Dan's '66 Tradewind Improvements

[TouringDan]

"STREET CLEANING" GRAY WATER TANK

The 66 Tradewind originally came with a black water tank sitting below the toilet and no gray water tank. The gray water was just drained onto the ground.

I removed the heavy original china toilet and replaced it with a light weight (about 7 lbs) "Curve" porta potty/cassette toilet (photo 1). We only pea into the Curve toilet and dump it into a regular toilet at the campground. I also sealed the top of the black water tank. The black water tank now has become the gray water tank as all the shower and sink water now drains into the gray water tank when the main dump valve is open (photos 2 & 3). For this to work I have added a new 3/4" ball valve (photo 3). With the main dump valve open and the 3/4" ball valve closed the shower and sink water all drains into the gray water tank. I empty the gray water tank by opening the 3/4" ball valve. I do this when I am driving down the road. It may not be legal, but I don't have a problem doing this as I believe I am helping to clean the streets with some slightly soapy water just like a " street cleaning" machine does for city streets.

Dan

[TouringDan]

MY FAULT- SHOCK MOUNT REPAIR

When I was removing the shocks, I screwed up when loosening the nut on the upper shock mount and twisted off the threaded part of the shaft. It was my own fault as I was using a deep well socket and this put too much torque on the shaft. If I just would have gotten up off my butt and gone to get a regular socket this probably would not have happened. Oh well live and learn!

To repair this, I first ground the end of the 5/8" shaft flat so that it would be easier to drill the hole in the center of the shaft. I then drilled a pilot hole using about a 5/32" bit. Then I finished it off with the correct bit (slightly less than 1/4") so that I could thread the hole and install a 1/4-20 stud. It really was not all that hard. I ended up drilling it about the full 2" depth of the 5/8" shaft. I used blue Locktite to secure the stud.

There will not be much force against the small nut, so I think that it should work out just fine. It is just a bit embarrassing to do something so stupid.

Dan

[dbj216]

Very well done repair. I too believe the 1/4-20 thread will hold the shock in place. Heck, it might very well stay in place with no washer and nut in place.

I broke a shock stud on my 86 some years ago. The nut was rusted, and I just applied too much torque and broke the stud right off the frame. I found a welder and he welded a new shock stud in place for me. Shock studs for later model Airstreams are available.

I wonder how many spark plugs I've broken with a deep well socket?

David

[TouringDan]

REROUTING WATER DRAIN LINES

In the past when I have wanted to winterize the Airstream and drain the water lines I needed to remove the Curve porta potty to get at the drain valves that were buried under the false floor that supported the Curve porta potty and the batteries (see photos 1 & 2). I decided to relocate the two valves to the interior of the new bumper trunk (see photos 3 & 4). Now when I want to drain the water lines all I need to do is lift the cover to the bumper trunk and open both valves.

Dan

[dbj216]

Another improvement for the books. Very nice. It was just yesterday I opened the two low point drain gate valves in the back of my 75 Overlander as I was winterizing the trailer. Both valves worked, and the water proceeded to drain into the belly pan area. It appears some previous owner didn't bother to extend the low point drain line through the belly pan. I will correct this when I drop the rear belly pan this winter.

I eliminated the low point drains on the Trade Wind and the Limited as my winterizing process doesn't use them. They are just more plumbing joints that have a chance to leak as one did on the Limited. I prefer to air blow the water out of the trailer, and then pump RV antifreeze into all lines, faucets and drain traps.

After many years of winterizing the Limited for Minnesota 20 below January nights, I never used the low point drains and never froze a water line. Thus my decision to eliminate them.

David

[TouringDan]

David

My winterization technique is pretty simple. I drain the fresh water tank and operate the water pump. I then open up the low point drains, open the water heater drain, jack up the front of the trailer, disconnect the lines at the water pump and fill the traps with antifreeze. That's it. Now that I have moved the low point drains to the bumper trunk, the procedure is even easier.

Dan

[TouringDan]

EXTERIOR SHOWER CONNECTIONS

I moved my low point drain valves to the bumper trunk to make it much easier to winterize my Tradewind. To drain the water lines, I open up both drain valves in the bumper trunk and remove the brass caps (photos # 1 & 2).

Another reason for moving the drain valves was to make it easy to connect flexible lines to the drain valves for an exterior shower. All I need to do now is to remove both brass caps, connect the flexible lines going to the exterior shower and open the drain valves (photo #3).

Dan

[TouringDan]

NEW BUMPER TRUNK COVER

The original bumper trunk cover for the 66 Tradewinds was not a very good design. They hinged it on the bumper and then used 2 cheap Camloc fasteners to hold the cover in place. About 5 years ago I replaced the cheap hinges with a piano hinge. I secured the piano hinge with aluminum rivets. This worked ok until our last trip back from Florida in the spring where we lost the bumper cover completely. This was really disheartening as the bumper cover was original and I had no idea how I was going to replace it.

If you have been following this thread you know that I made the front wall and the bottom of the bumper trunk. These were really no big deal. When it came time to make the bumper cover I just used a flat piece of exterior aluminum material, installed a piano hinge on the front piece of aluminum that fits under the C channel (and channels water to the bottom of the floor unless the joint is caulked well) and installed two secure bolt and thumb nut fasteners to keep the bumper cover secured (photos 1-4). I think that it looks pretty good and I have confidence that it will stay put.

I purchased the piano hinge from McMaster-Carr. They are great to do business with because they have a good web site and they have an incredible assortment of stuff. I ordered the piano hinge blank so I could drill my own holes, specified 316 SS, 1.5" wide and 6 feet long. It did take a long time to drill the holes, 5" spacing. Not sure that I would do that again, but it does look good. 2" spacing on the holes would have been to many in my opinion.

For the bolt and thumb nut fastener, I tapped a hole (1/4-20) where it goes through two thickness of metal and used locktite to lock the SS bolt in place. I used a lock washer on top of the bumper and then a thumb nut on top of the bumper cover (photos 3&4). We will see how well this holds. I may add a third fastener in the middle.

Dan

[dbj216]

Your hinge plate and bumper cover is a big improvement over mine. Yours looks great. I like the "thumb nut" idea. You won't loose that new cover on the road.

I too did not like the "reverse opening" bumper storage cover. My trailer had a slight dent in the rear bumper which distorted the hinges and make the thing difficult to open. I too reversed the cover, but used a 1/4" U shaped aluminum channel for the cover to fit into. Then I used rubber draw straps to hold it down. Now it's like all the other exterior compartment doors, it comes off when you open it with a good chance to leave it somewhere. At least you don't have to hold it open while wrestling with stinky slinky.

Oh well...

David

[TouringDan]

REAR END REPAIR WORK COMPLETED

I have finally finished the rear end repair work which consisted of the following:
-remove old axles
-remove belly pan and gray water tank.
-remove insulation.
-wire brush the frame.
-prime and paint the frame using Rust Bucket paint.
-install new insulation.
-repair/modify the gray water tank.
-replace missing/rotted flooring
-install the gray water tank.
-design, fabricate and install a new bumper trunk.
-install new belly pan and banana wraps.
-install new axles and shock absorbers.

I can finally install the false floor (photo 1) that supports the Curve toilet and batteries and install both golf cart batteries and the Zamp 1000w pure sine inverter (photo 2). Note that the inverter feeds all the receptacles. It is a good feeling.

Dan

[dbj216]

My rear end needs some repair work too. It is a great feeling to complete such a large amount of work. Your Trade Wind is now a much better trailer even if many of the improvements are rather invisible. A polish job is much more dramatic, but worthless if the axles, frame, subfloor and systems are in poor shape.

Great Work!

My hard work is just beginning on my 75 Overlander.

David

[TouringDan]

Thanks David. My next task is installation of the brake lines and the electric/hydraulic pump. I have no experience in either of these areas!

You should be in fine shape in terms of repairing/improving your Overlander. You found a good one and you have lots of experience and knowledge after renovating two vintage Airstreams. I am expecting great things with this rebuild.

Dan

[TouringDan]

REDO WATER HEATER PATCH

When I bought our Tradewind 7 years ago the PO had installed a new water heater that required a patch. This really looked pretty good and has held up very well considering he used sheet metal screws to secure the patch and used silicone caulking between the patch and the Airstream aluminum (photo 1). It has always been my intention to replace the patch when it was convenient. That time is now as I needed to remove the water heater to replace the road side banana wrap. The patch thickness was much too thick and I found out why in the 2nd photo. He used a street sign. I would have never thought of that. He is a good guy so I am sure that he came by this material honorably.

I first installed the patch using pop rivets, like every other hole because that was what I knew how to install. I installed them in every other hole (photo 3). I used Trempro 635 between the patch and the Airstream aluminum. After I installed the water heater I caulked the joint between the patch and Airstream aluminum using Parbond. After I installed the water heater I went back and installed Olympic rivets and shaved them. I had never done this before so now I have acquired a new skill, at least to some degree. Photo 4 shows the finished product. I give myself a B for my first patch and first installation using Olympic rivets. I will need to do another patch when I install my new furnace. Hopefully I can do a better job on it than on the water heater.

Dan

[dbj216]

Well, you can book another improvement. Very nice. I too had to patch where the old water heater was located. I moved my new water heater forward under the street side twin bed. I was thinking forward is a bit better for a 75 pound (has 6 gallons of water in it all the time). I used the old water heater location for my new converter. I also had to patch over the old furnace opening. Like you, I used Olympic rivets. These trifold rivets aren't my favorite and I'm still waiting for Aerowood to invent and tool up a shaveable, sealed 5/32 blind rivet with decent strength. I found the Olympics not strong enough for my air riveter and had to pull them by hand, and even then I had some mandrels break prematurely.

Do these patches make a vintage Airstream "quilt like"?

David

[TouringDan]

4" MORE GROUND CLEARANCE

I was finally able to take my Airstream off the jack stands, where it has been sitting for the last 6 months, install the new wheels and tires and see how it all looks sitting on the new axles. I think it looks great (photo 1)! The new axles have raised the level of the Airstream by about 2 3/4" (photo 2). I already had increased the ground clearance by 1 1/2" by removing the
1 1/2" frame extension originally added by Airstream to make room for the box used to support the gray water tank (see post #104). This makes the total ground clearance increase about 4". This will come in handy when boondocking and also any time I need to crawl underneath the trailer.

After installing the wheels and tires I could not wait to just take it around the block to see how it rode. It literally floated down the highway (at least that is how it felt to me). It was an unbelievable feeling.

Dan

[dbj216]

The new "shoes" on your Trade Wind look great. I like that much better than the vintage steel wheels with hubcaps. And you will benefit from the extra ground clearance. I what starting angle did you specify on your new axles? I want with the standard 22 degrees and did not get the ground clearance increase. Further, I hung my tanks below the frame rails and reduce ground clearance by 4" right behind the axles. My 86 is of similar design, with the dump valves and drain manifold below the frame rails. A straight edge from the rear tire contact to the rear skid angle iron clears the tank box, so I figure I'm no worse off on the departure angle.

Hey, I figure my trailer does a great service in scraping road kill off the highway.

David

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by dbj216

The new "shoes" on your Trade Wind look great. I like that much better than the vintage steel wheels with hubcaps. And you will benefit from the extra ground clearance. I what starting angle did you specify on your new axles? I want with the standard 22 degrees and did not get the ground clearance increase. Further, I hung my tanks below the frame rails and reduce ground clearance by 4" right behind the axles. My 86 is of similar design, with the dump valves and drain manifold below the frame rails. A straight edge from the rear tire contact to the rear skid angle iron clears the tank box, so I figure I'm no worse off on the departure angle.

Hey, I figure my trailer does a great service in scraping road kill off the highway.

David

David

I was hoping to increase the ground clearance with the installation of the new axles. BTW I went with the standard 22 degree angle. I am a believer in going OEM unless there is a reason not to. I am absolutely thrilled that my ground clearance is 4" more than it was before. However I am not in favor of increasing the ground clearance by "lifting" the trailer. I believe this affects the handling of the trailer adversely which I don't want to do. This reminds my back in 1972 when the automakers had to meet the new bumper requirements. Most of the manufacturers redesigned their cars to meet the new requirements. Not the British, they just raised the ground clearance of the MGB. Just let the handling suffer. Of course it was not long after that, that the British car manufacturer went out of business.

I am glad that you like my new wheels. They are actually just like the alloy wheels that I installed last summer. Except, because the Dexter 3,500 lb disc brake spindle required a 5 lug bolt pattern on 4.5" bolt circle, I needed to buy new wheels. I ordered them with stainless steel lug nuts and metal valve stems. I believe I read that metal valve stems are good if you install a Tpms.

Dan

[TouringDan]

INSULATING THE WATER HEATER

After I re-installed the water heater I looked at it from the top (photo 1) and it was just begging to have more insulation installed around it. The only open side was toward the rear where the converter was located, so I went ahead and installed a piece of 1" pink hard foam board. This can be seen in both photo 1 and 2. I then installed Roxul insulation and covered it with the bottom shelf of the bathroom closet. This is not something I needed to do, but i just thought that it made sense. The benefit will be not as much heat loss from the water heater or, more importantly, not as much heat gain to the living area in the summer time.

Dan

[dbj216]

We think alike. I did the same thing in both the Limited and Trade Wind. In both cases, the water heater is under the bed. Needless to say we turn it off at night. The extra insulation does keep some heat from radiating into the trailer.

David

[chrisetmike]

I went camping this past weekend to Bandits Roost Campground (10/10 in my book) and went to Melrlefest, probably the best outdoor music festival on the east coast. I mounted my Jack antenna to the flag pole, raised it to a level of about 12 feet, connected the antenna and signal amplifier to the TV and got five good channels. Everything worked fine for 4 days through wind and rain. I just rotated the flag pole to adjust the antenna for the best signal, see photos below.

All I need to do now is paint the cpvc assembly white and figure out a good way to permanently run my cable into the trailer from the antenna. For my test, I just ran it through one of the ceiling vents.[/QUOTE]

Glad to hear this is working out! We have gone the same route. A nice flagpole\antena mount. Ours will be mounted directly on the trailer.