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| The Safari tows nicely behind the Ford F 150 and fits into many smaller sites in state and federal parks. |
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| When it is home, it has it's own private parking spot on the only flat spot on our site. |
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| We had the couch professionally recovered and installed a vinyl floor. The inside walls are polished. |
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| Both original mattresses were replaced with custom-built foam mattresses. |
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| The controller/monitor for battery charging and status. |
We added a 80 watt solar panel -- a freestanding unit -- and a control panel to monitor charging and battery condition.
We installed a propane heater to use when boondocking. The original furnace, while functional, is not used since the blower is such a drain on the battery. The Wave 8 heater works well.
I have capped off the shower system and installed temporary storage shelves since we never used the shower -- usually camping where public showers were available. (It is a 20 minute job to remove the unit and reconnect the shower hose.)
The major work we had done was to repair some damage I caused by backing into a tree in Texas. The blog articles cover the prep work and the professional restoration in detail. It was a long wait but an excellent outcome.
Specs and Equipment List
6300 LB GVWR, Radial Black Wall Tires Load Range D (Sept 2009) plus spare, 4 Retractable Stabilizer Jacks, Steel Step (2010), Interior Grab Handle, SP Solar Grey Front Window/Stone Guard, Electric Tongue Jack (May 2013), 1 Hanging Wardrobe, 1 Bedroom Cabinet, One Battery, Wired For Solar Panel, New Mattresses, Flat Screen TV(2010), Towel Bar, Hard Surface Floor, Overhead Medicine Cabinet, Galley Lift-Up Shelf, 3-Burner Cook top, Small inverter (2011), 2-Way Refrigerator, Tank Monitoring System, 6 Gallon Water Heater With DSI, Sony AM/FM Cassette Stereo With Speakers, TV Antenna, Cable and Phone Hookup, LP Bottle Cover/ 2 30 LB Steel Bottles, 50 AMP Converter, TV Jack With 12 Volt Outlet, 2 Phone Jacks, 12 Volt Kill Switch, 39 Gallon Fresh Water Tank With Drain, 33 Gallon Black Water Tank, 39 Gallon Grey Water Tank, 6 gallon hot water tank, Smoke Detector, Frosted Window In Door, A/C With Heat Strip, Propane Convective Heater, EAZ-LIFT Weight Distribution Hitch, Sway Control.
Recent work includes:
New battery - May 2013
Replacement of the front electric jack - May 2013
Annual inspection - June 2013
Overhaul of water heater - 2013
Maintenance of refrigerator -2013
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| The gas system for the refrigerator was just overhauled and works great. |
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| I hit the back bumper with a mower and it's twisted a bit. |
It's a great unit with the nicks and scars of an active life on the road. Several of them I know -- the small scrape on the side where I turned a little sharp coming out of a McDonald's in PA, and the bend in the back bumper where I hooked it with the bush hog. To me, these add character to a working rig.
Another issue with Airstreams of this age is peeling clear coat. Airstreams have been peeling since 1964 due to UV from the sun and most owners just live with it. That's what we do -- stripping and polishing is a major project and once you go down that road, it's an annual trip to keep the surface looking ok.
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| Clear coat is peeling in spots -- like on many Airstreams. |
