Restoring 1973 Sovereign Baton Rouge

[BWMorgan225]

Owners manual made it.
Will see if the frig is connected and will let you know what happens. Been reading manual catching up now.

[BWMorgan225]

Kay
Do you have any photos posted of your window work. will search to see what i find. thanks
BW

[wasagachris]

BW I'll give you a quick break down od the window seal replacement.
First remove the handles at the end of the window lift rods. They are attached with a set screw found on the underside of the knob. Use an allen key to loosen the set screwn and remove the handle.
Next remove the window screens by undoing all the screws around the face of the screen frame.
Then undo the bolts on the other end of the lift up rods to remove the rods from the window frame.
Now from the outside lift up on the window itself and lift it about 120 degrees from it's closed position and it will drop out of the sash hinge. The window frame and the sash both have a J hinge and the two J form the hinge.
Once you have the window frame out of the sash you can start removing the old seal using a scraper to remove most of the old rubber. Some people have used a wire wheel on a drill to clean off all the rubber and the old glue. I used rags and solvent to remove the glue. It was painstakingly slow but guaranteed a clean surface that was not scratched to apply the new seal.
The new seal has a peel and stick glue strip already attached. I just applied the new seal carefully around the edge of the window. Once I got all the way around I cut the seal off the roll slightly longer than needed. I then used weatherstrip adhesive to glue the two ends together. The two ends are on the bottom of the window and not on the top. If you intend on polishing the window it will be easier to do that before the new seal is applied.

[Viper2]

Originally Posted by Viper2

Welcome to the club. I have a 74 sovering 31Ft that was built in 73. SO If I can help I will be glad to return the favor for all the wisdom Ive gotten on here

Forgot mine is the twin bed in rear center bath model. All I know its tought to do floor repairs in the middle of winter here in maine. lolol

[barender]

hello BWMorgan225 I'm in West Monroe, LA with a 73 31ft Sovereign rear bath. I just began working on it. I plan to live in it for a year or so. Inland Rv has been very helpful with my questions so far. If you take it down I-20, give me a shout.

[Airdaddy]

I know I am not on the right post for this question, however I am going to try anyway!!! Would anyone like to direct me to someone that has a fold out table to fit a 1975 31 foot Sovereign or maybe plan to make a new one to fit??

Airdaddy
Wichita, Kansas
316-258-5158
dewingard@cox.net

[Minno]

Originally Posted by BWMorgan225

Kay
Do you have any photos posted of your window work. will search to see what i find. thanks
BW

Well, we thought we had posted pics of the window work in our Little Girl Refurb thread, but apparently we didn't. Between Wasaga Chris' instructions, and these pictures, hopefully you'll have the information you need. These are a combination of the front window and one of the side windows, but the general idea is the same for all the windows. We just didn’t take a set of pics documenting the entire process on one window start to finish.

Once you have the window out, you’ll need to remove the old gasket:


Putty knives and scrapers work fairly well. Most of the time, we used one of those multi-tool paint scrapers as it was tough enough to scrape off the old gasket, but not so hard or shape to gouge the frame as long as you’re careful.



This leaves you with a wonderful glue residue.



We used lots of carb cleaner to dissolve the old glue, and the same scraper to remove it. After some polishing with a brass wire wheel, we ended up with a shiny frame.



Then apply a good layer of the black adhesive



And then carefully apply the new gasket. Make sure the seam is at the bottom of the window.





Here’s a before and after pic of one of the side windows. In the first pic you can see the old gasket, and the frame shows a fair amount of dirt and surface corrosion. In the second (after) pic, the gasket is one solid piece (no light gaps), and the frame is a tad cleaner and shinier.




While we had the widows out, we also cleaned the side hardware. Before and after pics.




Hope this helps!

Chris

[BWMorgan225]

Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks

[BWMorgan225]

Well ..been cleaning, sealing, cosmestic repairs, some floor work, spraying all metal connections with wd40 on the "73". Got a quick question. Anybody an expert on the furnace. doesnt work. assume it could be a breaker or thermostat. any suggestions?? I didnt see a fuse listed on schematic but will check again.

also, looks like the trailer sat for a while. seller said he found it in an estate sale so he didnt know much. big mistake not asking enough questions. purchased it because outer skin in good shape.

anybody expert on the hot water heater? looks like controls froze. thanks

[Baseman]

Hello BW
We are down the road in Ponchatoula. We are just starting to fix up a 74 Tradewind. There may be an inline fuse very near where the wiring goes into the furnace. My water pump and bathroom fan have these. Haven't checked the furnace yet.

[BWMorgan225]

thanks Baseman will check it out. Glad somebody is close. I found this one in Knoxville. I almost bought an Excella that was in Ponchatoula. Missed it by one day. In great shape. Owners kept everything running. A lesson I have learned now. But I got this one because with the exception of a small scratch on the left rear side the skin was good and it was a middle bath single bed in rear which i wanted.

Looks like my hot water heater is rusted up. have not taken it out yet. controls looked rusted and need to be replaced. do you know what the tank is made of and is
the tank corrosive. i guess i wont know until i take it out.
thanks for the info...keep in touch

oh..how do you like that 25'
bw

[Baseman]

I am not an expert on most of this stuff yet, but am starting to learn.
We will like our 25 footer very well once we get it fixed up.
I am pretty sure that I missed the same Excella in Ponchatoula, it was in a little trailer park on Hwy 51.
The water heaters will rust up, I haven't even tried the water heater in mine yet. I am leaning towards replacing it as it is 37 years old. I have so much work to do to mine that it would really bum me out if it busted and flooded the trailer after I get everything back together.
Also I am thinking of deleting the furnace and installing a catalytic heater, this will free up a lot of storage space and the winters aren't that bad down here.

[Aage]

Originally Posted by BWMorgan225

Looks like my hot water heater is rusted up. have not taken it out yet. controls looked rusted and need to be replaced. do you know what the tank is made of and is the tank corrosive. i guess i wont know until i take it out.

Neary 40 years of service on a water heater; doesn't it sound like it may have done its job? How old is your water heater at home?

You can probably find a new valve, (which I think is what you are calling the controls) if it's so corroded that it won't turn, but then you will still have the tank spring a leak just when you get to that Paradise of a camping spot you've been looking forward to getting to since you first thought of buying an AS.

Don't ask me how I know that last part.

[BWMorgan225]

Looks like you and I are on the same page. I would like to replace both water heater and furnace. furnace Not needed down here. small gas heater and an ondemand water heater would work.
When you investigate how to remove the furnace let me know. probably need to remove the sink cabinet to get furnace out. would free up room.

[Aage]

Originally Posted by BWMorgan225

Looks like you and I are on the same page. I would like to replace both water heater and furnace. furnace Not needed down here. small gas heater and an ondemand water heater would work.
When you investigate how to remove the furnace let me know. probably need to remove the sink cabinet to get furnace out. would free up room.

They make it sound easy as pie in the Service Manual, but I have heard there is a tussle to be expected getting out. Especially for me, since the tambour door of the funace's house will NOT come out of its track for some reason. It got jammed down after we went a couple hundred miles with two cases of Diet Coke on the shelf.

[rich2002]

Congratulations, we are also a new 73 Sovereign purchaser after our "love" 1956 was sold and the job begins, again. This one is not an investment but for fun. Need help.
Having problems finding Tambour door guides. Anyone out there? We have no oven and looking for vent light covers.
Safe camping Rich

[BWMorgan225]

thanks

try
Out-of-Doors Mart!, More Airstream Parts on-line than anyone! (out of doors mart for vent covers).
BW

[Minno]

I think we still have our tambour door guides....currently not at home for another week so we can check when we get home and let you know. We generally just ask for shipping costs. Send us a PM to remind us next week and we'll check for you Rich.

Kay

[BWMorgan225]

Replacing Hot water heater with tankless ...any opinions or suggestions.

I have decided to replace with tankless. have found two gas made for rv's a Girard and a Precision RV 500. Anybody seen any other sources?


There are a lot of electrical models to choose from and are less expensive. Any opinions on both.

How about you guys that have done a lot of camping. With gas can take showers anywhere..but is it really an issue since most camp sites have electric service.
Any thoughts from someone that has done a lot of camping?

[Aage]

Lewster has a great thread on exactly this subject. Suggest you read it all.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f206...ter-71441.html

There's a twist near the end about one of the ones you mention, so be sure to read it all before buying...