What will I encounter in the typical restoration or renovation? Will I be able to fix up a trailer good enough o use?
The key is to look at an Airstream as it were a car. If you would not have second thoughts about buying a similar aged car and fixing it in your barn or garage, then you will be OK. On a 1950’s trailer, expect to have to do a full frame-up restoration. The floor will be rotted in many places, structurally weakening the trailer to the point of being unsafe, the frame and skin will be corroded in areas, most of the mechanicals and gaskets will be worn out, and the appliances will all need to be gone through and overhauled to be usable again. The wiring insulation and splices have all deteriorated and will need to be replaced. The axle most likely will need to be replaced, as will much of the LPG system. Some of the cabinets may have water damage, and there is the inevitable 60 years of prior owner modifications that will have to be overcome. This is no different than what you find on an automobile from the 1950’s. Moving into the later 1960’s, things may not be so drastic. The wiring is
