Starting a restoration

[CraigCam]

I just purchased. 1970 27' over lander International and about to start the restoration. It will be used as weekend warriors and not living in. My plan is to gut the interior and know I will be replacing subfloor in rear bathroom. Will more than likely replace all the entire subfloor as well. I have not decided on removing skins? There are a couple of areas where someone strayed foam in some areas of subfloor? What's the best resource for replacement parts and all things needed for this project? Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks.

[prairieschooner]

You need to really love the one that you have.
I have used ebay, craigslist and Vintage Trailer supply (the advertise here)

[TheGreatleys]

Congratulations. I imagine you'll know whether you need to remove the skins once you have everything gutted.

There are tons of vendors for parts. You can see the ones we chose and where we got them on our blog in our signature. If you have a specific question about where to find something or what to get, you'll get lots of input if you ask on the forums.

[Greg1410]

I am so glad I removed my inside skins. Once I pulled back the skins, the smell from the insulation was horrendous. Glad to have that out. Plus allowed me to rewire where I wanted easily. Just label everything well and take lots of pictures
Greg

[64airstream]

CraigCam,

Welcome to the forums. We hope you enjoy the project phase of your Airstream. We have found this forum very helpful and recommend you keep reading as much as you can. This helped us figure out what questions we should have and usually several possible solutions. Folks here are very willing to help and someone here has probably solved any problem you come up against during your renovation.

Replacing sections of the floor is common for these projects. We replaced the bathroom subfloor and three forward sections in our '64 Safari (22'). If interested, that project is documented at 64airstream.com but the webpage hasn't been updated for quite awhile. We only had two small sections of floor to replace in our '68 Overlander (similar to yours, but pre-1969 narrower body style). That one is documented here at https://www.airforums.com/forums/f39...er-155180.html .

We would note that as you gut the trailer you'll think you've got all the fasteners out, give a good tug and nothing moves. That means there's still another screw or rivet or bolt. Keep looking. When you find it, there's probably still another one you missed. You may also consider saving everything you pull out for reuse or as patterns for new pieces.

Good Luck and Enjoy,

Roy and Marie

[Minno]

Take lots of pictures as you remove items. You will refer to them more than you'd think, even if you're building all new, as we did. Also save most of what you're removing. You may want it for patterns as Roy and Marie said. If you replace the whole subfloor, no worries in the future. A little more time and money now is worth it, we think.
There are many threads on rebuilds. They make good reading and give lots of ideas. We benefited greatly from reading what others had done before us. Our thread is "Little Girl Refurb" on a '72 31ft Sovereign.
Our trailer had been in Mississippi for many years: the walls were filled with acorns and mouse trails, etc. Very worth it to remove skins and replace insulation as well as rewire.
Good luck and post pictures of your progress. We LOVE pictures here!

Kay