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steve hughes · 04-22-2006, 09:17 AM

I am a new member and I have a 1970 airstream that I have been working on for about 1-1/2 years. I live in the foothills of western North Carolina in Rutherford County, the site of this years 2006 HGTV Dream Home and also where the movie Dirty Dancing was filmed.
I have been married for 40 years come June, with two childern and four grandchildern. I will be retairing with in the next year. We have never owned a camper, but I have always wanted an Airstream and have told my wife if I find a bargan I would buy it and restor it. I like to fix thinks and make them better and I fill like the Airstream will be one of my biggest challanges. We also have a 1940 Ford Street Rod that we have had for over twenty years, but has only been on the road for eight years. We belong to the NSRA and go to the National shows several time a year. We plan on going to some of the Airstream rallys when we get on the road.

On my Airstream I have replaced the rubber seals on every window and still have two leaks. Plus there is a leak on the inside left of exterior door. The door leak is coming through a inside pannel joint, so I am thinking I have a seam leaking some where above the door on the out side. The owning above the door is very old and will be replaced some time but I wonder if the leak is coming from it.

Every things I have done to my 170 Airstream is listed below.

Removed two layers of carpet from the floor. (I have hard wood to go down).

Fixed all interior lights and exterior lights around door.

Tented all windows and new seals.

The Airstream factory repaired my door lock and I replaced the seal.

Made new counter tops and laminte for cabinet, new hinges.

Sanded all wood in the camper down and restained it to a walnut color.

Replaced kitchen and bath room faucet

Put in new speakers in for the Raido, but need a new antenna and don't have a clue as to how to get it out and back in.

Recovered the beds.

Sanded and painted the Tongue and the gas tank holder.

Had to reseal the bath room fan vent.

Repaired the range exhaust fan.

One Question is how can I take the tail lights out to replace the light sockets?

I guess I have talked enought for now but I am glade you are letting me join the group.

AYRSTRM2 · 04-22-2006, 09:56 AM

Welcome to the forums, Steve!

The awning rail is a likely culprit for a leak, but not certain. Do some searching on roof leaks and you'll find plenty of advice for finding and fixing them. Good luck!

jOhn

Zeppelinium · 04-22-2006, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Put in new speakers in for the Raido, but need a new antenna and don't have a clue as to how to get it out and back in.

My PO cut a round hole inside just behind the location of the external antenna (a 1971 model), which allows access to the back connection. I think he must have used the previous antenna cable as a pull string to feed a new line up to the radio location (mine is in a narrow cabinet above the front window). He covered the hole with a slightly larger round plate, which looks OK.

Where is your radio and external antenna?

65overlander · 10-20-2006, 07:03 AM

welcome, steve. am also fairly new to the forum. i have started a reno of my 65 overlander and have found the source of two leaks as a result of removing the inner skin as part of the reno. had some floor rot to the left of the door as you are looking out. when i removed the lower skin at that point i discovered water was channeling in through one of the lower screws holding the lower awning support in place. seam leaking may not be your source. attempted to attach a picture of the inside of the lower awning bracket but can not seem to isolate the pic i need. seems it wants to load my whole album of pics. will try to figure that out or maybe someone can post a reply and tell me how. second leak is from a small metal plate attached just below the airstream information plate to the right of the door going in. water is coming in through a rivet hole. suspect a third leak is coming in through a bad gasket in the porch light. have not yet taken off the upper skin in that area but noticed when the last rain came that water was funning off the end of the awning channel, down the side of the trailer wall, and running over the porch light. have removed the lower skins in the front area of the trailer and have not yet noticed one problem at the seams. guess what i am saying is don't be too quick to blame the seams for the leaks. if i can figure out how to isolate pics from my albumn, will also send some pics of the condition of the inner skin. regards, dave

**Janet H** · 10-20-2006, 08:46 AM

We tracked a mystery leak to the TV antenna mount. The water wicked down the lead wire between the inner and outeskin the all the way across the dome of the trailer and dripped out the outlet about the sink!

wahoonc · 10-20-2006, 09:24 AM

Hi Steve,
Welcome to the forums. Your leak may be coming from the awning rail. Mine had several layers of caulk on it so the water was working it's way down thru. You can reseal the rail without replacing the awning. If your kitchen is on the curbside make it could be the plumbing vent stack or the stove vent too. As a general rule I would suggest doing all of the plumbing stacks anyway. They aren't hard todo and are usually a source of leaks. Another thing to keep in mind, with the way an Airstream is built water can get in at one location and follow a horizontal stringer for quite aways before showing up inside.
Good Luck and let us know how you make out.

Aaron

65overlander · 10-20-2006, 10:11 AM

steve, hopefully i have figured out the pic attachment problem. if it comes through, the two larger screws in the lower part of the picture are for the lower canopy attachment. since there are no real support backings for these screws, my guess is the canopy was added after the inside skins were on. i do plan to try to better support the area in my renovation. the lower right screw is the one where water is dripping. from the looks of the floor (all of which will be removed) it had been leaking for some time. originally i had thought po had left the window open to the weather and that caused the floor problem but after removing the skin i do believe the problem is the sum total of the canopy screw as well as the leaking rivet just above it i referenced in my prior post. will post again when i get the upper skin removed and can look at the porch light area. regards, dave

LI Pets · 10-20-2006, 10:18 AM

As to your question "how can I take the tail lights out to replace the light sockets?"

If they are like mine there are 4 screws on each lens, remove them and a metal dish will have the sockets pressed in, just tap them out or use a pair of pliers to twist them out.

wahoonc · 10-20-2006, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 65overlander

steve, hopefully i have figured out the pic attachment problem. if it comes through, the two larger screws in the lower part of the picture are for the lower canopy attachment. since there are no real support backings for these screws, my guess is the canopy was added after the inside skins were on. i do plan to try to better support the area in my renovation. the lower right screw is the one where water is dripping. from the looks of the floor (all of which will be removed) it had been leaking for some time. originally i had thought po had left the window open to the weather and that caused the floor problem but after removing the skin i do believe the problem is the sum total of the canopy screw as well as the leaking rivet just above it i referenced in my prior post. will post again when i get the upper skin removed and can look at the porch light area. regards, dave

Dave,
The canopies are usually a dealer added item. Also from what I have found is that the ZipDee hardware when installed correctly, usually hits on a rib...at least I think it is supposed to. Other brands don't always do as well. Another thing that comes into play, on a SOB you have a heavy framing piece at the bottom of the wall, not so on an Airstream. For a fix on mine I added a heavy aluminum plate on the back side of the wall and put one on the outside too for the time being. If I replace the current Care Free awning with a ZipDee I should be able to do away with the outer plate.

Aaron

65overlander · 10-20-2006, 09:40 PM

aaron, went back and looked at some of my documentation and "rediscovered" my awning is by carefree. also noticed a 1981 date on the instruction sheet so definitely think it was not original to my 1965 unit. since the attachment on this unit misses the rib, an aluminum plate, such as you suggested, would seem to be the way to go. thanx, dave

Silver Threads · 10-20-2006, 10:04 PM

Hi Steve and Welcome to the forums, You will find that the people on here are very friendly and VERY helpful when it comes to restorations. I live in East Tn, not too far from you, and during the past 3 days it has been raining. Normally we keep the awning out but my husband has been cleaning the outside and had put it in and when I went in last night, there was water all over the stove and also a drip coming from ceiling. One was coming through the stove vent and the other from the antenna. my husband put some silicone around both openings and the leaks stopped. I hope yours turns out to be something simple also. good luck and don't forget to post pictures!!

wahoonc · 10-21-2006, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie2006

Hi Steve and Welcome to the forums, You will find that the people on here are very friendly and VERY helpful when it comes to restorations. I live in East Tn, not too far from you, and during the past 3 days it has been raining. Normally we keep the awning out but my husband has been cleaning the outside and had put it in and when I went in last night, there was water all over the stove and also a drip coming from ceiling. One was coming through the stove vent and the other from the antenna. my husband put some silicone around both openings and the leaks stopped. I hope yours turns out to be something simple also. good luck and don't forget to post pictures!!

Tammy,
PLEASE tell me he didn't use silicone. That is the worst sealant in the world to use on an Aluminum Airstream. It may stop the leak right now, but it will reappear and be twice as hard to fix next time. The best sealant for use on an Airstream is a polyurethane like Vulkem or Sikaflex. If the leak is in a small gap area (between skins or along seam lines) Acryl-R of Parbond will work. The biggest problem with silicone is that it "microfractures" and allows water to seep in around the sealant. Then to repair you have to remove ALL of the silicone or nothing else will be able to stick to it. Silicone residue is very, very, very dificult to remove effectively. Many of us on this board have had to literally remove cases of the stuff from our trailers so we could reseal them properly to stop leaks.

Aaron