Hi, everyone.... (this was a post I thought I sent early Saturday
morning, but I noticed today I'd sent it to "val-digest@" by just
hitting reply....duh!)
Well, my "new" 1967 Safari International (22-ft) is home safe in my
driveway in Minnesota, after my inaugural pull last weekend from just
south of Madison, WI, via Interstate 94 -- in some gnarly winds the
first third of the way, I might add! (Thank God for anti-sway bars,
and *one more* strategic tightening soon after starting out.) The
previous owners were nice enough to drive from Grand Rapids, MI, to
meet me halfway, then spend two hours going through everything with me.
Great people, who love buying and restoring old trailers as a hobby
(been doing it for years). They're very well plugged into the vintage
trailer community in Michigan.
This Safari is in amazing condition, and they put a lot of TLC into
her. I'm so glad to have such a fine example of a vintage Airstream!
I put up a quick web page a while back, with six or seven shots the
previous owners took of her:
http://www.gtamarketing.com/1967AirstreamSafari.html
Now the fun begins. Starting the process of stripping the clearcoat
today -- and thanks to all the great advice I got from three VAListers
with personal experience on that! Plus a very helpful sales engineer
named David Hunter at Napier Environmental Technologies (based in
Vancouver, BC -- but he's located in Atlanta), which makes the
excellent stripping product that was recommended to me. I was able to
find it at a local paint store, thanks to him.
But back to a pesky problem that surfaced soon after I got her home and
plugged her in. All the lights and the two built-in radios (a
push-button AM and a separate FM stereo/8-track) worked fine when
hooked up to the vehicle. But when plugged into the house AC, the
stereo (which I turned on first) would suddenly shut off when I
switched on one of the original, wall-mounted reading lights up front.
And another time (as I recall), I think the same thing happened when I
flipped on one of the two original ceiling fans (which both work
great). Now the FM stereo won't work at all -- though everything else
appears to.
The previous owner had installed a new power converter, which he showed
me -- accessible in the cabinet under the bathroom sink. (It still had
the price tag on it: $220.) So, the first thing I did was pull the
three fuses inside it to see if I'd blown one. No dice -- they all
appear fine.
I suppose I should unplug the trailer from the garage AC and plug it
back into my vehicle, to see if anything changes? (I tried -- it was
the same.) Another weird thing I remember when I FIRST got it home and
unhooked the cord from the truck -- none of the lights or radios worked
on just the trailer battery. How could that be, since it looks really
new? (It's a big marine type.) Then, when I plugged the trailer into
the AC in my garage, the lights and radio still didn't work -- but all
the AC outlets in the trailer did! I tried switching the four circuit
breakers on the main box on and off (to reset), then pulled and checked
the three fuses inside the converter box (as I stated above). After
that, when I checked again, suddenly everything worked fine!
Strange... Till I switched on one of the lights, then the FM radio
went out.
I did notice when turning on some of the very cool twin-cone,
wall-mounted reading lights (the trailer has three sets of these) that
they didn't all light up instantly -- there was a bit of a hesitation
with some, like there might be a loose connection inside, or a bad
switch. They each have a swivel-ball base, which has also loosened up
over time somewhat. But those couple of lights did flicker on after a
half-second or so, then stayed on. (I learned they have three or four
wattage levels in each bulb, which all seem to work.)
Anyway, I know I can hear the list collectively saying now, "Welcome to
wonderful world of trailer wiring!" I'm no electrician, but I guess
I'm capable of pulling the light fixtures and looking inside for
obvious shorts. But the weird thing is, why is the FM stereo/8-track
not working? When everything else now is? And the three fuses inside
the converter still look fine. Hope I didn't blowout that old fella!
(Especially since my wife bought me a big collection of '60s and '70s
8-track tapes on eBay for my birthday!) I bought replacements for the
three fuses at RadioShack to see if that made a difference -- it
didn't.
Any other thoughts or ideas from the group would be appreciated. Could
the new converter be screwed up somehow? And not charging the battery?
(It's not an exact match to the original, the previous owner told me,
because I think he said this was as close as he could get.) I suppose
I should get the model number off of it, to see if any list members
know this particular unit. And maybe I should test the battery somehow
-- possibly I should try charging it with a trickle charger I have?
But do I have to unhook the wire that goes to the power converter when
I do that? I thought that was supposed to be continuously charging the
battery when the trailer's plugged into AC current, right? And it sure
doesn't appear to be -- or else the battery's shot. I may have more
than one problem going on here....
More later. Get this: the weekend temps here are soaring into the 70s
and 80s! So I'm headed out right now to strip clearcoat....and get one
of those patented Airstream reflector tans while I'm at it :-)
best regards,
Graeme Thickins
Bloomington, MN
'67 Safari Twin "International"