curious

[buspawn]

hola mis amigos. ive been scanning the internet for hours and days and have yet to find any hard parts. do people not part these things out? a tree fell on the front of mine and i need to replace the once lovely arcing pieces over the window. or should i have them fabricated? the whole trailer was a 'fixer-upper' anyway, and i don't want to do anything to her until i figure this most major problem out. also, i don't know if the beast is a flying cloud or a footer. is just the body considered when measuring or the hitch too? the title saiys series 22 and style 8, whatever that means. there are no labels left on the body. oh! also i was wondering if anyone has an interier plan for what she was supposed to look like inside. im curious if shes similar to original or all custom redone in the seventies or something. really sad.... anyway, if anyone out there has some info for me, that would be great! thanks, -d

[juel]

Pictures, pictures, pictures. Also do you have a VIN number? It should be on a little metal plaque by the door. I have a 58 International and that's where I found the VIN. Try www.vintageairstream.com for more info. Someone on this forum will be happy to give you lots more information on floor plans and old parts. This is a great place to get help. See you have the right tow vehicle. Love my Tundra.

[Stefrobrts]

Airstreams are measured 'bumper to ball' - thus my 17ft trailer really only has a 14ft body. That might help you figure out what you've got.

Lots of folks around here have odne pretty extensive repairs. Pictures will definitly help get you good advice. A lot of experts on the forum can tell you what you have just by looking at it in a good picture! There's lots of external clues.

Where in WA are you? We have a pretty active forum group in the NW and get together for 'forum rallys' pretty regularly - informal and fun! Hope we
can help you get it on the road and see you around the campfire sometime!

[Zeppelinium]

Our magnificent historian, Fred Coldwell, will have fit that I don't know this, but I think those "arcing" pieces over the front window are flat sections in a 1957. You can fabricate them from aluminum sheet.

If I'm wrong, I've seen the formed panels at Cherokee RV Salvage in Denver. But remember that as the years progressed, the curved domes went from 7 flat strips, to 5 formed panels, to 3 formed panels. Actually, even the 7 strips were formed a small amount, right along the edge a slight fold was made to allow the joined area to butt tightly.

Yes, photos photos photos! You'll get a lot more input if you provide photos.

[InsideOut]

Sorry to hear of your trailer meeting a tree...ouch!

Originally Posted by buspawn

also, i don't know if the beast is a flying cloud or a footer. is just the body considered when measuring or the hitch too? the title saiys series 22 and style 8, whatever that means. there are no labels left on the body.

The "Series 22 Style 8" nominclature does not sound "Airstream" to me...could it be a Clipper instead? They look very much alike...pictures would sure help with the ID. Any chance you have some to post?

Shari

[buspawn]

AAH! vintage airstreams was oh so helpful! i think ive narrowed it down to a late yr 57, as it has the seven panels( i think, cause i also don't know if ALL the pieces are counted or JUST the arcing ones) as opposed to the , was it 13? and the wheel wells are tear shaped and the bathroom is on the kitchen side, which is not the door side. where and how do i post pictures? (they are awfully embarrasing.) but if knowledgable people suggest demolition, it would be good to know now, before i get my heart broke. thanks for the info and reply -d oh, p.s. its defiantly an airstream, says so outside and in; just not anything else. the body seems to be about 19 ft, but bumper to tow hitch nose would be 23 ft. the floor is rotten and the belly skin sagging off. i am very curious about the layout and look forward to comments and input whence i post pics. thanks again

[buspawn]

oh; and p.s.s. thanks for the tip about cherokee rv salvage. i will look them up tomorrow, and that could work out conveniently, as im going home for two months this summer and could pick them up. (on the other hand, i have recently also been looking at the classifieds, and am tempted to try for something useable....this century.)

[InsideOut]

Glad you were able to narrow the ID down a bit...

Originally Posted by buspawn

<snip>how do i post pictures?

Anybody can add pictures to their posts and to airstreamphotos.com. All you need is a digital camera, digital images or printed photos & a scanner and a photo editing software program and you should be good to go.

In the airstreamphotos.com section, you can set up galleries & photo albums with different topics if you want. As an example, click on a member's name in the left and column of a post (ie. InsideOut) a drop down window will appear and the second choice is "Visit _____'s Photo Gallery", this link will take you to their photo gallery.

To add pics to posts:

Click on reply and scroll down to bottom of text box.
Click "go advanced" add text to message window and then scroll down.
Click "Manage attachments" A separate window will pop up.
Click "browse" Then select the file on your computer to be uploaded. Be sure that the photo is appropriately sized. 1024 x 1024 pixels (or smaller) and no more than 300 K. You may select several photos to upload at the same time by repeating the last step.
Click "Upload" After pics have loaded close the pop-up window
Click "submit reply" to mount the text of your message - photos will automatically appear in post.

Good luck with the pics...we all love those "yucky" before pictures, just think how good it'll look when you post those "after" shots and how rewarding it will feel! Many of us here on the forum have been there...our trailer was no charmer when we got it either ~ avocado green shag carpet & very crusty, faded turquoise upholstry & gold-green curtains...eyeow!

Shari

[Foiled Again]

Opinions are like ***holes, everyone has one.

I've read extensively on this forum, and the real problem with melding two units into one, or taking used panels from ONE beat up airstream and replacing them on another is that the rivets that attach them are hand drilled and bucked - which means that the rivet holes don't line up from one unit to another. It might be possible to slather Silkaflex or Vulkem on the underside piece and just use and re-drill the holes on the topside piece, but I'm betting leaks, leaks, and more leaks. Perhaps you could sandwitch a thin latex gasket between the top and bottom pieces, or even do aluminum welding on the lower piece and close all the rivet holes, then re-drill using the top holes as guides..... i dunno. I'd also worry about the rib where you attach the panels - again it will have two sets of holes, and unless there was some way to weld shut the first set, I could imagine having several of the holes "almost match" creating a situation where the rivet can't buck tight.

I was staring at the boob tube one night and found myself watching this infomercial where there is an aluminum alloy that melts at a relatively low temperature (with a propane or map gas torch) flows like solder and once cooled can be tapped for screw holes, etc..... Sorry I have no idea what the product actually was, except it was sold in rods and might have been called "Dur-aluminum"?

When you coun't panels you don't count the bottom side panels, they are a flat sheet of aluminum that's just bent around the corner.

If you have 13 panels, Whoo-hoo! You can fabricate new ones from flat aluminum. Just make sure you heed the advice of other restorers and get the right type of Alclad.

New ones can be taken to the factory or a really good dealership and be repaired using factory panels that are shipped with no holes drilled. A good body man will set the panels in place and mark where all of the existing rivet holes are on the undamaged panels.

I've heard that some folks have used the new 5 panels to repair 7 panel airstreams by "sliding the parts around" to locate a place on the big panel that has the same curve as needed for the smaller panel, then cutting the smaller panel from the bigger one..... which seems like a helluva lot of work for a poor looking repair. The real problem is that not only has the curve radius been modified, they are actually using a different type of aluminum to make the newer ones... the don't polish up the same at all.

Before you undertake an expensive renovation I'd make sure the frame isn't bent and that all systems are safe. The last thing you want is a unit that has plumbing or propane leaks or rattles itself to death every time you tow it. Pictures will help the expert renovaters here give you better advice, but you may now have a "donor Airstream", not a unit that is worth repairing.

Best of luck with all things Airstream. PICTURES!!!!!!

Paula Ford

[buspawn]

blah blah. this is a photo download attempt:

[buspawn]

ok, i followed the directions to load a photo, and i get to the browse part, and choose the photo off my computer and click the download, and then the hourglass comes up with my cursor, and then, nothing. it goes blank and the page is still there, with nothing in my choice sections. i thought maybe it'd gone through, but there is nothing under my name when i look. help? how do i load photos for 'buspawn'? where do i go?

[InsideOut]

Are you sure your picture(s) aren't too big? That's the most common error first-timers have...Almost every picture from a digital camera will have to be downsized in order to load properly...the maximum size is: 1024 x 1024 pixals, if it's too big, it won't upload.

Shari

[buspawn]

yes, my pictures are too big. but i can't for the life of me figure out how to shrink them. my computer does it automatically if i want to email one, but i can't find the option to shrink them in my file. so frustrating! on the brighter side though, i spoke with jeff at cherokee rv today... he said something about skin panels being numbered. where would the numbers be? i WAS able to send him a pic. and what are rivets? (in the website tense, not on the airstream. i do, at least, know what THOSE are.) thanks for all yalls help, its amazing. -d
oh! p.s.again; just found all the old threads where everyone has already asked all the things i need to know, so hopefully that'll nix all the questions. (except that one about shrinking pics in the file on my computer so i can attach them...)

[InsideOut]

Originally Posted by buspawn

yes, my pictures are too big. but i can't for the life of me figure out how to shrink them.

You need to use a photo editing software program. Something like PhotoShop, PaintShop, etc. Here's a link to an older thread with other programs people here have used:

How do I reduce the size of a picture file?

Hopefully that will help...good luck!

Shari

[buspawn]

i think i got it; hope this works... the links were beyond helpful!!! thank you AGAIN. i downloaded the 'pic sizer option' as suggested by 'chuck' since it seemed the easiest most straight forward route.. so we shall see....

edit:
oops! they are really big still. i'll work on that. but at least yall can get a visual on what im working with here...

[InsideOut]

See, patience pays off! Glad you were able to find a program that works for you ~

Now. it appears you will need another dose of patience during the restoration of your trailer. The problem with parting out trailers is, they have to be "beyond repair" in order to do so. Most trailers out there can be repaired, by someone...so hopeless ones don't come around too often. There are occaisionally some that come up, but having be the same year/model/parts that you need is another story, especailly panels. That's where the patience part comes in...

Cherokee RV is a great resource...we are fortunate to have them in our own backyard! If they can't help, keep trying...

In the meantime,you may want to take your interior panels off and straighten the exterior ones out as best as you can from the backside, then straighten the interior ones and re-install them until the "perfect donor trailer" comes along ~ Maybe you will be lucky enough that the results are successful and you won't need a donor.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do...we're all here for encouragement!

Shari