Stored For 7 Years Airstream

[Highball]

Hi i am new to airstream, just bought my first one, has been properly winterize and stored as far as i can tell, but has not used in 7 yrs its a 1992 35 ft excella what do i need to do to bring it up to par. I know i will need to do a ton of cleaning and dreed polishing the outside, have water,elect and sewer hook ups at home. Should i set it up like i would camping and work everything for a few days to make sure nothing leaks or broke , any advice would be helpful, thank you. so far this form after reading tons of threads and links is great. btw i am getting it delivered this week so no big hurry on replying .

[jcanavera]

Besides trying out all the systems at home, i'd probably have the wheel bearings inspected and packed and the tires replaced.

Jack

[OTRA15]

Good suggestions Jack-- to include making sure the brakes work correctly while towing.

Welcome to the forum Highball, and good luck with the new trailer!

Peter

PS -- After getting a new potable water hose, Camco inline water filter, and brass inline water pressure regulator at the hose bib, I would also run lots of city water through all the lines with your grey tank dump valve open. Then, using the same hose setup, fill the fresh water tank with good clean water, and add a quart or so of bleach. Move the trailer a few feet back and forth to mix things up, then let it sit overnight with the tank full of this diluted bleach solution. Then let the water pump send this solution to all the plumbing lines and faucets, incl. toilet and outdoor shower if any, until the tank is almost empty.

Let the diluted bleach solution sit in the plumbing lines for a couple of hours, then flush flush flush everything with city water, including the fresh water tank, which you can keep filling from the new hose, with the tank's drain valve open, so as to flush out the tank well.

The water heater should also be part of this process, so make sure any winterization/bypass valves are in the proper position to permit this.

During this process you should also open and close all the low-point drains a few times, because sometimes these drains are at the end of "dead end" run of plumbing, and thus will contain very stagnant water in some models.

[xrvr]

As has been said, bearings, brakes, tires and brake lights. Looks like a good find, don't damage it getting it home. Forget the polishing until you have it waterproof and all systems working. Enjoy this trailer!

[tevake]

Nice find for you Highball.

I was looking at the pics and started thinking, wow gutted, no old cabinets to use for patterns. You would have to be quite the craftsman or a cabinet or furniture maker to rebuild a new interior in that.

And sure enough, there you are, shop and all.

Love it when things come together like that.

Will be looking forward to your progress.

You will find lots of good info here. Like converter upgrade, solar installs, heater options, etc.

Al the best in your project.

Cheers Richard

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by tevake

. . .
I was looking at the pics
. . .

I don't see any attached photos, and Highball has only one post, so could you refer us to the "pics" please?

Thanks

[BicenTw]

When I bought my Tradewind the PO told me of one leak that had occurred in the water system because it wasn’t winterized. After I repaired the one reported leak I turned on the city water to test its durability. Five (5) cold and hot water breaches in the copper lines later I had it sealed. Each subsequent leak soaked the floor and drained some water into the belly pans during the painstaking repair. If you do detect a water line break in yours and you suspect multiple leaks, drain the system, add some dishwasher detergent to your passive water supply, shut off the valves then use an air compressor set at less than 50 psi to look and listen for leaks.

[TinShack]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

I don't see any attached photos, and Highball has only one post, so could you refer us to the "pics" please?

Thanks

I don't see where Tevake was saying it's gutted, but here are some pics that Highball posted...

http://www.airforums.com/photos/brow...ageuser=120268

[OTRA15]

Thanks

[Highball]

richard i never posted pics till today must have been looking at something else it was kept in good shape other than it sat outside uncovered for the 7 yrs , im going to pressure wash it and check for leaks, i will post more pics once i get her cleaned up.

[xrvr]

Pressure washing can remove some of the sealant Between the seems.

[OTRA15]

When pressure washing use a low pressure, and pay attention to the overlap of all the aluminum pieces. You don't want to shoot high-pressure water "up into" an overlapping seam. Just like pressure washing a shingled roof, always aim "down" the roof in harmony with the overlaps of the shingles.

Probably a good idea to stay away from all the window areas too, for reasons just mentioned.

[kdickinson]

Ours sat unused for 30+ years. The trailer has been in my family since new so I generally knew it had been maintained at least for safe towing. Once home we made three lists: 1) safety items that needed to be checked - for safe towing and safe living including a bearing re-pack, new tires, brake check, electrical and propane systems & smoke and Co2 alarms inside, 2) livability items - things you do without but they sure make living in the trailer much better like water heater, refer, etc. and 3) cosmetic items - things that can be addressed over time like minor corrosion and dings.

We ended up having to replace just about everything behind the walls including water system copper to pec, water heater, water pump, furnace, A/C, electric converter, shore power plug, gas regulator, several LP leaks were repaired, re-seal the seams on the roof. In the end re-packing the bearings was by far the cheapest maintenance item. Hopefully yours won't need all this work and our original stove and refer are working great. I just had to buy two new LP tanks because one sprung a leak at the valve. But - for us it is all worth it and we love our Airstream! Also - yes, get a new fresh water hose and make sure your sewer hose connects properly to the trailer, the older Airstreams have a larger diameter connector than what is sold at the stores.

[Jacob D]

Originally Posted by Highball

Hi i am new to airstream, just bought my first one, has been properly winterize and stored as far as i can tell, but has not used in 7 yrs its a 1992 35 ft excella what do i need to do to bring it up to par. I know i will need to do a ton of cleaning and dreed polishing the outside, have water,elect and sewer hook ups at home. Should i set it up like i would camping and work everything for a few days to make sure nothing leaks or broke , any advice would be helpful, thank you. so far this form after reading tons of threads and links is great. btw i am getting it delivered this week so no big hurry on replying .

If the tires are 7yrs old they should be replaced with new ST tires on a triple axle trailer. All wheels should be removed to inspect brakes and bearings, bearings repacked and brakes adjusted. I would pressurize the water system with compressed air up to about 40 lbs to check for leaks before pressurizing with water. If it was winterized with RV anti-freeze it should be drained before pressurizing. If no air leaks are detected in the water system, pressurize with water, flush thoroughly and drain. Then refill the tank with fresh water and add Clorox bleach (some recommend a quart, I use a half pint in my 20 gal tank). Start your water pump, open each tap including hot water, toilet flush valve and all drain valves one at a time until you can detect the bleach smell at each outlet then close. Then with all outlets closed refill the water tank add about a cup of bleach and let stand overnight to ensure complete sanitization of your water system. Then drain completely, and flush thoroughly with fresh water including the water pump and strainer. I usually drain and flush at least twice to ensure no Clorox smell.

As to polishing, if the clear finish is still intact, wash with a mild dish detergent or what ever Airstream recommends then polish with Walbernize polish to bring out the shine of the clear coat.

[tevake]

My apologies if my earlier confusion spilled into this thread.
I must have crossed threads and replied to the wrong one here.

Sorry, carry on

Cheers Richard

[mayco]

I hate it when I cross thread, makes for all kinds of trouble!

[tjansen]

I had similar situation. My 21' 1995 Sovereign had sat for 5 years. I bought it 2 years ago and just got done with Propane Refrigerator restart. 2 things were wrong. The spark / Igniter was corroded as well as the Orifice tube . I sanded both to shiny. The Igniter module was bad . I got the part on Ebay at $37 so not bad. Best of luck to ya. When I first bought it I had to replace the heater fan, again removed the Squeeling fan and found the model # on Ebay again.
Tom Jansen
Castle Rock, CO.