Around the World Airstream #6768

[66Overlander]

OK, time for the public unveiling. Over Memorial Day weekend from Friday, May 27 to Monday, May 30, 2022, we had Cramer on display in front of the Airstream Heritage Center in Jackson Center, Ohio as part of the Airstream Club Special Event Rally held there just before the Heritage Center opened to the public on June 1, 2022.

We made one compromise to be there, and that was that we chose to not camp in Cramer and instead we put the trailer on display and stayed in a local hotel. This was out of practicality, because during May, in addition to getting a long punch list done on Cramer, I had to complete one of the two presentations I was scheduled to give during that Rally (a mostly pictorial history of Airstream from 1931-1941), and I was helping Airstream Archivist/Historian/Heritage Center Curator Samantha Martin with the list of and parking plan for the vintage Airstreams invited to on display in front of the Heritage Center that would participate in the Vintage Open House during the Rally. It just seemed prudent to take the task of putting water in the trailer and checking for/fixing plumbing leaks off the critical list to getting to the rally and using the trailer at the rally. We will test the plumbing next time we take Cramer out of storage.

Attached to this post are some photos of our arrival at the Heritage Center, the layout of vintage Airstreams for the Vintage Open House, and our departure as the last rig to leave. Next post will include some interior photos of Cramer during the Open House.

[66Overlander]

Here is one photo of Lorrie and me at the "Welcome to the Mothership" sign inside the Airstream Heritage Center and several shots inside Cramer as set up for the Vintage Open House. Actually a couple of inside shots were taken at home before we left for the Heritage Center as we tried to figure out how to stage the trailer for the Vintage Open House because I forget to take any photos of the front inside of the trailer during the Vintage Open House. One item not seen in position is the Zenith Trans-Oceanic Radio I had set up on the front gaucho during the open house, though a photo of that radio is attached.

At least the photos in this post and the prior post get you a feel for the current state of Cramer (our 1962 22' Safari from the ATWC).

I have a long punch list of things to still tackle, but other than for testing the plumbing for leaks, we are to a point the trailer is usable, so the remaining list will be worked on casually as time permits (repainting the tongue and bumper, reinstalling the short wave antenna, evening out the patina where I over polished around the marker lamps and to get rid of rub marks from the 10+ years it spent in the woods before we got it, etc., etc., etc.). The experts agree that due to the list of countries that are visible on the front curbside corner, it should not be polished, which would remove that ghosting and decrease it's value, but we would like to even out the appearance some . . . eventually.

There, you are all back "up to date". Good night.

[dbj216]

Wow! Cramer made a big splash at his "coming out party". It is great you folks were first to see the new Heritage Center. I was at a vintage Airstream rally in Colorado two weeks ago and a couple of region 11 officers were at the Heritage Center too. They said it was spectacular. I hope to see it someday.

Thank you kindly for this midnight posting. Cramer looks new inside, which he is. Now you have to spend over a 100 hours of dirty, boring work to shine up Cramer on the outside. But I guess he wouldn't look old anymore, so maybe not.

David

[damonbeals]

Wow Joe! Cramer has come a long way from when it was in our driveway back in 2011! Glad to see it on the road and I hope to see it in person again. Thanks again for all you do for vintage Airstream community.



Damon
#4827

[Lance M]

Beautiful stuff, Joe!
Thanks for sharing.

[StevieB]

It was fantastic to finally see it in person. Your craftsmanship was masterful.

Regards,
Steve

[66Overlander]

It is time to finally announce that Lorrie and I have actually camped in Cramer, our 1962 22' Safari from the Around the World Caravan. I have to admit that since it's first public showing at the Grand Opening of the Airstream Heritage Center last year, I had not done much work on the trailer.

That all changed in about August when we made campground reservations to finally go camping in Cramer. On the September 15th, I pulled Cramer home from storage to add water and test the plumbing for leaks. Glad I did because I found 4 leaks. Two were at the threaded hot and cold joints to the water heater and the other two involved the toilet, one at the hand valve that was used with the original toilet and the other was at the external vacuum breaker. An air pressure test a couple of years ago had not discovered those leaks. After disassembling and reassembling the water heater pipes with new Teflon tape, those leaks were eliminated and I just removed the external toilet hand valve and vacuum breaker (for now) since neither are needed with the modern (1990s vintage) toilet that I currently have installed.



With those issues resolved, Lorrie and I joined some Vintage Airstream Club friends at a campground overlooking the St. Clair River for a two-day shakedown camping trip. Everything worked great. No leaks. The water heater worked as did the hidden fresh and gray tank monitors that I installed. We even re-tested the furnace one evening.


We were so excited to finally be camping in Cramer! Then the thought hit us that 60 years ago to the day, original owners Ralph and Gerry Cramer were likely camping in the trailer as their slides indicate that they were already in Los Angeles, CA to rendezvous with the 1963-64 Around the World Caravan. The ATWC kick-off dinner was held on September 22, 1963 and they sailed out of Los Angeles on September 23 aboard the S.S. President Cleveland. As I write this post, 60 year's ago on September 28, 1963 the Cramers and most, if not all, of the ATWC participants were making a stop at Honolulu, Hawaii as they sailed across the Pacific Ocean toward Singapore. They would also make stops in Japan and Hong Hong before the arrived in Singapore to be reunited with their Airstreams that were transported on the cargo ship S.S. Hopecrest. Thus, 60 years ago today, Cramer, our 1962 Safari, was on-ship sailing across the Pacific Ocean.

I am now re-energized to address the remaining punch list on Cramer, which are mostly cosmetic items like evening out the patina on the shell to get rid of the black rub marks left over from the decade it sat unattended in the woods, the new skin patches I installed, and the small polished areas a mistakenly created when I replaced the old rusty marker lamps. We will not polish Cramer because we need to preserve the ghost outlines of the ATWC country names painted on it. I also need to put a new coat of paint on the exposed parts of the frame and reinstall the big shortwave or CB radio antenna, make a shower curtain, etc. Plus we learned that the mattress toppers we have will need fine tuning as the ones we tried were not quite soft enough on top of the new foam in the gaucho cushions. Both beds are actually made by converting the gauchos at night and the foam is too firm for sleeping "as is".

But it is great to finally have Cramer in "campable" condition. We are now looking forward to more camping trips in it next year!

[Bubba L]

I’m a history enthusiast, so an interesting read. At the very least, have fun camping and stay safe.

[Hittenstiehl]

Yay for preservation and use of Cramer.

Amazing work and patience. Maybe when your punch list is done some fresh interior shots also.

[dbj216]

Well, hearty congratulations are in order. This was a mighty big restoration project that you did extremely well. I figured you left Cramer in the Airstream Heritage Center since it is such an interesting part of Airstream history. But it is better you folks enjoy it than having it sit in a museum.

This vintage around the world caravan trailer was present at the Rocky Mountain Vintage Airstream Rally in Poncha Springs this July. I looked at it, but didn't take good notes. I bet you already know about this Airstream. Anyway, I thought Cramer would like to met a trailer with the same kind of Airstream experience.

David

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by dbj216

Well, hearty congratulations are in order. This was a mighty big restoration project that you did extremely well. I figured you left Cramer in the Airstream Heritage Center since it is such an interesting part of Airstream history. But it is better you folks enjoy it than having it sit in a museum.

This vintage around the world caravan trailer was present at the Rocky Mountain Vintage Airstream Rally in Poncha Springs this July. I looked at it, but didn't take good notes. I bet you already know about this Airstream. Anyway, I thought Cramer would like to met a trailer with the same kind of Airstream experience.

David

Thanks David,
The Heritage Center may have been the final destination for Cramer at one time, but they had another ATWC Airstream donated just before the Grand Opening, so are not really in need of another one at this point, and I intend to keep Cramer and use him/it for many years to come, so who owns him/it next is not a significant concern at the moment. When the time comes, an interview process may be involved to select an appropriate next "care taker".

As for the ATWC trailer you saw at the Rocky Mountain event, I am very familiar with it and saw it personally at the 2018 WBCCI International Rally in Salem, OR. In fact, I know of twelve surviving Airstreams from the ATWC (out of 45 Airstream trailers on that caravan, plus two Support Trucks with Airstream bodies) and am in contact with each of those 12 owners and have personally been in 9 of the 12 Airstreams before, during, and/or after restoration. I am also contact with several people who were on the 1963-64 ATWC. You can probably say that little goes on related to the ATWC that I am not aware of.

You can also say that my initial research into the ATWC after running across the first claim of an ATWC Airstream for sale (on eBay in about 2007) is what started me down the path that led me to become the VAC Historian in 2009 and the WBCCI Historian in 2015. My next article series for the WBCCI Blue Beret magazine will be about the 1963-64 ATWC for it's 60th anniversary, starting with the November 2023 issue.

[dbj216]

Wow, you certainly are well ingrained in the history of the ATWAC participants. You should be an Airstream historian, oh wait, you already are. I must say I enjoyed your presentations at the International Rally at Rock Springs this summer. And it was a pleasure to meet you while you were working on the brakes of your late model Airstream. I'm sure you got the problem sorted out and corrected.

David