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dbj216 · 12-28-2020, 06:27 AM

I got the ladder out and went to work on the roof vents, stove vent, fridge vent and AC seal. Something to do before winter comes.

It was just a matter of picking off silicone and getting down to the bare aluminum joint between roof vent and the exterior skin. It seemed the bucked rivets were holding tight. I applied a new bead of sealand right at this joint all the way around the two roof vents. I also installed new gaskets between the lid and the housing of the vent. This mainly helps keep dust out while towing.

And I installed a new plastic stove vent and a new fridge vent. I splurged for an aluminum fridge vent instead of the plastic one that came with the trailer.

These are just time consuming small jobs, but they do make the trailer better.

David

bambibooth · 12-30-2020, 02:41 PM

David, it's been more than two years since my last post to the Forums, but I am glad to see you're still out there restoring Airstreams. You posted on quite a few of my threads before.

I happened upon your thread because I just picked up a 1966 Tradewind to use an "office" at my RV park that I built. I read through to see what you've been working on and you're great at documenting, so it is appreciated.

I am not planning a full restoration at this time, but plan to later, as this will also be a Glamping Trailer for Rent at the Park later on down the road.

I will say the vintage models are getting EXTREMELY hard to find near me in Waco, Texas. They are usually gutted and shredded with a very high price, if they are for sale. I overpaid a little for this one but overall, it's in great shape. Only negative is that it has 2 or 3 plexi windows instead of the original curved glass, which you probably know is very hard to find again.

Anyway, thanks for all your posts and let's see if I remember how to post a photo.

B

dbj216 · 12-31-2020, 06:23 AM

Hi bambibooth: Welcome back to the Forums and vintage Airstream hobby. Many Corning windows are now plexiglass. Same with the 69 three square corner wing windows. We have plexiglass in one of our windows. As I recall, Vintage Trailer Supply or someone was offering curved glass window replacements. I read they were a bit thicker and folks were having problems fitting them to the glass bar that the operator pushes against to swing open the glass. There is a chance you could replace the glass in your windows if desired.

Happy my project might help you a bit with your Trade Wind. Touring Dan is built a 66 Trade Wind much better than mine, and their are others. The 67 and 68 model year had the new bath design which is better than the sink over tub design that was in my trailer.

Since your "mission" for your Trade Wind is office, and maybe someday a rental "cabin" at your park, you don't have to worry about axles. The subfloor ought to be solid and sealed, any rain water leaks fixed, maybe a good air conditioner for the Texas heat, and other items on your mind.

Post a photo when you get a chance. Click the paperclip, click "choose photo" from the manage attachments window that appears, and then click upload. It takes some seconds, but the manage attachments will show the photo uploaded, then you can close manage attachments window and when you hit submit reply or preview post, it will appear in your post. It appears where your cursor was. Phone photos are often loaded sideways. They have to be cropped to prevent this. And photos need to be downsized to something like 150 kb. A 3 meg photo doesn't upload well at all. Airstream Forums resizes photos automatically and than can take several minutes. Hope this refreshes your memory.

Here we are camping in the mountains with the Trade Wind. Everything worked.

David

bambibooth · 12-31-2020, 12:58 PM

Here is a photo of the Tradewind at the RV Park

dbj216 · 01-01-2021, 05:28 AM

Thanks for the photo: Always fun to see another vintage Trade Wind. Yours does have an air conditioner on top as mine did.

David

dbj216 · 01-01-2021, 05:53 AM

Airstream has always been big on fold up tables. They save space, and give the trailer a dinette of sorts for meals. Many of the tables have a fold out leaf so you can sit 4 at the table. The table is also handy for a coffee cup or a laptop.

But, my Trade Wind had the fold up table on the curb side, and in front of the entry door. I didn't particularly care for this arrangement, see photo. Why not put the table on the on the street side?

It wasn't a hard job. I did want to insure the table had very good support. I can see my family members leaning on the table. I made a strong table hinge mount with two stout legs up from the floor. This was attached to the exterior skins, but the legs support the table weight.

I used the old curb side table space to store two folding chairs. They are out of the way over there. Many vintage trailers have "leg-o-matic" folding chairs, but all I've got are Zip Dee ones.

Overall I am pleased that I moved the table over to the street side. Sitting on the couch to eat isn't the most comfortable, but this arrangement works better for us.

David

TouringDan · 01-02-2021, 08:54 AM

David- Very nice job on the table you built for your Tradewind. Ours came with both tables and they are original. We use the street side table a fair amount, but usually don’t put the leaf in. We have never used the curb side table. It doesn’t make much sense to me why they even provided it. I probably should just take it out.

Dan

dbj216 · 01-02-2021, 05:13 PM

My old Trade Wind was a twin bed model. There was only one table. I didn't know Airstream had a street side table back then. Maybe it was with the double bed model, or maybe it was an option.

Anyway, you can fold out both tables and have a holiday dinner for everyone.

David

dbj216 · 01-02-2021, 05:27 PM

I bought my trailer without a stove, furnace or fridge. The previous owner did not like gas appliances. The water system didn't work either. They used the trailer mainly for sleeping.

So I measured up the cabinet and selected a gas absorption fridge that would fit without too much messing around. Here is what it looked like when the truck dropped it off at our place. See photo 1.

The driver was already gone by the time I got home otherwise I would not have accepted it. I called the seller and reported damaged goods as well as sent the photo. He told me he would make me whole, and told me to unpack the thing and check for viable damage. I did and surprisingly found none. The seller said to go ahead and install the thing and if it didn't work he would remove it and install a new one. Fair enough.

I installed it and it fired up and cooled down as designed on both gas and electricity. The seller is off the hook and so am I.

David

Disco Stu · 01-02-2021, 06:19 PM

Looks good. Will you put a different cover over the face of the fridge or leave as is?

dbj216 · 01-02-2021, 06:33 PM

Hi Disco Stu: The black plastic insert in the fridge door is what I ordered, so it stayed. The cooktop was also black. Color coordinated the wife says.

I've also used a piece of stainless steel for the decorative front of the fridge, like on my 75 Overlander. There are lots of options for dressing up your new fridge.

Artistic I ain't. But I can run a screwdriver.

David

docflyboy · 01-03-2021, 09:09 AM

David- nice to see your black appliances. I'm working on my 3 burner Magic Chef today in the garage. I don't like the color and have been thinking in terms of light yellow, turqoise or black. I think I'm going with black on the re-porcelain job. I don't know what all colors were available from AS in the 60's, but it would be nice to hear what your tread followers had in theirs. Jerry

TouringDan · 01-03-2021, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by docflyboy

David- nice to see your black appliances. I'm working on my 3 burner Magic Chef today in the garage. I don't like the color and have been thinking in terms of light yellow, turqoise or black. I think I'm going with black on the re-porcelain job. I don't know what all colors were available from AS in the 60's, but it would be nice to hear what your tread followers had in theirs. Jerry

Our 66 Tradewind came with a white kitchen sink, a beige fridge front panel and a beige stove. We painted the stove white and replaced the fridge, but painted the front panel white. A bit puzzled why the original kitchen sink was white.

Dan

dbj216 · 01-08-2021, 07:22 PM

I decided to spend the time to polish the Trade Wind. The old clear coat was certainly wearing off and the trailer was that classic dark grey. I just wanted it to look better.

I had stripped and polished our 86 Limited 34' a few years back, so I knew what I was getting into. I know the Nuvite process works very well, but it is rather slow I thought. So I wanted to try buffing instead thinking it would be faster.

It isn't really. I had a lot of trouble learning to buff aluminum. Running a buffer is an acquired skill. What rpm, what speed to traverse over the aluminum, how much polish to put on the buff, how hard to push, how long to stay in one spot, how often to rake the buffer and other variables. Many of which can mess up the aluminum. There were spots where I burned through the alclad. Rats.

But I finally got the trailer polished good enough. It looks good, and certainly enhances the value of the trailer. But for alclad trailers, you can't go wrong with the Nuvite process. It was originally developed for airplanes.

David

dbj216 · 01-16-2021, 06:50 PM

I had put new gaskets on all the windows. And I looked for open seams and cracks and loose rivets around the trailer. I wanted to try the best I could to have a leak free trailer.

We have heard of the SealTest method for leak testing a camper. I figured I could rent a high volume squirrel cage fan and pressurize the trailer that way. I rigged it in the cargo compartment, sealed off the fridge vent on top, and opened all cabinet and cupboard doors inside the trailer.

I fired up the fan, waited several minutes to let the trailer fill with air, and then smeared a soapy solution on all windows, seams, vents, and other areas. I found 11 areas where we were blowing nice bubbles. I worked on fixing the leaks. I felt it was a successful endeavor for the Trade Wind.

David

Hittenstiehl · 01-17-2021, 10:11 AM

Nice job, photograph, shop and photo. I can't remember is this with inner skins off or on.

dbj216 · 01-17-2021, 05:54 PM

Hi: It was with the interior skins in place as well as all the cabinets. I was mainly concerned with leaks at the window gaskets. Getting these Corning windows to seal along the top of the glass is a bit of a challenge due to the "glass bar" and lever arrangement. I found a couple of windows with bubbles at the top of them.

I also found a leak at the black tank vent pipe cover on the roof. Found a leak at my tail light installation, and a leak at the entry door. I can't remember the other leaks I had to fix.

David

Hittenstiehl · 01-17-2021, 07:49 PM

Thx good to know. Those darn windows.

Time4fun · 01-17-2021, 11:15 PM

I am currently restoring my 1965 Tradewind trailer and have been learning a lot from your post. I do not have a ton of experience but I'm having fun. I look forward to reading more. Thanks, T

dbj216 · 01-18-2021, 06:16 PM

Welcome Time4fun: These vintage Trade Winds are a lot of fun to work on and to travel with. I'm glad you are finding my Trade Wind project informative. That is the whole purpose of these Airstream Forums, learning from each other. There are a lot of nicer Trade Winds than mine. Mine is simply functional and reliable and comfortable. But not fancy. There is so much more that could be done.

The 65 model year still have flat glass windows, which I consider an advantage. The Corning curved glass windows can be a challenge at times. The flat glass can be replaced much more easily. Your trailer has the same not so great bathroom as mine. And both trailers are pretty much the same throughout.

You will have to post some photos of your trailer when you get a chance.

David