Around the World Airstream #6768

[soldiermedic]

I cannot believe I am just seeing this now.

Congrats Joe on a great find. I am sure you will do her proud and return it to the former glory she once had.

Steve

[drag'nwagon]

Congrats Joe!! That is a very cool and a great historic find.

The wiring in my 56 (12 volt) was all blue wire with numbers but I have never found any information as to what thier scheme was, so grab a battery or charger and light em up.

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by soldiermedic

I cannot believe I am just seeing this now.

Congrats Joe on a great find. I am sure you will do her proud and return it to the former glory she once had.

Steve

Thanks Steve! Got this one in your neck of the woods and feel lucky to have gotten it.

Originally Posted by drag'nwagon

Congrats Joe!! That is a very cool and a great historic find.

The wiring in my 56 (12 volt) was all blue wire with numbers but I have never found any information as to what thier scheme was, so grab a battery or charger and light em up.

Hi Dave,
Yeah, I know I can do it with a battery or power supply and will when I get back to it. Just trying to learn if anyone has decoded the knots on another Airstream. Any yes, in my '55 all wiring was blue. Red wire must have been cheaper in 1962.

P.S. I need to call you soon - I tried during the trip home with this trailer, but didn't get you. I've still got to get the rear bumper made and installed on the '55 and hope Bob can still do it. And then there's the topic of an axle for this trailer (maybe next spring). Maybe we need a Metro-Detroit "restoration rally" in next spring.

[drag'nwagon]

The axle for this trailer is a snap, can be done in a few hours.

Is there any interior pics? Is there anything that was done "special" for the ATWC?

[aircooled4]

Wow...Great find! Looking forward to some more pics!

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by aircooled4

Wow...Great find! Looking forward to some more pics!

Thanks.

And to your request and others, I will eventually edit and upload some interior photos, but time is so limited at the moment that there are other priorities. I haven't even had the time to clean the interior yet.

I did pull the trailer home on Sunday (the first nice day over 50F and not raining in over a week) and spent hours on a ladder and on the roof removing old caulk and resealing the roof vents, roof seams, and awning rail. Gotta get it weather tight before winter. Hopefully, the weather will be better and I can do more next weekend.

[overlander64]

Greetings Joe!

Originally Posted by 66Overlander

Question: Since the umbilical cord wiring was mixed up, I cannot trust wire colors. In looking where the umbilical cord ties into the trailer wiring under the access panel, all of the trailer wiring is red. The three tail lamps wires are all red, but they have varying numbers of knots tied in them (1, 2, and 3) to identify the various circuits (Park/Tail/Running, Right Stop/Turn, and Left Stop/Turn). Does anyone know if there was standard "knot coding" used by Airstream in the early 1960s? Working alone it is hard to test wires from one end of the trailer to the other to know how many knots are used for which lighting circuit. Of course I'll double check, but having a good idea where to start would be nice for next time I try to debug the tail lights.

I don't know whether this is too late to help, but I did run across the following posts that might help with the wire knotting/coding for designated purposes. I don't know whether the code differed by year or factory of production, but I do know that my '64 Overlander's wiring is red and it is knotted (whether it matches this schematic, I am not certain).

• 1960 Safari Umbilical wiring.

From what I have heard, this schematic appears to have been somewhat common during the early to mid-1960s.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by overlander64

Greetings Joe!

I don't know whether this is too late to help, but I did run across the following posts that might help with the wire knotting/coding for designated purposes. I don't know whether the code differed by year or factory of production, but I do know that my '64 Overlander's wiring is red and it is knotted (whether it matches this schematic, I am not certain).

• 1960 Safari Umbilical wiring.

From what I have heard, this schematic appears to have been somewhat common during the early to mid-1960s.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

Thanks Kevin!

I knew someone had to have run into the knotted wiring before. I hope that maybe this coming weekend I can again work on the tail lights and wiring. I'll start with the definitions provided, but will definitely verify rather than assume my Ohio Built '62 Safari is the same as this code from the 1960 Caravel in the other thread:

• Left Turn = Zero (or one?) Knot
• Right Turn = Two Knots
• Running Lights = Three Knots

[66Overlander]

OK, here finally are some general interior photos . . .

And here is my assessment of the condition of the interior:

APPLIANCES: All appliances appear to be original, but are unchecked to see if any of them operate.

PAINT: There is a coat of paint over the original Zolatone, but at least it was applied more carefully than some other Airstreams I have seen.

WOODWORK: There is some water damage to cabinets, most notably at the floor below the stove, and to the front of the fridge, and to the dresser top below the curbside window in the bedroom area. Overall the woodwork is not too bad, better than some, worse than others, mostly salvageable.

FLOOR: There is one hole through the floor (no photo) on the street side between the stove and front gaucho. This section of floor will have to be repaired. There are signs of water damage to the floor near the door, but it does not seem too soft. Not sure yet if I will have to replace that section or maybe just strengthen it with penetrating epoxy. The floor around the rest of the perimeter is unchecked. A lot of the original floor tiles are curling throughout the trailer. I wonder if there is a way to flatten them so that I do not need to replace them.

SOFTGOODS: The bedroom gaucho cushions are hard and crumbly. The front gaucho cushions are somewhat soft. Both will probably require new foam and maybe new covers. Curtains are not original and what is present are merely towels hanging over some of the windows. The fold-way hanging canvas bunk was added by the son of the original owners, probably some time in the 1970's. The canvas is ripped and will need to be replaced it is ever to be used again.

MICE: Some drawers and other areas contain mouse droppings and I have seen two mouse nests. This is probably not unusual given that the trailer was unattended in the woods for probably a decade or more before I bought it - trees had to be cut to extract it last year.

That's about it. I haven't even cleaned the interior to allow a more thorough inspection. Emphasis remains on getting the trailer weather tight before winter.

[aircooled4]

wow..interior looks GREAT..considering all its been doing...

[safari62]

Hi Joe

This is a great find. I somehow missed the beginning of this thread and checked in yesterday to see the posting of photos of the interior.

I have the same model and year Safari with considerably less documented history of ownership and travels (up until we owned it of course). I found my trailer in Delaware and think the original owner lived in NJ. As for travels I can only guess it way have travelled to Pennsylvania Dutch country from found objects in the trailer.

Number and owner searches have come up dry and we can only hope it lived a charmed life with most of her adventures yet to come.

My serial# is 222 D 729 what is this trailers #?

Thanks
Gary

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by safari62

Hi Joe

This is a great find. I somehow missed the beginning of this thread and checked in yesterday to see the posting of photos of the interior.

I have the same model and year Safari with considerably less documented history of ownership and travels (up until we owned it of course). I found my trailer in Delaware and think the original owner lived in NJ. As for travels I can only guess it way have travelled to Pennsylvania Dutch country from found objects in the trailer.

Number and owner searches have come up dry and we can only hope it lived a charmed life with most of her adventures yet to come.

My serial# is 222 D 729 what is this trailers #?

Thanks
Gary

Hi Gary,
Mine was built a littler earlier than yours since my serial number is 222D650 - 79 Ohio built 22-footers earlier. Mine was on at least three caravans. It went on a "shake down" caravan to Mexico shortly before the ATW caravan and a caravan to Canada a couple of years after the ATW caravan.

If your Safari has remnants of WBCCI numbers above the front or rear windows, maybe I can look up a little info for you and possibly find some caravan history for yours.

[safari62]

Originally Posted by 66Overlander

Hi Gary,
Mine was built a littler earlier than yours since my serial number is 222D650 - 79 Ohio built 22-footers earlier. Mine was on at least three caravans. It went on a "shake down" caravan to Mexico shortly before the ATW caravan and a caravan to Canada a couple of years after the ATW caravan.

If your Safari has remnants of WBCCI numbers above the front or rear windows, maybe I can look up a little info for you and possibly find some caravan history for yours.

Hi Joe
I will get a few numbers together and see what you can find and send a pm.

I have looked at many of early sixties 22' Safari's over the last nine years and see very few double bed models. I just read a 63' sales brouchure that stated the double bed was an available option as an extra charge. And also that it was the "smallest" Airstream available with three separate sections with two sliding curtains.

We have found the floorplan to be very practical and am curious why this seems to be a rare floorplan.

We have about 90k miles on our 62' since 2002 and would like to think it crossed at least a few state lines outside of the eastern seaboard before we revived it. I think #6768 has the distance and exotic roads travelled award locked up!

Now if you could explain to me why the Airstream Company did not serach out and acquire this trailer for restoration and as a history and sales tool ??? Or maybe you just beat them to it.

The side panel lettering of places travelled pretty much tells the whole Airstream travel trailer story.

Gary

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by safari62

Hi Joe
I will get a few numbers together and see what you can find and send a pm.

I agree with the PM so that this thread stays about my trailer, but I am happy to help you with any info I can provide about your Safari.

Originally Posted by safari62

I have looked at many of early sixties 22' Safari's over the last nine years and see very few double bed models. I just read a 63' sales brouchure that stated the double bed was an available option as an extra charge. And also that it was the "smallest" Airstream available with three separate sections with two sliding curtains.

We have found the floorplan to be very practical and am curious why this seems to be a rare floorplan.

I agree. This always seemed like a nice (but rare) floor plan to me. Some folks do prefer twin beds and the early to mid 60's Safaris with the front twins that made a large dinette would be nice for those that wanted to entertain in their trailer - a large goup could sit and talk together.

Originally Posted by safari62

We have about 90k miles on our 62' since 2002 and would like to think it crossed at least a few state lines outside of the eastern seaboard before we revived it. I think #6768 has the distance and exotic roads travelled award locked up!

The ATW caravan was 30,000 miles and about 35 countries from Singapore to Portugal. 46 other Airstreams did this same trip. The one that did the most other caravans is actually #8671, a 1963 Safari Twin (see this thread for more on that trailer: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f150...1-a-46195.html). #8671 probably has my trailer beat for exotic miles since it added several Mexican, and Central American caravans in the 1970s to the ATW mileage.

Originally Posted by safari62

Now if you could explain to me why the Airstream Company did not serach out and acquire this trailer for restoration and as a history and sales tool ??? Or maybe you just beat them to it.

I have no clue, but I am glad I got it - I acted as fast as I could. Maybe Airstream was just not looking, or maybe they already have more "heritage" trailers than they know what to do with.

Originally Posted by safari62

The side panel lettering of places travelled pretty much tells the whole Airstream travel trailer story.

Yep!

[66Overlander]

Time for a little update since it's been weeks since I provided a status update on #6768. There has been a reason for the silence - I have been using most of my free time most weekends to get the trailer weather tight before winter strikes. Accomplishments include:

1. The tongue and rear bumber have been painted. The silver is a bit too bright and will be top coated with something more subdued next year, but at least there is no exposed rust anymore.

2. New gaskets have been installed on the door, door-within-a-door, fridge access door, and the couple of windows that leaked the worst. The rest of the windows may have to wait until next year. I cannot get the rear storage compartment door open to replace it's gasket. I am not sure I have the proper key. I may have to hire a locksmith to open it next year.

3. Seams have been caulked. I took care of almost all seams except between the end cap segments. I have also caulked around the roof vents and plumbing vents as well as top and side of the windows, access doors, etc. I had to replace the outside 110VAC outlet and the box within the wall that contained it so that I could seal around it. The old box had disintegrated to the point that the outlet cover could not be screwed down tight.

4. A new umbilical cord was installed to get the tail lights and interior 12V content working. All of the 12V lights that have bulbs work, same for the 110VAC lights that have bulbs. I didn't have time to chase down bulbs for the fixtures that were missing bulbs. The both roof vents and the bath vent work on 110VAC and two of the three work on 12V. The air pump that pressurizes water tank runs on 12V although I do not know if the tank holds pressure. Overall it seems that most of the electrical stuff works.

5. New reproduction tail lights have been installed to replace the non-original replacements that were put on decades ago when proper replacements were not available.

6. The rear window and patio awnings have been removed. They were both shot and the trailer looks more correct to its ATW condition without them. Also, the door can now be opened all the way and latched in the open position. The old front arm of the patio awning previously prevented this.

7. Through it all a lot of Olympic rivets have been installed to plug old screw and rivet holes. Maybe next year I can borrow a rivet shaver to make them look better, but at least they help seal the trailer up for now.

8. I also patched one hole in the skin at the lower front corner of the front streetside window that surely was the major leak point that lead to a hole rotting in the floor just below it. The damage was caused by a major rub with some inanimate object a long time ago. It peeled the top layer of skin back at a seam. The previous repair of a layer of aluminum tape was not doing anything except funneling water into the hole in the skin. I had to rivet an aluminum patch over the hole using a generous dose of Vulkem to keep it sealed for a long time to come.

That was a lot to get done in a limited number of September to November weekends. The weather probably won't allow any more weekends that will be warm enough for caulking the remaining few seams and replacing the remaining window gaskets, so exterior work is done for the year.

I will attached a few current photos to this message just to illustrate the progress to date and the current condition.

[66Overlander]

Some astute viewers might notice that I mounted the reproduction tail lamps wider than is typical for an Ohio built Airstream.

In the early 1960s, Ohio built Airstreams typically had their tail lights mounted on the rear panel below the rear window, completely inboard of the vertical seams that extend down from the rear window edges.

In the early 1960s, built California Airstreams typically had their tail lights mounted on the rear corner panels completely outboard of the vertical seams that extend down from the rear window edges.

I put the tail lights back on Ohio built #6768 in their original locations as seen in the photos from the ATW caravan and from the lamp outlines and previous tail light rivet holes that were visible on the trailer. The reason for the wide mounting location on this trailer is currently unknown and is almost as wide as is typical for California built Airstreams during this era. On #6768 the tail lamps to overlap the vertical seams at the edges of the rear windows slightly, but they are about 80%-90% outboard of these seams rather than 100% inboard. I have seen a couple of other Ohio trailers with wider mounted tail lights, but it did not happen frequently. One of the other ATW trailers (possibly Ohio built) had its tail lamps centered 50-50 on the seams at the edges of the rear windows. The rare cases of Ohio wide mounted tail lamps may be a mystery we never solve.

[Blue Pearl]

Thank you for the update and may the winter be mild for your Airstream. Looking forward to 2013 and the celebration of the ATW Caravan.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Joe, I think you are making a mystery out of practicality. The lights are spread to give clearance for the spare tire. In a typical mount, the rear mount spare would obscure the lights. All the long distance caravans had the tail lights spread like this when a spare was mounted in the rear. Not only have I seen evidence of this conversion on other trailers, but the license plate holder is the first thing moved. A 1961 Ohio built Sovereign that was just in the shop had been altered this same way. The holes for the original lights had been filled with rivets and most people would never have noticed.

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by 62overlander

Joe, I think you are making a mystery out of practicality. The lights are spread to give clearance for the spare tire. In a typical mount, the rear mount spare would obscure the lights. All the long distance caravans had the tail lights spread like this when a spare was mounted in the rear. Not only have I seen evidence of this conversion on other trailers, but the license plate holder is the first thing moved. A 1961 Ohio built Sovereign that was just in the shop had been altered this same way. The holes for the original lights had been filled with rivets and most people would never have noticed.

Frank, I had thought of the spare tire as a possible cause and had tended to reject it, but you might be right. There were also Airstreams with narrow tail lights and bumper mounted spares on the ATW caravan. Maybe the difference is whether the trailer was built at the factory specifically to carry a rear mounted spare or not. My trailer has no holes indicating that the tail lights were ever located inboard and later moved. I beleive it was built by the Ohio factory with wide tail lights.

Up until now I had tended to believe the spare tire was added to my trailer during preparation for the ATW at the California factory. I say this for several reasons. One, all trailers had to be "prepped" at either the Ohio or California factory prior to the ATW caravan. Two, the son of the original owner of my trailer told me it was "prepped" in California. And three, the original license plate holder location is covered by a California serial number plate. My trailer has an Ohio serial number plate with number stamped near the door and an unstamped California serial number plate covering the original location of the license plate bracket. The California serial number plate can be seen in ATW photos, so I know it was not added later.

Of course it is possible that the spare tire bracket was added to #6768 when new at the Ohio factory since according to the son of the original owners this trailer was purchased specifically to go on the ATW caravan. It is then possible that the license plate location was moved latter as part of the prep at the California factory. This theory may best fit the known facts.

From ATW caravan photos, I can tell that here were several styles of rear spare tire brackets used on ATW Airstreams - I wonder if the ones added at the Ohio Factory and those at the California factory were different from each other? If we knew the styles used at each factory, I could then tell where mine was really added. Of course brackets added at someplace other than a factory are likely yet again different.

[safari62]

Here is a photo of a 61' Tradewind Ohio built trailer with inboard tail lights. I always tend to (blame) the California factory for the wide tail lights. One of several strange styling modifications that seemed to come out of their factory.

I have seen two side by side spares mounted on vintage trailers which would more likely explain the light relocation.