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Old 10-13-2020, 07:47 PM   #41
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1986 34' Limited
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Waste Water Tanks

With the floor ready for "construction", I decided I needed to finish the waste water tank installation so I could know exactly where my plumbing and toilet will penetrate the tanks. A guy only gets one shot at this, so it better be right.

My tanks were designed to be hung with angle irons which worked well for me. A 26 gallon water tank is heavy when full, like almost 200 pounds. My idea with the tanks is to fit them tight against the subfloor and then drain them below the frame rail on the street side. I didn't want to drain them out the back of the trailer. I knew full well this would reduce my ground clearance by about 4". But our 86 Limited and most new Airstreams have tank pans covering the tanks and drain manifolds below the frame rails. If you put your cheater glasses on, you can see in the background of my photo the 86 Limited tank drain connection right behind the rear axle.

I needed to figure out the drain plumbing manifold considering the tanks are located in separate "frame bays" under the trailer. I also had to arrange the dump valves so the pull rods would be accessible.

I also decided the Garnet SeeLevel senders and readout was the way to go for me. I purchased the instrument and stuck the circuits to the tanks. I'll wire them up later.

So away I went and got the tanks plumbed and hung in their final resting place. They will come back down once I locate the exact floor penetrations for my drain plumbing; toilet, vanity sink, shower, galley sink, and necessary tank vents.

Hey, I'm building back up instead of tearing it down. Feels good.

David
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Old 10-16-2020, 07:07 PM   #42
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Plumbing Begins

I purchased a replacement above floor fresh water tank for the Trade Wind. It is located under the front window and under the gaucho. I also purchased a new water pump. I figured this area is a good place to start replumbing the trailer.

From the water pump, the first stop is the galley sink faucet, then the water heater, then the toilet, then the bath vanity sink, then the new shower stall.

I used PEX as most people do now days. I didn't plumb the low point drain valves or the city water pressure fresh tank fill valve. I fill the tank with a hose, and I winterize with compressed air to blow the water out. I also pump rv antifreeze into all the plumbing lines and fixtures.

I wanted to get the plumbing "roughed in" before I started building the new bath.

David
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Old 10-20-2020, 07:25 PM   #43
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Garret SeeLevel Circuits and Readout

I knew little about the SeeLevel system, but I was sure the resistance sensors weren't very good. In fact, the 66 Trade Wind did not have any tank level indicators at all, and I find them handy.

So I purchased my SeeLevel instrument and followed the installation directions, including insulating with rubber sheets where my circuits were too close to the frame rails. I stuck the inductive sensor circuits to my new tanks and ran the wires to the read out location.

I didn't try out the instrument for some while, but I had to get those circuits on the tanks before I got it all bolted together.

Later on, I did learn that I had a noisy 12v circuit causing the readouts to flutter. Garret techs were helpful to me as the problem was in my old converter, and my rather lousy 12v ground connection to the frame. I bought a new converter, and cleaned up the ground connection and then everything worked perfectly.

David
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Old 10-24-2020, 12:58 PM   #44
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New Power Distribution Panel Installed

The old 120vAC power panel had screw in fuses. Kinda antique, but not modern. Hey, they were good for putting a penny behind them to get the lights to come back on. I wouldn't do that, would I?

So out with the old and in with a new box with 4 circuit breakers. I wanted an exclusive circuit for the microwave. I know I can't run the AC and the microwave at the same time. Same with a big hair dryer. 30amps is all I get. But I didn't want to run the microwave off some other circuit in the trailer, and I wanted a handy place to plug in the microwave.

So I installed the new breaker box in the same place as the old one was. In the medicine chest/wardrobe cabinet. The wiring was straight forward.

David
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Old 11-03-2020, 06:26 PM   #45
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Don't Blow a Fuse

Another "infastructure" item I wanted done before I started making the new bath was a new fuse panel. The old one in the rear cargo compartment appears built by Airstream. It is large and well laid out. I decided to move it so I had more storage room back there. And I wasn't keen on the glass tube fuses and thermo circuit breakers. Here is a photo of it.

I purchased a modern fuse panel that was small and tidy. I located it near the 120vAC distribution panel which is located in the "medicine cabinet" in the bathroom. However, it was dang difficult to stuff all the wires into the thing. Further, the hold down screws were too weak to get a good clamp on stranded wire. I was disappointed in my selection, but I made it work.

At least I don't have to go out in the rain to investigate and change a fuse anymore.

David
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Old 11-04-2020, 08:09 AM   #46
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David-I bought the SeeLevel system as you posted a few posts up. I still have to install mine, and I have fresh water and gray water tanks below the floor with sheet metal pans. The tanks are new, and I don't want to take any drain pipes apart, since it is almost an interference fit down there. Please let us know, the nuances of the transducers, and did you just wire them all parallel? Jerry
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Old 11-04-2020, 06:03 PM   #47
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Unusual for me, but I just simply followed the instructions. The stick on circuits are well designed. You snip a corner of the circuits to identify the tank it is stuck to. The read out requires a clean power source and a ground below 5 ohms resistance if I recall correctly. The three circuits (fresh, grey, black) are "daisy chained" together with two wires. It was an easy install. I did stick on a piece of rubber insulation to the circuits as they don't want them close to a metal member, like a frame rail or a tank pan.

David
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Old 11-06-2020, 07:36 PM   #48
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Making Bath Parts

I felt I have the "infrastructure" in place so I can now start making the bath parts. The bifold door is now a pocket door giving room for the toilet, new tanks are under the trailer, the new plumbing is "roughed" in, the new electrical components are installed and tested, the shower pan is located and shower walls are made, and the new toilet location is marked and tested for knee room. What next?

I made a template for the all important vanity countertop. I decided I would have the sink located in the countertop that is mounted just under the rear window. Not the best, but the best of my options. The counter top is lower in height than what I would call ideal. But it is what it is.

After I was satisfied with the template fitting to the curved walls, I used it to cut a piece of flat 3/4" plywood and made some temporary legs for it. I cut the sink and faucet holes. The DW selected some Formica and I glued it down, and trimmed the edges.

I then made the new wardrobe and new electrical cabinet. These are just cupboards with hinged doors. The wardrobe is somewhat smaller than the original due to my toilet placement. There is still the hanging closet in the galley. I also made a medicine cabinet next to the shower and on top of the vanity counter. My shower valve and shower head runs in this cabinet, but doesn't take all that much room.

Since I moved out the battery tray, the fuse panel, the toilet, the low point drains, the converter, the power cord, and the city water inlet from the rear storage compartment, I had some room below the vanity sink for additional bath storage. I made some 6" deep shelves under there with two sliding doors. It's a good place for TP and other bathroom items. And I still had some storage room in the rear cargo compartment. It was a compromise that I think worked out pretty well.

It takes a bunch of time to cut and fit these parts, and then finish them. Fun to do, but it was much faster to take the old stuff out.

David
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Old 11-11-2020, 06:38 PM   #49
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New Axle Install

My new axles have been sitting on the floor for 5 months. With the majority of the new bath done, I decided to switch gears and get those new axles mounted in place. Installing new axles has never been my forte.

After careful measurements, I found the new axles are going to require some modifications to the Trade Wind axle mounting plate. The new axle tube was too big, the new axle mounting bracket was too low, and of course the bolt hole pattern was off. My friend made a template showing the exact location of the new mounting holes and the trim of the axle plate notch.

I used my angle grinder with a cut off wheel to cut out the axle plate clearance notch, both width and height. I used a 5/8" twist drill and a hand held 1/2" drill to drill the new holes which wasn't the easiest Airstream job I've ever done.

I made a wood holding jig to lift the axles with my floor jack. Axles are very unbalanced things and hard to handle. Some folks use transmission jacks and some make their own metal jigs to clamp the axle in the right position.

So up they went, in went the bolts, and on went the new shocks. Job done.

David
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Old 11-19-2020, 06:04 AM   #50
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New Floor Covering

I purchased some click type floor covering material that was on sale. I just wanted something that was the same color as mud and dirt. I will say now that the job is done that I chose the wrong material. It was made cheap and did not lock strongly in place. Few, if any, plastic engineered floor coverings are designed for travel trailer use, what with wide temperature swings and vibrations. I had trouble with joints opening up. I think now that a glue down type floor covering would be better. It is sacrilegious to say it, but carpeting would be good too. Airstream put carpeting in their trailers for years and years. Easy, low cost, but difficult to keep clean. Anyway, doing this project again would require me to investigate what trailer manufacturers are using and maybe get some professional help installing it.

Here are some photos of this aspect of my Trade Wind renovation. I note that by removing that "one stop utility area" in the rear of the trailer, I now have a much nicer cargo compartment. The sewer hose goes in the bumper, the city water hose and shore power cord fit back here nicely. I also have the under bed cargo storage area.

David
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Old 11-22-2020, 10:09 AM   #51
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Time to Vent

Roof vents that is. The plastic fridge vent roof cover and the plastic drain pipe vent covers were in bad shape. I purchased new ones and set them in place. I had some subfloor rot under the drain pipe roof vent in the bathroom. I believe the vent cover was leaking. As Inland Andy used to say, you must maintain your roof vent covers or expect problems.

Setting the new pieces wasn't that big of a job. The drain pipe roof vents are designed to fit over the 1 1/2" pipe extension out the roof so rain water flows into the vent pipe and into the waste water tanks. Clever I thought.

David
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Old 11-24-2020, 06:38 PM   #52
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Waste Tank Pan

I hung my new waste water tanks near the rear of the trailer due to the rear bath. The black tank has to be under the toilet. I figure I'll be okay as I don't tow very far with water in the waste tanks.

I need to fabricate a pan to cover the tanks and hold the heat in that I piped to them. Since I don't have a break press nor can I weld aluminum, I had a local shop make the pan for me. I did the drawing for it. I also made a box to cover the drain manifold out the side of the trailer. This area needs some heat too so it doesn't freeze up if winter camping.

The pan is stout and hung to the frame rails and cross members around the tanks. Our 86 Limited has a similar pan as most modern Airstreams do. The new waste tanks with the drain manifold and valves and pan all functioned well.

Photos of this project for your viewing pleasure, or not.

David
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Old 12-01-2020, 07:22 PM   #53
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In the Belly of the Beast

I installed 4" of rigid foam insulation under my Trade Wind. It is water proof and comparable R factor to fiberglass. It took me a while to cut all the pieces I needed to get the subfloor covered.

Then on to the belly pan. The old one was quite corroded at the rivet heads as one might expect. Galvanic corrosion they call it. I purchased a roll of 5052 aluminum .025 thick as a suitible material for a belly pan. The belly pan adds no strength to the trailer, but it does keep road dirt out and helps hold heat in a little bit.

I went from side to side instead of running long sheets lengthwise as Airstream does. They work on the frame with it upside down on a "rotisserie" fixture. I'm working on my back under the trailer.

Every piece has special cuts needed. Cut around this pipe, that propane line, the steps, the front belly wraps, the wheel wells, etc, etc. There is a lot of layout work needed for every piece. I attached a piece of plywood to my floor jack to help hold the floppy aluminum in place. I used about a 8" rivet spacing attaching the belly pan to the frame rails and cross members. I bet I drilled over a hundred 5/32" rivet holes. My shoulder tendon was quite sore.

Belly pan replacement isn't my favorite Airstream renovation job I got the job done and sighed a moan of relief.

David
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Old 12-02-2020, 05:48 AM   #54
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David-I'm pondering how to keep the edges of the belly skin flat to the frame. My belly skin was put on in the winter in Texas, and with the differential expansion of aluminum vs steel, my aluminum skin has some waviness to it. That wouldn't bother me, but the leading edge looks like it could be a scupper, and take on whatever water gets kicked up from a wet road. I went over to Airparts yesterday in Merriam, Kansas and had them cut me some pieces of aluminum that are soft enough to bend into a tight J shape. Once I get them made, I think I'm going to slip them under the leading edge of my forward sheet and pop rivet them to the steel, at pretty close intervals, and then slip the belly skin in the J channel to hold it a little tighter. I think if the belly skin gets put on when the weather is hot, it sits flatter and tighter, based on the different coefficients of contraction/expansion between aluminum and steel. It also makes sense to over drill the hole in the aluminum to give it some room to move. I've had several pop rivets already shear off.

Despite how shiny it is when you put it on, it doesn't seem to stay that way. I'm also considering rolling on an automotive chip guard clear over the forward skin, when I have it off. Maybe I'm just falling victim to shiny stuff. Jerry
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Old 12-04-2020, 06:40 PM   #55
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Airparts is a good outfit. That's where I buy my aluminum and sometimes rivets.

I think the main function of the belly pan is to keep road spray from soaking the fame and subfloor. So scoops on leading edges of aluminum under there need corrected for sure.

Airstream installs belly aluminum lengthwise as they do it with the frame upside down. I install mine side to side in 48" wide pieces about 64" long. Not always, but the cross members are generally spaced at 24". I always lap my joints facing to the rear of the trailer. I figure less chance of scooping up road spray.

I pop my first rivet in the middle of the cross member and work my way to the frame rails. I like to "iron" the aluminum flat even if I am slightly out of square or position.

The 60s trailer have long exterior skins on the side that wrap around to the frame rails. It gives a tighter joint down the frame rails and less chance of leaks at the rub rail area.

I use a piece of plywood on my floor jack to hold the belly aluminum piece up tight to the cross member so I can drill and rivet. It is a challenge to get it positioned working alone on your back.

I'm sure you will seal up those road spray scoops.

David
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Old 12-06-2020, 05:52 PM   #56
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Patches

I had a few areas where I needed to make patches to cover the old furnace exhaust, the new utilities attachment area, and a patch by the entry door. I used the 2024 T3 .032 thick "Alclad" aluminum sheet like the trailer was built with. I figured when I got around to polishing the trailer the patches would become less noticeable.

I used Olympic trifold rivets and shaved their little heads so they looked kinda original. I did seal them the best I could.

A small jobs that took several hours.

David
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Old 12-11-2020, 08:58 AM   #57
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Odd Jobs

Having a vintage Airstream means you always have something to do. After spending the winter and spring doing major projects, I had quite a list of small jobs I wanted, and needed to get done. Here are some of them:

New Window Gaskets

The old gaskets sealing the unique Corning curved glass windows were shot. I purchased a stick on flat gasket from VTS said to be made for these windows. I replaced them all with good results.

New Cabinet Doors:

The old galley cabinet doors were warped and banged up. So I simply cut new ones from quarter inch veneered plywood, stained them, and mounted them on new hinges. It helped the appearance of the trailer quite a bit.

Paint the Stove Vent

The stove vent was greasy, rusty and looking bad up there. So I took it down and cleaned it thoroughly. Then I repainted it off white. Looks better.

Silicone Gobs Everywhere:

I want to polish my Trade Wind. God only knows why. The trailer had great gobs of silicone in many places. I spent considerable "picking and grinning" to get the stuff removed. It is very time consuming doing this, but the trailer is better off for it. I resealed the seams with Arcyl-R purchased from Airstream.

Dinning Table:

I didn't care for the fold up table on the curb side of the trailer. Fold down tables are space savers for sure, but this one blocked the entry door when in use, making an emergency exit somewhat problematic. So I moved the table to the street side under the big window. It worked just fine.

New Shower Curtain Rod:

My shower stall is a small 2' by 2'. I really don't think it is worth the space. Who wants to be clean when they are camping, hiking, cycling, fishing and the like? Anyway, this shower rod pulls out giving more elbow room, and then pushing in keeping it out of the way. I thought it was nifty.

Let's see, what else is on my list? I'm sure to find something.

David
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Old 12-11-2020, 10:02 AM   #58
CC
 
1972 27' Overlander
Heinsburg , AB
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 243
Just found your thread today; good job taking time to detail your work. I've enjoyed reading through it, and as always, nice work.
CC
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Old 12-11-2020, 06:30 PM   #59
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1986 34' Limited
1975 27' Overlander
1969 21' Globetrotter
Conifer , Colorado
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,289
Images: 1
Thank you Camper Crazy. Glad you enjoyed this thread. David
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Old 12-20-2020, 06:59 PM   #60
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1986 34' Limited
1975 27' Overlander
1969 21' Globetrotter
Conifer , Colorado
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,289
Images: 1
I had rented heated building space for the winter to work on the Trade Wind part time. It makes the winter go faster. After some extensions to my rental agreement, I decided to pull the Trade Wind home for the summer months.

So I did. The new axles towed straight. I was a bit disappointed in the ride height. My new axles were the standard 22 degree start angle. But the new waste water tanks clear the road just fine. They don't hang much lower than the wife's 86 Limited. I'll putz around with the thing when I can and maybe I'll rent the heated building space next winter also. We shall see. I do want to install new aluminum screens in the window frames. I'll keep you posted.

I think I will hook up and spend the night in the Trade Wind.

David
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