Airstreaming Mexico: Fixing an RV While Underway.
Polishing Ain't Easy.
Our 1962 Airstream Safari was gorgeous and the body totally straight when we bought it, but all of the systems were deficient in some manner. The interior structures (dinette, cabinetry, plywood floor) were still in decent shape so we could not justify a total gutting and rebuild. I decided to address each system on my own, possibly learning something in the process. This will be an ongoing account of how I am repairing and/or cobbling together the different pieces to make my trailer whole, or at least livable again.
At each stop as we tour around Mexico, I’ll make an addition to this blog, generally about a system I’ve addressed, but also to update any existing technical topics. Look here in the future for my experience with:
- Charge-line installation on tow vehicle
- New axle
- Refrigerator
- Fresh water system
- Polishing
- Climate Control
- Range and oven
- Toilet
12-Volt
Currently, I am tackling the 12-volt system. I know nothing about electricity, except vaguely about how AC and DC currents are different. I knew enough to understand though, that when my Airstream was plugged into my tow-vehicle, I ought to have lights inside, but I did not. There was no battery, nor any evidence that a battery ever existed, no box, mount, or anything.
The trailer had at one point worked on batteries because the fresh water pump was 12-volt, and the light fixtures were dual use, AC and DC with 12-volt RV light bulbs still in the DC side sockets.
Thru some research my parents did, we found out that my Airstream was a “park model” which ultimately meant that it did not come from the factory wired for 12-volt, but was only meant to be plugged into RV park 120-volt AC hookups. So all of the DC electrical system was an aftermarket installation. This meant that there was no power converter, and the AC and DC systems did not commingle whatsoever. My DC trailer power was designed to derive from the tow vehicle, which was supposed to charge the battery whenever in transit.
Luckily, most of the wiring for the 12-volt fixtures was already installed in the trailer, so I figured all I had to do was find the break(s) in the line, install a battery, wire the plug, and call it good.
Using a light-tester and a battery with some roach-clips, I was able to determine where the break in the line was. There was a small panel cut out of the aluminum on the underside, just aft of the tongue. I guess it was a sort of junction box for the DC system. It was in here that I found the main 12-volt line that seemed to terminate, but was still tied into some other wires. I couldn’t get a tester light reading from this connection, so I assumed there was no juice there. I now believe that this was a mistake…..more on that below.
Ammo can battery box. Note top of box makes great place to stow extra fuel can.
I decided to mount my battery on the tongue just aft of the starboard LP tank. I snagged an empty ammo can from my brother’s garage (buy these up when you can, they are becoming a precious commodity) to act as my battery box. After welding a steel plate across the tongue, I drilled 4 holes in the bottom of the ammo can thru the steel plate and bolted it all tight from the inside. The bolts go thru two strips of plywood mounted to match the bottom of the battery so that it doesn’t slide around. I then screwed into the plywood two plant hooks (the kind you see in ceilings with ferns hanging from them) and ran a rubber bungee over the top of the battery to keep it from bouncing up and down.
Battery Box Interior
From the trailer plug, I ran a 8-gauge wire (my charge-line) from the center pin of the seven pin plug (it was open; vacant) under the tongue thru a hole I had drilled in the side of the ammo can to the positive battery terminal. Then, I installed a 12-guage wire from the positive battery terminal, out the same hole and tied it into the connection mentioned earlier in the “junction” box.
So, at this point, I have a charge line coming into the battery from the trailer plug, a ground wire from my trailer batt into the trailer frame, a hot line coming off of that battery into preexisting trailer wiring, and a 12-volt water pump and lights that WORK!!!! So, I close everything back up, and call it good.
It was when I plugged my tow vehicle into the Airstream for the first time after completing all of this work that the trouble happened. My best guess now is that at the connection where I tied my hot lead into for the main 12-volt power must be fed back into the trailer plug somehow and is causing a short circuit. Almost instantly a small plume of black/gray smoke from the plastic of my plug burning billowed up and I had to yank the whole thing out of the socket, with The Quickness.
I was due to be in Mexico two days after that point, and I wasn’t willing to sacrifice anymore time at the expense of the trip. I disconnected the trailer battery, plugged the van back in, checked all of the running lights (they worked) and headed on South.
So that’s where I sit now. I’m writing this from the town park in Banamichi, Sonora on battery power supplied by my trailer, but I’ve no way to charge my trailer battery other than hook it into my van for a prolonged period of time, which I will if I have to. I don’t want to disrespect the city by lifting hoods, pulling things apart, and strewing tools all about, so I’ll make due until we can get to an RV park somewhere, where I’ll attempt to address what I hope is the last element of my 12-volt system. It’s tough to resist tearing into it immediately, because I am most anxious to put this issue to bed. However, with my inexperience, I run the risk of botching everything completely and losing both interior DC power and trailer running lights. The latter undoubtedly, I am legally compelled to keep functional. At least now, I can make each one operate with a little extra thought and effort.
More on this later, as things develop……………….
Turkeydawg
For an account of our travels in Mexico, click this link:
www.turkeydawgblog.blogspot.com
