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sibbs123 · 06-14-2021, 02:49 PM

Hello, so here's my long story, enjoy! Back in December, week before xmas, I had a garage fire and along with the garage, my car, my truck my old dutchman camper burned to the ground. In January a buddy I camp with at Rock Fest texted me an ad of an Airstream for sale, he offered to drive so we went and looked at it and I bought it. It was on the other side of the state but always up for an adventure. So this model is a 24' Tradewind I think, single axle. As I thought that's a big trailer for one axle. A half hour into the return trip the drivers side tire comes off, and we even did a check on the tires after 20 miles. The tire caved inside the cavity for the rim but the trailer landed on the tire until we stopped so luckily no damage to the frame. All the lug bolts were snapped off. Did I mention it was -30F ? Finally found a towing company capable of towing a camper but he said it would be a few hours, but he assured he would take care of it, and he did, after his own truck broke down they were able to get it off the hwy the next day and haul it to a repair shop.

Now I'm in the process of gutting it out. The floor and shell are in surprisingly good shape, found 1 2x2 inch hole so far by the door but I think a new subfloor will be enough for that, it's solid enough around that hole. The woodwork veneer is starting to peel off in spots so I think I'm going to tear it all out I've got the kitchen oven and sink tore out. Doing a lot of head scratching to decided how much further I go on the tear out as I haven't come up with a solid plan on where I'm going with it yet. I may end up emptying it out and take it down to the floor, spray the interior with new paint, then rebuild. I have no intention of going back to original. My concerns are making it as nice as I can while keeping weight added to a minimum.

Rich W · 06-14-2021, 03:03 PM

Welcome to the forum Sibbs123 and congratulations on your AS acquisition. It sounds like you have your work cut out for you. I hope it's a labor of love. I wish you good luck and only happy surprises.

GetawA-S · 06-14-2021, 03:15 PM

Welcome to the forum and the world of Airstreams. We’ll be interested in following your remodel. There are some threads about making an Airstream more off-season friendly. You might get some ideas for making yours Wisconsin cozy. Best to you on your new adventure!

Daquenzer · 06-14-2021, 05:33 PM

I live about 20 miles from you just outside of Jim Falls. Would be interested to see what you are doing.

dbj216 · 06-15-2021, 04:12 PM

Welcome from Colorado, formally from Minnesota. And welcome to the vintage Airstream hobby. I renovated a 66 Trade Wind 24' some years ago. It was dual axle, and I'm not sure when Airstream made them standard. Mine had the same "sink over tub" fiberglass bath design as your trailer has. I traded mine for a 75 Overlander 27' and renovated that one too. I enjoy working on these old Airstreams.

These Forums are full of information about your 64 Trade Wind. Let me link you to the Knowledgebase, Airstream Trailer Forums, Tradewind, and your year range. It is found near the bottom of the Forums page. Start reading and learn all about the particulars of your trailer. Yours has those nifty big windows on both sides of the front room.

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f21/

Here is a link to the Vintage Airstream Resource and then photos of the 64 Airstream. You might like seeing them.

http://vintageairstream.com/photo-ar...-tradewind-24/

Post some photos when you get a chance. You might enjoy starting a "project thread" in the Airstream Trailer Forums about your trailer. Others like me enjoy reading along with your project and offering lots of free advice. Oh boy, can't beat that.

David