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Tow Vehicle: 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee |
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Why am I doing this?
Short version, to elope. In Pennsylvania you can be your own wedding official, so Chloe and I are going to the PA Grand Canyon. We will float down Pine Creek in our canoe and kayak until we find the perfect spot to say our piece. The Globetrotter is both our staging vehicle and honeymoon suite. Acquistion We ran into the usual hurdles finding the right trailer. Best advice - take your time and wait until the perfect one comes along. Each time I would find an ad I would click over to the Vintage Airstream Photo Archives to look at shape and layout. First try was one on ebay - listing was canceled early. Second try was 66 Globetrotter through a reseller - sold out from under us. I guess cash in hand is better than a promise of a check being sent tomorrow. Third try was a 57 Caravanner - owner placed an ad, said he wanted to sell, then wouldn't return calls. Flake. Too bad because I really liked the layout with the double bed in back. Success came through the classifieds on Airstream Forums . Vern, the previous owner (forum handle: 53FlyingCloud), put up an ad for a 62 Globetrotter that he bought in 2004. He chronicled the work he had done to it on Airstream Forums. After reading all 16 pages of his thread , I felt comfortable that I knew the condition of the trailer. Experienced Airstreamers are laughing. For those new to vintage Airstreams, you never know what you're getting into until you tear it apart or camp in it for a season. |
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It's New Home |
From Behind |
From the Side |
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The Trip
The trip from PA to New Hampshire was long but scenic. Vern called just after we started and said the new wheels hadn't come in but the shop promised they would be there and installed before I picked it up the next morning. Already on the road we decided to press on and hope for the best. The trip took 8.5 hours. A little luck landed us right at the door of the hotel just as we hit "too tired to go on". The next morning Vern called. He had gotten off work early and wanted to take us to breakfast. We shook the road/sleep haze off and met him and the Mrs. at one of those 50s themed restaurants. Food was brown, warm and plentiful. Just the way I like it. Vern helped us figure out the complexities of our weight equalization bars and stabilizer bar and we were off. Shortly after departure, we made our one and only wrong turn - thankfully it didn't take us far out of the way. It wasn't until Conneticut that things turned ugly. An accident had traffic at a crawl for 4 hours. I could take it no more and Chloe took the helm for her first time towing. I thought what better way to get comfortable with it than at 5 mph. Naturally the within 30 minutes of switching the traffic cleared and we were hit with a torrential downpour. Chloe's first tow was a bit of a test but she handled it easily. The return trip took over 12 grueling hours. Chloe felt pretty comfortable towing so we spelled each other and got it back without incident. The next day, however, I would lose a window on the 20 minute trip to Mike's house. |
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Zach inspects it |
Planning begins |
Taped out the new layout |
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Planing
Next big task was figuring out what to do with the thing. My back prohibits me sitting or sleeping comfortably in anything but quality furniture and bedding. Camping foam and folding mattresses just don't cut it. The one absolute was I needed a full size spring mattress. We had only 15.6 ft of interior space to work with and wanted to keep the exterior largely original. Our layout needed to avoid relocating windows. There was not enough space from the front wall to the edge of the door to put a mattress in the front. Putting it in the middle was awkward bordering unreasonable unless we used a folding mattress or two smaller mattresses. Both ideas comprimised the real bed requirement. So we decided to put it in the back and follow a late 50s Caravanner layout with a queen sized bed placed longways in the trailer, the bathroom in the back beside the bed, the stove and sink on one side and the fridge on the other. We also opted against a front dinette in favor of two comfortable chairs. It is one thing to sketch it on paper. It is another thing to see a 22" bathroom in person so we taped the layout actual size in our living room. It entertained me that we had enough open space to contain our entire trailer. |
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Kitchenette removed |
Bathroom removed |
Floor rotted in back |
Interior walls removed |
Inside framed |
Framing |
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Work Begins
While we planned, the guys removed the interior. He would then tow it over to Kurt's garage for the shell off floor replacement. The floor was rotted in the back and spongy all through. Putting this much work into the rest of the trailer seemed silly if we weren't going to pull the floor and do the frame. They removed the interior aluminum then framed up the inside for support. Then they began the ardous task of removing hundreds of rivots, running a scraper in the gap to loosen the rivets and caulk, then trying to find the hidden rivots. Within two days they had the shell ready to be lifted. See the video clip for a 30 sec short version of popping the top. |
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Beginning of separation |
Shell coming off |
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VIDEO of removing top (8 mb) |
Frame rusted but not rotted |
Frame sanded and painted with POR-15 |
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New Floor
With the top off, the guys pulled up the floor. It was worse than we suspected and I'm glad we did it. They cut the new marine grade plywood using what they could of the old floor as a template. The floor was sealed with Varathane and the edge epoxied. The old bellypan was crumbling in places so we decided to replace it. Meanwhile Kurt was relocating the stops and mounting holes on the new Dura Torque Axle. I went with the uprated axle. I'm not sure if that is why it wasn't an exact fit but it required some alteration. And that was that. They put the top back on, sealed it tighter than a Walrus's bottom and the Globetrotter is ready for phase two. All told it took them five days and they charged me for 95 hours. If it was just me, I would still be looking at the thing after severly boogering up several rivets. It's good to know your limits. |
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Worn out belly pan |
Rotted back section |
Attaching the new floor |
Ready for the shell |
New belly pan |
The undented banana wrap |
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Cabinetry and Appliances The phase 2 was cabinetry and appliances. I bought new appliances including: stove, refrigerator, hot water heater, furnace, AC, and range hood. The cabinetry and counters have been done with radiuses - even the mattress edges is curved on two sides. We decided to go with maple cabinets and "hand hewn" maple floors. Kurt replaced two panels of exterior aluminum because the holes for the heater and water heater are not the same size and placement as the originals. I didn't want it to look like a patchwork quilt so they replaced the whole section. |
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At Kurt's ready to be fitted out. |
Building the curved cabinet |
Back side of the curved cabinet |
Bed area. The bathroom will be small! |
Stove, cabinet, separating wall |
Curved cabinet by the refer |
Back at the house |
Stove/sink cabinet |
Over head cabinet above stove/sink |
Front overhead and water tank box |
Refer cabinet |
Back Section |
Waste pipe storage |
Tabs to prop open |
Alum Vent Covers |
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Phase 3 Phase 3 will be rivet shaving and polishing the exterior as well as staining and painting the interior. Chloe is a decorative painter so she has some dandy plans for the inside. We will be doing Phase 3 ourselves. For Sale I am selling the bathtub and sink with hardware, and the black tank. Click here to contact me by email. |
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