What?! Have?! I?! Done?!

[Del Gurney]

I've heard of this affliction called Aluminitus and I got bit.

1965 International I believe. The man I bought it from
has used it for storage for 16/17 years.....man he bought
it from was a similar story. (Good news is that it's not been
on the road for something like 30 years!!!!)
The bad: totally gutted with rotten floors
The good: totally gutted but fairly dent free exterior. Especially
the end curved caps are very good. Sides and roof very straight.
The bad: Where there was the water heater a hack job
of a patch so the whole lower road side panel aft is going
to have to be replaced. Aft storage is capped off. two cracked
windows.
The good: the axels and belly pan under look ok.
The bad: someone used a torch to cut off the bumper.

This is going to be a major mission. But I'm going to keep it
very, very $imple. I will NOT try to restore this trailer to original.

This is going to be a serious Boon docking machine with all solar/LED and
propane. A good friend of mine who is a wicked smart engineer out fit his 42' sailboat to live off grid for at least a month and will advise me. I'm fairly handy and know basic yacht carpentry and electrical, plumbing etc.

My current trailer Tinbad (home) has taught me a lot about these babies and the Airstream Forums have all the accumulated knowledge needed for my journey into the deep dark recesses of Airstream history and repair.

FIRST QUESTION: As I will be keeping interior cabinetry to a minimum for as open a floor plan as possible (and light weight).......Does the shell some how rely on the interior cabinetry for support and rigidity?
SECOND QUESTION: At what point in weight savings does the trailer become susceptible to being blown over in a high wind.??? Or truck air disturbance??

Here's a couple first pics. Hope fully the PO will deliver it to me tomorrow morning (fingers crossed, no tags, insurance but it's all back roads).

Signed:
Scared and Excited PS: Assuming all goes well tomorrow this trailer will be named after Sinbad's (Tinbad"s) wife....well, sort of, lore has it that her name was Princess Parissa....There for she'll be Tarissa for the black top I hope to have her travel on. Sorry Tinbad that I could'ent afford a younger gal for ya but we'll gussy her up. Why are there no "female" emoticons?

[pbearsailor]

Ah, we've hooked another one for vintage.

Bring her out to Lynden for the vintage rally a week from tomorrow. Lots of ideas will be there for you.

Cheers,
Steve

[BIGED52]

Not only are you missing the bumper but the storage box as well. It may have been badly damaged in a accident and just cut off to pretty it up a bit. The box can be fabricated but the bumper will most likely have to come from a donor trailer. Let us know if you need some contacts for that. Ed

[Del Gurney]

Steve: I'll be there but not with the trailer, So it's next Thursday? Where in Lynden??
Not that it's such a metropolis that I'd miss it.

BigEd: Yea, he mentioned something about a "bicycle rack" modification by a PO's PO.
It's alright, I completely modified my bumper storage on the 05 so I can figure out some thing. Thanks

[pbearsailor]

Originally Posted by Del Gurney

Steve: I'll be there but not with the trailer, So it's next Thursday? Where in Lynden??
Not that it's such a metropolis that I'd miss it.

It's at the Fairgrounds, Del. Tin Can Tourist rally, but there will be a bunch of Airstreams there. Think they had about 140 total trailers last year. Start showing up Wednesday or Thursday and open house for looking at trailers is Saturday. Fun rally.

Look forward to seeing you there.

cheers,
steve

[terryV]

WOW !! What a project. I admire your "tinasity". Please , please keep us posted on your progress.

Yes, there should be female smilies. perhaps we can be the first forum to have them.

[RM66caravel]

I like it many possibilities we will look forward to your progress
Cliff

[Del Gurney]

It's here but what a drama involving the PO delivering it and getting lost and having
a near anxiety attack. I went out and located him and guided him back to my place.
While backing in a couple wheels locked up and he plowed a couple of furrows through my gravel drive way. He was driving a F250.
Minimal paper work indicates the TT was "Junked" by the DMV on Jan 31 1994 in CA.
A hand written "bill of sale" stating "sold to Ernie X one trailer for the sum of $250 by Ken X on 10-2-96 As is:
All I got I got was a written receipt for $500. (at least I got free delivery of about 50 miles with out tags or insurance!!...very great full for that Ernie).
Seems he was cited for having too much junk on his property so it had to go ASAP!
Funny thing is I though I was buying a 24 footer, but after researching these forums and measuring the TT it's a 26 footer.....I though it looked a little
bigger than my 25 Safari!! WoooWooo!!
So the Saga begins.....Pics to come.

[mikextr]

I admire the blank slate. It took me and my 15 year old son 2 days of hard work to get all of the fixtures out.

[cwf]

Wow, go Del! Go!

[RM66caravel]

Good luck on getting a title with that paper work night mare! I would use the bill of sale and try it that way.
Cliff


Yes I said that! Or did I?

[Panama Red]

Man, that's exciting! Nothing like a new project! Could you possibly title it as a homemade trailer? Keep us posted...

-Red

[mccrosti]

If the Axel's are original, call Colin Hyde. You'll need new ones.

[rodsterinfl]

Congratulations on your new hobby! Amazing. I too would like an older one but can barely keep up and store the one I have. Keep posting on your progress. It will be interesting.

[Del Gurney]

Well folks, it got worse.
bent chassis with hack job repair. Entire road side shell was at one time
replaced including first (lowest) end cap section.
It took me a week or two to get over the shock and during that time, though I kept working on the tear down, I almost cut it up for scrap.
Then in a fleeting moment I priced the estimated cost of the roof and end caps parts and labor and figured I was still had about $8,ooo of usable material.
Here is photo "progress"....what you are seeing is about 2/3rd of the chassis
replaced with new metal, both longitudinal's from back to the door and all but 5 of the transverse frames had to go, all but 3 out riggers replaced. New axels, shock mounts and shocks. New floor ready to go in.
Nightmare.

[dbj216]

Well, you have a major rebuild project going on. Looks like very good progress on the frame. I hope you keep us posted on your rebuild. These old Overlanders deserve resurrection.

David

[Del Gurney]

Here is the latest:
I don't want to bore you with too many details because I learned those from these forums.
All I have to say is that this is both fun and pain full.

The original wheel well's were toast. Ordered new plastic ones...don't fit.
New custom ones should be finished next week.

Until then I'm stalled so I stared cleaning up the seams exterior, every other
thread goes in to this in great detail...and it's always that #@%$ silicone.
I am scraping it off with a fine scraper with out damaging the shell. There will be time for that later....I've done this on multi million dollar motor yachts.

It's get the old garbage off with minimal damage and go after the whole shell with a series of wet sand paper grits for an even finish ... less dust (harmfull) and really fast compared to a rouge wheel that is only for the last "perfect shine" if one so desires.

So you know: This is a "Shell on" re-fit. It is a little more difficult than a "Shell on" but if you don't have the shop and gantry this is how it can be done.

A )only work from one end (your choice) Keep at least 1/4 of the shell attached to the plywood/frame at all times and re-enforce with shell supports and load distribution strops.
B) this trailer is in a spot where it gets high winds, so I have a nice cover with strops that keeps the shell synched and tight for those days. The covers job is to keep it water resistant, but in my case there is so much sharp end that it will be a write off when I'm done with it.

Here's a couple pics. The back of the trailer has been removed (new shell panel sections ready for installation)...this allows for easier access for the new chassis/welder and flooring.

On big ships we will cut a hole in the side of the hull to remove engines and improve worker flow.

you can see in one of the pics that the front of the trailer floor hase yet to be addressed....it is still (flimsily) attached but I would not trust it to hold in a high wind due to rot. There for the supports and strops.
Del

[cwf]

You are doing great! I like the c-clamp solution for roof support. Very clever!!!!

[dbj216]

Maybe your experience with motor yachts helps with Land Yachts? You have built some innovative solutions in your renovations.

Next time I will try the fine grit (like 1000) wet sanding method to remove oxidation from our old Airstreams. I went with the "Jestco" method of cotton buffers and a rouge bar as Nuvite polishes are "out of stock". It may be faster than compounding, but it is sure dirty, dusty. Wet sanding would be messy too, and hard on an old man's shoulder.

Does your Overlander have thinner steel frame rails aft of the axles? My 66 Trade Wind has 3/16 C channels from front to rear. I heard once that the 70s trailers were changed and went with 1/8" steel aft of the axles. Just wondering if in fact that was the case.

David

[Del Gurney]

Hi All:
I had my bro-in-law over for a few hours to help.
Here's pics.
New custom Aluminum (.09 mil) wheel well's were less expensive than the ABS
ones I ordered and still have (did not fit correctly). I'm considering using
them as "inner wheel" well's (with modifications) with sandwiched insulation
between.
Tomorrow the "bow" flooring comes out....
All attachment of shell to deck is modified with elevator bolts and through bolts.
Time to consider tankage and wiring nearly.