[VACList] 1962 Trade Wind battery

[Terry Tyler <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Bill,

I don't have the schematic like Tom mentioned, but here's a suggestion from
a guy who has been there and done that.

Keep the weight minimal in that rear quarter panel, i.e. don't add a second
battery even though it may look like there's sufficient room for a pair of
them. I wish that advice had been given to me.

Rewelding broken stringers in that area means opening the belly pan (again),
making  your two hands do the job of many hands, plus enduring a lot of
grungy time consuming bull work. In my case, I had to do it once in Wyoming
and again in Idaho - both times with the temperature in the 100s - before
returning to the Northeast.

Yes, I'm now skillful at that job and can do it on any barn floor - with the
help of a certified welder who stays just long enough to do the actual
welding. But, I'll never do it again.  Why? I learned my fix was only
partial when I saw the rear bumper parting from the shell. With a second
problem becoming evident, that called for drastic action.

Fortunately, the Airstream dealer in Cedar Falls, Iowa was on our route and
fixed it permanently. He added a pair of metal "suspenders" (that's what
they looked like) inside the shell and welded them to the rear frame.
Unless someone is aware of exactly which rivets were installed at the
factory, they wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

Why do I mention this? It's my opinion that my first problem was caused by
me putting a second battery in the rear quarter behind the wheel well and
the second problem began occurring due to the undue stress of tooling around
the countryside with a broken stringer and a hairline crack in the frame
behind that wheel well.

The man at Ace Fogdall's Airstream dealership in Iowa who fixed the almost
imperceptible frame separation problem asked me if other problems had
occurred recently. When I asked why he wanted to know, he commented,
"There's no wood rot and nothing was broken back there. There must have been
another problem which prompted it."  Really?

Since then, I've hauled this '67 22' Safari down paths not meant for vehicle
nor beast and along Interstates (PA turnpike) designed to shake everything
loose and thump the frame 'til it cried "Uncle. "

When I was finally satisfied the cumulative fixes were real, Sandie and I
opted for the full interior refurbish and the outside mirror shine polish. I
believe we now have one tough Airstream. We're bringing this rig on the VAC
Caravan in June and will be at International with it.

If all goes as we hope, this particular money pit is now closed.  <grin>

Terry