fabricated an aluminium frame to hold each of them and bolted it into the space .... i will post some photos if i can ever figure out how it works...LOL.... my photos are in an album and ill be damed if i know what the URL is of each photo to post them?? ....take care

[golopogos]

I thought I would reply to this one. Doing my gray and black tanks was rather extensive. If you really want to gain a lot of waste water storage (32 gallons each) I can share photos and instructions. I wouldn't recommend many people to modify as much as we did. What you should look at is the material the tank is made of. If your doing custom plumbing you're going to want PVC. We bought ours from a guy on eBay and they were the best price I could find. Search HT708.

Ryan

[Kei]

Originally Posted by golopogos

I thought I would reply to this one. Doing my gray and black tanks was rather extensive. If you really want to gain a lot of waste water storage (32 gallons each) I can share photos and instructions. I wouldn't recommend many people to modify as much as we did. What you should look at is the material the tank is made of. If your doing custom plumbing you're going to want PVC. We bought ours from a guy on eBay and they were the best price I could find. Search HT708.

Ryan

Hello Ryan,

Yes, please share photos and instructions! My wife, Michelle, and I are interested in doing the full renovation with new gray tanks and replace the existing above floor black tank with an underfloor set up. We will probably keep the existing clean water tank as-is, but I need to learn how a new shurflo rv water pump needs to be wired in order to sense when to turn-on when the faucet is turned on or the toilet is flushed and the AS is not connected to city water. Our primary objective is to be able to boondock for 3 - 5 days at a time.

I'm able to do my own welding, electrical and plumbing and have all the tools to fabricate metal.

Thank you again for the offer!

Kei

[blkmagikca]

Originally Posted by Kei

Hello Ryan,

I need to learn how a new shurflo rv water pump needs to be wired in order to sense when to turn-on when the faucet is turned on or the toilet is flushed and the AS is not connected to city water. Our primary objective is to be able to boondock for 3 - 5 days at a time.

Kei

The new RV water pumps have 2 wires - a black one (for ground/negative) and a red one for +12VDC. The head of the pump contains the pressure switch, so that's something you will not need to wire. What you will want to do is to have an SPST switch inline with the +12DVC so that you can switch the pump on and off manually. Somewhere in the circuit an indicator light would be helpful so that you know when the water pump is on or off. This could be accomplished with a switch that lights with an LED built in - Radio Shack sells a variety of these.

[rucos]

I will post photos of the 2 greys I'm installing once they arrive here and are installed ... the nice thing (I hope) is that they fit in the floor and don't hang down .... they will give me 16 gal each so i will have a total of 32g grey and about 12 black ... its Canada Day here today so no tank deliveries unil tmmrw or thurs. you have your big day friday!! .... I installed my new axle with drums brakes etc thur/fri and pressure tested my hot water yesterday ... the hot water and stove are the only original appliances staying .... I'm expecting a SeeLevel 7094ph Gauge to arrive as well ...this will monitor the 4 tanks ... battery level as well as on/off of the pump and furnace .... it monitors without probes (radar??) and reads everything in percentage which will be nice ... hopefully will be closing up the floor shortly!

[Kei]

Originally Posted by blkmagikca

The new RV water pumps have 2 wires - a black one (for ground/negative) and a red one for +12VDC. The head of the pump contains the pressure switch, so that's something you will not need to wire. What you will want to do is to have an SPST switch inline with the +12DVC so that you can switch the pump on and off manually. Somewhere in the circuit an indicator light would be helpful so that you know when the water pump is on or off. This could be accomplished with a switch that lights with an LED built in - Radio Shack sells a variety of these.

Thank you, blkmagikca! That is good information, which will come in handy as I begin to design the water system.

Kei

[Kei]

Originally Posted by rucos

I will post photos of the 2 greys I'm installing once they arrive here and are installed ... the nice thing (I hope) is that they fit in the floor and don't hang down .... they will give me 16 gal each so i will have a total of 32g grey and about 12 black ... its Canada Day here today so no tank deliveries unil tmmrw or thurs. you have your big day friday!! .... I installed my new axle with drums brakes etc thur/fri and pressure tested my hot water yesterday ... the hot water and stove are the only original appliances staying .... I'm expecting a SeeLevel 7094ph Gauge to arrive as well ...this will monitor the 4 tanks ... battery level as well as on/off of the pump and furnace .... it monitors without probes (radar??) and reads everything in percentage which will be nice ... hopefully will be closing up the floor shortly!

Thank you, rucos! Any pictures you can post of the tank installations, as well as your recent axle installations, is always appreciated and helpful in visualizing how everything fits and goes back together again. As much as I hate to change directions again, I may find myself removing the belly pan over the long 4th of July weekend to get a good look at the frame and begin to measure for the gray tanks (More productive than trying to pain the inside of the AS in 110+ degree heat!).

The book I'm reading, "Restoring a Dream" refers to and recommends the SeeLevel gauge, which is what I'm planning to install too. Just have to figure out how to snake more wires without removing interior wall panels...