'70 Caravanner restoration

[Jeremy9107]

I like this sort of dialogue even if I do feel like a freshman in an upper classmen AP course. Builds my knowledge and someday I can pass off as a knowledgeable Airstream historian. I like the Aluminum. If for nothing else it avoids rot. Very sturdy. Light weight. I’ve reused every piece of aluminum possible on this rebuild but hardly any of the wood.

[dbj216]

The only wood in my 75 was the infamous subfloor and the plywood bed mattress supports and the gaucho cushion plywood supports. Airstream used 1/4" under the foam mattresses. Not good. The gaucho had 1/2" which is adequate. I'm not sure what the bulkhead walls were made of. Maybe very thin plywood with the plastic laminated to it. The cabinetry framing was all aluminum extrusions. Neat.

We all learn from each other on these Forums and these "project threads".

David

[Jeremy9107]

getting further along with gaucho build. kinda designing as we go. reusing old gaucho frames minus the tambour doors. in fact, scrapped the front access design altogether in favor of lifting up the seat for storage access. idea is to have 2 sleeping surfaces of similar size so the kids don't fight over who sleeps on the bigger one. also trying to keep in line with the Caravanner concept of lots of sitting room.



the street side gaucho is essentially the same size as before, only lifted higher so sitting/sleeping surface is at 16" without cushion.





agree with David that the 1/4" ply that was on the bed before is not adequate. 1/4" Coosa is better. it doesn't give the cracking sound that ply gives when you sit in a void, but it does have some give to it and needs some extra supports to sturdy it up. also built a channel on the last third of the frame for those supports to rest in. when a butt is on the couch, that channel gives the needed additional support.

[Jeremy9107]

originally the 2 gauchos were both full length. there was a 12" or so space between the front and street gaucho on the street side that allowed the front gaucho to open fully.


decided to have a continuous couch in a J shape, so that space is now closed in and the front couch will only pull out in the center to form the bed.

sure was fun getting the curve right around those corners. tried once again with the scribe tool but failed. so just pieced together cardboard till it looked right.





still working on design for curb side of couch. it will not pull out to a bed, but it will have a cubby spot by door to put shoes in and have to figure out a way to get a table under it and TV behind it. both of which will be concealed until need to use

[Hittenstiehl]

Still looking fantastic. Nice write-ups and good pictures to help make the visual.

[dbj216]

The key to the Caravanner is all those gauchos creating a very open layout. Then when the party's over, they pull out into sleeping surfaces.

I like the framing. The slides look like my 75 Overlander gaucho slides which I find work much better than the wood ones in the 66 Trade Wind. They were kinda sticky.

I like the lift up seats for storage access. I find this easier than getting on my hands and knees and lifting a tambour door and pulling out a plastic bin. We did a similar lift up seat in the son's 69 U shaped dinette. But the table is a bit in the way.

I used 1/2" plywood on my bed mattress supports and the gaucho cushion supports. Heavier, but offers good support.

You are going to have your Caravanner maiden voyage well be for my Overlander makes it out of the shop.

Your project is looking very good indeed.

David

[chrisetmike]

I can't wait to see it finished, great work.

[my3sonsdad]

I’m impressed with your continued application of Coosa. Are you using leftover pieces or intentionally for its strength and/or its lighter characteristics? It appears to make a nice complimentary material to the original extruded aluminum framing.

[Jeremy9107]

David. These slides were a bit sticky too. Had to wrestle them out in a jittery fashion before. Am thinking if those channels aren't perfectly parallel then they bind up. Was careful this time to be square and parallel. But am looking for suggestions from others on making those glides actually glide.

I think you can make an argument that 1/4" Coosa is as strong as 1/2" ply. It's not nearly as stiff. In fact very bendy but does not break. Maybe that is good to have a little give on sitting and sleeping surface?? All depends on what your sleep number is.


My3sonsdad. Originally was just going to use Coosa for the subfloor. Had some scraps from that and built our back bed frame with it. Was so impressed with its versatility so decided to buy more and use as frame for all cabinets and along gauchos. It can bend around the curve of the Airstream walls. It can be cut with a utility knife. Sands in a jiffy. The cherry faces are heavy so the light weight Coosa balances out weight. Never rots. Coosa rules.

If I renovate another Airstream, it will be steampunk theme and built entirely out of Coosa and aluminum. No rusty metal and no wood. Will pull with a VW bus.

[Jeremy9107]

chrisetmike, thanks, another step closer to being done. Hittenstiehl, more write up and pictures...

still working on the "J" shaped gauchos. the curb side is going to be very functional. when we camp, there always ends up being a pile of shoes/flip flops/boots piled up either on the inside or outside of the door. so decided to build a cubby under the curb side gaucho that could house this collection of footwear. should keep things out of the way.




kinda don't like the idea of electronics while camping, but we did have a portable TV/DVD player previously with a screen about 10" wide. did not use it often, but was nice to have on the rainy days. ran on batteries which did not last long. decided to upgrade a bit with a 12V 24" tv/dvd player from NAXA.
http://www.naxa.com/index.php/ntd-2453.html
seems to have good reviews, durable and not too pricey. sound quality seems suspect though.

to have the appearance that we are sticking to the no electronics rule, it will be concealed behind the seat back of the curb side gaucho when not in use. will raise up on a tv mount to just above the curtain rail when in use.




still working on a design to pull out a table from under this gaucho...

[Jeremy9107]

have been getting windows back together and noticed a cracked piece on the locking device for the front window. it is the threaded piece just to the right of the square piece (this photo shows profile of the missing half of those threads). any idea where one can get that threaded piece, or the whole unit if it all needs to be replaced??

[my3sonsdad]

The threaded shaft...

https://www.vintagetrailersupply.com...p/vts-2026.htm

VTS also sells the entire latch if you need them.

[my3sonsdad]

The cubby and recessed TV are both great ideas! Looks like you have enough height for a shelf and dividers in the cubby area if you fancy them.

Can you post a link to the TV mount that you are using?

[dbj216]

Nice work Jeremey: Maybe you should work for Airstream as an interior designer. We too have a small pile of shoes, hats and gloves just to the right of the entry door. I'll bet a lot of folks do.

I'd just replace the window latch mechanism. Maybe you can find a used one somewhere. I did find used plastic knobs used on the flat rods that actually open the window. That round plastic piece gets old, UV soaked, and brittle. I advertised knobs wanted here on the Classifieds/Parts and got a good response. I just installed two of the used ones today. Goot enuf.

David

[69Silverback]

Jeremy9107,

I came across your build thread and it is really great. Thanks for taking the extra time to document your progress, it is inspiring.
I am in the midst of rebuilding our '69 Overlander. Keep up the good work.

69Silverback
Loren

[Jeremy9107]

Thanks first the link my3sonsdad. That threaded shaft part is not the broken piece. It’s the first set of threads that holds the handle in the frame. See that VTS sells the whole thing and might have to do that. Thanks.

[Jeremy9107]

Bought the tv mount 5 years ago on Amazon. Prob was cheapest product then.
VideoSecu ML12B
https://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Mon..._mw_2530729011

David. That would be a cool job. Just camp in Airstream and come up with ideas. Wonder if they would let me work remotely.

my3sonsdad is right. That cubby needs a shelf. going to work on that.

[montanablue]

Originally Posted by Jeremy9107

have been getting windows back together and noticed a cracked piece on the locking device for the front window. it is the threaded piece just to the right of the square piece (this photo shows profile of the missing half of those threads). any idea where one can get that threaded piece, or the whole unit if it all needs to be replaced??
Attachment 337107

I have two I would sell you. There is a piece of aluminum through the shaft. You can remove it when you take it apart. Contact me at r_whiten@hotmail.com if you are interested.

[Jeremy9107]

Hi Loren. Glad you are following. I got many ideas for my rebuild by following other builds. Good luck with your project.

Montanablue. Emailing you about that latch. Thanks for the offer

[Jeremy9107]

basically have finished the gauchos. just need to do a couple little things for completion.

true to Caravanner style, lots of sitting room. the couch is almost a U...more like a J. raised the gauchos up to 16". sitting depth varies depending on where you are at. the curb side is the shallowest, with a depth of 13" to the back support. the street side depth is 16" to the back support and the front depth is 30" (not going to have an inclined back support here as this will be more of a lounging seat).


gaucho is defined as a skilled horseman, so not sure how these bed/couches came to be known as gauchos. nonetheless, they are very functional, and lots of sleeping arrangement options here.

can pull street side out to a bed with a width of 40"


can pull front out to a bed with a width of 48"


or as will likely be the case with my 2 kids, can have both out at the same time.



have massive storage capability under those gauchos...more than the original gauchos would have allowed. ditched the tambour doors though and will now access by lifting up the seat bottoms. will figure out some way to put these on a gas piston latch or something.

all told, there is about 20 cubic feet of storage under the street side and about 15 cubic feet under the front side.




the tv will be hidden behind the inclined back support of the curb side gaucho. the tv mount allows it to swing out and up. there is a little storage behind that back support as well (maybe for the fire extinguisher).