Newbie in New Orleans

[altemplet]

Hello,
I recently purchased a 1976 Tradewind 25’. The PO ripped out all the interior and rebuild it out of 2 x 4‘s and plywood probably adding about 1500 pounds. I have ripped all that out but I missing black tank, furnace controls, water heater controls, etc. I would like to renovate it with modern materials but I am trying to see how original items were laid out and plumbed.
Looking for someone around the New Orleans area that has renovated an AS.
Thanks
Al Templet

[newsgauger]

Hello Al,

If your '76 is anything like my '76 the appliances were not or did not have much in the way of electronic controls, which in my opinion was the best way to have them...less complicated and something you could trouble shoot/fix rather than throw away (ie the furnace control was a simple Mercury closed/open switch based on temperature setting. The 2-leads ran from the thermostat to the furnace along with a fused battery lead).

If you plan to use "modern materials/appliances", I'm sure that each will require their own set of installation requirements.

Good luck on your rebuild...

Chris

[Belegedhel]

Welcome to the Forums!

If you want a black tank that is exactly like the original, you can probabaly order one from INCA Plastics--I got one for my '73 from them.

As far as appliances go, the first thing you want to do is consider their age. Most people jettison their 40 year old furnaces, as the ytend to be rusted/burnt out inside, and you run the risk of breathing CO2/CO all night and waking up dead. The water heater, even modern ones, doesn't really have much for electronic controls--it is operated from the removeable panel on the outside of the trailer.

If you go to the "portal" tab of these Forums, you can scroll down, and on the right hand side, there is a utility for finding "volunteer trailer inspectors." This may help you to find people in the Nawlins area who would be willing to come and look at what you have.

Also, look at vintageairstream.com, and there is a section where there are photos of different models of Airstream by year. This may give you an idea of how your trailer looked before the PO had his way with it. Also check Airstream.com, as they have a document archive that shows the sales brochures for trailers by year. Again, this should give you some insights as to how your trailer was laid out.

Good luck!