Getting a 1972 Tradewind 25 rolling

[dbj216]

Well, let the fun begin. Getting your vintage Tradewind road worthy and the way you want it will be a fun project. It looks to be quite nice. A good find so to speak.

I find photos get rotated by Airstream Forums software when the photos are taken with a phone. Some folks solve the problem by "cropping" the photos into a smaller size. I have had success taking phone photos with the phone held horizontally, or "landscape". I do resize my photos to about 200 kb size, and I think Airstream Forums also downsizes a 4 meg photo to about 200 kp automatically. That's maybe the reason uploading a photo takes quite a bit of time.

But I'm only guessing and sharing my experiences. I'm sure some others will chime in with a better solution.

David

[Hittenstiehl]

Looks nice! Tina would be happy you rescued it. Lots of
"can do spirit" goes into rescuing these forgotten trailers.

[TradeWindDan]

Turbojeff,

I rescued a 1973 Trade Wind earlier this year, and our traveling stories are roughly the same. Our TW is almost identical. I didn’t notice it at first, but if you can, look under the carpet around your couch and check your subfloor. We had water dripping down each side from the front roof vent, and also coming in from the dry rotted door seals. Needless to say, we thought we were going camping this year, but instead, we’re rebuilding. The smell was too much for my wife, so ours is currently gutted to the frame and getting brand new subfloors, insulation, wiring, etc, etc. My new axles are just a couple of weeks out, so it’s getting closer!

I love a project, and so far this one has been fairly easy. There’s plenty of info in the forums and YouTube.

I added a few pics of my current situation.

Good luck and enjoy the experience!

Dan

[turbojeff]

Originally Posted by TradeWindDan

Turbojeff,

I rescued a 1973 Trade Wind earlier this year, and our traveling stories are roughly the same. Our TW is almost identical. I didn’t notice it at first, but if you can, look under the carpet around your couch and check your subfloor. We had water dripping down each side from the front roof vent, and also coming in from the dry rotted door seals. Needless to say, we thought we were going camping this year, but instead, we’re rebuilding. The smell was too much for my wife, so ours is currently gutted to the frame and getting brand new subfloors, insulation, wiring, etc, etc. My new axles are just a couple of weeks out, so it’s getting closer!

I love a project, and so far this one has been fairly easy. There’s plenty of info in the forums and YouTube.

I added a few pics of my current situation.

Good luck and enjoy the experience!

Dan

It looks like you are going all in for the restoration!

I haven't seen any soft floor spots so far. I looked under all three couches and behind the toilet, where the water heater is supposed to be (disassembled). So far it looks solid. I haven't done anything with it since I've gotten it home other than put a tarp over it since the front and rear windows leak profusely and the missing vent cover up front (blew off on the drive home).

I have some basic questions for everyone.

What power inverter is a good replacement for the original?

My water heater tank is corroded and was removed disassembled prior to my ownership. What are the options for replacement units?

My goal this summer is to attend a local Airstream meet in July. Low bar for the trip would be to get the electrical system working and the exterior and interior lights going. Water system up and running would be a stretch goal.

[dbj216]

Hi turbojeff: Maybe TradeWindDan is hibernating for the winter like the bears do here in Colorado. Just kidding...

Just some suggestions to your questions,,

I like the Progressive line of converters. They seem very reliable and have the modern features like "battery maintenance" and AGM capable. Mine has the "Charge Wizard" letting me know at a glance the condition of the battery and charger.

I opt for the standard Suburban Attwood conventional 5 gallon water heater. They are cheaper and work good enough for us. I do not like the cheap circuit board controller for the igniter as I have had two of them fail. But otherwise okay.

David

[TradeWindDan]

Originally Posted by dbj216

Hi turbojeff: Maybe TradeWindDan is hibernating for the winter like the bears do here in Colorado. Just kidding...
David

Haha, yep I was hibernating. Work has been no joke lately, and my Excursion tow vehicle has been needing more attention than the Airstream. Needless to say, other than pulling the awning off, and cutting some of the floor out, it’s been a little slow go.

I’m no help for the inverter question, and I have the original water heater, that I probably won’t use. Not sure if it works or not, but it looks to be in decent shape. I’m still debating on what I’ll use instead. I’ll be taking mine to a campground with showers and normal electrical hookups, so mine is going to be a glorified tent to be honest. (with a mini split, two pack n’ plays, a futon, and a big screen to catch any football games)

Mine has major water leaks currently. If you pull that bottom molding off on the outside, you’ll notice how the great minds at airstream overlapped the bottom sheets so that water will pour right into the gap after a few decades of age. My next tasks are pulling the belly pan, clean up and paint the frame, and replace the floor. A basic top off. And then I’m hoping I can overlap the outer wall sheets correctly. I’ll add a couple of pictures.

I hope your Airstream is coming along! Give us an update.

[Glenritas]

If you haven’t already looked at my build thread , please do so it will answer your questions and may give you some ideas.

Just click the link in my signature below . Happy building .

[turbojeff]

I thought you guys may enjoy seeing my Tradewind in a Tina Turner video. It pops up quite a few times. The number matches mine and the PO told me about this video. The song is not my jam but it has an Airstream in the video so that is a plus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0GVixJvt-g

Ordering water heater and power supply. Hope to see the lights on in the next month. Traveling a lot for work lately.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Thanks,
Jeff

[coloradoup]

Looking forward to your build!

[TR Anderson]

I have pretty much the same trailer as you that I picked up for a song back in 2017. Put on new axles like yours, replaced the uni-volt, and fixed the rear separation. Then did a lot of cleaning inside and caulking seams outside and called it done. Also like yours, all I wanted was a larger, hard-wall tent I could tow with real beds inside and enough headroom to get dressed standing up. Nothing fancy, nothing new.
I'll sell it to a handy 30-something in a few years, then we'll see it listed in the classified ads twelve months later. By then it will be completely gutted and listed as a "project"!

[turbojeff]

Hello,

I have stripped the screen frames and preparing them for paint on the interior viewable surfaces. The parts viewable from the outside will be partially polished. Does anyone have a good off the shelf color match for OEM color or ceiling?

Ceiling picture for reference.

[turbojeff]

After some research we found a Sherwin Williams color that we feel best matches the vinyl color. SW will make enamel paint in aerosol cans for $30ea + 1 qt of paint minimum which for this color is $30. I think 1 qt of paint is good for 8 cans.

My window screen frames are all stripped and prepped for painting. I was planning on using Rustoleum self etching primer and then SW 7637, Oyster white in satin as the top coat. The idea is the screen frames "dissappear" relative to the walls.

See pics for color and match comparison. We chose the color on the left.

[turbojeff]

Also I finally got all the registration details worked out and now have current tags and a title!

The trailer still had the original Oregon license plate on it in relatively good shape. I spent a bit of time peeling off the old registration tags and polishing it up. I was pretty pleased with the result. I left the 1976 tags on because they looked so nice and clean.

[turbojeff]

Lights on inside, cleaning up.

Everything inside the trailer is really solid. What is nice is no one has ever "fixed" it. There is almost no modification or upgrades that have been made. My plan is to replace the upholstery and curtains with a similar color set as we can find. Replace tambour door material with as best matching material we can find and figure out flooring. I really like the 70s vibe that the trailer has and won't be painting everything white.

[dbj216]

Looking nice and very much like a 70s Airstream. My 75 Overlander 27' has that 70s look also. A very experienced vintage Airstream enthusiasts toured my trailer during a vintage rally and thought is looked original. Well, not quite, but I did keep the original floor plan, and the original rear bath. Does your trailer have carpeting on the floors? Almost looks like it from the photo. People liked their carpeted Airstreams back then.

David

[turbojeff]

Your interior looks great. Did you have to make/source new tambour? I am planning on replacing all of it with replica tambour. I'm not sure if anyone has found a source for vintage replica tambour, I haven't found a source at this point.

Currently the original carpet is in place. We will be installing Marmoleum or something similar. I like the original look but carpet and camping don't seem compatible in my view.

[overlander64]

Greetings turbojeff!

Originally Posted by turbojeff

Your interior looks great. Did you have to make/source new tambour? I am planning on replacing all of it with replica tambour. I'm not sure if anyone has found a source for vintage replica tambour, I haven't found a source at this point.

My solution was to purchase Birch Veneer Tambour from Tape Ease, LLC. The Birch Veneer worked beautifully in my 1978 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre. A white pickling stain was used for the upper cabinets that had a white vinyl tambour from the factory, and a warm walnut stain replicated the darker pecan/walnut tones of the vinyl tambour in the lower base cabinets. It has been nearly 19 years since this material was installed, and it has remained stable, and unlike the original does not react unfavorably to the summer heat (warping)/sticking in tracks. Tape Ease also handles hardware to install tambour doors, but the original hardware was reused on my Minuet.

Tape Ease offers a number of hardwood veneer tambours if you would rather not go the staining of the Birch Veneer route. My choice was the Birch Veneer because I was able to eliminate one full sheet of the tambour material by using only one product.

Kevin

[dbj216]

Hi: The tambour in my Overlander is original except for the tambour under the cooktop. I found it here on Air Forums Classified and was told by the seller that it was the light color. When I opened the package, oops, wrong "light" color. Well that is all I had at the time and installed it for now. A guy gets used to it.

David

[turbojeff]

We attended a vintage Airstream rally this weekend in Oregon. It was great seeing other's trailers and learning more about their projects.

For our project, as we clean and investigate this trailer the more we find remarkable is just how original it is. Basically zero repairs or modifications to anything (ex rear bumper).

Now the trailer is road worthy and legal we are going to concentrate on replacing window seals and removing the old sealant and re-sealing the roof vents and caulking above the windows, etc.

We removed all but the front curtain and have ordered and received Dometic rail shades. The curtains take up tons of visual space as well as actual space so we went that route.

After that we will start addressing the propane and water systems so camping is a bit more comfortable.

[coloradoup]

What is that thing attached to the back of the trialer?