Our First Trailer ever . . . a 1972 Overlander

[spencerhut]

We picked up a used 1972 Overlander today for our first ever travel trailer. Looks like it needs some minor repairs, but mostly intact and ready to travel. Any advise on where to get good quality parts? We will be converting it to run mostly on solar, LED lights etc. Needs a new fridge . . needs to be polished . . . needs new wheels and tires (mismatched set now) . . . needs a few exterior parts . . . might need a new water closet.
W can't wait to get started . . .

[Sylver Slypr]

Welcome to the forum. I am in the same shoes, almost, I still need to bring mine home. You will find what you need here on the forums.Very good advice and excellent how to threads. Good Luck

[barts]

Take a look at our blog as well... it's a fun project... do remember to have fun with it while you're working on it!

- Bart

[Belegedhel]

Most of the items you mention in your initial post sound pretty superficial. Make a serious inspection of your trailer so that you can address the mission critical items first, and save the polishing for the end. If your trailer hasn't had the axles replaced, then they are probably shot and will need to be. There are many threads on the forums that describe how to check axles and where to get them from. 70's trailers are notorious for rotten floors and "rear end separation." Again, many threads that describe what it looks like and how to do an in-depth inspection.

As for parts, the generic things like refrigerators can be purchased at any RV dealer. the Airstream specific items will have to come from an Airstream dealership. There are a couple of dealerships that sell parts online.

good luck!

[Travel Bird]

Congratulations and welcome!!! Do you have photos to share of your beauty???

[Mary Porat]

Thank you so much!

[Mary Porat]

Thank u!

[spencerhut]

Thanks for all the welcome aboards. Well, we got it home last night and parked where we can start working on it. Pictures, lots of pictures to follow. We do plan on working on it and using it as it is in good working condition, but we do know we have a lot of work ahead of us.
A lot of the work we have seen done by some of the members here is truly inspiring.

[Protohyp]

I would definitely heed the advice of giving the trailer a thorough inspection before using it. A simple tow of 50 miles on bad axles and poor balance could cause so much more damage than you can imagine. This isn't to scare you but the one thing any AS owner should never utter is "well I didn't know that"

Unfortunately the trailer may look great but its the things you don't see that are the scariest. Familiarize yourself with rear end separation and proper running gear balance. If you don't know what that means then I suggest don't use the trailer until you do. Investigate things you can't see in the belly pan. Insulation in there is a sponge that loves to create rust issues. If there have been any rivet repairs on the skin make sure the drills didn't damage any romex or 12v wiring. That could be disastrous! A lot to consider and eagerness can be your enemy if you want the trailer to last you a long time and be safe to tow! Good luck. Looking forward to pictures



Post a picture like this if you can. This is bad news as its rear end separation and means a lot of work to get it in useable condition. There is temporary stuff you can do but who wants a bandaid on a gaping wound?! Towing in this condition means causing more damage. Even walking around the bathroom if it is a rear bath model can make it worse. Hope this helps

[webspinner]

Welcome to the forum!

There's an AirForums rally at Monterey Dunes, April 25-28. That's a deadline to shoot for if any immediate work needs to be done. We'd love to see you there. Our trailer is just one year and a couple of feet different from yours.

[lonewolf1977]

Congrats!!

[aquinob]

Welcome aboard. You can take a look at the blog I started on my trailer as well, its a 73 Overlander so it should be mostly the same. I've swapped the lights for leds and am in the process of doing a rear floor replacement and preservation of the frame. I've also got two new axles waiting on a bit of warmer weather to install.

[Steinmetzmr]

We are also picking up a 1972 Overlander next Thursday (weather permitting). Excited to get working on it and even more excited to start using it!

[spencerhut]

Congratulations Steinmetzmr! I hope you love your trailer and adventure as much as we are so far.
So...I (Monique) dove in head first on the cleaning and investigating. We have done a lot of automotive from the ground up and tackled every home project from little to large (yes, we installed our own solar well so this looked to be a fun challenge. Thanks a lot to the forum, this place is a huge wealth of knowledge, I found answers to things as I was digging, washing, scrubbing and moving along. This trailer has been used consistently its entire life but not loved. The last owners of 12 years took out all battery setups and requirements and bypassed the water holding tank. I think, (I'm sure I'll find out if I'm wrong quickly) those are the worst parts. Floor is solid and we will be checking out the rear this weekend but it seems fine. The trailer is very functional since the last owners used it for 12 years straight on a very regular basis. We will be replacing all the fans with Fantastics, new lighting, fresh paint, new taller toilet (pictures to follow) solar for boondocking as well as a new water tank and new propane. The fridge is from the 50's and is only electric. Lucky for us we live 2-1/2 hours from a huge Airstream parts place that has been around forever as well as being highly recommended for hard to find parts with a warranty. This weekend is also the axle test. I used to sell to Redneck Trailers so I already have axles lined up if I need them.
On another note, the seller was a steel fabricator so he did a lot of work on the trailer for under the beds as well as replace the tambour doors throughout. I went and oiled them and they loved it. I will start to post pictures now. As for the bathroom, that is a quandary.

[Steinmetzmr]

Looking forward to starting many of the same projects you mentioned. I need to get the Airstream home first! The Airstream is 3 hours and 15 minutes away (at highway speeds). Looking at winter Storm Virgil might change plans for picking it up this Thursday!


This looks like a cool project someone put up on Pinterest, if I become a rivet master remolding mine, I might build one too.

[spencerhut]

Yes, we are lucky to have such wonderful weather here in Central California. It's supposed to only be 68 degrees today so I get to tackle the bathroom today. I would have done it last weekend but the husband was too sick to show me how to rivet correctly.

[Mrs.Mod]

Welcome to the forum! THere's tons of great info here to help you along the way! Post more pics!

[Steinmetzmr]

Thanks for the welcome!

[spencerhut]

So, the bathroom is scary! Spencer is 6'3". I have no idea how anyone thought any of this was a good idea. I'm guessing the nasty brown is glue left over from the spray to attach the walls originally.

[spencerhut]

I picked up some water proof sheeting from Lowes today and I plan on trying to sheet as much as possible until we rip out the bathroom completely. Decided after reading the forum to go with the Homax Toughtile epoxy paint. Figured while I'm painting, might as well do the whole thing. We are painting the walls with Valspar Metalic Paint in Rose Copper. After making the mistake of taking off the ugly curtains to wash them and NOT marking where they went back, we picked a new curtain color that fits US.