New Restoration Project, '72 Overlander

[surferstyler]

Hey Uwe,

I have thought about using drawers instead of pulling from the top. It is a bit of work to get to the compartments back behind the table. And we haven't even got the cushions yet. I may add a couple pull out drawers down the road, but right now I just want to get this finished. I can certainly understand the convenience of the drawers.
Thanks,
Ron

[3Ms75Argosy]

Did you make your own 3" quarter round out of birch? I've only seen pre-made outside corners from MDF, never the inside bend ones.

If you made it OR bought it, can you either tell me how or show me a source for it?

Love that zebra wood. It's all coming together nicely!
Marc

[surferstyler]

Hey Marc,

I actually found a company that has several styles of bent laminates; quarter rounds, half rounds etc. They are called Anderson Plywood Curved Plywood, Dieboards, Drumshells Aitwood Home
Lots of cool stuff with bent wood to make life easier. I used the 3/4" thick material. I think it's poplar, not birch, and very stable. To attach it to the maple ply I used bisquits and pocket screws for extra security. I don't want those joints to ever rattle apart.

A funny thing is that every time we get to a destination in the Airstream, I seem to find a random wood screw on the ground somewhere inside. I can't figure where it comes from, but it seems to happen over an over again. Nothing is loose, but it's just wierd!

I'll get some pictures of the table tomorrow!

Ron

[timmy67]

Hi Ron. I've only been a member for a couple of months and your posts were some of the earliest I saw. Your work to this point is nothing short of fantastic. I'm happy to see that you have tackled the dinette situation. As of now I don't own an Airstream, but I' m working on it. Once I do find an older unit I'm looking forward to redoing it. When I see the work that some of the members here have done, I get excited about my own upcoming project. Good luck the rest of the way.

Tim

[PizzaChop]

Ron,

I wish you'd have done it first and I would've copied you!

Those rounded corners are superb!!!

[PizzaChop]

When I see the work that some of the members here have done, I get excited about my own upcoming project.

Tim,

The excitement tends to diminish a bit sometime between the 100th and 120th hour spent, although I can't quite peg the exact moment.

[surferstyler]

Thanks Ron,

You sure made it easier for me by doing a couple of them yourself. I'm still having some issues with the table pedestal as you'll see when I get some pictures online. I may need to go with two of them. I'll have some pictures of tomorrow.

Regards,
Ron

[Blue Pearl]

Just found your thread and love your work, Got to get working on mine, I'm on year 2. I didn't do the "exstream " redo, just gutted the sink/stove side of the kitchen. Put in a round sink and draws. I used lite ply-wood with bamboo veneer to keep the weight down. I'm going to do a dinette next summer and like your plan. I'll be waiting to see your table plan. I'm trying to figure out a table top that will double in size when needing and is easy to put down for the bed. wishful thinking.

[PizzaChop]

Ron,

I think if I had it to do over again, I would've used two pedestals for the Overlander table. I think the key is to keep your table top as light as possible (something I didn't do with the Overlander but did accomplish with the Sovereign) while retaining enough strength to support the bed function. I even considered using aluminum channel as cross members for added support.

[SharonIvey]

As I move toward PEX, I will definitely use the color coding - looks like it will make things a lot easier.

[surferstyler]

Here are a few pictures of the table. Again I followed Pizza Chop's table frame idea to make it look beefy, but yet be light. I went with zebra wood veneer on the table top to draw in the rounded pieces, and it came out great. I used Baltic Birch for the edges of the table because it is a hardwood plywood, and looks great on the edges.

The pedestal I have here is just a little too light I think. It allows the table to sway just a bit, so I'll try to find something a bit more heavy duty, or use two.

Things are coming together. Just need cushions and fabric!

[uwe]

Ron, have you considered a pair of folding legs of some sort? It would make it easy to move the table, and with the legs folded up, you can still use it for a bed platform. The table being fixed in place might make it difficult for people to get to the far end of the bench seat. With alittle wiggle room, this is much easier. Many 60's trailers had free standing tables with folding legs, which work fine.
Rockler sells a good locking hinge for folding legs, btw.

[surferstyler]

Hey Uwe,

I have actually thought about making one. And probably will pursue it just for fun. Maybe a collapsible 4 way leg system shaped like an hourglass or something. Maybe this weekend I'll get cracking on it. I just signed up for the San Clemente rally in Feb. SHould be great fun.
Ron

[tuckersdandn]

Hi! We also have a 72 Overlander...we restored a lot of it! Yours is beautiful...any new pics? Did you ever wind up getting your awning fabric replaced? Any thoughts on where and about how much? We are working on replacing the last few things. Cannot wait to paint our bathroom though. Yours looks great!

[surferstyler]

Good morning, and thanks for your compliments. We really haven't done much since installing the dinnette. I have been working on new table legs for the table that will be sturdier, and keep the same design that we're going for, but that's really about it. Regarding the awning, we haven't yet. Maybe we'll get it done soon since we have a trip to Yosemite coming up soon as well as others throughout the summer. We found a few places here in So. Cal. that would make the awning from Sunbrella fabric for about $600 then we would install it and stuff. If you're interested in the names, please let me know. Talk to you soon!
Ron

[utee94]

Just looking through your thread and your work looks great!

Any pictures of the finished cushions/upholstery for the dinette? I'd love to see what it looks like when it's all together.

[surferstyler]

As usual, the work on our A/S has been a bit slow. We just built a cabinet for the bathroom for towels, and to cover the water heater. It's nice to have places to put things now a days. We also made some drawer fronts for the drawer area in the kids room, but are still using plastic bins for clothes storage at the time. Eventually I would like to build some sliding drawers there.


Also, a new pedestal for the dinette table. Pizza Chop will like this one. I thought about trying out a galvanized steel pipe with flanges on top and bottom. The one I had previously used here on this thread was really weak, and didn't offer any stability of the table. I took this galvanized pipe, cleaned it, primed it, and painted it to match. And it's awesome! Works like champ! Very strong, and sturdy. And I only used the 1.5" pipe. There was also a 2" pipe available.


And, finally, foam for the dinette. It took me a while to pick out the right foam, because of density issues. To make it comfortable to sit on it needs to be firm, yet softer to sleep on. It's a give and take, and ultimately, we chose the firmer option because you don't want to be sitting at the dinette and have your butt going right through the foam. 4" thick. We just went camping in Yosemite again last weekend, and had a chance to sleep on the dinette with the new foam. It was firm alright. My wife says we are getting a pillow top for it asap. Add that one to the list! My son thought it would be great to go jumping on the foam when we first got it, hence the dirt marks. That's ok though, we are looking at sunbrella fabric right now to have them covered etc.


More to come......

[surferstyler]

Duh, I forgot the photos. Here you go.
Ron

[utee94]

Thanks for posting the pics, it looks fantastic.

On these full reno/resto threads, I'm often sad when they get close to completion, because it's so much fun to watch your progress.

I don't suppose there's any chance you'd be buying a new vintage trailer to restore in the near future, so the rest of us can watch you do it all over again?

-Marcus

[surferstyler]

Hey Marcus,
Thanks for the note. We're really still so far from completion. At least that how it feels. I would really love to get an old bambi or globetrotter someday to rebuild. Someday..............
Ron