Restoration of 1964 Airstream GlobeTrotter

This is where we are today.

2010-12-27T18:06:00.000-08:00

It all started when I purchased the 1964 GT

2009-04-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

So, life has been very very interesting and I tend to think that all of my previous actions have led me to where I am right now. For example, it is because my father is friends with Mr. Langford that I have an airstream, because Mr. Langford has a 70's Safari and I fell in love with the idea of caravaning. Anyway, you get the point.....so it is very interesting to think about how every decision we make now, will lead us to our next situation or thouht process or lifestyle or relationship or hobby.......Mainly, I have been so unbalanced lately with work being so slow, and so many things up in the air, and mainly not being able to control everything.......my life has been pretty interesting. Atleast it has in my head...But what I am getting at is that I am thinking about taking a major step away from Atlanta, and to go and travel in the Airstream for 3 to 4 months and do nothing but support Rosemary and her business and kiteboard and play harmonica. So I am thinking about how if we plan ahead and allow ourselves to dream a little more and possibly accept it that YES we can make our dreams come true, then we would be alot more happier. I am so tired of the self imposed limitations we have come to think of as normal and the truth. So, alot of deep thoughts and plans are being put out into this world, I am looking forward to seeing what we are rewarded with. There are so many opportunities out there, we must make ourselves aware of them as they present themselves. I am seeing more and more each day how I could chane the path of my life soon, just by taking a new step in a little bit of a different direction. I think it all started with the purchase of the 1964 GT.....Wouldn't you know.

So there are alot of wonderful things that are taking place in my life and I cannot wait to see where it takes me from here. We found a new place to stay. I am looking forward to exploring other camp grounds.

Florida Blackwater

2009-04-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

So, it is kind of weird to not have the Airstream in the driveway. I am doing things to my house that I have nelected for years, simple things, like anchoring the drip lines to the side of the house from my HVAC in the attic. They had been dangling along the back side of the house for the past 2 years. My yard has never looked this good. I started to organize the basement, really organize. Purging is a good thing. I seem to be doing it every season, so 4 times a year. I am getting to a point where all that I want to own or hold onto, can be packed and stored in one basement room. So.........the Airstream project, makes ordinary things seem easier. If you can restore an airstream, shell-off floor replacement, custom cabinets, full re-wire, new everything...then you can basically do anything. And you can't disagree unless you have done it yourself.

So I am sitting here in Atlanta, Rosemary is in the panhandle, and supposedly, the business is picking up in the henna tattoo world. Spring Break is happening and things are picking up. This past week has been interesting since the river that we parked on went over the banks and came within 4 feet of the trailer. The store flooded and the beer was stored in the 5th wheel monster apartment next door to us. I figured if they were storing the beer in the trailer next to us, then we would be safe. But I still kind of got nervous since I was in Atlanta and Rosemary was in the trailer 6 hours away. It being our 1st trip and all.....So life is good at our spot. I am hesitant to mention the name of the place, atleast until we leave. It is not the type of place I would want to ever go back to unless I bean to drink alot of beer and began to love motorcycles and southern rock and roll, every day. It reminds me of a song by JJ Grey and Mofro "Black water" and "DirtFloorCracker" or any of their music live, rowdy and swampy.....I guess.

So, I am going to retreive the trailer this weekend and move it to another park that will cost us only $325 per month. Free Wifi, laundry, near beach (10 minutes), etc. We are going to check it out for when Rose goes back t work for the whole Summer. I am thinking about checking out Providence Canyon also. I have heard some good things about the sandy bottom and its feeling when you are barefoot. Here are pics of the river rising etc.

Trip 1

2009-04-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

So I arrived and the first thing I saw was beer girls dancing on top of the picnic tables wearing these panties that said "Beer Girl" on their ass. There was about 500 motorcyclist, lots of leather, and 200 motorcycles, a redneck rock n roll band, beer smell, and it was Sunday. These were the first things I saw at the place that we would be calling home for the next few weeks. So.....if you are a biker, you should check this place out. It was definitely not like what I suspect an Airstream rally is like. I definitely stuck out like a sore thumb, even though I am somewhat young and hip if you want to say. I am simply not a biker and never have been the biker type, BUT I can hang and get along with just about anyone. So, this was the first stop I made as I got off of the highway and ready to park the trailer. I am not sure what they thought of me....So we parked our new house and began to set her up for the first time. It was special having our first meal together. I failed to previously mention that I built a table that folds down against the wall. It turned out really well. So we had dinner and a movie the first night in the Airstream together, Rosemary and I. Other first experiences were of course the first hot shower and the first bathroom usage, etc......Needless to say, we are absolutely loving this lifestyle and are embracing it fully. I do not have pictures yet, but will. I kind of dropped the ball over the past month or so with posting in detail, but if anyone has questions, feel free to contact me.

The final touches

2009-04-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

The finishing touches were tough. The counter-top, the fridge flu, the plumbing drain lines....I ended up getting all of this done 2 days before I was to get on the road. I had a time limit as to when the trailer had to be done. In order to reduce stress, I had a "must have" list and a "want" list. So the fridge flu, plumbing, and hot water heater were all a must have. They were completed with some customization. The appliances all worked as they were supposed to. I have a 3 way fridge (gas, 12 volt, and 110), electric ignition 6 gallon water heater, 21 inch stove with piezo (whatever that is?), surface mount puck lights all on one switch with dimmer. The mattresses on the gauchos are futon matresses we got off craigs list, they turned out to be perfect. We actually ended up cutting one of them open in order to cut it to fit in the front area. The fridge flu was not long enough to fit under the cabinet top, so I had to customize an aluminum extension with trempro sealing it. I also used aluminum around the top of the tube (where it meets the wall). I do not have picturs of it all, but it really did not get done until we were parked and actually in the camp ground. Here are some of the pictures of it as I pulled away from my house headed to florida. I will post the final repair pics once I have some.

2nd trip to Ohio

2009-04-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

So I had to make another trip back to Ohio to finish the doors of the cabinets and the gauchos. What a task this proved to be. We spent 4 full days (12 hours/day) working on these doors and gauchos. Nothing was easy abut this part of the job. Building the doors from scratch, routing the paneling and spraying the laquer on them, waiting for them to dry, etc….what a job this turned out to be. We ended up making the face frame for the cabinet above the front gaucho to look like one panel all the way across. It turned out well. After all was said and done, the front and side gaucho was installed and almost all doors were completed. It turns out that the 3 doors above the sice gaucho, top cabinets were too small. So we made that mistake and they turned out to be nice cubbies for the time being.

Ctnd.

2009-04-01T18:08:00.001-07:00

The last month

2009-04-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

OK, I know I have not written since the burning of the old cabinetry. It seems like so lon ao that the framing of the cabinets went in. Since then we have completed the project, just in time for it to be thrown into the deep end so to say. But before I start writing about our excursion to the pan handle of florida, let me catch everyone up.

So after the framing of the cabinets were put in, I installed the electrical panel, installed the stove, refrigerator, hockey puck 12 volt halogen lights on a dimmer, 50 amp service so as to power all of the poles on my breaker panel, all plumbing installed, water lines, bathroom and kitchen sinks, counter-tops, fridge flu, side and front gauchos, front cabinet facing, insulated the floors with closed-cell spray foam insulation, gas lines, belly pan, wired the brakes, welded stairs and leveling jacks in place.

Here is where I left off.

I ended up arriving back home in Atlanta with the basic frame of the cabinets completed.
I spent the following weekend running the gas lines, then insulating the floors with closed-cell spray foam insulation, and then the following week completing the belly pan. What a job that was!!! It took me 4 days to complete the belly pan with .032 mill finish aluminum. I ended up just shoving aluminum between the exterior skins and the u channels. Of course, there was a lot of Trempro 635 involved. After this was completed, a buddy of mine came over and welded the leveling jacks and stairs to the trailer. The stairs were easy, but the leveling jacks required a bit more energy or thoughtfulness. I wanted them easily accessible for lowering, so we put them on both sides of the black/grey water tank wit a plate and some triangle supports as can be seen here. The front jacks were welded directly to some 3 by 3 steel turbing which was then welded to an outrigger and then a angle iron to te side of the tubing in order to provide some support against the floor. The real scare came when my buddy yelled for me to get the fire extinguisher. Some of the foam caught fire between the floors and bely pan. The inside of the trailer was full of yellow smoke. With a full extinguisher and water available to put out the fire, we got things under control.

Installing the appliances was actually easier than expected. All of them worked as they should, which is the way it should be, but you never know what kind of errors could have been made. So the fridge is a 3 way fridge (110,12v,gas) and works great. I ended up running a separate 110 ciircuit for the fridge. The stove serves as a 3 burner stove, toaster oven, etc and was really easy to hook up. The vent fan was only a challenge when I had to customize the vent piece fits around the hole in the side of the trailer. The hot water heater was all hooked up and all that was needed was to hook the blue, brown and red wires to the switch that was provided. I did, and it actually worked just as it should have. So, the appliances were actually one of the easier items to deal with on this trailer.

The sink was also installed the fit around the wall of the tube. I did not have the original pieces, so I improvised in order to keep the proress. It works just fine being supported by some wood. The toilet was really easy to install.

Burn Baby Burn

2009-02-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

Well......Once we finished cleanign the shop up, we decided to go ahead and do what I ahve been wanting to do, and we burned the old cabinets. I am not going to o into details, you can see what happened, it was oh so nice.

Back Cabinet finished

2009-02-20T20:20:00.000-08:00

So we spent the day finishing the install of the back cabinets complete with shelving and even a back panel hiding the wiring. We made a cut-out for the electrical panel to be in the divider between the way back cabinet and the 1 foot long hallway linen closet. You will see the hole. All in all, I am pleased more than I could have ever imagined. We get more and more done each day and I did not expect to get this far in 5 days. We still have 1 week to complete the doors as well as other items.

Tomorrow we plan on finishing the street side upper cabinet and the front cabinet. I am oing to put a coat of laquer on both cabinets to seal them and finish the 2 other coats and sanding when I get back home to Atlanta. Lots to do in order to get her ready to roll for Spring break....

Here is where we ended today, with the end caps adn dividers cut for the cabinet being made tomorrow.

This past week

2009-02-19T18:34:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a long week. One week ago I was prepping the interior for painting. Now I am in Ohio and have built cabinets for the kitchen and back streetside. This has kind of been a roller coaster ride to be honest. I have put alot of pressure on myself to finish this in time for April usage. Not only is every portion of the project different and challenging, the curves make everything more difficult. I keep telling myself that it is OK, that if it were easy, then everyone would be doing it, we would see these tings restored and all over the place. So, it all makes sense to me after I say this to myself.....It takes alot to do what I have done and I am having fun kowing that. So, tht is all I wanted to say. It has been a tough week or so....Even though this trip was labeled a vacation, it has been far from a vacation. I am really hoping to get to the finish line with this trailer so that I can take a vacation. I am really going to need it.

ALSO, I sometimes wonder who is actually reading this. Don't you wonder who is listening out there in the world all around us. I would like to one day, be able to meet some others who are likeminded and of similar nature as myself. That would be cool.

These pictures are some fun pictures including two of my lovely ladies, Rosemary and Atheena.

Streetside begining cabinets

2009-02-19T12:32:00.001-08:00

Snow and Cabinets

2009-02-19T12:22:00.000-08:00

OK, so today we really made some headway. We installed the kitchen cabinets, except for the blocks attaching it to the wall. We designed the street-side cabinets. This project is definitely a much larger project than I anticipated and I am really amazed at how much we have accomplished in 4 days, especially with this not being the only reason I am here in Ohio.

I woke today with it snowing. So in the past 3 days I have seen everything from sun to rain to snow. Here are some pictures of the majority of the kitchen cabinets installed as well as thing such as what I saw when I awoke and how our day just ended.

My fall

2009-02-18T20:38:00.001-08:00

Cabinets in the beining

2009-02-18T18:51:00.000-08:00

What a day

2009-02-18T18:36:00.000-08:00

What a day it was...We actually spent the afternoon and evening working on finishing the kitchen side cabinets. We used routers and uides and all kinds of things that I had always seen used on The Old House. It was cool...and I am learning some new stuff.

So we started speaking about the design the of the street side cabinets in the back corner tonight. I think my uncle has alot of great ideas. Thins I knew about but was not incorporating into my design, the design I had in my head. Such as vents for the cabinet holding the electrical devices....We will ultimately have a vent down low and one high.

Needless to say, it is going to be very nice to see some cabinets be put together tomorrow in the morning. I think that we are going to be cutting it tight to even get the facial boards completed. I would be most happy if we did, it would pull the trailer together so much. I must return to Atlanta on Sunday for a Michael Franti concert with my lovely lady Miss Rosemary. Can't wait to see her and dance with her and love on her.........You all should check him out if you get a chance. My little sister turned me on to him by gifting me his cd's.

Here are some pics from today. The storms were really kind of nice as they came down the valey. Supposedly it is going to snow here this weekend, I'm out of here if it is. I'll leave the trailer in case you are wondering.

Random thoughts of today

2009-02-18T05:32:00.000-08:00

So traveling the country has kind of jolted me into facing the tough times of middle america, central Ohio, Amish country. I am forced to see what others live like and can't help but think about all the travels that will take place in our Airstream. I can see how traveling in a trailer can change your way of thinking, or atleast I am imaining what it will be like. I saw a bunch of little things yesterday that dealt with wildlife. I saw my first black squirell south of Millersburg OH near the Mohikan trail, and the longest covered bridge in Ohio. I saw a dead fox, an animal I have never seen alive, much less thought to see it as roadkill. There were about 24 Dear, and 50 dead skunks. I learned that it is their mating season, so it is normal to see alot of them dead on the side of the road now....So, this is where I am with things. I am begining to think alot about the ife changing experience an Airstream mentality can bring to myself and my loving life partner Rosemary. I love her so much.....Our 3 dogs, Atheena, Katie ad Mr. Marley......Our family is full of great souls that live only what we bring into their worlds, whether that is love, travel, good food, peace, and new sights and a wonderful travel trailer. I can see down the road that Marley will associate a trip with the loading up of the airstream, for now, all he knows is that it is a project.

So I am thinking that today will be a mental inventory day. I was thinking about how I could simply not have my airstream mirror shine polished. I like the compounding look and feel of things, even the little bit of polish that is left on the skins is nice in my eyes. The weather today is grey, rainy, and I am surrounded with the normal day in Ohio, atleast this is what I see in my head when I think of Ohio. I can't forget to mention that the roads being patched with stripes of tar all over the place also are Ohio to me. But what I am trying to say is that this place feels like a stereotypical Airstream homeland. They were built here after all. The grey skies cater to my dull, slightly rough looking (I think of rock'a'billy style), dented, compound polished with no belly pan 1964 Globetrotter. On days like today I think it is a boy. The unfinished look that it has these days remind me of a 12 year old boy that likes to play in the creek with ripped jeans and a rough crew cut, like the boy you see on the wall paper at your physicians office maybe, you know the one, on a stool holding his pants up. On days like today I think of my Airstream as a hot-rod rockabilly style work in the making......I think I am going to keep the unfinished polish look of the trailer until she is finished. She is kind of like the Arm and Hammer soap girl, flexing her arm, or like the girl that is the symbol for "My Favorite Mechanic is a Woman" on DeKalb Avenue in Decatur, GA. So, e is rough like the grey skies are today in Ohio.

I fell face first out of the trailer yesterday. Hit my cheek flat on the concrete, messed my arm up, and bruised my ribs area. I thought I would have been much more sore today. I will be sore for a while, I am thinking 1 week atleast. So today is a day running errands and planning for the lanoleum and continuance of cabinet making tomorrow or this evening. We'll also be planning the desin of the sleeping sofa's and I will purchase a sink and my Uncle has some countertop material left over from a job that is nice. Looks like marble and is easily replaceable after it gets worn out. You'll see....So I have my 2nd cup of coffee and am out to finish my day. pics tonight....

Cabinet design begins

2009-02-16T17:09:00.000-08:00

The design stage has begun this evening. So far, we have taken our measurements and drawn lines on the floor of the trailer for the street side cabinets. The design in Autocad is taking place now and shortly we will have a design that can be posted. I decided to go with the same design as was originally in place. The only thing we will change on the street side will be to have an "end cap" next to the door, tying the lower and upper cabinets together, adding strength. We will more than likely cut a portion between the upper cabinets and counter tops out for increased visibility. We have also decided that we are going to use sassafras for the doors and facial boards. I liked this idea especially since the grains look like tiger stripes and it smells really nice. Oh, and furthermore, we are purchasing it from an Amish mill. For me, this is a great story since I am from Decatur, GA and used to seeing Caprice's and cadillacs all jacked up on 25 inch rims with air shocks etc......It is cool for me atleast. So needless to say, this part of the project is starting out well. I am loving it. Tom is the best woodsman and I cant wait to see the results.

Here are some pics of the jobsite. Tomorrow pics will be added of the cabinets begining.

Andrew

Paint Pics

2009-02-15T19:14:00.001-08:00

More pics

2009-02-15T19:11:00.001-08:00

Painted finally

2009-02-15T18:54:00.000-08:00

So, the day arrived where the interior would become less of a patchwork quilt and more to one consistent color. We applied an epoxy primer 1st, and then a once over with zolatone and then the fun part came with a the air pressure turned down and the splatter portion. It reminds we of a whole lot of white, dark grey and golden sperm swimming on my walls. We did not have enough to completely coat the whole interior, but enough to get the public areas and behind some of the cabinets etc. The guns we were using were top of the line and spupposedly cost about $800 +/- for just the gun. They were what I imained to be professional grade, not DIY grade. I just met the right person at the right time, let me tell you. The whole painting project would not have taken place had I not been contacted by a new Airstream buddy of mine from the outskirts of Atlanta. So, we primed it with an Epoxy grey and then applied a ruby red lamp to help cure the primer. The next step was to spray the zolatone coloring the walls. I did not realize that whenyou turn the pressure on the gun down, that the true effects of zolatone take place, the slatter effect. This is what it is all about friends....So here are some funny pics of our day. I am going to try to post them begining to end in two posts.

The 1st Trip

2009-02-15T18:38:00.000-08:00

I awoke at 4am and was unable to go back to sleep, So....I decided to get in the truck and hit the road. I did not really realize that this was the 1st trip our trailer has gone on since the floor and everything has been replaced. I did not take into consideration all that has taken place in order to get her to where she was this morning. Even though i drive with trailers in tow alot of the time, this was a new experience, with her in tow and all lite up at 4:30 am on a Sunday heading towards Ohio. She looked Great, even with some left-over polish. I am beining to think that the mirror shine is not going to be for me, or atleast not everytime. I like the black polish residual.....So, I made it through the Appalachian mtns and the Cumberland Gap, Jelico Tennessee and Cincinatti and then through the farmlands of Southern Ohio ending in Newark Ohio, Uncle Tom's.....here are some pics from the trip.

Apollo Grey Zolatone

2009-02-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

So, I told you about this friend who has the tools to help paint Zolatone. Well, tomorrow is the day. I spent the evening prepping the interior for a paint job tomorrow, begining at sunrise. I can't beleive the day has come to re-surface the interior color. For 5 months is has been a mixture of latex paint over the original Apollo Grey, and tomorrow it will have a 2009 version of Apollo Grey. Here are some bad pictures of the prepped area. I will take better pictures tomorrow, but for tonight, here they are.

The day has come

2009-02-13T17:55:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I bean to reclaim my basement. For the past 5 months the original interior cabinets and stuff from the Airstream have made themselves at home. They took up about 300 square feet of pspace and also smelled like they were 44 years old. Here are pictures of everything in my back yard. the reason for the removal from the basement is because on Sunday, February 15th, I will be taking the Airstream on its first road trip with me. I am making the trip to Newark, Ohio to my Uncle Tom's place. he is a very talented woodsman and has offered his skills to help me reinvent the interior cabinetry and gauchos. I will show more as the project and trip takes place, but these ics are of what will go inside of her. This will be the last time she (un-named female Globetrotter) will spend any time with this old cabinetry. I think a bon fire is in the future.....

2009-02-10T17:58:00.001-08:00

MARCUS, thanks for your ideas and info you post on airforums. I have alot of my ideas from your posts. Just had to give you props, Andrew

Water lines begin

2009-02-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

Once the heater was installed, the next step was to decide what type of lines to run. I decided that after all was said and done, 1/2 PEX piping crimped was the way to go, atleast for 90% of the lines. I spent the $130 for the PEX crimping tool, 2 rolls of red and blue lines, and numerous t's, l's, and some solder ends. I also decided that I would not cut another hole in the side of the trailer and create a city water inlet behind the street-side wheel well. I created the inlet from copper pipes and ran it through the floor coming into the trailer next to the hotwater heater. I used a regular household pressure regulator. I also decided to not use the hot water heater bypass that I purchased and created one with the hose and attachments I already had. I also installed a water spicket behind the curbside wheel well for exterior water usage. I also ran a copper line that will go end up near the toilet and create a hose bib for washing the toilet out after usage. Here is what it all looks like now. I am waiting to run the lines around the edges because this weekend a friend and I are going to paint the interior skins with Zolatone (Apollo Grey). Once that is completed, I will run the lines and get the trailer ready for cabinets.

Water System begins

2009-02-10T17:15:00.000-08:00

So, the Atwood electric ignition hot water heater arrived along with the hot water bypass, a blow-out attachment, some more grey POR-15. I originally planned on using the existing electric hot water heater, but it only runs on 110 volts, which will not serve me well when I am in the middle of no-where woods. So I decided to go with the LP gas electric ignition Atwood. Runs on 12 volts and LP as. So I measured the cutout and used a hand-held grinder with a metal cutting wheel on it to cut out the area. Once that was cut out I had to re-frame the opening and put new interior sheething around the inside of the opening. Once this was completed, I put the heater in place and added (2) 2 x 4's and some advantech wood to support the bottom of the hotwater heater from inside. Next I used metal screws and Trempro635 to attach the heater and seal around the interior and exterior. I then finally cut some strips of aluminum and strapped the heater around the breack and over the top to the walls and floor respectively. Since the access door of the heater is white, I took it to a metal fabrication shop to have a cover for the existing door made. It will have a 1/2 inch lip around the edges so that I can rivet the door to the side of the trailer, creating a good seal. The trailer is curved so it needs to be attached with rivets or other fasteners. I am thinking it would be best to attach it using some other sort of fasterner, something that does not require a drill to open. We'll see.

Dexter Torsion Axle change-out/install

2009-01-31T12:35:00.001-08:00

Dexter Axle is the BEST Customer Service

2009-01-31T12:02:00.000-08:00

So I have not posted in while. I have been payin down debt and getting my finances in line with my goals. It did not help that I had a useless axle that I installed a while back. the problem was that it did not provide the ground clearance that I explained I wanted. Upon more research, I realized that it was completely not what I wanted. I will spare everyone the details....but basically I had zero degrees on my torsion arm and a low profile bracket, giving me 4 inches from the ground to the bottom of my grey water tank pan. I was thinking that I was going to have a finger pointed back at me, especially since I ordered it. It would be so easy to say that it was my fault. So I called Dexter Axle and spoke with Connie who listened to my comlaint, she put me in touch with Christine who is the enineer person and then Rick called me back to solve the problem. I simply figured that I would change my order completely and would need to go with leaf springs to raise the trailer. I was dreading the install of leaf springs with all the arts, the welding, more $$$$$ that I had not budgeted for. So Rick ran, Prospec, which takes all of my details and goals and puts it into the Dexter Axle system and let me know if my goals are realistic and what it would take to reach them. Rick talked me back into the torsion axle. I wanted to have enough clearance in order to possibly cross a creek or go onto the beach or to basically take this trailer to places that thers won't be able to. I wanted around 16 inches from the bottom of my grey tank pan to the ground when fully loaded. My brakes and drums were OK, so Rick simply changed my spindle to have a 45 degree angle down torsion arm coupled with a high profile, 3 inch tall brackets. Rick took my Monday and turned it completely around and not only allowed my goal to be reached, but also my budget. he would send me the spindle at no charge and expedite the order UPS directly to my house.

So this all took place on Monday. I checked with Connie on Thursday and she mentioned it should be here in Atlanta by the following Monday. So.....today is Saturday, I woke up at 5am, got some coffee at 6 am, and left to bein my day at home Depot at 7am. Before I could get out of my driveway, the sun was coming up and I saw something on my front stairs. It was the axle!!!!! I had planned on prepping the interior walls for the painting of Zolatone (Apollo grey) as well as install wheel well covers and also prepare for the axle to arrive. So plans changed quickly and I got into installation mode. I had only looked at the instructions the night before, so at the very least I would et the trailer jacked up, tires and old un-useable axle off. At 7:30 I started, by 8am I had the wheels off and one hub and brake off. By 8:30 I was done with hubs and brakes and the axle was completely off by 9:30. I was surprising myself. By 10am the new axle was in place under the trailer and I began t drill the holes. By 11am the brakes and hubs were on the new axle and by 11:30 the axle install and change-out was completed!!!!!! What a day it has been.

None of this would have taken place had it not been for Connie, Chrstine and Rick at Dexter Axle. Their product was mis-represented by a local company who made a mistake. Dexter stepped in and corrected it without pointing the finger at me. They made it right and have gained a customer for life. It is customer service like this that sets a company apart, an American company. During times like we are facing right now, that says alot, and I hope everyone that reads this remembers this situation I had when they order an axle for their airstream.

THANK YOU DEXTER AXLE.
The pictures of the install are next post

Where I am now

2009-01-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

So, I am now at a point where I am sealing all seams with Trempro, riveting the interior skins back together, patching old outlet holes that I am not using, installed a radio antenna, and looking for leaks. I added these great LED lights that are above the front and back windows that I would recommend. I will post pictures of them. I spent this past weekend just finishing the interior walls. I enjoyed it when it was 35 degrees outside and I had my heater and light inside the trailer working at night and it was warm. It was the first time I actually felt like I was oing to stay dry. the best part is that it rained hard and I did not see any leaks.

My Uncle is coming down at the end of February from Ohio and he and I are going to buld out all of the cabinets and pull-out sleepping/couches or gauchos. I am thinking that it would be best to stick with the original design. We'll see. I am thinking that my next trailer remodel will be something that is more unique in terms of interior design.

For now, I just have to stay on budget and keep the project moving forward. I will post more pictures soon.

Good to be back.

Insulation and interior skins

2009-01-12T17:05:00.001-08:00

Here are the begining stages of the insulation. I put pink board covered with 2 layers of reflectix.

Update continued

2009-01-12T16:54:00.001-08:00

Back again for posting of pictures. So, after I replaced the compartment doors and all the lights on the outside, it was time to wire and insulate. I had to study the wire diagram as well as build a temporary stand for the distribution panel. I also installed a 30 amp RV plug on the side of my house so that I would be able to check the wiring as I wired.

Here are some pics. I also have a converter mounted so as to check any 12 volt items. I might add that I have chosen to keep the original fan since it works fine. I know it does not move as much air as a fantastic fan, but it works and I am going to keep it installed until it dies. Once I had a wiring plan put together, I went ahead and ran the wires to the three junction boxes (2 street-side and 1 curbside, all behind where the upper cabinets are installed).

Once all of the wires were run, I started insulating. This was fun because it was starting to look like it was coming together. Oh, and the AC works. It was kind of intimidating and time consuming to put the end caps back in. That is really what kept me from moving forward for a while. I was intimidated by those big ass end caps. Rosemary and I did it and it only took about 10 minutes each.

I'm back at it

2009-01-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

OK, so I have been busy as ever, I just have not posted to the blog or Air forums. I apologize. Since the last time I wrote, I have replaced the axle, re-wired the whole trailer, re-insulated, installed the interior skins, installed new running lights above the front and back windows, re-installed the door, added a piece of plexi glass to kitchen window, and plexi glass to front window.

Truth be known, business has been slow and I ahve had to really focus on keeping my business alive so that the Airstream will not become a permanent home.

So....here is where I left off. I insulated all of the compartment doors and replace the tear drop lights with new ones. Seeing the doors back in place was nice, it kind of made everything whole again. I re-installed the water inlet and furnace vent as well.

Axle replacement Day 1 (45 minutes)

2008-10-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

So, I have finally made it t the axle replacement. The axle has actually been here for 3 weeks, the wheels and tires and hubcaps are now complete, so I am ready to move. It is kind of intimidating to do this, but it seems pretty easy now that I have a plan and understand how it works. So...I spent about 45 minutes today preparing the job. Moved the trailer to a flat area, jacked it up and dropped it onto railroad ties and 6 by 6 posts. Removed the lug nuts and began to remove the bolts that hold the axle onto the frame. Tomorrow morning I am going to disconnect the shocks, and then the axle. Here is where it ended up today. Tomorrow, a guy is coming from Loganville to watch and possibly help. He has an airstream and may want to replace is axles as well.

The shining

2008-09-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

I decided to not install the new axle yet. I simply was not ready to take on that challenge. I decided instead that since the weather is cooler, I could use this time to polish her up real nice using the compounding polish. I also began to shine the door. I have not yet begun to clean up the windows, that is the next part of this renovation. I need to figure out how to seal all the seams from the inside.

Some randomly wonderful tings have happened to me lately. Yesterday, the original owners of my lovely young lady, emailed me. They were pleased to see the effort I was putting into the restoration. I was thrilled t know the parents of this poor little orphan child....Then, today while I was polishing, some neighbors from less than a mile away stopped by to see the project. They have a smaller Caravel from the 50's or something. They were really cool and I intend on haning out with them. He reminded me so much of my uncle tom.

Tonight we are going to see Donna Hopkins at a nice little pizza joint, Shorty's, in Tucker, GA. Check it out. These are ictures of what was accomplished today. I could not quite et the wholte top, but will complete the polishing job tomorrow.

She finally got naked for me....

2008-09-20T13:53:00.000-07:00

Naked Airstream. That is what I finally ended up with. Well, naked in my eyes. I have not given her a name yet, but it is definitely a her.

So I was unable to change out the axle that I ordered from Dexter. I had forgotten that I needed the new wheel and tire. not to mention that steel rims that hold a baby moon, are not something most stores have. So I figured I would do other things, like finish removing the interior skins, remove fiberglass, cut out od wires, and finally remove the door and windows. Now she is naked!!!

It is going to be fun shining the edges and completely re-sealing and glassing the windows. Shining the exterior skins, even in areas that will not be seen. Nice to think about. The sound I remember the most about today was the back of the rivets hitting the interior floor on the inside as I drilled them out from the outside.

So, here are some pics of how she ended up today. I like the one of her from behind...

Round 1 Polishing/Compounding

2008-09-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

Today was such a beautiful day. We spent it by walking up Stone Mountain at 8am and watching the fog burn off and the sun come out. I am realizing that having balance is so important in our lives. Over the past month I have been spending so much time taking the shell off and all that had to take place before we could put it back on. It is so very nice to finally be at a point where it is only going to continue to look better. Polishing really does bring out the scratches in the skins, or maybe it is the leftover polish that I need to wipe off that brings out the scratches in the skins. I am also thinking that I need to go with a tougher rade of polish to get some of the corrosion and scratches off. I might try to get something locally, just to see if it works well. Oh yeah, We had a special fairy come by today to help with the polishing. She's really cute too. The next step will be to finish compounding the top of the trailer and also to remove the interior skins completely in order to re-wire and insulate. More on all of that later, here are the pictures of what took place today.

More Pics

2008-09-13T14:57:00.001-07:00

More Pictures

2008-09-13T14:46:00.001-07:00

Tear it apart and put it back together

2008-09-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

So, where do I begin? So I decided that the only way to restore/upgrade would be to break it down to the frame and start fresh. I have been thinking about taking it back to the original, but it really did not make sense to me since so many upgrades CAN be made. So, it was time to start and I wasted no time at all. I started just a few days after she arrived home. Some told me it looked fine the way it was, but I knew that being 44 years old would require some definite repairs. I started by removing everything, all furniture, appliances, bathroom shower/sink/tub combo, everything….It is now stacked in my basement. It actually turns out to be so much more than you realize. So once everything was removed I removed the sub-floors, which were made of plywood. They were rotted all around the edges and had dirt and all kinds of items in the belly pan. Fiberglass insulation had somewhat disintegrated over the years. The lower sections of the walls were also removed in order to get a good look at the U channels. In a lot of places, there was nothing but a 44-year-old bolt rusted to the frame and shell. No wood between the rusty bolts in some places. The wheel wells were in good shape. The black water tank seemed to be in good shape, but I replaced it as well. I might have upgrade to one that is bigger than necessary, 31 gallons. Oh well, we live and learn and hopefully I wont have to remove it from underneath the bathroom floor. So, once the old plywood was up, I POR-15’d the frame and put a topcoat of sterling silver on top of it all. I later had to have some welding done. I added three cross members near the front, fortified the back cross member, and added supports for the black tank pan. The sub floor is made of Advantech OSB from Coffer Brothers in Tucker, GA. I coated them on both sides with leftover oil-based polyurethane left over from refinishing my hardwood floors 5 years ago. The wheel wells and pan were welded at Complete Metal Fabricators in Tucker, GA as well. They were great and welded nice 18 gauge pan and wells. Both were installed before the sub floors were re-attached to the frame. I also had to put aluminum on top of the frame, below the sub floors where the step enters the trailer. The sub floors were attached with 1 1/2 by 3/8 inch elevator bolts with fanged washers below the head of the screw and a regular washer and nylon lock nut below the floor. I used over 60 bolts to re-attach the floors to cross members and the frame. I did not cut the shape of the trailer until I was ready to reattach it to the trailer. I kind of had to eye it since the old floors were rotten around the edges. As we tried to set it down onto the new sub floors, we had to trim the edges, remove the supports and lower it using two 3-ton floor jacks. Just today I finished attaching the shell and floors to the frame. It now feels more solid than it ever has. I spent the end of the day removing the identity tags, tail lights, and two plastic vent covers. Then I used adhesive remover to remove silicone and old adhesive. Finally, a thick coat of Removeall 220 on the whole exterior skin. Soon, I will bein to compound polish the exterior.

Home Sweet Home

2008-08-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Even though I had already had a plan of what I wanted in an Airstream, it was now time for me to actually make it happen. Rosemary and I sat inside and just looked at all of the original interior with the browns and the painted walls and cabinets. The gauchos and laminate flooring as well as the fiberglass tub/toilet/shower were all originals and in need of replacement of repair. The sub-floor felt strong but I knew it needed to be replaced. If I was going to travel the country in this trailer, it would have to be restored, starting with the frame, belly pan, wiring, sub-floors, cabinets, appliances, and well......everything.

In my life, I have done many things such as Peace Corps, MBA, study abroad, renovated 2 house I own, etc, but this, I feel, will be a different type of experience. Who knows, I may be wrong, but I feel drawn to this project. I am going to be making a home away from home on wheels.

Below are the pictures of the interior as well as the exterior as it was when I purchased it. Coming up next are the photos of demolition and breaking this beautiful trailer down to the skin and bones. Enjoy!!

A Dream Come True

2008-08-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

So.......Where do I begin. I guess I should start by mentioning the guy that opened my eyes to Airstreams, Jeff Langford. He is one of those guys that has everything, and when I pulled up int his driveway a few years back, he had a 1978 Safari with blue pin stripes. It was kind of like his clubhouse and sanctuary for when he needed some space from his lovely wife.

It did not take many of his on-the-road stories to get me motivated to purchase an Airstream trailer of my own. So after a long year and many changes in my life over the past year, I finally decided to move forward with my purchase. I ended up charging it to my credit card even though I was offered $$$$ to help the dream come true. I figure, if I am going to do it, I should do it on my own. Kind of like the restoration that you are about to witness.

So it all began on August 22, 2008 when I drove down to Sagon RV Center and met with Peter. I had been searching for a 19 footer with a single axle with the exterior in good condition. I ended up with exactly that, and the floor even felt strong. The interior was actually in great shape for a 44 year old trailer. The original owners manual and lifetime waranty were still inside. So the purchase took place and I drove her home without any problems. I always wanted to know what it was like to ave a lengendary item being towed behind my truck. It was nice to see it in the rear view mirror, I could tell that this was just the beginning of a lifetime with these trailers.