New owner here!

[michelle50]

hello! My husband and I just bought our first Airstream- a 1969 Tradewind Land Yacht. We are so psyched about our new jewel and can't wait to begin using it! I have always admired and wanted one of these beauties. Have a few things to do on it initially but it's in fairly good condition . Aside from the mildew (that is coming off with some elbow grease) and the "small stuff", we're in pretty good shape. We want to go with the upholstery that most closely resembles that of the time period (a turquoise, I am thinking??) so will need to find a site that carries it. Also, we'll be looking to put in seating up front (the gaucho?) as there isn't any currently there. Along with a dinette.The exterior is in great shape, as is the refrig, AC, heating, and stove/refrig., as well as bathroom parts. Looking forward to sharing pictures and progress, as well as learning alot from all of you who have owned these over the years!!

[Kevin245]

Welcome Michelle,

Glad to have you with us. Weren't harvest gold, avocado, or burnt orange the colors of that era?

But I'm with you on the turquoise. Throw in some Boomerang, or VirrVarr formica and call it done.

Of course I'm decorationally (it's my word for the day) challenged as I'm still trying to hang that leftover 70's mirrored disco ball I picked up at last year's Saturday Night Fever Anniversary Rally.

We're glad to have you with us. Keep us updated on your progress.

Kevin

[Zeppelinium]

Welcome. Always great to see an enthusiastic vintage lover join up.

The first rule is: Post a lot of photos...

Zep

[Colin H]

Welcome Michelle,
I'm not sure about colors of 69 but my 59 Ambassador has turquoise plaid curtains in it that are original, & oddly enough, in wonderful condition. I also have a 66 Safari with a turquoise bathroom so perhaps 69 wouldn't be too big a stretch.
Good luck with your project,
Colin
PS Before you get too far into your restoration check the floor integrity all of the way around at the base of the wall. As the floor is sandwiched between the base of the wall & the chassis, this connection is critical. Just stab/poke the plywood with a screw driver to assess the floor for rot.

[TG Twinkie]

I have some pics of the dinette I built and installed replacing the old gaucho. Check them on my blog. I'm sure the colors I picked won't fit the era, I was looking for a newer look.

[Tazameir]

I'm new too, but in the week since I've joined I've met alot of pretty nice and helping people! Welcome to the club! Well worth supporting this forum!!!

C.

[LisaP]

TURQUOISE.....I love it! Great 60"s color. That will look great in an AS. Welcome aboard!

[68 TWind]

Welcome to the forums, congrats on the TW. Just a few words of advice as you begin. First check for and fix all the water leaks. "They all leak". Pay special attention to the plumbing vent stack, the AC, windows, and roof vents. Hopefully you won't find many.
Secondly if the trailer is is good shape and you don't have to do a major tear out, check the axles. If they are original, you will most likely need to replace them before lots of long trips. There is tons of info searchable here so I won't repeat how to check, etc. One final little piece of advice and that is what ever you plan on doing it will cost about 2x what you think and take 4x as long. This will help when you plan your projects and upgrades.

All the best

Bruce

[michelle50]

terrific! thank you all for the kind words and the warm welcome! looking forward to talking more to you all- I have started a blog on our current progress..the encouragement and advice really helps (as I am sure you all know :-) )

[overlander64]

Greetings michelle50!

Welcome to the world of Vintage Airstream ownership!

Originally Posted by michelle50

We want to go with the upholstery that most closely resembles that of the time period (a turquoise, I am thinking??) so will need to find a site that carries it.

Even though turquoise may have been on the way out as a decorating color in 1969, it would have been within the realm of colors for a 1969 Airstream. The thing to remember with Airstreams of the Vintage era is that they were typically built to appleal to the more "mature" adults who weren't as quickly influenced by decorating trends. I have seen several 1969 and 1970 coaches with turquoise in their color schemes.

Originally Posted by michelle50

Also, we'll be looking to put in seating up front (the gaucho?) as there isn't any currently there. Along with a dinette.

The front lounge is a mainstay of the larger Airstream coaches. I would encourage you to consider your options before jumping into a dinette. Prior to finding my Overlander, I owned three white box travel trailers and found the floorplans to be so resctricted due to their insistence upon including a dinette in such a small space. Both my Airstream and Argosy have the font lounge floorplans with two different approaches to dining tables. The Overlaner features a very compact drop leaf table that stows in close to the wall when not in use, and the Argosy has a Credenza table that folds flat against the wall -- fitting into a very compact wall cabinet. The absence of a fixed dinette allows you to have a very open front living area for relaxing or entertaining. In all the years that I traveled in my white box travel trailers, I never had dinner guests, but I often have dinner guests in my Airstream due to its more comfortable dining arrangements.

I realize that dinettes work better for some, I am just encouraging you to consider the potential benefits of the original Airstream front lounge floorplan.

Good luck with your coach!

Kevin

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by overlander64

.. I would encourage you to consider your options before jumping into a dinette. ...

You can retain some easy sitting space in a dinette if you build a half-length table. This allows you to sit on the benches without having to scoot under the table top. A full length table can be stored in the bench back. The link is to the Overlander dinette, but I had something similar in the Caravel and it worked great.

Zep