Great photos and write up Edouard - looks like a 'proper job'

How long do you think it's going to be before finished and you can give it a test run?

Dear Blick and WeatherCatters who enjoy an occasional soap opera,

This is quite fascinating, although I'm sure it is causing you fits. Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

Actually, this is par for the course when it come to a restoration.  I learned the hard way in the restoration of my trusty wagon.  Now I'm used to the routine and have enough of the magic ingredient!

Edouard 

Dear Blick, Stu, and WeatherCat fans of "soap operas,"  . . . . . .

Time for another gripping installment of "The restoration and modernization of a "mature" Airstream travel trailer" or perhaps what should be titled as: "How to get a caravan da' hard way!!" 

Thank you Blick and Stu for your encouragement - I need it!

As noted in the previous installment, the owner of Avalon-RV through the trailer looked very solid.  However, as the old saying goes: "You cannot know what is inside the pickle barrel until you take the lid off of it."  It this case it was removing the inner skin of the trailer to see the condition of the outer skin.  In something of a shock, this revealed a kitchen fire at some point in the trailer's past:



As if that wasn't bad enough, underneath the marmoleum flooring was rotted plywood:



The trailer would not have lasted very long with a sub-floor like that.  That required a complete "shell-off" restoration.  That isn't as bad as it sounds.  The aluminum outer skin of an Airsteam can support its own weight.  So the outer shell was off briefly to replace the sub-floor with marine-grade plywood:



That's today's installment of restoration woes and progress.  Stay tuned for the next chapter in this gripping saga!! 

Edouard 

Fantastic story so far. Thanks for sharing. I'll bet you are excited! What is your estimated time frame for completing the restoration?

Dear WeatherCatters with road-trip inclinations, . . . .

Our first installment began with high-hopes for the 1967 Airstream Trade Wind I had bought from Airstream Ventura.  However, the journey quickly got bumpy.  The refrigerator hatch fell off while the trailer was being transported to northern California.  58 year old hatches aren't exactly easy to find.  Happily, lady luck was smiling on my trailer and another hatch was located and refurbished.  By the time all this had occurred, it was approaching the yearly Orinda Classic Car show.  It was premature to try to show Biquette and the trailer so early in the restoration process, so I asked the owner of Avalon RV to help me stage a few photos to display on my trusty wagon.  Here is the front view:



Here is the side view of the wagon and trailer:



This view shows that Biquette has her work cut out for her.  The trailer is 8 feet (about 2.5 meters) longer than Biquette and over 50% heavier.  That explains one of the criteria for this trailer.  24 feet (7.3 meters) was the shortest Airstreams of the period with 2 axles.  Those 2 axles provide 4-wheel braking for the trailer.  Biquette's big-block engine wasn't going to have any trouble moving this consist.  However, my dream trailer would need all the braking capacity it could get.

Here is one last photo that I've already shared:



In closing, I thought I would share the current floor-plan scheme for intended trailer restoration:



The 1967 floor-plan was intended more for families with the irony that they kids were more likely to end up in the twin-beds than the parents.  The current design is based on Airstream trailers of about this size for a decade or more and is intended to be a love-nest for two instead of cramming more bodies than can realistically be comfortable.

Those are the two installments for today.  Worry not, when it comes to this "soap opera" this is only da' beginning!!

Edouard