My 1974 Sovereign with rear twins

[gvanman]

Well, someone has to go first, so it might as well be me!
Here is a picture of the Sovereign when I took delivery.

[gvanman]

Another view

[gvanman]

Galley view

[gvanman]

View of the rear twins

[gvanman]

Dining area

[Fun-Lovin]

Ive heard the bathroom is very small in the rear bed units.
Where is that picture?

[gvanman]

You're right, the bathroom is very small - I have never used it apart from having a quick wash!
Here is a view from the shower.

[gvanman]

Whoops - wrong image. Try this one.

[GeorgeC]

Brand new to this site and glad to find such a great source of info.

We bought our 74 Sovereign 9/7/03. Outside skin is in great shape as previous owner parked it a lake and rarely towed it. Biggest culprit seems to be ravages of time. Most mechanicals were updated or replaced in 95/96.

We spent this past weekend giving it a thorough cleaning and were pleased with result. We want to replace carpet with hardwood, tile the bathroom and we have the upholstery out to be recovered.

You are right about small bathroom-----I am 6'6" and the wife just laughs at the prospect of me even attempting to go inside. Should be an interesting project to tile.

gvanman, our units could be twins------good to see another one for reference.

I'll try to post a photo I took last week when we picked it up.

[GeorgeC]

Took this photo day of purchase ----- 9/7/03

[imeynstein]

I am looking for an awning for my '74 Sovereign--any suggestions on where to find one?

[wahoonc]

Originally posted by imeynstein
I am looking for an awning for my '74 Sovereign--any suggestions on where to find one?

Zip Dee still makes awnings to fit our vintage Airstreams. I would look for a AS dealer for the installation. I know you can buy them and have them installed at Out-of-doors mart Outside of Greensboro, NC. If I recall the price for a new Zip Dee installed on my 31' Sovereign was going to be around $2100. It seems pricey but Zip Dee's are the best, out of this world factory support, and the only awning that actually fits the AS properly. My unit came with Carefree's that don't work properly and parts are not available to repair them either. They will be replaced with Zip Dees when the time comes.

Aaron

[imeynstein]

Sorry I did not get back with you, but I had lost this thread! Did you have just one awning placed or did you have awnings installed over all of your windows (Zip Dee brand)? I have also seen awnings on older AS --that had a metal protective covering over the roll. Does yours have this and what is their warranty/guarantee??? I have been concerned about getting an awning because of the elegant curvature of the body and have noticed that most awnings have straight bracings....Do you know of or have you heard of anyone making thier own awnings and brackets/bracing counterparts?...All of the awnings that I have priced have all been expensive and we are planning on gutting our AS and would like to keep most of our budget on the interior as that will be the brunt of the re-do....

[Beach Girl]

gvanman,
we have an identical twin to your '74 Sovereign and we love it. My husband and I are in process of selling our home because we are going fulltiming with ours. We have been traveling with it the last 3 mon. Good luck with yours and enjoy it!!!!!!!!!

[somefun]

Our '74 Overlander has an A&E awning that fits perfectly. The PO purchased it from Camping World. C.W. also did the installation. Although Zip Dees are the classic Airstream awnings, I have no complaints about the quality or fit of the A&E.

Curt

[sepezlover]

Hello everyone!
After years of Airstream dreams, and an exhaustive three month search for the perfect trailer, we just purchased a 31' 1974 Sovereign International. We towed it home and now it's parked in our yard...I just hope the neighbors don't mind too much It has an L shaped sofa/bed in the front, center bath, and rear bedroom. The rear bedroom was originally the double bed version, but the POs have done some remodeling to it, so now it is an almost king sized bed across the whole back. All of the upholstery and curtains have recently been redone. Everything seems to work okay, and we plan to put her to the test in two weeks when we take her out for a local three-day camping trip. I've been sitting on the couch and dreaming about all the renovations that I want to do, but fortunately, that all seems to be just because I want to and not because it needs to. I will take pictures soon and add them to list.

I've been lurking all over and trying to absorb as much information from here as I can. I know my husband and I have a lot to learn!

[SafeHarbor]

Hi, sepezlover,

Welcome to the forums!

Hi, imeynstein,

Yes, those are the Zip-Dees that have the enclosed carrier that looks like a tube when the awning is up. For answers, try

http://zipdeeinc.com/

And I have seen some SOB (some other brand) owners try various versions of making their awnings. I'ze seen one that was detachable and carried in the trailer when not in use. They had "hanging" it from the trailer down to a science. You need to see a well-adjusted Zip-Dee in action to see why all us Airstream millionaires seem to specify them. (Mine were on the trailer when I got it.)

Lamar

[imeynstein]

Thank you so very much for the information. I will post photos when renovation begins and will ask everyone for advice as we go along!

[JimGolden]

31 footers rock! Pure and simple. My favorite length of Airstream

Your trailers look sharp.

I called Zip Dee a couple months back to inquire about a new awning for my 31'. A new one costs $1400 direct from Zip Dee. Looks like it's basically nothing to install it. I've helped my 80 year old grand dad put on a couple (he's currently got two Airstream trailers and three SOB motorhomes). It's not hard at all. The folks at Zip Dee were very nice, and Sunbrella does the fabric so you can check out Sunbrella's website to see what patterns you can make.

One of these days I'm going to get one. PO took mine off before I got the trailer