Around the World Airstream #6768

[66Overlander]

Time for another update. Over the last few days I have covered the "front" of the bedroom slide with cotton batting and then our new cushion fabric so that the slide front matches the cushions, just like original, but the cotton batting should soften the corners slightly and improve the wear characteristics of the top layer cushion fabric.


Figuring our how to fold it around the corners and lay nicely and get it stapled in place was a bit of a challenge.


I also covered the side edges of the plywood platform with the new fabric (but no batting) because those edges will be visible a little bit when the slide is in "couch" position and will be much more visible when extended into "bed" position. In homage to the original build, I chose to keep the original cushion fabric along the front edge of the plywood platform since that part would not generally be visible. The next restorer 50+ years from now will know what the original fabric looked like.


Today I got the slide installed.


Here is a closeup of the hidden" original fabric next to the new fabric, to show the comparison. Same weave, and as close color wise as we could find.


The cushions were made and test fitted back in 2018. I did not take them to install today. No use putting them in the trailer until it is ready to camp. They will potentially stay cleaner in my basement in the meantime.

Then is was time to start on the front gaucho slide. Today I removed the old fabric from the front of that slide. My fingers are sore after removing hundreds of staples.


I also started the process of a coat of polyurethane to that slide to seal it against odors, but have no photo of that step. It will take a couple more days before that one will likely be ready to install.

[dbj216]

Gee that looks very nice. A luxury upscale touch for old Cramer. The "front" of the slides on my 75 Overlander are an aluminum extrusion with a plastic fake wood grain insert. Not as nice, but no staples to remove or sore fingers.

David

[66Overlander]

Yesterday I finally got the front gaucho slide installed. First, I coated everything except the sliding surfaces of the wooden slides and the top of the plywood platform with polyurethane (no good photo) to seal it. I left the top unsealed so that it was not slippery for the cushions. Then I covered the front of the slide with cotton batting (no photo) and new fabric. I again left the old fabric on the plywood platform in homage to the original build. As the side of the platform are always against the trailer outer walls, I did not cover them in new fabric (same as original).


Then I spent hours sanding and filing to get the front drawers fitting and sliding easily. I took this trailer apart so long ago that I cannot remember if they operated smoothly then, but after coating everything with polyurethane, three of four rubbed or totally bound up against the sides of the openings in the front gaucho frame, so the openings had the be widened slightly. Also, three of the four drawer slides had to be notched on the bottom to clear the floor tiles that (as original) only extend a few inches under the gaucho, rather than all the way to the front wall.


The notches allowed the drawer fronts to all be at the same horizontal height and line up nicely and also clear the lower edge of the gaucho bed slide when being opened or closed. During the initial test fit, I had to lift the bed slide slightly to open and close some of the drawers. It is amazing how things just don't quite seem to fit exactly the same upon re-installation and "tweaking" is sometimes necessary.


Then I finally bolted in the front gaucho bed slide.


Here is a photo showing the new and old fabric as well as the space that exists behind the street side (leftmost) drawer, should I ever decide to add a 2nd battery.


I originally only added one battery, but that decision was made before I decided to convert the fridge to a DanFoss compressor. If after using the trailer I decide that more battery capacity would be nice, I will then add a second battery, but will use the trailer with one battery for a while before making a decision. The compressor runs on 120V whenever we are plugged in to shore power, so the battery is likely only to be an issue when boondocking, likely for only one night at a time and if I leave the truck plugged in, I effectively parallel its two batteries with the one in the trailer, so I might just get by with one trailer battery. The three batteries and truck generator should be fine during towing for sure.

The front cushions are also done, but again I am in no hurry to install them. Next on the agenda is the installation of the new accordion divider curtains between the bath and bedroom and between the bedroom and kitchen.

[dbj216]

Great job fussing with the original drawers to get them to work properly. I assume the battery is a sealed AGM or maybe LiIon type. I put my battery under the gaucho also for better weight balance since tongue weight isn't an issue for me.

Drawers are a sign of more complex and costly furniture construction. Shelves are easier for me. And Airstream sure reduced costs with their plastic molded boxes sitting on shelves with tambour doors. Seventies trailers are way different than the sixties.

The maiden voyage for Cramer is coming soon.

David

[66Overlander]

The battery is an AGM.

Today I finally reinstalled the shelves in the fridge. They were powder coated white when I had the fridge restored and I kept forgetting to take them to the trailer to be reinstalled.


I also mounted the bath accordion door, but decided to make it open the opposite way from original because, when originally stowed on the street side, the bed slide caused the bottom to deflect rearward into the bath. The door would not lay flat on the "stowed for travel" position. Here is the best "as found" photo I can find from 2011 (but that was already a replacement bath door, though the forward door was still original and repaired with staples):


That old bath door never fit well, so I moved the new accordion door to the closet wall on the curb side instead.



I also added a retaining strap to hold the accordion door against the closet wall during travel.


I had hoped to get the other accordion door also installed today between the kitchen and bedroom, but found that the door I purchased over three years ago (same model as the bath door) was just a little too short to reach all the way across the opening by maybe 1/2" to 1". At time of purchase, these were the closest doors I could find to original in color and texture and they weight much less than the ones with real wood slats, so I ruled out the wooden ones. I may need to add a spacer board to the closet wall to close the gap just enough to use the accordion door I have. That may take me a few days to resolve (purchase, stain, polyurethane, etc.) as I juggle some other non-trailer projects.

[Bubba L]

Looks a good Joe. That fridge looks familiar. Is that a Dometic M16? Great job.

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

Looks a good Joe. That fridge looks familiar. Is that a Dometic M16? Great job.

Thanks for the compliments. The fridge is a Dometic M50, which was the standard fridge in larger Airstreams in the early 1960s, though 1962 was the last year for the vintage looking rounded corner door. 1963 saw the introduction of the squarer cornered, metal framed door that allowed for different insert panels. I wonder if it was still called an M50 in 1963?

The fridge in my 1958 Caravanner appears to be the same size as this one, but the door is a little different in the handle area. I wonder if that is an M50 or an M16, but I haven't looked closely to determine the answer.

[Bubba L]

Joe, looking back at the original pictures of our Dometic, the interior looked identical to yours. Maybe I’m wrong on the M16. I just thought I took that number off the rear tag. It came out of a 1957 Airstream, I think. Maybe I’ll find information on Dometic’s vintage fridges that they supplied for Airstreams back in the day. Thanks

[TouringDan]

Nice work on the fridge and accordion doors as usual. I like the way you are solving the problem of one door being too short by adding a wood spacer.

Dan

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

Joe, looking back at the original pictures of our Dometic, the interior looked identical to yours. Maybe I’m wrong on the M16. I just thought I took that number off the rear tag. It came out of a 1957 Airstream, I think. Maybe I’ll find information on Dometic’s vintage fridges that they supplied for Airstreams back in the day. Thanks

Looking at an online Dometic Service manual, it seems that the M16 was a small "under counter" fridge and the M50 was a much larger fridge.

See page 10 for a size comparison of the M16/MC16 vs. M50 cooling units:
https://vdocuments.mx/dometic-servic...-mb52-m70.html

Mine is badged as an "M50" near where the original gas controls were located in the vented compartment at the bottom of the fridge:

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

Joe, looking back at the original pictures of our Dometic, the interior looked identical to yours. Maybe I’m wrong on the M16. I just thought I took that number off the rear tag. It came out of a 1957 Airstream, I think. Maybe I’ll find information on Dometic’s vintage fridges that they supplied for Airstreams back in the day. Thanks

I have solved the mystery of your fridge. The fridge in my 1958 Caravanner (Christie) matches the firdge you put in our 1955 Flying Cloud, that you said you thought came from a 1957 Airstream.
1958 Dometic Fridge Door Closed.jpg Views: 47 Size: 195.7 KB ID: 404450" style="margin: 2px" />

Opening the vented compartment at the bottom reveals that my fridge is labelled as a Dometic MKT500b. You cut this part of the fridge off for your installation, so that tag is now gone in your case.


This clipping from page 10 of the previously referenced Dometic Service Manual shows that the MKT500A & B models use the same "Cooling Unit 75A" as as the M50, so it appears that the M50 is an undated version of the MKT500a & b.


Your fridge must be either an MKT500a or an MKT500b.

[Bubba L]

That’s it Joe. The couple I purchased it from in the Woodlands Tx said it came out of their 57. I think they had a Caravanner. Nevertheless, I believe they had a 58. So, I either keep the fridge and get a 58 FC to put it in or I keep the 55 and get a period correct Dometic for that. Just kidding. I’m keeping both as is. Who else would know except me and you? Or, whoever reads this. I really appreciate you taking the time to research this. It’s important to me to know what I have. Thanks

[66Overlander]

Well, it took a few days, but the bedroom accordion door spacer is made, polyurethaned, and installed. The bedroom accordion door itself is also installed, though I ran out of time and did not yet get the travel retaining strap made and installed.

I made the spacer out of a piece of wood that may be as old as Cramer that I found at Lorrie's mom's house. It was left over from when her dad was a house builder. It seemed fitting to use an old piece of "family" wood. I even routered the exposed corners to match other corners in Cramer, so it looks original to the trailer.


That was more for my pride than anything as it is pretty much hidden when the accordion door is stowed in the "door open" position. The spacer can only really be seen when the accordion door is in the extended position to close off the bedroom from the kitchen, thus generally only being seen by us and not visitors.


Progress will likely slow down on Cramer now as I attend to a variety of other projects. I will make another post when I have something to report.

[dbj216]

Very nice looking. No one will suspect it is not original. David

[66Overlander]

I managed to take a full month off!!! At least from working on Cramer, that is. During October, there were some projects on the 2016 Classic, some projects around the house, a quick camping trip in the Classic to Jackson Center to consult on some Heritage Center items, then winterizing and washing the Classic before it went into winter storage, etc.

Today, I finally got back to Cramer. Using the tongue jack and a floor jack I tilted the trailer so that I could fully drain the gray tank that had a couple of gallons in it since I worked on the bathtub drain. The fact that the hidden gray tank has a completely flat bottom so that it does not hang below the belly pan means that it only drains fully when the tongue is lifted and the streetside is higher than the curbside.

I also pulled the new wheels and tires so that I can have them re-balanced and replace the "stick on" weights with "clip on" weights. The 12 year old originals went back on temporarily. No photos. I decided this was necessary after the "stick on" weights fell off the new spare.

The real progress today was installing the flip countertop over the stove. I worked on the hinge in my basement a couple of weeks ago to get it working more smoothly and peen one end of the hinge pin to mushroom it out so that it does not back out during usage.


I also reinstalled the little "thingy" that can be rotated down to hold the flip countertop in a half open position, possibly as a "wind break" or to not crowd someone sitting on the front gaucho since the flip counter actually hangs over the edge of the gaucho in the full open position.


The hinged support that can hold the flip counter in the fill open position to create additional counter space when the stove is being used was previously installed.

[Bubba L]

Joe, the flip up stove cover looks great. Adds a lot of countertop workspace that is valuable. Unfortunately, our 55 didn’t have the layout for a hinged top. We had to just make removable cutting boards for the cooktop and one for one of the double sinks. More stuff to put somewhere when not used as a cover. I think a month off is ample time apart from Cramer. Time to winterize.

[dbj216]

Interesting. Airstream has offered a stove cover and a counter extension for years and years. My 66 Trade Wind had a stove cover and counter extension, the 75 Overlander had both, and the 86 Limited has a stove cover only. It was a cleaver feature that I'm sure sold a lot of trailers.

Your restoration of Cramer's flip over cover or extension looks awesome. A piece of Airstream history.

David

[Phil Krogh]

1971 Postcard of Rally in Oregon with message on reverse. I didn't know where else to post this.

[Hittenstiehl]

We'll of all the places to post it the Original Poster here will know where to archive it. Nice postcard.

[66Overlander]

Time for an update. Various other projects and trips kept me from doing any significant work on Cramer from the beginning of November 2021 thru the end of April 2022. The May was a flurry of activity as I had to get a bunch of small trim related things done for the public unveiling of Cramer to occur at the Airstream Heritage Center on Memorial Day weekend. These are the times worth mentioning that I got done on Cramer over a two and half week period during the first three weeks of May, in no particular order:

• Reinstalled the cove molding on the kitchen counter top.
• Reinstalled shoe moldings on the kitchen and bathroom cabinets (there were none originally in the bedroom, so none to reinstall there).
• Reinstalled belly pan access panels.
• Made and installed patches on several belly pan rips and tears (some of which likely occurred during the Around the World Caravan) to make it more rodent and insect resistant. I used old belly pan material so that the patches look like they were done decades ago.
• I straightened the bend door eyebrow and spliced a piece that had been ripped off decades ago (previously held in place by only aluminum tape) back into place using buck rivets.
• Reinstalled the "USA" and "Left Hand Drive" placards that were on the trailer during the Around the World Caravan (ATWC).
• Reinstalled Byam Hooks on all four exterior corners. They were in place during the ATWC to allow a clothes line to be strung from trailer to trailer during stop where laundry could be done.
• Bought and installed a new fire extinguisher in the location of the original.
• Reinstalled all the interior lamp shades.
• Reinstalled all of the interior Byam hooks (about a dozen, a couple in the bedroom), shower wand hooks, soap dish, toothbrush holder, towel bar, and toilet paper roll holder in the bathroom.
• Permanently rehung the fridge door and snapped the hinge covers into place.
• Made and installed a fridge door "travel strap" as a secondary way to keep the door closed during travel.
• Made and installed a travel strap on the front divider curtain.
• Repaired and installed the screen in the large astrodome roof vent opening.
• Reinstalled both the front and bedroom gaucho cushions.
• Installed new curtains over all windows (made by a good friend of ours and ironed by Lorrie before installation).

This list misses a couple of other small items, but you get the picture. Actually not, I have photos of all of these things as they were done, but it is not worth resizing them and posting them to this post. You will see some of those items in the photos I attach to the next post.