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kansas72 · 07-09-2014, 06:10 PM

Just wanted to say hello, we are from Kansas and are looking forward to using the airstream over the years.
No big plans as of yet for it, just trying to repair the damage done by the previous owner. Pex line is planned for tomorrow and am having the refrigerator repaired by a shop now and have some work to do in the shower area where instead of replacing the failing trip caulking was used.
The interior is original and will be updated as funds and our tastes allow. The trailer was not winterized properly so we have many split copper lines and a crack in the tank on the water heater. I had the rv shop check operation on it and it looks and lites ok so if I can I will patch and weld the crack in the tank( I am a welder). A plumber friend is coming tomorrow to run pex line throughout the trailer. There is no sign of damage to the floor as the carpet was removed when we got the trailer so that is a plus, and the ac works perfect!!

I travel for work and plan on full timing while on the road for work and also until we find some property to build on, (we just sold our house). I have learned a lot already from the sight and am looking forward to learning more.

RM66caravel · 07-10-2014, 06:53 PM

Welcome and where are our pictures? We love pictures!
Cliff

kansas72 · 07-10-2014, 10:55 PM

I tried to load one yesterday with my post but was unable to. I will try again. That is the day we brought her home from South Dakota. Before anyone says I need axles I am aware of that fact. I am more concerned about the split waterlines and getting her livable at the moment.
Today I bought a new 10gal Atwood water heater and all the fittings and valves etc. for running the pex. The refer was supposedly fixed today by a local rv repair shop but that has proved false, so glad the bill was only 53$. I will just have to repair myself or replace with a new one when the funds permit. Anyways more pics will follow of the water heater removal and instal along with pics of the new pex lines.

kansas72 · 07-10-2014, 11:16 PM

This is before the work started today

RM66caravel · 07-11-2014, 03:26 AM

I don't know crap but the axles look good to me! As for the fridge for gas it has to be level I heard but then I refer to the first 4 words and wish you the best! Are you running the pex? If not learn how so if you need to repair or add. Please post more pictures when you can! Awesome looking airstream!
Cliff

Yes I said that! Or did I?

wahoonc · 07-11-2014, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RM66caravel

I don't know crap but the axles look good to me! As for the fridge for gas it has to be level I heard but then I refer to the first 4 words and wish you the best! Are you running the pex? If not learn how so if you need to repair or add. Please post more pictures when you can! Awesome looking airstream!
Cliff

Yes I said that! Or did I?

It is riding pretty low on the wheels IMHO. On that year of trailer with fresh axles the tops of the tires should be visible. FWIW I have a 1975 that sits at the right height, but the axles are "frozen" and don't move up or down nearly as far as they should. They are slated for replacement.

Aaron

RM66caravel · 07-11-2014, 04:50 AM

Thank you I really do not know or understand everything about axles so I leave that to those who do! I replaced mine because they had been repaired after a failure and they were original to the 66 we have. I try to learn as much as I can as I go so that I have the knowledge to handle anything that may present itself in the future.
Cliff

Yes I said that! Or did I?

dbj216 · 07-11-2014, 05:44 AM

Welcome to all things Airstream. An Airstreamer than can weld! You will suddenly have lots of friends.

The body, or shell, looks in great shape. Maybe it has been stripped of its clear coat. It is interesting to see the difference in the end cap aluminum and the side wall aluminum. And yours have the famous, or infamous, vista windows. You'll learn all about those if they leak or have ratty looking window film on them.

You might want to do the "rear end separation" bounce test. Pretend the rear bumper is a diving board and you're going to do a swan dive. Bounce up and down on the rear bumper and see if a gap opens between the body and bumper. Sometimes on these old trailers the rear wood floor rots and the rear frame cross member is rusty causing the body to separate from the frame. Nothing a welder can't fix!

You have a very nice size Airstream for full timing.

David

kansas72 · 07-11-2014, 11:23 PM

Hello all, it has been a long two days working on the airstream and a few more days do get it up to par for full timing while on the road working. Yesterday and today we pulled the old Bowen hot water heater and the copper lines to everything except under the main sink in the galley. I need to install yet but bought a new 10gal Atwood water heater for a replacement. It seems to be a pretty direct fit from the test fitting, have to find a silver door but in the meantime I bought some rattle can paint that matches almost exactly to the aluminum color of the trailer. I will take and post pics of the new lines tomorrow, no disassembled pictures, so sorry about that but I will post pics of the new lines.

For the axles, they will be replaced before storage at the end of the year. I still have the original 2 piece rims but replaced with solid steel trailer rims rated to 2500lb per rim and some 10 ply tires. Shop looked at the brakes and they checked good so fancy that

.
For the refer, I have a repair manual for it but may chalk it up to a total loss and just get a new dometic classic.
The skin is in great shape with all the original clear coat on it, has been stored in closed storage it's whole life when not in use. There is on the upper street side rear some clear coat missing where birds in the storage facility used the area for their bathroom... Surprisingly enough it's not noticeable unless in the right light and I like the sheen of the aluminum where the clear is missing. I've always been a fan of polished aluminum, anything really. Polished titanium is probably my favorite.
For the rear end separation, it doesn't move when the bounce test is done, I wouldn't have bought the camper if this was present, not enough time to repair before leaving for my next job which is coming up in 7 days.

I have a busy next few days, first on the agenda is to finish the water heater install, just have to push it in the whole, crimp on the pex and secure to the skin. Second would be re installing the shower wall, the one directly above the tub where the water switch and shower hose are. This was removed to gain access for removing the copper and running pex to the new water selector and shower hose attachment. I have some caulking to do here as over time it seams the plastic has shrunk or deformed some causing gaps and small cracks where the previous owner decided to lay 1" beads of caulk to water proof. After removing the old caulk to remove this piece I found that minimal caulking is needed and cussed the po a bit for causing this much extra work for me but I bough it this way and knew what I would have to do to rectify the problem.
After that it's on to the new flooring, we decided to use Armstrong brand roll out flooring. It's like vinyl but is roughly 1/4" thick and is padded, my wife stomps when she walks so I figured this would be a good noise reducer

. That and we picked up enough to match the entire floor in the remnants section at menards for under 100$. Big plus there. After that I will be up on the roof laying fiberglass over the original ac shroud, it is cracked and missing a corner piece, rather than pay 225 for a new one I spent 20 dollars on materials to fiberglass the original. I will check the caulking of the roof vents while up there. We got a pretty good rain the other night and no leakage inside but will check the condition anyways. After that a good deep cleaning and we will be ready to roll. I don't plan on more than two days for the remaining tasks at hand. The flooring is a roll out and requires no glue, it is meant to have a quarter round to hold the edges but will glue them instead at the edges only.
Updates and more pics to follow, stay tuned.

dbj216 · 07-12-2014, 07:08 AM

Hey Kansas! I love the fact you found a vintage Airstream that has been inside its whole life. Moisture is the villian of old campers. The new water heater install isn't too bad, and a new AC is a bigger project, but again not too bad. Be careful of the roof skins as they won't support your weight between the structural ribs. I rigged some 2x8s to spread the load over the ribs and my scaffold. It might be your vinyl floor wants to expand and shrink with temperature. My plank type vinyl floor instructions said to let it float, don't nail or glue down.

We are traveling in our 86 now. Very comfortable. You will enjoy coming home from a hard day at work and having your new Airstream take care of all your needs!

David

lisaslists20 · 07-12-2014, 07:15 AM

Way cool! That's what I want. A 70's ambassador or sovereign. I will be looking forward to your posts!

kansas72 · 07-12-2014, 07:32 AM

David, thanks for the info on the floor I will have to double check the website for the do's and do nots on the floor.

kansas72 · 07-12-2014, 08:29 PM

Here is the work from the last couple days. I need to paint the water heater door still and attach it but got it in and mounted anyways. Waterlines in the trunk area with drain valves and the original pressure regulator. Will post pics of the interior work tomorrow after I finish and take some pics of it.

kansas72 · 07-12-2014, 08:31 PM

Only let's me upload one pic at a time for some reason.

mccrosti · 07-12-2014, 08:52 PM

Nice job man! I am planning to do pex in my 72 in the morning. Just finished the electric tonight. All good there.

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kansas72 · 07-12-2014, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mccrosti

Nice job man! I am planning to do pex in my 72 in the morning. Just finished the electric tonight. All good there.

Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

I tried to match the original layout of the lines and it turned out pretty good. I left the old copper under the tub since the T fittings were there and couldn't cut them to pull the copper out. I just moved the T fittings for the tub to the trunk on the right side to they are easily accessible if needed. I saved a lot of money by crimping everything rather than using slip fittings. If you need some help on it let me know and I'll walk you through what I got while it's still fresh in my head. I did put a new shower and sink fixture in also.

Luckily my electrical is good and at some point in time I believe my inverter has been changed, not sure the model but it has the plastic U fuses instead of the glass like my manual shows. I do need a battery and a new piano hinge for the battery door though. I have a new piano hinge, well two actually a stainless and an aluminum I will have to cut proper length and re attach. It seems the original steel doesn't like all the salt they put on the roads in the north.

Anyways, more pics and another update coming after tomorrow's work.

kansas72 · 07-13-2014, 08:28 PM

Well I didn't get as much done today as I would've like to but I did get the floor in and ran the lp line for the water heater and am in the process of painting the heater door now.
I also found that I need a new cooling unit for the fridge so probably going to go with a 10cu ft apartment size fridge until I can get a new dometic classic. I did however test the stove, oven, furnace and the water heater so all systems go for lp!! I'll see if I can add more than one picture at a time this go round.

kansas72 · 07-13-2014, 08:29 PM

Still only one at a time

mccrosti · 07-14-2014, 10:36 AM

Hey Kansas,
I will send you a pm later with my questions.

Thanks
Dave

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dbj216 · 07-15-2014, 08:35 AM

Good Morning Kansas72,

I'm retired and no computer system expert. I do find I can post more than one picture at a time when I use "attach" (paperclip), "browse" and select a picture, click "open", then go down to the next "browse" and select a second picture, click "open" for that one. Then click "upload" and wait sometimes several minutes while the system chews on it. Maybe this method would help you. I think we can post about 8 pictures at a time.

You are doing so much in such a short amount of time on a very good old trailer. Here is an old Excella 500 a few years newer than yours that was in our RV park. It needs lots of your skilled attention! However it is still being used. Not all vintage Airstreams are as nice as yours.

There are outfits that rebuild old RV fridges. New cooling systems are cheaper than new fridges.

David