1973 Rear Bath

[1973 Owner]

How have any of you redone the rear bath? 1973 Overlander. Everything new? Is there replacement counters, bath/shower out there I dont know about?

thanks

[webspinner]

Replacement parts for a 1973 bathroom interior would involve getting them out of another trailer of the same vintage. Transportation of the plastic parts would be tricky.

We gutted the back bathroom of our 1971 Tradewind and saved none of it. Then we gradually rebuilt it from scratch. It's not a path I would recommend for everyone, but it worked for us. It took about 2 years to get it all finished. We camped in it throughout, which slowed the process some.

Rather than find or remake the plastic, we chose to do the interior out of wood. The vanity is in birch plywood and the shower pan is cheap 1/8" lauan laminated to fit the shape of the space and covered with white epoxy for a durable surface. Main tools required were a table saw, a jig saw and a power drill, plus a vise and hacksaw for cutting aluminum extrusions and tools for pop riveting.

Pictures of the before, after and process are in my blog in my signature below.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by webspinner

Replacement parts for a 1973 bathroom interior would involve getting them out of another trailer of the same vintage. Transportation of the plastic parts would be tricky.

We gutted the back bathroom of our 1971 Tradewind and saved none of it. Then we gradually rebuilt it from scratch. It's not a path I would recommend for everyone, but it worked for us. It took about 2 years to get it all finished. We camped in it throughout, which slowed the process some.

Rather than find or remake the plastic, we chose to do the interior out of wood. The vanity is in birch plywood and the shower pan is cheap 1/8" lauan laminated to fit the shape of the space and covered with white epoxy for a durable surface. Main tools required were a table saw, a jig saw and a power drill, plus a vise and hacksaw for cutting aluminum extrusions and tools for pop riveting.

Pictures of the before, after and process are in my blog in my signature below.

Very very nice.

But, how come the two black eyes in the front?

Andy

[DGJackson]

Originally Posted by webspinner

Pictures of the before, after and process are in my blog in my signature below.

Really interested in your bathroom redo. I use the iPad to access forum and signatures don't appear to be included.

Thanks - dennis

[webspinner]

Dennis - try this:

Tin Pickle Adventures: Shower Pan and Vanity

[DGJackson]

Thanks really beautiful work. After seeing your blog I realized you are in cahoots with Barts. As a mechanical engineer also I always look at his posts on various threads. I'm at the point of starting to put my 25' back together and didn't want to go back with plastic bathroom pieces. After looking at this work I figure building a wooden shower pan can't be much different than building a wooden canoe. It's just which side you keep the water one.

Thanks - Dennis
Augusta, Ga

[webspinner]

Thanks, Dennis. I'd be interested to see your progress. I'm hoping that a boat and a shower pan are similar. I may use my new epoxy skills on a boat some day.

As for the OP, 1973 Owner, I'd like to add that my woodworking skills were minimal prior to starting on the Airstream. One reason that I went with using the aluminum extrusions in the vanity framing is that it doesn't involve cabinetry level precision. It's nearly all square cuts on the table saw. Learning to scribe a curve to fit the pieces perpendicular to the curved wall is the other part.

I wouldn't recommend the curved door front for anyone who doesn't want to take it on as a personal obsession. It took me about a year of trial and error.

[Aage]

Originally Posted by 1973 Owner

How have any of you redone the rear bath? 1973 Overlander. Everything new? Is there replacement counters, bath/shower out there I dont know about?

thanks

One important but simple thing to do is to retain the bulkheads, the plastic walls that are also the doors and back wall of the sleeping area.

Without these to use as templates, you will have a lot more work making any dividing wall. The same goes for the cabinetry, the furniture beside the toilet can also be used to copy the curve of the lower wall.

[webspinner]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

But, how come the two black eyes in the front?

Andy

I've updated the picture now, but the "black eyes" were camping pad pieces taped to cover the side windows until we got the rock guard made. We keep the curtains closed since our bed is in front, so there's no functional reason to remove the pads.