Purchased
via the internet in northern California in early September 2001, our Trade
Wind needed alot of work. My wife and I heard about this unit over the
VAC classifieds page and I emailed back and forth with the seller. After
seeing some pictures, we decided to fly out and take a look at it. The
trailer was structurally sound externally and there was enough to start
with on the inside. We had been looking for this floorplan for quite a
long time. This is just what
we were looking for and we were very excited to get it home and start
the restoration process. Originally, the "Silver
Twinkie" was without any 12 volt system and didn't have any waste water
tanks. This created quite a few challenges, but more on that later. The
original fridge was missing as well as the kitchen countertop and sink.
The original Princess stove looked as if it had hardly been used. We brought
home a Dometic M52 that didn't work but I was planning on using it for
parts for the one I had at home. I eventually sold
the two Dometics and applied the money towards a larger and newer unit. Without knowing the history of the trailer, how many miles
it had traveled and the fact that it had hydraulic brakes,
it was retrofitted with a new axle, electric brakes, drums, rotors, break-away
switch, rims and tires. All new plumbing
was done with the old stuff being removed. The waste water plumbing was
all cast iron and the trailer gave a sigh of relief when all of that was
removed. The fresh water lines were placed with PEX. Our vintage unit was
outfitted with new propane tanks, regulator and new copper lines. The
rear window glass was broken and that was an easy fix once new window
moulding arrived. The rectangular vent cover was missing and a temporary
cover was made from milk-white plexiglas and sandwiched the trailer body
with 1 x 2's and bungy cords. That lasted until one could be made from
aluminum angle and two clear lexan with a thermal barrier between them. The interior is where
most of our restoration time and dollars were spent. The original honduran
mahogany was covered with four coats of paint. Even the interior aluminum
walls were painted several times with the last one having a rough texture
that resembled stucco. What a mess it was to remove all of this. The paint
was removed from the aluminum walls with Aircraft Stripper. This is some
nasty stuff and special precautions need to be taken. When removing the
paint from the woodwork, you could tell the era when a layer was painted
by the color of the paint. With the exception of polishing, that took
care of the exterior. Here's
What I Brought Home in September 2001 These pictures
were taken before any work began. As you can see, the inside needed some attention.
Somebody really liked green and brown. The kitchen countertop was missing along
with the sink and faucet. The blue bathroom cabinet was in shambles and it too
was without a sink or countertop. A smaller cabinet with a sink is planned for the future. The wrought iron TV
shelf had to go. The Restoration Process Begins Over the next 10 months,
our Trade Wind underwent many changes and renovations. These improvements were
made before the last week in June 2002, when we set out on a 4400 mile round
trip to Michigan. These are some photos of the restoration process. The dinette was enlarged
to accomodate the new poly 28 gallon water tank. An enclosed Group 27 battery
and Intelli-Power with Charge Wizard were installed. Getting it Back Together After the trailer interior
was torn apart, things were starting to happen. The booth needed some reinforcing
and was reconstructed to accomodate the new water tank and a new 12 volt Aqua-Jet
water pump. A refurbished Dometic fridge was fitted in the old opening and later
vented with two 12 volt computer muffin fans. A hole was cut into the outside
wall under the galley cabinet to fit the new 2 way Suburban 10 gallon water
heater. I'm still deciding what to do with the cover besides painting it silver.
The original water heater was under the bathroom cabinet in the rear, which
we were not going to use. It was 110 volt only and would not suit our purpose
when we boondock. Some of the mahogany cabinetry in the front was damaged due
to the large vent cover missing. We repaired the damaged areas and covered them
with mahogany veneer. Final Stages of Restoration Custom quilts were made
for us by Julie's dad in Missouri. We picked out the colors and he made the
most beautiful quilts for the twin beds. Some of the original chrome pieces
to the stove and cooktop were pitted and had surface rust. We had them rechromed
and had the covers for the furnace and stove vent chromed at the same time as
well as the dinette area wall lights. Once the trailer was ready
to travel, we took a short ride up the freeway to see how it would tow. All
went well but the entry door came open. We'll have to do something to take care
of that on our two week trip to Michigan. Everything else faired quite well. Our Travels After packing up the trailer
and bungeeing the door, we headed out on our extensive maiden voyage. This would
truly be an adventure because I've not towed a trailer before. Outside of Flagstaff,
the entry door flew open and came off the trailer, just pulled the rivets right
out. It was a quarter of a mile down I-40 just off the driving portion of the
freeway. That was an incredibly long walk. We put it back on in Gallup, New
Mexico, our first overnight stay. The rest of the trip came off without any
problems. We did lose a passenger side towing mirror meeting a semi on Highway
56 somewhere in Kansas. The picture on the left is our campsite in Liberal,
Kansas. The one on the right is Weco Campground on the shore of Lake Michigan.
We had this campground all to ourselves, if you don't count all of the bugs.
That was a fun trip. We wouldn't have done it without the Airstream. In October 2002, we went
to our first Vintage Airstream Club Rally in Santa Maria, California. We didn't
really know what to expect and had a good time meeting our friend that we bought
the trailer from. She was amazed at the transformation of our diamond from the
rough. I enjoyed seeing other vintage units and learning all I could about their
history. We stopped at several places along the ocean as we are desert dwellers
and can't seem to get enough of the ocean. In June 2003, we joined
some online friends at Heron Lake State Park in northern New Mexico. We had
a good time meeting people from the 'AirstreamForums.com' website. We had a
total of 15 Airstream/Argosy trailers and motohomes turn out. The picture on
the right is Rob & Shari's '64 Globetrotter during the Open House tour. Polishing Next is the process of polishing. I’ve experimented with a variety of polishing products and buffers after reading about others’ experiences on AirForums.com. Several compounds were used including Rolite and Nuvite. The Nuvite worked the best but in some places, the Rolite worked better as the first ‘cut.’ Don’t let anyone fool you, polishing a vintage Airstream is a labor-intensive and messy job but the results are well worth the effort..
Made
with Macintosh