A '63 for me! (many good ideas for your new to you Trailer)

[uwe]

Originally Posted by blackhawksid

Just spent almost two days reading this thread. Absolutely amazing to see start to finish. This should be published! Perhaps could help to recoup some costs? Thanks for sharing, this definitely provides great inspiration for a newbie like myself-

Thank you! This Overlander is still with me, and still functions perfectly. It is being re-polished as we speak.

[soldiermedic]

The time has come to finally do some posting on this thread for the first time in 10 months. Amy and I are the excited new owners of Uwe's amazing 1963 Overlander.

A small history....

In 2011, I went to the Vintage Restoration Rally in ABQ, NM with Top and Whitsend. I met Uwe there, and asked if he knew anyone who may have been selling a trailer. Uwe told me that he would possibly consider selling his trailer to me so he could put his time and effort into his 1958 Flying Cloud.

A couple of weeks after the rally, I found a 1956 Sovereign of the Road in Seattle. We decided to go with the SOTR because of the 13 panes and the rarity. We had an agreement for someone to do the work on the SOTR, and they went to get the trailer for us. After a huge mess of problems with the person we trusted and paid to do the work, we moved the trailer to an RV shop in Dallas. After 6 months of this shop never touching the trailer, it was sold.

In March 2012, I contacted Uwe again to see if he knew anyone who was selling a trailer. I figured that his trailer sold very quickly after I passed on it last summer, but Uwe had to know SOMEONE who was selling a trailer. I has delighted to find out that Uwe never sold his trailer...he never even offered it up for sale to anyone else.

We love Uwe's craftsmanship, but we wanted an interior that was more inline with our family's needs. One part of this was having to convert the dinette in the trailer into a bed twice a day. This was something that we hated doing in previous trailers. Uwe told me that he could make the front into a sofa bed. He also said we could do a zolatone finish which was more inline with what we were going for.

The only issue we were hung up on was that he had loaned his trailer to his client who was having him redo her trailer. It was understood that once he finished her trailer, I would be first in line to get the changes made. Last week, Uwe delivered the trailer to his client and brought the Overlander back to Area 63. Below are some pictures of ongoing work.

Curbside of trailer being prepped for Zolatone


Streetside of trailer being prepped for Zolatone


Curbside cabinets out in the shop


New shelf that will go next to the fridge


Underside of shelf with light


Aluminum trim added to the bottom of the tub.

As for the zolatone, we were hoping to find a color that worked well with the cabinetry colors. We are considering the 50/50 mix of silver grey and desert camo (Just like Rob Baker's 58 SOTR). In fear that this may not work, we are looking at all options.


The current plan is to meet midway between San Antonio, TX and Orange, CA to deliver this baby. It's been over two years without an Airstream, and since March that this purchase was agreed on....we are ready to camp!

Steve

[Lance M]

Congratulations to you and your family Steve! You've made a fine purchase. Looking forward to camping with y'all soon.

[soldiermedic]

Originally Posted by Top

Congratulations to you and your family Steve! You've made a fine purchase. Looking forward to camping with y'all soon.

Thanks Lance,

Unfortunately we won't have it next weekend, but I am still hoping I can borrow Cobb's 59 Tradewind!

We're going to have a blast in Blanco at least.

Steve

[Lance M]

And Hico, and the Halloween rally and the Thanksgiving rally and, and,

[reinergirl]

THAT was the 63 Overlander you bought!!!! Are you freakin' kidding me! LOL You just bought the gold standard ...man am I jealous . Just wait, I'm gonna give you a run for your money .... Met Uwe at the restoration rally this year, man you are some lucky dude. But his new trailer ROCKS! Seriously jaw-dropping, when I saw it I seriously don't think I strung two words together coherently. Best wishes soldiermedic, you deserve this one. See you down the road

[soldiermedic]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

THAT was the 63 Overlander you bought!!!! Are you freakin' kidding me! LOL You just bought the gold standard ...man am I jealous . Just wait, I'm gonna give you a run for your money .... Met Uwe at the restoration rally this year, man you are some lucky dude. But his new trailer ROCKS! Seriously jaw-dropping, when I saw it I seriously don't think I strung two words together coherently. Best wishes soldiermedic, you deserve this one. See you down the road

Thanks Shelly,

Like you, I met Uwe at the ABQ resto rally, but in 2011. His 58 FC is really pretty, and I love the magnet latches that he uses for the cabinetry. We are extremely fortunate that Uwe sold us his labor of love. I mean...this trailer is what started Area 63 Productions!...at least to me it did.

Can the 17th hurry up and arrive?

Steve

On Edit: While the interior will be zolatoned, we opted to keep the inside skins of the door bare aluminum and elected to keep the stainless steel backsplash in the kitchen. The stainless will give a great cleanable surface, and both bare metals will give a little variety and break up the paint.

[FC7039]

Glad to see you are back in the AS game.

I will be curious to see if the imbedded AC will be suffice in TX. I wanted to do this but did not think I had the ability and was concerned it would not be enough.

Also, what is going on in Blanco? Is that Aug 4-5th? We will be in going to Pecan Park and then Pecan Grove the next week end Aug 9-11.

[soldiermedic]

Next weekend us a short trip to the beach in Port Aransas. I'm trying to borrow my friend's trailer. The Blanco Xmas rally is a yearly event in December. Pecan park is a great time. With we had a camper as we would join you.

As for the AC unit, Uwe told me that in height of summer direct sun, it will not be able to keep up. Thankfully pecan park has many shade trees, but this isn't everywhere. He said he camped in Austin with it a few years ago and it was okay at that time.

I did ask uwe to ensure that he ran a 110 wire to the center vent in the event we had to go to a roof top unit.

[slowmover]

Am pleased for this outcome. Will be great to work from a "new" trailer any changes that best use of space dictate for you & yours. A long couple of years . . and never gave up!

[soldiermedic]

Some pics from Uwe on today's work.




I found this sofabed on Airforums for free, and only 20 minutes from Uwe's shop. It is out of a 1964 Safari and fits flawlessly. The wood is rickety, but will provide an excellent template that will save Uwe time in fabrication of the new couch. Now we just need a table. We are hopeful the cushion foam is in good shape


We decided to keep the stainless steel on the streetside.

[soldiermedic]

So we are going to need a table when we have the trailer in "sofa" mode, and below is a picture of what I am looking for. If you know where something like this it, please let me know.





Steve

[reinergirl]

Honestly, the chairs are frequently found on eBay, etsy and the like. The table would be a relatively easy build, I would think Uwe could handle it....unless you're stuck on having vintage?

[soldiermedic]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

Honestly, the chairs are frequently found on eBay, etsy and the like. The table would be a relatively easy build, I would think Uwe could handle it....unless you're stuck on having vintage?

Pay no attention to the chairs...I have several leg o matics.

I am interested in the tab;e exclusively. I am pretty sure Uwe cannot build something similar unless it was a lot higher than what they can be found online for.

Steve

[whitsend]

Glad to see this "News Break" and know Uwe will have your modifications finished soon. Can't wait to camp with ya'll - some day, maybe. Congratulations!!
Jim

[soldiermedic]

Zolatone in progress.

Uwe sent me these pictures after spraying on Saturday. It appears that the 3 gallons of paint were not enough to do the interior although the coverage was supposed to do more than the interior. I hope that the spread is more uniform with the additional 1.5 gallons.

[soldiermedic]

Talked to and received newer and better pics from Uwe today of the zolatone. The pics before this looked like uneven coating, but it was an effect from the lighting and the camera flash with the white in the paint. This is how everything looks right now. He hasn't sprayed the front end cap, the area behind the kitchen cabinets or the rear bath cabinet. Tomorrow is the project completion for zolatone and then the interior will go back in along with a new front sofa.

As for the sofa, we need to determine fabric. The original red fabric in the trailer is not able to be replicated because it is no longer made exactly like this. Uwe said he found a similar red, but not exact. What about a grey or coal colored sofa, and use the rear accent pillows from the dinnette that Uwe built to bring the red color from the middle bed together with the grey in the walls?

I'm all ears for colors since I have no clue what I am doing on that!

[reinergirl]

Color is a very personal thing....

That being said, I absolutely adore grey sofas! Grey upholstery fabric can be really lovely, take a hard look at quality fabric like Knoll, its very high quality and it shows. I would stick with a medium grey, not too dark. Dark fabrics show everything, just like dark cars!

I agree with the idea of bringing the red from the bedroom area. Maybe take the existing dinette cushions and remake them into throw pillows and use them.

Depending how adventurous you are I'd personally add another color into the mix. Grey/red/chartreuse Or Grey/red/aqua are very popular combos and appropriate to the era of the trailer.

Combo Maker - Generate Color Scheme Images to Share

Combo Maker - Generate Color Scheme Images to Share

Go even wilder? How about a couple of pillows for the couch in a bold graphic to tie it all together.....
red grey pillows on Etsy, a global handmade and vintage marketplace.

You'll notice that many prints use grey, red, aqua and chartreuse!

I think your paint job looks FANTASTIC!

[soldiermedic]

Originally Posted by reinergirl

Color is a very personal thing....

That being said, I absolutely adore grey sofas! Grey upholstery fabric can be really lovely, take a hard look at quality fabric like Knoll, its very high quality and it shows. I would stick with a medium grey, not too dark. Dark fabrics show everything, just like dark cars!

I agree with the idea of bringing the red from the bedroom area. Maybe take the existing dinette cushions and remake them into throw pillows and use them.

Depending how adventurous you are I'd personally add another color into the mix. Grey/red/chartreuse Or Grey/red/aqua are very popular combos and appropriate to the era of the trailer.

Combo Maker - Generate Color Scheme Images to Share

Combo Maker - Generate Color Scheme Images to Share

Go even wilder? How about a couple of pillows for the couch in a bold graphic to tie it all together.....
red grey pillows on Etsy, a global handmade and vintage marketplace.

You'll notice that many prints use grey, red, aqua and chartreuse!

I think your paint job looks FANTASTIC!

Shelly,

As you can see from this pic, there are 2 pillows on each side. We could place them up front along with whatever color couch we end up going with. Since we are keeping the dinette (in case we ever want to swap it out), we don't want to cut any of the cushions down or remove fabric. I don't think the aqua or chartreuse will work, but grey, grey, black, and white do. If I can find a good fabric then it will work well. I like the fabric like Winick uses with a pattern, but don't have time to go searching out every retro fabric website. It may just come down to having Uwe do what he feels will work the best, and be surprised when we meet him in a few weeks.

Steve

[soldiermedic]

Well, the painting was completed yesterday morning, and Uwe has been plugging away at reinstalling the interior. Enjoy some of these quick shots he sent me today.