First Things First

As you’ve probably gathered from our previous posts, and any searches you may have done for a vintage RV, they run the gamut in condition. If you decided a project is not for you, it’s certainly possible to buy your dream already restored. Your first order of business is to complete legal transfer of ownership.

In our state, the Airstream we purchased is required to pass a safety inspection. Though it is intact and towable, we wanted to make sure it passes inspection the first time. We also think we might want to do some boondocking while traveling. Use of various energy sources on an RV become a big deal when they’re all you have, especially on older travel trailers. Our first project on The Stellar Land Yacht is changing the running and signal lights from incandescent to LED. While traveling, the Clearance/Marker lights get their power from the the tow vehicle. Any changes you can make to reduce the pull on your battery(ies) is always a good thing.

While we were testing everything, we also thought there might be a problem with the hitch harness wiring. A trailer repair shop determined the female socket on our tow vehicle had corrosion. It has been replaced. Your vehicle’s tow package will likely be part of the inspection (can’t operate the trailer signals or brakes without it), so don’t ignore it while preparing. We are also replacing the male plug on the Airstream. We discovered the color coding for the 7-way wiring on the Airstream didn’t match the labeling on the new plug. Between 1966 & 1981 Airstream had their own standard. #$@%&!! We’ll explain that in a separate post.

The video attached to this post demonstrates how we changed out the running lights without tearing into the interior of the trailer to access the wiring. Because we live in a deed restricted neighborhood, the Airstream can’t be on our property for long periods of time. Changing out the lights didn’t require large power tools so we were able to make this upgrade at the storage space. Unfortunately, an annoying beep can be heard in the background from the trailer next to ours. We offer our apologies up front.