Here I'll be keeping a journal of my restoration, repair, and maintenance efforts on my 1969 Airstream Tradewind arranged by topic and sub-topic.
11/04/05 It's taken me a while to get a good start on the repairs this old timer needs. First thing has been to try to temporarily seal up it's many leaks for the winter. I'm pretty well finished with that now.
11/4/05 Removed remains of broken antenna rotator from roof, insulated the ceiling cavity with a scrap of fiberglass, covered the mounting holes with an aluminum plate sealed with Vulcum and riveted in place with Olympic rivets.
11/05/05 To date I've scraped off old silicone from front edge of roof skin and sealed it with Alcoa Gutterseal and replaced some loose and missing rivets with Olympic rivets sealed with Vulcum. Also sealed top edge of Awning attachment strip with Alcoa Gutterseal.
11/05/05 Sealed perimeter with Vulcum.
11/04/05I completed rebuilding the plastic cover. I replaced one cover support and re-attached both to the cover. I re-attached the cover supports to the lift-screw-nuts with stainless steel sheet metal screws. Then I installed a new 1/4 x 1 gasket (generic self-stick stuff by Snow King I think). I scraped off the old Vulkum and silicone sealants around the perimeter of the vent and re-sealed it with Alcoa Gutter Seal.
11/04/05 I completed rebuilding the aluminum cover. I re-attached the cover supports to the lift-screw-nuts with SS sheet metal screws, installed a new 1/4 x 1 gasket (generic self-stick stuff by Snow King I think), scraped off the old Vulkum and silicone sealants around perimeter of vent and re-sealed it with Alcoa Gutterseal.
11/06/05 I temporarily sealed these (2) with aluminum tape. The plastic housings are brittle, cracking, and need to be replaced.
11/05/05 I replaced the missing Insect screen with fiberglass screening, held on with wire ties, and sealed the perimeter with Vulcum.
11/06/05 removed the cover for re-sealing and discovered the plastic to be brittle and cracking. This will need to be replaced in its entirety. I temporarily sealed the opening with aluminum tape.
11/18/05 I finished fabricating and installing a replacement cover. I made a plaster-of-paris mold from the old vent cover and used that to lay up a fiberglass cloth and epoxy replacement. This I painted with aluminum paint and installed with Vulkum and Olympic rivets. The fan was removed and tested before the cover was riveted on. The old insect screen was stuffed in place temporarily - this should be upgraded in the spring.
11/04/05 Perimeters sealed with Alcoa Gutterseal
11/04/05 Perimeters sealed with Alcoa Gutterseal to seal leaks which showed up as water dripping down the center of the glass on the inside.
11/06/05 The front center window screen was destroyed today by a woodpecker that got into the trailer through the bathroom floor that is out for RES work. Darn, that was a good screen.
1/28/06 I started sketching a floor plan with the goal of using the Tradewind as a mobile studio