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Old 09-22-2010, 11:29 AM   #1
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1965 22' Safari
Salt Lake City , Utah
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'65 Safari Major Renovation

The Project: 1965 Safari Double

Pretty much in original condition; exterior pretty good, interior pretty rough.
The shell is really in great shape, not perfect, but no big dents, holes, or leaks in the main shell. The biggest issue is a leak where the shell meets the door along the top of the bumper that accesses the blackwater drain valve and sewer hose. This leak resulted in 8” to 10” of the plywood subfloor across the very back to be rotted away, the rest of the floor is solid no soft spots. The black-water tank is cracked and will need to be replaced. I also plan to replace all of the appliances (furnace, hot-water heater, stove and refrigerator).

The basic plan is to gut the front end (every thing in front of the bathroom), saving and reusing whatever I can. The original zolatone paint is getting a very thorough scrubbing. Unfortunately, the walls will need what I am hoping will be a very thin coat of paint to even out dirty areas (that just will not come clean with out scrubbing off the original paint) and some areas where the original paint is flaked/chipped off or already scrubbed thin. I hope to maintain the original texture of the zolotone and hopefully some of the color variation. The original 9” by 9” asbestos floor tiles (most of which were removed by the previous owner) will be replaced with new ones as close to original as possible.
Then I will start to refinish, rebuild or make new cabinets and put the trailer back together with all new appliances.

Me thinks it would have been easier to have just purchased a new trailer.
Problem is we really like the looks of the 60’s vintage models, and this way we get the exact floor-plan we want.

Me wonders if I am in over my head.
What the hell that’s never stopped me before.

BWH
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Old 09-22-2010, 12:01 PM   #2
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A Gem

You have found one of the gems. I'm a bit partial to a 65 Safari. We found ours a year ago this past May. It did take most of the year to restore/update the entire trailer. We had the same rear end leak you mentioned. That is called "rear end separation". Much is written about this in the forums. After fixing the leaks we added an eve over the trunk door which sheds water. Got it from Vintage Trailer Supply. We replaced everything including the axle which really made a huge improvement in the ride. Many, many, many hours of work but is a labor of love. We invested a bit over $12,000.00 (not counting purchase price) to get it to it's current condition. The new awnings cost a bunch but we really like them. We would not sell her for double what we have in it. Go slow and do it right (right means what you like) and you will have a beauty....Tim
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Old 09-22-2010, 01:10 PM   #3
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Me thinks it would have been easier to have just purchased a new trailer...

Me wonders if I am in over my head.
You may wish you had before its over...But let me be the first to say "Thanks" for making an effort to keep another vintage rig from facing anonymity.

Best of Luck,

Kevin
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Old 09-22-2010, 04:47 PM   #4
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1965 22' Safari
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You have found one of the gems.
Go slow and do it right (right means what you like) and you will have a beauty....Tim
Tim, you have done a gorgeous job on your Safari. I will hold it as a goal.
I do plan to go slow to both "do it right", but also to enjoy the project.

Here are some pictures of where I am starting.
As you can see I have a way to go, but I don't see any insurmountable problems.
BWH
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Old 09-22-2010, 05:03 PM   #5
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BWH - You've got a real gem. I mean it is in really good shape. I used Watco Red Mahagany oil and restained the wood work (4 coates). Airstream only used red mahagony for a couple of years. Yours should clean up wonderfully. Thanks for the pics. I show off mine as often as I can before the polish dulls and it will so next spring out comes the Cyclo and Nuvite. This is the only pic I have ours when we first got it home. Enjoy your project....Tim
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Old 09-22-2010, 07:39 PM   #6
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Great trailer!

BWH-

You have found a great trailer in above-average condition. Congratulations!

Please avoid some of the mistakes I made with my '65 Caravel -- shorter trailer, but with many of your issues.

(1) Don't even think about polishing yet
(2) Make sure your underbody structure is solid
(3) Plan your grey and black tank plumbing well.
(4) Review and repeat.
(5) Consider professional help with the substructure and plumbing.
(6) Take your time, enjoy your classic trailer and do it right.

I will try to find a thread on this forum about sealing the rear plywood. It's a design problem that is not hard to fix.

In the meantime, hopefully this thread will help. Our trailer was a wreck, so hopefully it will cover or link to some of the issues you have:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f145...vel-45046.html

For the light at the end of the tunnel, here's the first 15K miles of our travels:
65tumbleweed.tumbr.com

I'll try to keep an eye on your resto thread and jump in if I can be of help.

Final thought: learn how to use the search engine engine here, in conjunction with Google. There are golden nuggets of advice here, mixed in with quite a bit of prose.

I wish I saw this 3 weeks ago when we were in Salt Lake! It would have been good to meet.

John
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Old 09-22-2010, 08:44 PM   #7
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Hey BWH,

We're SLC Airstreamers too. We just sold our 1965 Caravel - still crying about it actually. She just left for her new home on Monday... We spent Monday night removing the inner skins and insulation from 'Zephyr,' a 1949 Trailwind and the reason we sold the Caravel. We completely gutted the Caravel and replaced the floor and the street side skin. We've done a lot of the other things too, like replace the vent with a fantastic fan, new axle (there's a local distributor of Dexters here), re-insulated, ran all new electrical, had custom black tank made AND started polishing (when I was waiting for parts to arrive and couldn't do anything else). We'd be happy to give you some tips/moral support if you'd like. We have to do even more on the Trailwind since we're rebuilding the frame as well. PM me and I'll send you my number. Good to know there's another poor soul with aluminitis nearby

Kelly
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Old 09-22-2010, 09:12 PM   #8
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Good news

BWH-

You are so lucky to have Kelly nearby.

Having an experienced airstreamer nearby will be worth its weight in gold.

John
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Old 09-23-2010, 09:17 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tkasten View Post
BWH - You've got a real gem. I mean it is in really good shape. I used Watco Red Mahagany oil and restained the wood work (4 coates). Airstream only used red mahagony for a couple of years. Yours should clean up wonderfully. Thanks for the pics. I show off mine as often as I can before the polish dulls and it will so next spring out comes the Cyclo and Nuvite. This is the only pic I have ours when we first got it home. Enjoy your project....Tim
Hi, Tim

Thanks for sharing the mahogany advice. I found the WATCO red mahogany danish oil on Amazon. Can you elaborate a little on your process? Did you use a cleaner before starting with the oil? Did you finish with a sealer or wax?

Dave the Rave!
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Old 09-23-2010, 10:32 AM   #10
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You may wish you had [bought a new one] before its over...But let me be the first to say "Thanks" for making an effort to keep another vintage rig from facing anonymity.
Best of Luck, Kevin
I totally agree that these vintage trailers deserve to be treasured.
I read somewhere on the forums that these rigs will last more than a lifetime, generations in-fact, if well maintained.
That being the case, are we not more care-takers that owners.

Anyway, I plan to restore (return to original) as much as possible and renovate (make new) only when needed. The only real change I am planning is to put a small side dinette in-place of the street-side gaucho.
BWH
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Old 09-23-2010, 02:06 PM   #11
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Hi, Tim

Thanks for sharing the mahogany advice. I found the WATCO red mahogany danish oil on Amazon. Can you elaborate a little on your process? Did you use a cleaner before starting with the oil? Did you finish with a sealer or wax?

Dave the Rave!

We cleaned all wood work with Pine Sol and toweled dried. We then lightly sanded eveything - wiped off the dust and then applied the first coat of Watco. We used a brush the first time making sure nothing spilled. We were lucky that the PO did not varnish. The wood really soaked up the oil. After about an hour we wipped off and let dry over night with a fan running. We lightly sanded all wood a second time and then applied more oil. The third and 4th coats were done with rag and then buffed with clean cloth. We did not apply any wax or anything else. The rubbed finish that the Watco provides is all that's needed. We plan to re-oil each spring. A tip - All of the hardware (hinges, knobs, handles) came off before oiling. Then each was hand scrubbed with comet cleanser which brought back the stainless steel shine. Hope this helps....Tim
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Old 09-27-2010, 02:33 PM   #12
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Gutted

The photos in post #4 are actually a year or so old but I figured I start at the beginning. My goal is to document the whole process from start to finish.
Here is what she looks like today, gutted except for the rear bathroom.

I am resisting gutting the bathroom, but expect that my resistance will fail and logic will prevail and it will all be out soon.
I do have to replace the plywood floor across the very back, and removing the bath appears to be a prerequisite to replacing the floor.
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Old 09-27-2010, 09:01 PM   #13
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A lot of progress for one weekend ;-)

The exterior looks nice and smooth. Everything inside looks so white, did you paint yet or just clean? You've really done a nice job of clearing her out - how hard was the work and did everything come out intact?

My floor tiles are pretty much coming up on their own - I'd be happy to box 'em up for you! Seriously though, I hope to do some upgrading and I'll be posting any vintage parts here first.
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Old 09-28-2010, 12:33 AM   #14
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yup I just finished the removal of the bathroom in order to replace the floor, the lower two interior skins will need to be removed as well, and if yours is like mine you will have a million wires penetrating the streetside skin...Lots of fun
But at least you've got a beautiful coach to work with
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Old 09-28-2010, 09:00 AM   #15
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A lot of progress for one weekend ;-)
The progress is actually over a year, I included the "original" photos (post #4) only as reference starting point, they are from a year or so ago.

Quote:
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Everything inside looks so white, did you paint yet or just clean? You've really done a nice job of clearing her out - how hard was the work and did everything come out intact?
I have not painted yet, just a lot of scrubbing by both Maggie & me; the photo does look whiter than actual (probably a bit over exposed).
Everything came out VERY easily, all you need is a screw driver, a drill (to remove pop-rivets), and a couple wrenches to disconnect the gas lines from the appliances. Oh, and I did saw through the kitchen sink drain. All cabinets are pretty much intact. Surprisingly, scrubbing the walls was more work than removing the interior. Some past owner appeared to use it as a smoke shack.
BWH
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Old 09-28-2010, 04:30 PM   #16
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I realize you've been working hard for a long time - I was winking ;-) I see you actually have had your airstream for almost 3 years?

I'm really impressed with your clear out, you've got a great blank slate. What are your thoughts about layout and such? Will you keep the same floor plan or come up with something customized?
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Old 10-04-2010, 12:47 PM   #17
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Gutted the Bathroom

Well, it had to be done.
The bathroom is now completely out. I actually kept track of how long it took. Start to finish working, working alone (at a comfortably relaxed pace) it took about eight hours. I went slow because I want to reuse most of the pieces, so I had to be careful to not damage anything.
There were several hidden screws, behind corner trim pieces, one was even behind a side panel, that caused difficulties. While taking the front of the trailer apart it seemed like all the cabinets were pre-assembled, carried in and just attached to the trailer. That meant that removing them was really quite easy. The bath was clearly assembled in place to a greater extent. This meant that you had to figure the correct sequence to disassemble them while trying to remove each piece mostly intact.
The vent pipes for the gray water and black water both went up through the closets after the closets were in place so they had to be cut out of the way.
Here are some photos of the progress.
BWH
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Old 10-04-2010, 01:24 PM   #18
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CAT Scale

After removing the bathroom I wondered,
how much does a totally gutted Airstream weigh.

Any guesses? What do you think?

No looking ahead !!

Here is what what I took down the CAT Scales:

1965 Airstream Safari 22 ft. (factory dry weight 3320 lbs)

No propane tanks

No fresh water tank
No black water tank
No spare tire.

No appliances
No cabinets, closets, gauchos, dinettes
No bathroom

Nothing inside at all.

Just a frame, belly-pan, plywood sub-floor, aluminum shell (both outside and inside walls), axle and wheels.

The rig fit very nicely on the CAT Scale.
I was able to get a separate weight for the:
Steer axle, Drive axle, and trailer axle.

I then drove home and weighed the tongue on my bathroom scale.

And the answer is:

axle weight 1520 lbs
tongue weight 305 lbs

Total 1825 lbs.
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Old 10-04-2010, 06:24 PM   #19
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I gotta kweschun - how'd ya git yer trayler in the bathroom?


(good luck with everything, thanks for posting your project! MarkR)
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Old 10-04-2010, 10:06 PM   #20
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Wow! That was fun and educational. How was removing the black water tank - how did that come out, were you able to pull it from above?

I love that you weighed in. A difference of 1495 lbs. - almost half the weight of the assembled trailer, much more than I would have thought. What was heavier, the appliances, the bath or the cabinets? That's quite a lot to play with when you build it back up. Will you try to stay under the original weight or do you feel free to go over?
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