Our 1957-58 Overlander

[steinVT]

I was sure I had read your thread before, obviously not as I would have remembered your aluminum dinette. Well I have now.

Great engineering and fabrication. Looking forward to seeing it in person sometime. We may be dragging the Safari to Seattle this fall to visit our kids, maybe we can swing by? - Mark

[57Vintage]

Mark I would enjoy seeing your handiwork also. We're about 3 hours south of Seattle. Your welcome anytime. I have an RV hookup by the barn, if you want to stay and explore SW Washington/Portland, OR.

[57Vintage]

With a number of club rallies cancelled or rescheduled, we decided to spend most of the summer on yard projects, but I have a few trailer projects to complete also.

I have had a few glitches with charging from the Multiplus, not the solar MPPT. In doing research I noticed Victron has changed controls from the negative side to the positive side. Of course, is always the case with electronics, there have also been enhancements added since I did my system 4 years ago.

Thought I'd get input and see if anyone sees any errors in my redesign.

My current system was AM Solar's approach for a trailer when I put the system together.



The revision will remove the BMS 12 CL 100, Omroni relay & solenoid. The replacement is the VE Bus BMS & Mains Detector and Battery Protects. I had already upgrade to the Smart MPPT & BMV 712. This will change some wiring also.

The drawing is in three pieces to make it easier for me to follow the wiring from front to back in the trailer. Numbered directional arrows link wiring from page to page.





Look forward to any input.

[steinVT]

Very impressive. Quite an upgrade from the three screw in fuses I imagine she came with.

There are a number of elements I am not familiar with including the Multi Control GX and the VE Bus BMS, but I imagine you wired like the instructions.

One thing of note, between the shore power and the main AC breaker panel it looks like there are three 30 amp breakers in series. Maybe it was necessary because of placement of the panels, but it seem like overkill.

Wondering what model of surge protector are you using? Do you have experience with it? The Surge Guard 30 amp hard wired model I have in the Safari buzzes more than I would like. - Mark

[57Vintage]

Guess I had the deluxe model, 4 fuses!



It is a little complex on the shore power section. Both of the Blue Sea Panels are at the same location (I underestimated the number of circuits I wanted and had to add a second panel .) There are two 30 amp breakers. The first is to kill all shore power. The second is to kill power to the Multiplex, while leaving other circuits live (frig, microwave, etc.).

I have a 30 Amp Progressive Industries surge protector (hard wired) with a remote display. It's buried at the back of the bath sink cab. I've never noticed any noise from it.

https://www.progressiveindustries.net/ems-hw30c

[57Vintage]

Haven't worked much on the trailer this summer since the last post. Finished some yard projects, hid from the wild fire smoke (not near me, but the air quality really sucked for about a week. Nine times the 'healthy' limit of 50 PPM.

Finally got back to some small projects. Just finished one; the stove exhaust fan. We're not big stove users so it wasn't a priority. The original still worked, but it was 110v. Changed to a 12 volt unit. Removed the original mounting bracket from the fan duct. Took a fantastic ceiling fan assembly and 3 speed switch and modified to fit. First I made a rough cut to get the blades down to an 8" diameter.



The screwed the blade to a piece of wood through the shaft hole to curve the edges by sanding a little at a time. Got it down so there was 1/8" clearance to the duct.



Then I cut down the mounting bracket legs to fit the motor assembly inside the duct.



The legs cross section are U shaped so I drilled holes in the duct and used Kreg screws to mount the bracket. I filled in the channel with AB weld to make sure the screws couldn't vibrate loose.



The original power switch was mounted to the duct and turned on by opening the outside cover. I plugged that with a rubber plug. Drilled a hole on the interior panel. The unit has 3 speeds.



I covered the circuit board terminal so it wouldn't cause any problems.

[dbj216]

Hi Vintage57: I haven't done much Airstream work this summer either. We're not traveling due to the pandemic and our "advanced" ages. We have smoke here from the Colorado fires. It's been a summer from hell.

Off topic if I may. My first vintage Airstream may have been a late fifties Overlander. The seller advertised it as a 59. It was a reasonable trailer and still being used as is. I passed because it looked too long for a single axle Airstream. Sway city I thought.

What is your guess on the year of this Overlander and when did Overlanders get dual axles as standard equipment? I figure you would know.

Nice job on the stove vent. Now you can fry fish to your heart's content.

Thanks,

David

[57Vintage]

David I think it may be a 59 or 60. The windows look like the newer style that replaced the Hehr windows I have. Also the wheel opening is the newer style with the peak in the middle, while mine are straight across the top. Also, in looking in the door I don't see the wall panel heater. Of course PO could have remodeled and removed. The single axle may have been a special order????

In theory, according to brochures, 57 was the last year for a standard single axle on the Overlander. Dual axles was an option. Again, according to brochures, 58 dual axles were standard.

My situation was fairly easy to sort out once I did some research in the archives. Of course the accuracy is not 100%, but I think it makes sense. In the archives 57 Overlander production in Ohio is O-7359 to O-7593. Mine is O-7499. My original layout matches the 57 brochure exactly with the toilet in the shower stall curb side. In 58 the brochure shows a tub with the toilet on the street side. So my interior and frame match 1957 specs.

The shell is different. I have the 7 piece endcaps. Which is suppose to be a 58 change, who knows. I have the original warranty card pasted on the closet door. The original owner penciled in the sale date in September 1957. It's titled as a 58, which matches going back 2 owners.

I had Joe research the WBCCI number (1996) and it was originally issued in 1958 to a person in Iowa. Joe also indicated that model year changes varied back then, even to the point CA and OH plants didn't always change at the same time. No records are available to document some of this.

I didn't find any items in the trailer to match that owner. I did find a name tag and other items from the third person to have #1996. That person lived in Pasco, WA; which is where I bought the trailer. But at the time I bought it the title was from Montana????????? The trailer has only had WBCCI #1996 on it. I lucked out and got 1996 back when I joined WBCCI.

As always there are blank spaces that can't be sorted out.

[dbj216]

Thank you very kindly Harold. I knew you would know about this single axle 59. It always confused me. I ended up buying a 66 Trade Wind about a month later with dual axles. It just looked more stable to me. I'll never know if I would have enjoyed this 59 Overlander as much. But that is all water under the bridge now.

David

[66Overlander]

26' Overlanders got standard tandem axles for the 1961 model year. Tandems were an official option on 26' Cruisers and Overlanders starting in about 1955 thru 1960, though I have seen one or two custom 25'/26' tandems older than that. Tandems became standard on the 24' Tadewind for the 1965 model year.

The trailer in David's photos is indeed a 1959 or 1960 26' Overlander. The WBCCI #3792 on it was first assigned in 1960.

[dbj216]

It's fun learning about these old Airstreams. This 59 Overlander 26' just didn't look right, or balanced with the single axle. Thus I passed on it. My 66 Trade Wind 24' with the dual axles towed very well. Thank you Joe for your historical input.

Now back to 57Vintage's very, very nice Overlander.

David

[57Vintage]

Started on the electrical system upgrade I discussed in post #83. I'd put this off as I wanted to get other punch list items done. With our scheduled departure to a vintage trailer rally at the end of March it was time to get busy. I wanted to pass on one item I found a solution to over the winter.

When I first installed the system several years ago I was not satisfied with the connections to the MPPT. I'd oversized the wire for this circuit (AWG 2) as I planned on adding more solar panels (400 watts currently) and wanted to minimize voltage loss. I had AM Solar go up one size on their 'wiring kit'.
That's how I ended up with #2 wire. Overkill The MPPT can't accommodate #2 wire and the solutions I found at the time was to either downsize the end of the lead with a smaller wire or shave wire strands to fit the MPPT. For those not familiar with those terminals they're a little less than 1/4" square openings.

I finally found a connector that would work with #2 wire. It's a pin terminal and this company carries 2/0 thru 8 sized terminal pins.

https://www.productsforautomation.co...nals-s/453.htm



One minor problem is the size of the pin for a #2 wire is wider than the MPPT terminal opening. I had to grind the end of the pin to the correct width (red line in photo). While this narrows the fold on the pin, it doesn't affect the connection. The force applied by the MPPT terminal is on the top and bottom, not the sides. The other advantage is these terminals can be bent forward/backward to accommodate more space between the leads ensuring you have gaps between the +/- leads.



I ordered the non-insulated pin terminals since I wasn't sure what kind of modifications I need to make. To cover the bare ends required three pieces of adhesive shrink tubing. A very short piece of 1/4" for the top of the pin. 1/2" to cover the top of the terminal/#2 wire, and a piece of 3/8" to cover the transition from pin to crimp ring.



Just an FYI in case you decide to use these terminals. I also ordered a few #4 terminals to see the difference in size. The pin is the same width as the #2 pin so it would also need to be narrowed. Hopefully #6 or #8 are smaller if you can use them.

[wcronin4]

Harold - the solar system you installed is way beyond me. But I do know and can appreciate the level of craftsmanship you display in everything you do.

[57Vintage]

Thanks Bill. I borrow from sources with a lot more smarts than I have; AM Solar, PKYS, GMFL. So far nothing's caught fire or gone up in smoke.

[dbj216]

I'll second that. Your vintage Overlander is very special indeed. David

[57Vintage]

I haven't had a lot of time this spring for the trailer. Yard and garden projects, that I ignored last summer, had to be dealt with. With that excuse in mind I finally had someone polish the trailer for me. Just couldn't get to it.



The rear bumper and sewer tubes are polished also, but not back on when I took the photos.



I did find getting the polish done has given me more ambition to get other items done. I'll talk more about that next time. I'm upgrading the suspension and brakes to accommodate the extra pounds I've added to the trailer.

[dbj216]

It looks great. But I like polished Airstreams. Polishing adds a lot to the value of the trailer. Well worth the investment in my view. You will have to tells us the process the professionals used. Nuvite? Buffing wheels? Or something else?

David

[wcronin4]

Harold

Your 57 Vintage rocks!! Beautiful. Just like everything else you’re done!!!

Bill

[islandtrader]

Originally Posted by dbj216

It looks great. But I like polished Airstreams. Polishing adds a lot to the value of the trailer. Well worth the investment in my view. You will have to tells us the process the professionals used. Nuvite? Buffing wheels? Or something else?

David

I agree on the value...however when going on a 7k mile road trip, the last thing I wanted to do is keep mine clean and polished. I think maybe the next owner can do that.

[Hittenstiehl]

57 that looks beautiful! Quite the contrast.