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Old 01-19-2020, 09:36 AM   #1
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1975 31' Sovereign
Holt , MI
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 2
What an Incredible Place.

Hello incredible people!

I am just now entering the space after almost a year of peeking around and observing from the outskirts.

First of, I'd like to thank everyone for the tremendous amount of time and effort you have put into the fantastic website!

From this forum alone My wife and I have gone from dreaming about, to confidently purchasing our own Airstream!

Sencond, I would like to take a moment just to say that I believe that Airstreams are the coolest thing you can find on the road. And by contributing any time or effort into the existence and maintenance of these beautiful beasts, I consider you to be of the coolest people on the planet.

A little about ourselves,

We are PROUD owners of a 1975, 31' Sovereign, Twin beds/Rear Bath!

We are 25/26 years old Husband/Wife (I the husband will be doing most of the posting), looking to spend the next few years living in our trailer full time.

We have named our trailer "Pseudo-Nostalgia". "Nessie" for short.

We found our trailer in mid-eastern MI, and currently live in mid Michigan.

We will be spending the next few months restoring Nessie, hopefully to have her livable by the summer.

I look forward to diving deeper into all of this amazing information and can't wait to hopefully contribute to the wealth of knowledge that resides here.

Thanks for reading, and any and all advice is appreciated.




-NowStreaming
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Old 01-19-2020, 10:23 AM   #2
CC
 
1972 27' Overlander
Heinsburg , AB
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 243
Welcome and Congratulations! What a great time in your life to live this adventure. Wishing you the best of luck and looking forward to following. Please keep us posted as you renovate.
CC
PS would love to see pictures of Nessie (inside and out)...
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Old 01-19-2020, 10:23 AM   #3
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2003 25' Classic
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Welcome Aboard...

Remember as incredible as this place is....
“Education is what people do to you,
Learning is what you do to yourself”
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Old 01-19-2020, 12:04 PM   #4
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1968 26' Overlander
CORDOVA , TN
Join Date: Apr 2018
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Welcome!
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Find a way to enjoy life and have fun, every day !
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Old 01-20-2020, 09:24 AM   #5
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2016 Interstate Grand Tour Ext
Charleston , South Carolina
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Stick with quality tools and good luck.
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Old 01-20-2020, 09:30 AM   #6
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2019 30' Classic
Canfield , Ohio
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Welcome to both of you!
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Old 01-20-2020, 10:01 AM   #7
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2016 27' International
Sherwood Park , Alberta
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Another big ol welcome from Canada!
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Old 01-20-2020, 10:18 AM   #8
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1983 31' Airstream310
Hillsburgh , Ontario
Join Date: Sep 2012
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Don't bite off more than you can chew (Understand your limitations BEFORE you take anything apart)

Penny wise, pound foolish. (Replacing sub quality subfloor material, like OSB with OSB will cost you more time and money in the end. Replacing subfloor with a quality material like Coosa is advisable.

Throw out, need later. (Never throw anything out until you have completely finished the renovation; you never know when plans change).

Time and cost, (typically plan on your renovation costing double, if not triple your estimate; the same applies to how long the renovation will take.

Stay upbeat, (try to start replacing items as fast as you can. I for example, decided not to do a shell off, but removed interior, subfloor, rust converted, POR-15 the frame, and replaced my subfloor with new Coosa as fast as possible. It gives an immense sense of satisfaction putting something back together.)

Divide project into doable subsections, (gut, remove lower interior panels, rust convert or fix frame, paint frame and replace subfloor, would be number 1; interior panel removal, insulation, electrical, interior panel replacement would be number 2, and so on. Each subsection would have a component of reassembly.

Cheers
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Old 01-20-2020, 10:40 AM   #9
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1974 31' Sovereign
100 Mile House , British Columbia
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 15
Welcome! I’m into my second year of rebuilding. Got a 74 Sovereign. I have learned so much in this last year. Have courage—you are about to launch into the unknown! Nevertheless I’ve discovered you can find just about everything online. Good luck and hope to see you on the road someday.
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Old 01-20-2020, 11:37 AM   #10
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2018 27' Globetrotter
Tavares , Florida
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 3,676
Welcome the forum and the world of Streamin'.

You most likely would benefit and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow Airstreamers by joining the local chapter of the Airstream Club.

Wishing you all the best!
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Old 01-20-2020, 12:31 PM   #11
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1975 31' Sovereign
Holt , MI
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 2
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and great advice!

I hope to get around to posting some decent pictures soon.

It seems we have been extremely fortunate in finding a trailer with a near pristine original subfloor, and minimal rust on the frame. The previous owner had it for 20 years and kept it parked and leveled on a blacktop parking lot and only had it out and about 3 times. He left it plugged in at home and used it as his private reading/napping quarters during the summer, so the A/C works and the animal evidence is very minimal, and no visible water damage.

As it is winter and I'm doing the Reno outdoors (under an overhang) , I'm saving most of the exterior for spring. I've put 300+ Miles on it between getting it home and out to a dealer (no real help from them, just a bunch of scare tactics and a $25,000 quote). The brakes are non existent but the bearings and axles seems fine for now. New tires are on the way and I'll do full bearing/brake/wiring overhaul in the warmer weather.

After our 300 miles of driving we found some water entering around the fans, and when I went to lift the vents I accidentally poked through the plastic (so now there is definitely is a leak! haha)

Just finished running 30amp service to it's parking spot, has a brand new converter installed but maybe not the way I'd like it. but Trailer lit up like a dream! But the old fuse block started getting awfully smelly in a way that did not happen when running off the truck. Planning on doing an overhaul on that whole shebang, new fuse block, proper breakers and isolation switches.

Followed by some new vent fans and full rain check.

Next will be a full plumbing replacement. Hoping to get all the copper out and replace with PEX.

We will be filtering in new appliances and a new propane infrastructure as the budget allows.

Replacing all appliances except A/C. Mainly because I'd like to have Electric ignition on everything. I spend a lot of time traveling for work, so I want everything to be as smooth as possible for the wife while am away.

By then I'm hoping the weather clears up and we can begin work on the riding system. All the wheel affiliated stuff mention above, and most likely a 2" lift and perhaps new axles.

I am an ever so slightly "above amateur" industrial plumber/electrician/contractor/handyman by trade. And a economic auto mechanic on the side. So I feel pretty confident that most of this stuff is in my wheel house. I also just purchased a shiny reprinted copy of the service manual. (What an great resource it has been already!!)

These things combined with the community here I am excited to dive into this project!


We plan on storing most the removed items until the restoration is complete, but we know we won't be needed the original appliances for sure, does anyone know if there is a market for these original 1970's appliances? A quick google did not find much but I figured if there was anyone who new if they were worth posting somewhere, and where that might be, it would be you guys!

I'm familiar with vintage trailer .com and i will be cruising the archives for appliance recommendations, but any advice and direction is super appreciated!

Thanks again for the welcome!

- NowStreaming
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Old 01-20-2020, 12:47 PM   #12
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Redondo Beach , California
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Thanks for posting, and welcome!
We’re pretty new here, too, and we have a 1972 Sovereign Land Yacht 31’ with bunk beds and a full bath in back. Sounds similar. Ours has mostly original interior in pretty good condition, and we park it in Topanga, CA, where my 22 yo son is going to live in it full time when we get a portable solar set up.
Have fun!
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Old 01-20-2020, 01:52 PM   #13
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2019 27' International
Rogers , Arkansas
Join Date: Aug 2019
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Welcome and good luck with your renovations! You are right about the great help and advise from people on this forum. I feel way more confident knowing I can ask a question anytime and get some great input.
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Old 01-20-2020, 02:11 PM   #14
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1976 31' Sovereign
Eagle Point , Oregon
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 52
Welcome

Welcome aboard. Great choice I might add. We love our 76 with center bath. Mostly original and tows like a dream. When reading some of the problems people discuss with newer models I'm thankful for the mostly trouble free 70's models. Sure some things wear out but the older tech stuff is a lot easier for this older tech person to work on. I'm 77. This forum is a great resource for those problems that present a challenge. Lots of 'been there, done that' folks that are happy to help.
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