Tales of the Toaster

The Toaster has come to FTW for a relaunch of her new lease on life. Toaster is known to a number of you reading. The tale of this trailer was told once on The Vintage Airstream Podcast. I will try and summarize it quickly... Mary and Rick buy Toaster. Toaster looks absolutely perfect and everything works. Rick and Mary go to a rally and show their beautiful trailer off. They invite a restoration specialist in to look at Toaster. Restoration specialist pulls out ice pick and begins probing. Seconds pass, dreams are dashed when rot is found.

Mary and Rick are in love with their trailer so what should they do? Fix it... If you go on Airforums, you will find a community more than willing to guide you into how to fix it yourself. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time or energy to see a major project like this through to the end. Mary and Rick made a good stab at the work, but time and life got into the way. Toaster has sat idol while Rick and Mary's desire to go Streaming has only grown. They decided this was going to be the last winter Toaster was going to just sit there waiting.

The very first thing we needed to do was give the old girl a bath. Reviewing these photos, I do not see her as dirty as she was. For the past four years Toaster has been sitting in the shade, collecting tree fungus and mold.

Here you can see a little indication of the green velvet that covered her. These 61 Safaris are some awesome little trailers. There was another 61 Safari here last year for work. We are real fond of this era. I am often asked what trailer to buy. My pick is always 1958- 62. If your looking for small with big trailer function, then this is the unit for you.

Here she is washed and ready for some work. Our first task was to fix all the structural issues. We started right up front with correcting some issues where the skin and shell meets the frame.

The structural work continued to the rear where a cross member was fixed and the bumper repaired where it meets the frame. It is very common on this era of trailer for the area where the frame meets the body to rust away. We cut out the rot and put in some new steal.

Here is an example of the skin shortly after arrival.

Here is the same spot post cleaning. Note the brighter aluminum where the old seam sealant was removed. All the seams were picked clean of old sealant and caulk. We then replaced all the sealant with new material. Two rain storms now and no signs of leaks. Leaks are a killer. They start some where out of sight, say, the plumbing stack. You do not see it running down the vent stack inside the closet. Once it hits the ground you do not see it because the capillary action pulls it under black tank and out of sight.

Then by the time you notice it, or even never notice it, it has gotten a very firm hold into your floor. Funny "firm hold"... it could not be further from "firm."

The only real way to stop the rot is to remove it totally. It will just keep spreading every time a little moisture is introduced back to the surface.

Here is the area we repaired. Now normally we replace the entire sheet. That form of repair is a bit extreme for this small area, however we are always concerned about keeping it all unified. So if you can visualize as I describe please. The three black dots are elevator bolts. The one closest to you is bolted to the cross member, and the other two are bolted to the outrigger. This repair bridges across the main frame rail. The repair is also bolted at the end of the outrigger inside the wall. There are also two other bolts through the channel and floor. Around the three sides is a splice screwed and glued to both pieces. Just to bond one more time, we also used biscuits along that seam. Between all the splines, splices, and biscuits, this is one solid patch.

The frame has been slightly adjusted to accept a grey water tank.

Here are two custom tanks that arrived this past week. The big one is for a 1971 Overlander. The smaller one is for this project. Both tanks are designed to fit into the frame without any major modifications. What a difference 10 years can make in sizing.

Windows have been a big concern. We have been rebuilding each one. They were done a few years back, but the gaskets have shrunk back from the miters. Some were worse than others.

It was my reasoning that since shrinking was an issue, perhaps If I used pre-shrunk material, I would be golden. By reusing the longest ones on the next longest ones, I just might have to only replace a little gasket. As it worked out, the biggest window was the only one requiring new gaskets.

Flip.

... and flop.

Just like new, only using the pre- shrunk gasket.

This style of window has an inner bulb style seal. When closed, the sash presses firmly against the seal creating a good leak proof closure.

There are a couple of commonly used replacements for this bulb seal. The one on the left is an exact copy of the original and is offered by Vintage Trailer Supply. The center one is also offered by VTS and other suppliers, but it is the bulb seal for jalousie windows. Often I see this offered by other supplies as the proper seal. It does fit, but it also falls out after a few months. The third is a foam "d" seal offered as a replacement and even "improvement" for the original bulb seal. I will just stop here.

A few months back a thread was going on the Airforums about Wally Byam and his Gold Trailer. It was thrown out there, that left over, gold aluminum was used on some production units. Gold aluminum trim was noted as being a clear indication. Well, look here, Wally's gold aluminum! Sorry, but I find that story to be tall tale.

Here is a very hard call; To restore the original name badges, replace them with reproductions, or to reuse the originals. Most people do not see the subtle differences between the original and reproduction version. I however cannot take eye off them. The "r" bothers me the most, but all the letters are just not as bold looking. We went with the "originals cleaned" up route.

We also have converted the black tank over from the original Thetford valve to the more modern Valterra one. An adapter plate was fabricated to make the conversion.

Next post about this trailer will be to cover the application of Zolatone. Hope you will return to read about it.

Is This Part 5? Who Cares, 1957 Caravaner

I feel I am now caught up enough to stop the "updates". At FTW we have had the pleasure of working on Michael's 1957 Caravaner. We did a little stuff to get Michael set for camping earlier in the year. Now his trailer has come back to get ready for an even longer season that entails a cross country trip and many nights boon docking.

His 57 is in very original state, even though the previous owner did some work, it is fairly original.

Here you see the modern, stainless steel, 30 amp, power inlet that was part of updating the electrical system. Now a locking power cord can be used instead of just a extension cord. In 1957, the 12 volt system was a tractor battery connected to a single light bulb in the ceiling fixture. It was very basic lighting just really intended for setting up or while on the road. We installed a converter, fuse box, and a distribution box. Now the original 12 volt light is supplied, as are new under counter lights, and task lights.

All the exposed steel was first sand blasted, then treated with Por15 rust treatment. We then primed and top coated using a two stage automotive paint that matches Michael's tow vehicle.

This is the color. It is a metallic paint. I think it is called Deep Cherry.

We gave the rims the very same treatment. Rims are VERY hard to spray. Take my word for it!

They came out Fan Damn Tabulous if you ask me. They look super sharp with the baby moon hub caps offered by Vintage Trailer Supply. That, is also a very sexy wheel well cut out I might add.

The plumbing was, well, as I said earlier, ... the previous owner did some stuff.

The plumbing has all been converted to PEX. I like the solid copper band style as opposed to the crimp style rings. The blue and red lines allow for easy identification should an issue ever arrive. A new Whisper King pump, accumulator, and a winterization kit were also installed to make life even easier.

The battery and converter were tucked into the most unusable space possible. Just forward of it we installed the new water heater. This is not your normal water heater however. It is an RV 500 water on demand heater.

This is the unpainted aluminum door they offer. It will polish up like a mirror. This is the unit in a 1971 Overlander. I use this photo just to show what the door looks like.

In Michael's trailer we installed it with an eyebrow above it to make it blend with the original hatch next door. As you can see, the unit is very well constructed. The solid copper still on the left is where water meets flame. Everything about these units is impressive. The second you touch the water valve, it knows and fires up. Within one second hot water is at your spout. The moment you turn the water off, it turns off. Very efficient to say the least. You might also note the water fill tucked right up under there.

A drawer contains all the electrical stuff if an issue ever comes up. Like I said, a very well made item here. This makes trouble shooting easy and replacing any electronics easy. These units do cost about 3 times as much as a regular water heater, but I personally feel it well worth the extra cost. Want your own on demand water heater from Precision Temp? I am now a dealer and would be glad to hook you up(get it, hook you up?)!!!

Addendum To Long Awaited Update Part 1

In order to clarify the replacement panel fiasco I talked about in one of my previous posts, I have decided to explain with better photos. They speak for themselves.

This is a #11(front street side corner) replacement segment installed in a 1971 Overlander. It is a factory original, produced from the exact molds, in the exact same factory, as the original panel were. It fits absolutely perfectly. The bottom edge came pre drilled for rivets and amazingly, 95% of the new holes matched up perfect to the ones drilled in 1971. Well, of course silly, I did say it was made from the same mold in the same factory. There is just one major problem.

The aluminum used today to build Airstreams is the same alloy as license plates are made from. In 1971 Airstream produced the trailers out of same aluminum as Boeing jets. Big difference folks. Unfortunately, as I was told by Airstream customer service "that is how we make them. It is close enough and you are just going to have to live with it." Well, "close enough" is good enough for Airstream, but not for me. I do not claim to know Wally Byam, but I am fairly certain that "close enough" would never be good enough. I seriously doubt, "good enough" was in his vocabulary. A man that led families across Africa to prove his product was the best, would never stand for good enough.

That panel is a factory original too. However it was pressed in 1973 and spent it's life on a 31 footer. Oh yeah, it is also the #3 segment(rear curb side corner), not the #11(front street side corner). I purchased this panel from Ryan at RV Revive. Ryan was very straight and honest with me. Ryan took a good deal of time understanding my needs. He first sent me photos of all the possible segments he had in the yard. He was VERY straight up about each and every flaw the choices had. Unfortunately, the #11 segments all had damage that deemed them not good enough for either of us. Ryan then went to plan B of using a #3 segment. Ryan was very hesitant about selling me the segment as he thought that there was not enough face metal to cover the need.

I told him I was willing to try it out and two days later a well constructed crate arrived from Waterloo, Iowa. Inside it was the entire segment, literally cut right out of the side. All the ribs and everything were still attached. We drilled it out, trimmed it down, fit it into the opening, then stripped it of the clear coat finish. We then riveted it into place for the rest of it's life. Guess what, about 90% of the rivet holes on the bottom edge lined up. No, this time it was serendipity.

Once the riveting was complete we went about polishing the segment. What is that cool saffron colored paste on the segment? I have never seen a polish that color before. Is that the super secret polish you are testing out? YYYUUUUUPPPPPPPP!!! However it is not super secret. It has a real fancy name too Aluminum Trailer Polish. Once I test it out a little more, I will probably become the North American distributor. The results I am seeing at present are very encouraging.

Well? Good enough now? Perfect match.

How about that polish job? Good enough now?

Long Awaited Update. Part 3 (the end of year bonus)

How does the saying go? A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.

What if your boss takes you fishing? What if he takes you fishing and treats it like a regular work day? Kind of messes it all up right? Well, at FTW, we love to screw these things up.

Wayne has been an absolutely awesome employee! He has never been late, always sober, and more than willing to avoid mistakes. As a sign of my gratitude for his great service, I wanted to give Wayne a gift he would appreciate. I contacted my Brother in Law and with some long time friends, we chartered a day with Captain Bo to fish for rockfish(stripped bass to the rest of you) on the Bay.

This is far from the first time we have fished with Captain Bo. He has a super clean boat and ALWAYS puts us on the fish.

His report of the previous week was less than stellar.

But, hey, a bad day of fishing is better than a great day at work (unless you work at FTW. Fishing might be your job for the day. "Hey Boss, what do you want me to do today?" "Go fishing").

There were very few other boats to compete with for the fish. This late in the season is hard to be on the fish. Most of the big summer fish have migrated out to sea. This leaves many small fish too young to migrate. However, if the timing is just right, the big fish from up North, turn up the Chesapeake for a quick snack as they head South. These fish are generally monsters.

They make you work for it. "keep the tip up, wind as you drop, never let it go slack..." Hey that's Wayne up to bat!

Dang Dr Lou, what ya got bending that Ugly Stick like that?

Wow John, you loosing line or gaining?

Captain Bo has an awesome mate by the way. He knew his job well and made it feel as if we were doing the catching.

Not bad, everyone got a keeper...

Wayne's fish enjoys cigars too.

There are our two biggest. John, on left is holding a 41" fish while Wayne shows us his 42" fish. Incase you do not understand how much fish that is, one filet, was dinner four times, for my family of four. At each meal, the entire family devoured the rockfish. Without a doubt, this is one of the finest fish you can eat.

Everyone had a great time. It is kind of hard not to. I just want to take this opportunity to thank Wayne again for being such an awesome employee. Glad you enjoyed one of the fringe benefits of working at FTW.

I also want to take this opportunity to put in a plug for Captain Bo. Brawler Charters is probably one of the top ten charters working the Bay. This is probably the 10th trip on the Brawler and as usual we came home with big smiles on our faces and a cooler full of fish. Plans are ready in the works for the next season. Hopefully I will be taking another employee on that trip.

Does FTW seem like a great place to work? It is. Would you like to work here? I am looking for another talented person.