My 1969 Airstream Tradewind Camper

A plan to use the Tradewind as a Crafts Studio

The main goal is to create a combined mobile living and studio space to take on the road to adventure.

Secondarily I see it as a test bed for re-thinking ways to satisfy my basic mobile shelter needs by thinking outside the box a bit and trying to come up with some innovative new ways to do things that are simple, light, aesthetically pleasing, and reasonably inexpensive to build, maintain, and operate.

What I need

• Napping / sleeping for one.
  • Room for a guest sleeping bag.
• Modest cooking facilities.
• Modest bathing & toilet facilities.
• A good work space.
• Heat
• Power
• Air conditioning

Insulation

• Insulate walls and floor with bubble/foil and spacers

Interior finishes

• Original vinyl clad aluminum walls
• Cork floor
• New lightweight frame & panel cabinets
  • Use leather panels?
  • Build with easily removeable sides for easy shelf/drawer reconfiguration
• Build frame and panel sliding bath doors as storage slideouts

Shower ideas

• Build a free standing shower "tub" that in use sits over a drain into a gray water tank. After use it gets wiped out and stored away. The object being to keep as open a feeling in the Airstream as possible by eliminating the intrusive mass of a permanent shower surround.
  • Gray water tank opening is capped when the "tub" is stored away.
  • Gray water tank opening has a trap in the tank?
  • Shower surround is just curtains on a rod running all the way around the "tub" much like a claw foot tub shower set-up.
• An alternate to the drain in the gray water tank might be to just dump the tub water down the kitchen sink drain.

Work space

• Use a 30 x 80 hollowcore door for workbench top.
  • Store a second door under top - lay across from kitchen counter to workbench as additional bench area.

Modify for winter use

• Put a small gray water tank under tub
• Change plumbing to Pex (?) well pitched for drain down
• Change to a demand water heater ?
• Build window insulation
• Set up for Porta Potty and not use black water tank ?
• Investigate using A Simple RV Hydronic Heating System
  • Use an open system like this?

Energy

• Look into converting to diesel for water heating, space heating, and cooking.
• Look into converting a window A/C unit to vent through the old water heater door or curb side access panel.

Energy efficiency ideas

• Look into solar cooking.
• Look into building an energy efficient propane based cooking system based on my Sterno camp stoves.

My 1969 Airstream Tradewind Camper A Journal of my 1969 Tradewind Renovation A plan to use the Tradewind as a Crafts Studio Airstream Maintenance and Repair Resources Airstream Trailer - Rear End Separation Airstream Trailer and General Camper Information Alternative Heating Systems Campers and Camping Departure Checklist For Sale - 1969 Airstream Tradewind Travel Trailer For Sale - 1969 Airstream Tradewind Travel Trailer - Interior Views Harrisburg RV show 2004 - Some Notes How to Seal Leaks in an Airstream Travel Trailer Images of My 1969 Airstream Tradewind Trailer Propane - Some Basic Facts and Safety Information My 1992 Lazy Daze 26-1/2 MB Class C Motorhome A Tale of Two Leaks Lazy Daze Electrical System Upgrades Major Water Leak Diagnosis and Repair My 1992 Lazy Daze Repair and Maintenance Log My New Wardrobe Pulls Onan Model BGE Information and Manuals Upgrading the RV Useful information for the owner of an older Lazy Daze RV My Old Starcraft Truck Camper Starcraft Truck Camper Images

Travels - A Journal of My Travels with LD An Introduction to My Travels with LD RV Living Resources Maps Travels with LD - Archives Night Camps Beymer Water Recreation Park, Lakin KS Bosque Bird Watcher's RV Park, San Antonio NM Bottomless Lakes State Park, Roswell NM Brantley Lake State Park, Carlsbad NM Cactus RV Park, Tucumcari NM Candy Cane RV Park & Campground, Steelville MO Canyon Trail RV Park, Boulder City NV City of Rocks State Park, Faywood NM Clayton Lake State Park, Clayton NM Clear Creek Campground east of Camp Verde AZ Crossroads RV Park & Campground, Lyndon KS Davis Mountains State Park Campground, Fort Davis TX Elephant Butte Lake State Park, Elephant Butte NM Foscue Creek Campground, Demopolis AL Freeman Community Club RV Park, Freeman MO Ghost Ranch Campground, Abiquiu NM Giant City State Park, Makanda IL Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa and Casino, Henderson NV Gum Springs Campground - Winnfield LA Hidden Valley RV Park, Tijeras NM Leasburg Dam State Park, Radium Springs NM Marathon Motel & RV Park, Marathon TX Mule Creek Road East of Guthrie AZ Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, Alamogordo NM Pancho Villa State Park, Columbus NM Pecan Grove RV Park, Alpine TX Percha Dam State Park, Arrey NM Pine Springs Campground - Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Salt Flat TX Primitive Campground at Fort Stanton Cave, Lincoln NM Rockhound State Park, Deming NM Rough River State Park, Falls of Rough KY Sam's Town Casino RV Park, Las Vegas NV Strayhorse Campground on US 191 south of Alpine AZ Susquehanna Trail Campground, Oneonta NY The Home Place, Red Rock, East Chatham NY Twiltley Branch Campground, Collinsville MS Valley of Fires Recreation Area, Carrizozo NM Wal-Mart Parking Walnut Meadow RV Park, Berea KY White Spar Family Campground, Prescott AZ