Airstream front seating



New design, new cushions, new upholstery: this is the biggest improvement we have made so far! This is still a work in progress, but the interior already feels more cozy!



Here is a reminder of what we started with! Ugh.

The camera almost falls into a glass of water, but captures this shot on the way down! Even Abbie is excited about the upgraded accommodations



84x96 5” High density foam 

First step was to cut out all the foam cushions

The sewing begins. Nikki found really nice fabric that was very easy to work with.

We have been waiting a long time to do this-

Throwing away the old 1970's southwestern cushion covers. We really hated seeing this in the airstream.

I used 1x2 select pine to build the frame of the seating area in the front of the airstream. This was Nikki’s design and was a bit of a challenge to build. Thankfully my loving wife bought me a biscuit joiner for my birthday. It was a real time saver! My main concern was keeping the weight as low as possible. Most airstream do it yourselfer’s end up using heavy 2x4’s and thick plywood. It’s important to keep in mind that every bit of weight you add is less MPG you get on the road.

 

The Fridge

We picked the fridge up over the weekend, we got a great deal on Craigslist. Its old and needs a lot of work but it will look good as new by the time we are done with it. 

This is just temporary until we save some money for a new refrigerator.   

Nikki restores the stove.



After a few months of searching for the right stove, Nikki finally came across one online. Amazingly it was about 5 miles from our house (that never happens). The stove is about 30 years old and need some TLC. Nikki spent a lot of time buffing the stainless steel. And now it looks new again!

Before

After

The stove will look great with the vintage Club aluminum cookware she picked up at a thrift store last week

First camping trip!

We headed to Mund's Park for a relaxing July 4th weekend.  It was our first off road trip with the Airstream, she looks so good in the woods! 

The Maiden Voyage!



First time leaving the house since we bought her. We're headed to Tucson for B&B's wedding!



Nikki gets artistic from the passenger's side



We stayed at an RV resort south of Tucson.  It was the first time using the AC unit and it worked like a champ! This was great because it was almost 100 degrees that weekend.

She's shiny!

Bathroom is on its way

Refinished sink and buffed the facet head with a dremel tool. Using a wire brush wheel on the dremel at 28,000 rpm really did wonders to the finish. It removed all water stains and brought the facet head back to life. It looks brand new! The sink was sanded and cleaned then cover in a spray epoxy paint specifically used for bathroom fixtures. The paint is a little expensive (two cans for 50 bucks) but it was worth it

(Update as of 10-03-2014- all of the original parts of the airstream bathroom were not reinstalled. We sold them on the airstream forum and built the rear bathroom from scratch. You can see the progress of the new bathroom in future postings)

AC UNIT is on its way!!!

Good news and just in time for the summer. I have a new/used AC unit ready to be installed. Finally I can get rid of the dangling wires hanging out of the ceiling. This is a moderate job that requires heavy lifting. The removal was suppose to be very easy but I almost forgot Airstream did everything a little too over kill. A normal AC unit removal on a camper consist of four bolts. Take the four bolts off from the inside of the camper and the AC unit can be lifted right off the top. This was not the case.

 

ALL FOUR HUBCAPS!

Finding three other original hubcaps was an experience.  The hubcaps are not produced anymore so buying them is all about online searching. Also finding them at the right price can be tricky. Basically you’re waiting for someone who doesn’t really know the true value of the hubcap and just wants it gone. The price can range from $25 to $125 dollars each. I was able to track down two of them here in AZ for 50 bucks. It’s always an adventure when you’re going out to retrieve old airstream parts. I picked up two of them from a couple that lived out east of phoenix on the property where they hold the renaissance festival every year.

Vent installation!

Nikki and I got some new vents for Christmas (From Allen and Paula, thanks guys!). It was a real challenge installing these today. It didn’t go down like I thought it would. I watched a YouTube video made by the DYI network on how to install new vents on an older airstream and my experience was nothing like the video. I think it took about 6-7 hours from start to finish. The video made it seem like it’ll be done in 15 minutes. The worst part was removing the old blind rivets. I believe airstream went a little over kill when they originally installed the vent. This thing had about 50 rivets around it! Each one had to be drilled out. After all is said and done, I’m very happy with the new vents and they look fantastic!

The new vents



metal base- with fan and lights



This is the old vent removed. You can see how many rivets i had to drill out

Nothing like a nice winter day in AZ! 73 outside

Homemade ladder. This will actually be part of a H frame when it’s done. It will allow me to work on the roof with out actually standing on it. There are a lot of spots on the airstream you can’t put any weight on.

Old vent remover. Surface is now ready to be cleaned!

new vent installed

much better!

Nice new vent. Looks pretty good from inside too!

A preview of what’s to come for the airstream

A beautiful new toilet!! Soo happy!