1972 31' Airstream

[tweety7754]

I recently bought a 1972 Airsteam 31' trailer for $500. It is in surprisingly good shape and 100% original. I am the 4th owner, and 3 of them lived in my small town of roughly 1,000, so I pretty much know the history of it. Originally I planned on cleaning it up and re-selling it, but now I think I will use it as a guest quarters on my ranch, so I want to fix it up. It sat empty on another ranch for a few years after the owner moved away, so mostly it was just dirty. I tore the old, dirty orange carpet out yesterday and (thank God!) the carpet and padding saved the floor from water damage, but I found evidence of leaking near every window and the cooler on the roof also. Being quite handy, I can do most repairs on about anything myself, but trailers are a whole new animal for me. I need to re-seal the roof vents and such, but never having owned a trailer of any sort before, I don't know what kind of sealant I should use. Also, since all the seals around every window need to be replaced, does anyone know a good source for window seals?

Thank you for any help or advice you can give, Susan

[perryg114]

Most prefer Trempro-635 or similar polyurethane sealants but my experience is that those don't hold up to full time sun exposure for very long. Lexel works better for roof applications where you get full sun. It also remains flexible for a long time. For around window frames Parr Bond is pretty good but it also does not last long in direct sunlight. Roof vents for the sewer have a bad design using a sheet of rubber that fits around the pipe and usually splits in 2-3 yrs after you replace it. I ended up caulking around the pipe with Trempro and it has held several years so far. Lexel would be better. The main seal is between the pipe and the hole it comes through in the roof. Other leaks areas are tail lights, awning brackets, and loose rivets. Loose rivets are common found near the door area.

The absolute worst leak area is at the back of these trailers were a metal plate that holds the hinge for the rear bumper storage compartment funnels water under the rear floor rotting the floor and frame. You have to remove the belly trim to get to the caulk joint to fix it. End stage is the shell and frame separate and that is a problem. If you jump on the rear bumper and it moves relative to the shell you have a problem. If it does not move, you still might have a problem. The window seals can be obtained from online Airstream dealers such as inlandrv.com or odmrv.com etc. Fixing leaks between double panes is a real pain and I would concentrate on structure and leaks and deal with that later if you have time. Leaks that you can see are good leaks. Many leaks occur between the inner and outer skins and are hard to find.

Perry

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by tweety7754

I recently bought a 1972 Airsteam 31' trailer for $500. It is in surprisingly good shape and 100% original. I am the 4th owner, and 3 of them lived in my small town of roughly 1,000, so I pretty much know the history of it. Originally I planned on cleaning it up and re-selling it, but now I think I will use it as a guest quarters on my ranch, so I want to fix it up. It sat empty on another ranch for a few years after the owner moved away, so mostly it was just dirty. I tore the old, dirty orange carpet out yesterday and (thank God!) the carpet and padding saved the floor from water damage, but I found evidence of leaking near every window and the cooler on the roof also. Being quite handy, I can do most repairs on about anything myself, but trailers are a whole new animal for me. I need to re-seal the roof vents and such, but never having owned a trailer of any sort before, I don't know what kind of sealant I should use. Also, since all the seals around every window need to be replaced, does anyone know a good source for window seals?

Thank you for any help or advice you can give, Susan

The consensus is no silicone on aluminum, it's a real pain to remove later.

By seals do you mean the window gaskets? They are available from Inland RV or Vintage Trailer Supply. Use 3m gasket adhesive.

If you are interested I have an original 631 page service manual. It is a 75 but most everything will apply to your stream. Send me a PM.

[sgschwend]

Some of us have moved ahead and put on a coating on the roof to reflect the heat and also seal the roof.

I personally like to store my trailer under a cover, being handy you could build a good looking wooden carport and be miles ahead of the leak chasing that folks do (search the forum using Leak as a key word).

Finding and fixing all the leaks is a challenge. To do so Airstream Dealers and some repair shops have come up with a positive pressure blower attached to the Airstream under test to find leaks by using soapy water on the outside. The sealing only last for so many years too.

[rugjenkins]

Sikaflex 221 is great! I think it's better than tempro

[tweety7754]

Thank you all for your advice and knowledge!! Being new to all this, it is a blessing to have all you seasoned guys out there to help and advise. The suggestion of building a 'carport' later had already occurred to me simply based on the extreme heat here in the summer. After I finish a few other projects, I will do just that.