Jimber's 1965 Tradewind

[ALUMINUMINUM]

If you'd never seen a 120V RV outlet, it sorta looks like a 240V clothes dryer outlet.

[rmkrum]

Which is precisely why “experienced electricians” screw the RV outlet up. They tend to not read the directions and wiring diagram on the box...because they “know what they are doing”!!

Habit is the enemy of careful thought...

[Jimber]

I have trailer envy

[ALUMINUMINUM]

It appears that airstream may have had a universal schematic for the behind the skins harness, so yes, there can be never connected wires coiled behind skins, to facilitate “options” added later in assembly for AC, fans, cigar lighters, radio, speakers, and the “Eight Track” which might have been mounted in your front endcap’s overhead locker. My 68GT, without radio option, had such 12VDC 10g “Kaflex” wire, in its overhead front locker, just laying there, that branched from waterpump.

Fishing… I started with little puck magnet glued to a cotton string. It glides along inside the skin and doesn’t disrupt the insulation. Then use the string to pull my fish-wire, then use fishwire to get a good pull on the electric wire.

If you remove your inner skins, you’ll be surprised to find that many horizontal and vertical “stiffeners” are not attached to the main ribs and “U” channels, as you would expect. There’s a gap at their ends that you can sometimes fish a wire around.

In places that don’t show, in order to get past such “floating ribs” I drilled an 1 ½” hole and angled a ½” bit through the rib and grommeted it for a wire to pull through. That’s how I got my solar wires to the rooftop. I don’t have a refrigerator chimney as I’m using an Isotherm fridge. The chimney and its concealing cabinetry took a lot of space in the 68GT.

[Slats]

Originally Posted by Jimber

I have trailer envy

Take it from me, that will eat your lunch after a time on this forum. Just keep plugging along with your head down, doing your best with the marbles you were granted, and you'll wind up with a reasonable facsimile of your original vision. If I have become proficient at anything, it is hiding shims. In this regard, it was comforting to see that, upon removing my interior walls, there were a good number of factory-installed shims hiding behind them.

[Jimber]

Aluminum, your kitchen looks fantastic! Love that hood work!

I have repainted the tongue with POR 15 and realized the old break away had been cut and needs to be replaced. The previous owner left a new one in trailer still in package, tekonsha breakaway 2009 model. Looks like a small metal bell. It has 2 wires coming from back of it. Anyone know where those go? I think they will land on the brakes and aux/battery for the seven pin but not 100%. Alot I see online has an aux 12v battery to feed this, I dont have one, just the battery in the back.

Will upload some progress photos soon.

[Jimber]

Another question: anyone know why I'm reading 13v when plugged in and I have the sconce lights upfront turned off. When I turn either one of the fixtures on, i drop down to 7v...fuse? 12v circuit breaker? Maybe easy one for yall but I'm sitting here scratching my head. All the other lights inside burn fine.

Thanks

[dbj216]

You are right. The breakaway switch keeps full battery power off the brakes unless you pull the pin and then you get full power to the brakes. They will likely lock up.

Also in the 7 pin connector is the wire from the tow vehicle brake controller that applies voltage to the brakes proportional to the tow vehicle brake force. More force, more volts to the brake magnets.

Okay, the wires to the brake away switch that were cut should be one wire as 12v hot, and the other wire going to the brake wire circuit connected in the trailer. Using your volt meter attached to a good ground, find out which breakaway wire has 12v. The other wire ought to be 0 volts. If your trailer was jacked up and you could spin your wheels, connect the two breakaway switch wires and your brakes ought to lock up. All 4 of them.

Here is a photo of the rats nest of wires under my 66 Trade Wind A frame belly pan that connected the 7 pin cable to the exterior lights and brakes in the trailer. It was a mess to figure out what did what. One of those wires feeds the brakes from the tow vehicle brake controller. Somewhere tied in is the breakaway switch wires that will energize the brakes should pull the pin.

A huge voltage drop like that just from turning on one light bulb would indicate a dead short to me. If you are measuring voltage at the light, then a circuit breaker maybe has a poor connection. Yes, a circuit breaker or fuse should protect the circuit and I can't explain why such a drop in voltage. Airstream used thermo circuit breakers on most 12 circuits, not fuses in the sixties. Others may have more experience than I in this problem diagnosis.

David

[ALUMINUMINUM]

My break-a-way wires run alongside the umbilical cord inside the curbside arm of the “A”-frame. Yours might be streetside. They should already lead the house battery and brakewires. If your house battery is good, you can listen for the brakes to “click” when you pull the pin from brake controller. Don’t leave the pin out for long, bad for brake magnets.

As David says, you have a short somewhere and a fuse should blow. Start disconnecting stuff to isolate. Ask PO if he did any wiring work. Safer to disconnect battery and use your VOM. Maybe a black wire touching ground or white wire.



You'll have a wiring diagram in your manual, or download from airstream site...

[ALUMINUMINUM]

Oops, way past my bedtime, meant break-a-way, not brake controller. Yes, the break-a-way wire is often repurposed to electric jack. Seems OK for them to share, but I don’t remember the breakaway being fused, so check that spec.

In the time it took David to beautifully restore five trailers, I’m still dragging my knuckles around the one I got ten years ago. So I’ll advise, take your time, fix on something else and think about your wiring plan. You can tin-tent camp just fine without sconce lights.

When my trailer frustrates me, I walk away and return after I've had some time to think. The trailer is for fun, and that includes all its challenging puzzles... and "shims".

I don’t know if 1965 used breakers instead of fuses. In 1968, it was all 12V breakers instead of fuses. That’s not the norm these days. Could be an over-activated breaker overheated and seized on, so cannot open, and the shorted wire fries. I think they're supposed to fail OPEN, but it's fifty years old... What happens to voltage with waterpump running?, is scare light affected? Is there a penny in your fuse box??

[travelux1969]

as several have alluded to, the problem with aluminum wiring is at the connections. what happens is aluminum oxide, which is always present, accumulates at the bare metal at the connections, increasing resistance to current flow to the point that serious heat is created. here is Canada if you are cheap enough to use aluminum wiring in your home you MUST use a product which prevents the oxide from forming, at every connection. one product is called "noalox" but there are others. when wiring is inspected, if aluminum is used the inspector will NOT pass the wiring without that type of product used on the wiring at every connection.
read the instructions on the noalox product and use it correctly!

[steinVT]

Regarding the high voltage drop, I don't think it is a short. What it most likely is a high resistance splice. You are dropping 5 volts across the splice leaving only 7 volts for the light. That is a typical problem with AL wire, the wire is ok, its the connections that will give you problems.

Assuming that is a 15 watt light, if you are measuring 7 volts, that means you are drawing 3/4 of an amp. You are dropping 5 volts across the splice so that means you are heating the splice with a little less than 4 watts. Just think of a 5watt 12v light bulb, they can get hot.

I think I would check all of your 12v fixtures under load. Then you will have an idea the state of your wiring. - Mark

[Tin Can Tena]

It looks in really nice shape!!

[dbj216]

My former 66 Trade Wind 24' had circuit breakers. I actually did not know what they were. I was dropping the belly pan and out falls this thing. See photo. I learned about them on Airstream Forums. And I've learned here that fuses are better as if there is a "bad splice" drawing too much power, the fuse will blow where a thermal circuit breaker will heat, open the circuit, cool back down, and reconnect the circuit. Not a good thing. Fuses fail safe.

My Trade Wind had a "fuse box" full of circuit breakers. I replaced it with a more modern one. I vacated the Airstream "one stop utilities" idea as I wanted my rear compartment for travel storage; not fuse panels, batteries, power cords, dump valves, and city water hook up.

David

[thosny]

My '65 Tradewind has a 12V receptacle on the banquet cabinet, similar to a lighter outlet in an automobile. I understand that was for a 12V television. I use mine to charge my cell phone.

[TurkeyRun]

Originally Posted by travelux1969

as several have alluded to, the problem with aluminum wiring is at the connections. what happens is aluminum oxide, which is always present, accumulates at the bare metal at the connections, increasing resistance to current flow to the point that serious heat is created. here is Canada if you are cheap enough to use aluminum wiring in your home you MUST use a product which prevents the oxide from forming, at every connection. one product is called "noalox" but there are others. when wiring is inspected, if aluminum is used the inspector will NOT pass the wiring without that type of product used on the wiring at every connection.
read the instructions on the noalox product and use it correctly!

My 68 Overlander has aluminum for all 120v and some 12v, (except for the 7pin connector and brakes.) I did not want to take off interior skin. I did replace both breaker panels with Blue Sea, and all the 120v outlets with modern Leviton, and most of the 12v lights with new LED. The only UL listed connector for aluminum to copper are filled with silicone to retard oxidation. Aluminconn makes some 2 and 3 port screw down terminals that are great. Ideal makes UL rated wire nuts for aluminum (they are purple), which I don't like because they can vibrate loose, but sometimes space is tight and you have to use one.
And the Blue Sea panels are awesome. Very compact, and you can toggle through readouts for voltage, amperage, hertz (AC) and watts. The AC panel will also tell you when is polarity is reversed from shore power.

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by dbj216

My former 66 Trade Wind 24' had circuit breakers. I actually did not know what they were. I was dropping the belly pan and out falls this thing. See photo. I learned about them on Airstream Forums. And I've learned here that fuses are better as if there is a "bad splice" drawing too much power, the fuse will blow where a thermal circuit breaker will heat, open the circuit, cool back down, and reconnect the circuit. Not a good thing. Fuses fail safe.



My Trade Wind had a "fuse box" full of circuit breakers. I replaced it with a more modern one. I vacated the Airstream "one stop utilities" idea as I wanted my rear compartment for travel storage; not fuse panels, batteries, power cords, dump valves, and city water hook up.



David

My original 12v fuse panel looked just like David’s. I have done lots of electrical work but I never could understand how the original panel worked. Installing the new pane was actually pretty easy though.

Dan

[Jimber]

As always, thanks for all the feedback. I took a step back from the electrical this weekend to get the wheels back on the trailer. Had a great time getting them back on with a busted floor jack but out of sheer stubbornness, they're on. New bulldog tongue jack as well, after a little time wallowing out existing hole. New marker/clearance lights, I guess they get grounded to the skin??? The old ones only had one wire (black) but the new ones have a black and white. Hooked up one and seems to work.

David/Dan, that's how my current 12v panel is laid out, same fuses. I think I heard one the other day catching/releasing but it was while I was messing with the marker lights so not sure if it had something to do with that or just the heat from the open compartment. I think I want to relocate my 12v panel to the inside bathroom closet next to the 120 panel but will just need to look into that later on. I like the idea of using the blade fuse in lieu of breaker.

Turkeyrun, thanks for the rec of panel, I'll check them out when I get to that phase.

[dbj216]

The rear bath "medicine cabinet" is where my new blade fuse panel was located in the Trade Wind. It is the small box above the 120v distribution box. If I recall correctly, there is where the 12v circuits entered the interior skins. Moving the fuse panel inside is a plus. Who wants to stand out in the rain at night with a flashlight trying to figure out why the vent fan doesn't work.

David

[Jimber]

So, while the weather is nice I wanted to pull out the awning to see what shape it was in. To my surprise, the arms and roller were to still functional. Not so much the vinyl fabric. I would like to get this fixed but there are several issues.

First, I believe the awning itself is from 1974. Carefree. I reached out to the folks at Carefree Colorado and they were very helpful but also shared they no longer can manufacture parts for this particular model, which they believe is a deluxe. They said they could supply vinyl fabric for about 450 but if something broke (ie spring) it would be useless. They no longer manufacture arms for the airstream and the fabric wouldn't work with zip dee. I was also leaning towards acrylic but then again, without a cover to protect the material, it would get damaged in no time. If they can fit a product (alumuguard or something like that) it would cost 1100 for the fabric and cover. Once again, if something breaks, they can't replace parts making all these effort and money, a waste.

The next option would be a zip dee awning set, with fabric ,for 1300 from inland rv. Seems to make sense to just buy a new one...but, it ain't broke...yet. 1300 is a little hurtful on the pocket since I had the thought I could just replace the fabric for +400.

I think I will plan on taking the arms and roller off, since it has to happen regardless to change the fabric. If it holds up during disassembly, I will clean it up and evaluate my options. If it breaks, there's my answer. Any experience pearls would be appreciated!