1962 tradewind reefer/stove
 

I am the proud new owner of a 1962 Tradewind. This is my first Airstream, as well as my first RV. Exterior is excellent, interior is OK. My first couple of questions are about the fridge and stove. The fridge had been taken out and thrown out in a ditch. I recovered it, but the door had long been sent to the landfill. It is a domestic. The top panel with the curved metal mesh was still inside, so I have it. What to do? Can this unit be made to work again? Can I find a door? Will I have to remortgage my house to make it work?

Next is the oven/stove. PO said they were pretty sure it worked last time they used it (between 5-10 years). However, when I removed the lower panel cover, there seems to be something missing. There are several gas lines under there not connected to anything. Anyone have any pictures of the underside of this thing so I can see what I'm missing or where these lines go?

Thanks in advance for any and all help/advice. This seems like a very helpful and informational forum. I'm glad I found it and happy to be an Airstream owner.
Kevin Harbin

Kevin,
Welcome to the forums and to Airstream ownership. Sorry for your problems, however, they can be addressed.
As for the refridgerator, most likely that one is toast. I know of nowhere to get parts for it. I do know that even 10+ year old Airstreams have to have new ones installed. Dometic is one of the top manufacturers of them. There are several places to buy them. Check the forums and do a search on new refridgerators to see what is out there. As for the gas lines, that is another thing you might do a search on the forums for. There is an absolute wealth of information there, and you don't have to wait for someone to answer.

parts for that refrigerator can be diffulcult to get, but not totally impossible. if you reply with the model number and manufacturer name I may be able to help you, and also other members may have something laying around also.

Kevin, is your oven/stove a Princess stove? I have my original Princess stove intact and working, but I'm not clear what lower panel you're referring to. Do you mean the interior cabinet with latch below the oven? That's one place of the few places I haven't taken a detailed photo. I have a furnance blower duct that runs under my stove, but I've never searched for the gas connections. If you have a Princess stove and can tell me exactly where you need pictures, I'll be glad to take some and post them sometime this week.

As for your fridge, I'm not much help there. I know some older models can be rebuilt, but without a door, you would probably need salvage from an identical model. A very hard thing to find. One of the forum experts on refers, like RVcool and Lewster, may have some advice. (See, even as I post!)
Congratulations on your vintage Tradewind! :flowers:

BTW the first thing I would do is hook it up and see if it actually works...they will run without a door. If the internal coils frost after about 4 hours, then it's worth searching for a door ( and I do have some vintage units stashed away)
If it does not cool, your looking at a cooling unit rebuild or a different refridge. And you will have a hard time finding a new one that will fit properly without opening modifications.

Greetings from east of the Keowee
 

Kevin,

Glad to see interest picking up in the upstate!!! You need to look up Richard T on the forums. Located in Bat Cave, N.C. at moonshine junstion. Call in advance arrange a time, take pictures and questions. He can help with parts, tech stuff, and is a GREAT local resource!!!! I bounce over to Atami for lunch about once a week, so if I cna help out let me know! There are a few of us working on various projects around here.

[quote=Sugarfoot]Kevin, is your oven/stove a Princess stove? I have my original Princess stove intact and working, but I'm not clear what lower panel you're referring to. Do you mean the interior cabinet with latch below the oven? That's one place of the few places I haven't taken a detailed photo. I have a furnance blower duct that runs under my stove, but I've never searched for the gas connections. If you have a Princess stove and can tell me exactly where you need pictures, I'll be glad to take some and post them sometime this week.

It is a "MEYNELL DIVISION TECHNO CORP. 753-2"
Since posting, I THINK I have figured out that the water heater was nestled under there, just in front of the stove pilot. There are 2 holes leading out to the undersink area....But thanks for the reply and offer of pictures. This place is great.
Kevin

Here's what I found on the fridge.."DOMESTIC" on the inside middle, just below a frosted flip down freezer foor.
On the temp. valve underneath"50 B4"
On a small tag up underneath near the back..."75a 12311975"
So far that's all I've found.
The area outside the porcelain inner tub is wood, with fiberglass insulation stuffed between.
I'll try to hook her up to the grill tank sometime this week and see what happens. The trailer tanks are old style without OPD so they will have to be replaced before filling.
Thanks,
Kevin

I've got an insulation crew working in Falls South up near Keowee Towne Landing off 130. I'm working up there with them this week, so I pass by ATAMI several times a day. We should meet up for lunch someday.
Thanks for the heads up on Richard T. I'll try to get in touch with him.
Kevin

Should be one of the following:
M16a M16b M16c M27a M27b M27c M27d M28a M28c M28d M50a M52a M52b M70
If it was replaced at one time, it will start with a RM, like RM77
See if you can locate a number similar to these. Most have a plate on the rear, or on the bottom of the refrigerator section in the front, normally the door would cover the plate ( in the closed position)

Welcome to the forums Kevin and also to vintage TradeWind ownership. You'll love the size of the TradeWind. Can you post pix of your fridge and stove? It should help in us understanding your issues.

Brad
FF

I actually work for the Cliffs, I'm with the golf division. I've got a meeting at the main office tommorrow in the morning, I could get back that way about 12:30. (Atami) or meet you at the Falls in the afternoon depending on your schedule.

PS I've got my 1953 Spartan out there.

We're at the INGE (as in 3rd base for the Detroit Tigers) house on Windsong off Long Cove. I'll be there all day tomorrow, we've got one man out and I'll be helping spray foam insulation tomorrow and probably Wednesday. Give me a call if you're near the Falls. 723-5348.

I'll give you a shout and if you can break loose we'll run over and look at the Spartan. As far as Inge...I understand, I'm a 13 year man at the Cliffs.

Something didn't work with the links...Internet Explorer can't seem to open any of them. I'll look over the Fridge again tomorrow for any other #'s.

Check the make and model of the furnace.

If it's made by "International Oil Burner" DO NOT attempt to light it.

Parts are not available and have not neen for almost 38 years. It was a "JUNKER" when brand new. The originals had over a dozen modifications to them, while still in warranty.

They have a HUGE tendency to explode.

Remove it, bury it, and replace it with a Suburban NT30SP.

Andy

They were'nt really suppose to be links...I just wanted to post the numbers...

I just checked over the entire fridge...no tags/#'s anywhere. This leads me to believe that there may be more of the front missing than the door, since there are no hinges present either. The latch is still there, however. I'll try to get a picture soon and post it. Then I can find out if what I'm missing can still be found and whether it will be reasonable. I still plan on testing it this weekend.
Thanks for all the replies,
Kevin

Look for a tag that says MA-50

Andy

while your at it, get the physical measurements (outside) and I'll see what I got on hand here. I assume yours is gas only??