Love at first sight

[Rhonda]

My husband caved in and bought me a 1974 31' Sovereign that I drove by and fell in love with. But now I am finding the cliche "love is blind" to be very true! The hw tank leaks, the ac doesn't work, the fridge won't stay lit and it was smoked heavily in. I guess we should have inspected it better and not taken his word that everything works. But I won't let that tarnish the dream and we are determined to get it in shape.

[Janet H]

Welcome to the forums. Now - get to work! Most of this can be fixed with some elbow grease and parts. Learn to use the search tool on the blue bar above and ask questions when you can't find answers. Enjoy your new project - it'll be worth the effort.

[68 Overlander]

Welcome Rhonda, my ears were burning.
I heard leaks, doesn't work, won't stay lit, but since I don't smoke, I knew you weren't talking about me.
You have found a Treasure and you have to remember why you fell in love with it. A vision. Take that vision and make it reality. It will take time and some money. Don't try to make it happen overnight.
The first thing I would do, along with Janet's recommendation of the search button, is take it to a RV technician and have the systems checked for things that can hurt you before you spend the night in it. Get a carbon monoxide detector and a LPG (Propane) detector before you sleep in it. Think functionality before decorative.
Listen to the folks here. They are way smart and my guess is within a few weeks or months, you will be living the dream. Welcome.

[CaddyGrn]

Originally Posted by Rhonda

My husband caved in and bought me a 1974 31' Sovereign that I drove by and fell in love with. But now I am finding the cliche "love is blind" to be very true! The hw tank leaks, the ac doesn't work, the fridge won't stay lit and it was smoked heavily in. I guess we should have inspected it better and not taken his word that everything works. But I won't let that tarnish the dream and we are determined to get it in shape.

Well Cinderella was covered in soot, always had her hands in water, and didn't even have a refrigerator!

Good advice so far, work on safety issues first, then make a list of what you need/want done and just go at it one at a time! You will love your Airstream as soon as you get out camping! There are lots of threads for fridge repair/maintenance, etc. You could have major problems with your fridge, or it may be as simple as blowing the cobwebs/bugs out of your pipes/orafice.

The hot water tank that leaks is a major (or easily could be) issue, I would solve that one near the top of the list, or be sure the water is drained out of the hot water tank and capped off so it can't be used until repaired. Be sure and check the flooring to be sure dry rot hasn't set in!

Have fun, ask lots of questions ~ lots and lots! You will get excellent advice here. (And probably lots of it.... )

Mrs. NorCal Bambi (traveling in S Tardis)

[SafeHarbor]

Hi, Rhonda,

Aha! ANOTHER 70's 31-foot owner. The baby boomers of Airstream models are becoming a FORCE around here.

Open the outside door and look at the bottom of the water heater. Can you see a strip of plywood? That's the floor! The water heater is sitting on it. If that bit there is nice and straight and not swollen nor nasty, I'd guess that the floor around the rest of the water heater is okay, too.

By the way, there's almost a separate part of the forum to cover every problem you mentioned in your post. Folks here want to share.

Lamar