Nearly Ready to Go

For the last several weeks, when it was not freezing or 8o degrees outside, I've been working away, polishing the inside of the trailer.  (Last Fall, I had taken off the grimy "mouse fur" lining the walls and fried a few brain cells getting the glue off the walls.) The polishing is just hard grimy work which requires removing the oxidation and rust with one compound, and then finishing up with another.  It looks pretty good.

The polished walls, with terrible reflections from outside, before I started re-installing beds and cabinets.

I had carefully marked most of the stuff I had removed and stored down cellar, putting the screws in small plastic bags and taping them to the item.  It worked pretty well although the rails to hold the curtains were a challenge.  I had multiple sets of holes in the walls but with Mary's help holding the ends, and some retries, we got them in place.

Here is a similar shot after the bed, the cabinet, and the infamous curtain railing were installed.  Getting there.

Installing the curtains is a trick, especially with bifocals.  You have to thread little plastic holders into a rail while hunched over and working more by feel.  They are installed, the floor is cleaned up, and I only have Mary's side to finish and the back end of the trailer is ready.

My side is about ready to go with mattress in place.  All it needs is the dog sleeping on it.

I got the rig de-winterized with fresh water on board -- only one problem so far with a spray hose in the sink which sprays me instead of the sink.  I tested out the water heater and finally got the refrigerator going on gas.

Our game plan is to finish up the repairs this week and take a short trip over to Ricker Pond State Park next week for a few days of shakedown.  Feels good to get it this far.

All Jacked Up but not yet ready to go.

The small bruises and cuts on my fingers signify the completion of a repair project -- the replacement of the front jack.  Like most efforts with our old trailer, it was not easy or without "issues."

So, here is the culprit prior to replacement.  The gears had stripped, the motor had given out, and I was stuck with using a log to keep the tongue of the trailer out of the mud.

What you can't see is the rusted bolts holding the jack to the tongue.

There was no way that the three bolts threaded into the tongue were going to move and I had about resolved to cut them off with an angle grinder when I got smart and posted a query on a wonderful online Airstream group called Air Forums.  Here's the question I raised:

I got several responses back that said first use a penetration oil like PB Blaster, then heat if needed.  They all said don't cut the bolts off.  So, down to our local hardware store I went and talked to one of the knowledgeable guys who further cautioned me to take my time and don't use too much force or "you'll snap off the bolt."

So, I soaked the bolts, tried to move them, heated them, and later that day, got one to budge.  I carefully extracted two of the bolts, breaking the rust with oil and heat.  Of course, the third one snapped when I put an extender on my ratchet wrench -- so I was left with two nice threaded holes and a stub of a hardened bolt.

The two bolts and on the right, the snapped-off bolt.  At least the old jack of off the rig.

I ground down the bolt prior to trying to drill it out.

So, the next morning it was back to the store and confessing to my advisor.  He sold me a drill bit/tapping set and some new bolts and soon I was back at the task, trying to get a small drill bit to center on the bolt.  I finally got it drilled and rethreaded.

The final tasks were rather uneventful - the jack fit the hole, the new bolts worked fine, and when I connected the power, the whole thing worked.  It was a lot of work but it was wonderful to have the help of folks who know what they are doing.  After a few additional fixes due to the differences in the new jack, the Airstream is now ready to hook up to the truck again.  Of course, the list of tasks grew as I worked around the unit, noticing items needing repair.  So, we'll tackle them one at a time but this major one is great to have out of the way.

New jack ready to go.

Getting the Rig Back Together

The snow has melted, mud season is over, and the pinched nerve in my neck has been somewhat relieved.  It is time to tackle the many tasks needed to get the Airstream back on the road.  Recall that I finally got the repairs made to the exterior last fall but all the cabinets, beds, and accessories that I removed and stored down cellar have to be reinstalled.

The snow has finally melted and it's time to tackle a myriad of projects to get the rig roadworthy again.

But first, I need to deal with the front jack whose motor and gearing failed last year, after several years of burned connections and emergency fixes.  It no longer works at all, which makes it a little tricky to get hitched up.

The jack has been on the rig since 1999 so the three bolts holding it on are rusted in place.  I suspect that I am going to have to cut them off so I borrowed my neighbor's angle grinder and bought a cutting wheel.  Not sure how I'll open up the three holes to bolt the new one on.

I ordered a replacement jack from my friends at Vintage Trailer Supply and since they are based in Montpelier, will pick it up on Thursday.  I'm sure they can give me a little advice on steps ahead.  Stay tuned -- or if you have ideas, leave a comment.

Our Airstream Takes A Ferry Ride

The repairs by Colin Hyde to our Airstream are finished.  It took nearly eight months from the mishap but once we got started, the work looks great.  Here are a couple of final photos.

The interior back in place

The two end panels all fixed and the awning and trim reinstalled.

Today, I went over and picked up the 'Stream and brought it back across Lake Champlain.  It was a beautiful day and and easy trip -- excepting the fact that the electric jack seems to have died.  Just another project to tackle before snow.

The truck and Airstream riding the ferry homeward.

A calm day on Lake Champlain, looking back toward the Adirondacks

The sister ferry passing us on its way to New York

So now the trick is to work on the interior and get the walls polished so that I can install the beds and cabinets.  We are thinking of using it for our Thanksgiving trip -- if it's ready by then.  

Airstream Repair Photos

As I posted a couple of weeks ago, I dropped off the Airstream at Colin Hyde's repair facility in Plattsburgh, NY.  The other day, I got a bunch of photos showing the progress on the replacement of the panels.  They have to remove both the inside and outside panels to be able to rivet so that the rivet heads are proper.  Looks like good progress.

The top panel is gone and the lower one is being removed.

Airstream Has An Appointment

After months of waiting, I got an email yesterday saying that I could bring the Airstream over to Plattsburgh, NY next Tuesday for the "facial" it needs to repair the dents I put in it last winter.  I just winterized it -- which is good since it below freezing this morning, and it should be all set to move.  

I'll wind my way through Montpelier and head up I-89 to the Champlain Islands and take the ferry across to New York state.  I have no expectations that this work will be a quick deal -- not sure when Colin Hyde and his gang will get to it -- but it is good to finally get it on the way.  I think I'll keep this blog active to cover the results of the repairs but still invite you to visit my other blog, Vermont Birder, at http://www.vermontbirder.com and sign up through the rss feed or email signup.

Who Put Those Dents In Back?

I have not blogged about my encounter with a Texas tree, which must have moved behind me as I backed up, but to make a long story short, I was in a hurry to get going from Falcon State Park. We had emptied tanks and the layout forces you to turn around to leave the park. I thought we were clear and as I backed up (not having asked Mary to help) I heard sort of a crack of a branch. Just thought it was brush I'd backed over so I pulled ahead, backed up and heard it again. And off we went toward Corpus Christi.

After an hour or two, we stopped for fuel and as I approached the trailer from the rear, this is what I saw.

 It didn't make my day. I was sure there were no trees back there, they must have moved!

We had an insurance person take a look at it before we came home but now it is time to deal with the dents.  So, the other day, I hooked up the Airstream and we drove over to see one of the experts in Airstream restoration, Colin Hyde.

Colin, well-known for his renovation work, is located across Lake Champlain, about two hours away.  The day didn't start well -- I again had trouble with the electronic jack that raises the front of the trailer.  I tinkered with that and soon we were heading toward Burlington on I-89.  It made us think of the last time we had done that -- just four months ago, when the weather was similar with low clouds and spitting precipitation, but the temperature was about 30 degrees colder.

Getting to Plattsburgh involves either driving up to Rouses Point and way back down the Northway, or taking the ferry.  I'd never used the Grand Isle ferry with the trailer but it was a piece of cake.  Colin's operation was just down the road and soon, he was looking things over.

The problem with having an expert look at your used trailer is that he sees everything -- the problems with the floor, the inoperative break-away switch, the leaky vent -- I came home with quite a laundry list.  Don't get me wrong, it's great to have sharp eyes helping and Colin is very good at separating "nice-to-do" items from critical ones.

Colin's business is booming and I'm going to try to shoe-horn our project into his busy work schedule.  We brought the trailer back and while he is ordering parts and scheduling the work, I'll take a stab a disassembling some of the cabinetry and other items needing to be removed before his work begins.  It' going to be a hassle but who can I blame but myself.  Trust me, I'm much more cautious with my backing up and now always ask Mary to help me out.

Waiting to Launch

For the first time, I've had our Airstream at an RV dealer for repairs and maintenance -- in the past I've done it myself.  However, with cold temperatures, the prospect of repacking wheel bearings lost any appeal it might have had and I also knew that I needed to get the unit inspected.  So I dropped it off at a local outfit, Mekkleson RV in East Montpelier, VT who service a handful of Airstreams out of the many hundreds of RV's they handle each year.

To make a long story short, they did a fine job.  They found problems in the electrical system which they fixed through better grounding and work on the plugin -- and more importantly, found that one set of brakes was not working.  An electrical line had parted, probably in the awful trip up our driveway last March, so they got those working and a fresh new inspection sticker in place.  We are ready to go.

A full moon sets over the snowy/frosty Airstream as the winter sun rises behind us.

We've got a month to go before departure and we are starting to gather gear and think through our trip options.  I'm thinking of hauling both or one of the kayaks this time since we are so often near water.  Given the need for a dog-sitter, it's unlikely that both of us would paddle together so I think we'll end up taking Mary's boat, which I can cram into and take both sets of paddles.

It's not too early for me to start worrying a bit about the first couple of days of travel -- getting below the snow zone.  I just sent Mary a picture of our final day last year during our return, and I can hear the groans from the other room.  We need less excitement this trip.

Renovation Going Slowly

Having removed the carpet and much of the "mouse fur" from the walls in the dining/living area, I fried a few brain cells removing the glue backing with a solvent. Then, I began polishing the interior aluminum with mixed results. Have to get some more aggressive Nuvite polishing cream to work on the roughest areas but getting there slowly. Here's a progress photo.

I took a break from polishing and worked on tapping into the propane system and connecting up a catalytic heater to use when we are boondocking. My brother Barry had advised me on fittings and a general scheme and with patience and some "measure twice/cut once" technique, I got it installed on the front of the gas stove with a swinging door so that we can aim it rearward as well. Leak checks with soapy water and we're good to go.

The couch has been delivered to an upholsterer for recovering and should be ready by late June. Camping season is here -- time to get these projects buttoned up.

Running light wiring problem identified

Yesterday we did some trouble-shooting on the Airstream problems -- focusing on why we did not have running lights. With the couch removed and the wiring exposed, it made life a lot simpler -- and having my knowledgeable brother leading the effort was the key.

We had known that the power off the tow vehicle was fine and that we had power to the running lights inside the trailer. However, as Barry had suspected back in Texas, the circuit seemed to die in a little black box under the trailer. Sure enough, when he bypassed the box, there was power to the lights -- and in fact, all the lights were working! So now it is a process of finding a replacement for the fried box. (I fried a lead on the box at some point with all the problems of loose leads in the 7-pin connector).

So here's what I've posted and sent to a couple of potential suppliers:

I have a 1999 Safari and have had trouble with the running lights. I just found out that I fried a breaker or relay that is between the battery and the lights. It is a small black box with four paddle connections -- one for a hot wire, one for ground, and two for the blue trailer light wiring. It says SC-906 on it and is 12v, 30 amp. The connection points are marked 85, 86, 87, and 30.

It's nice to get an answer to this nagging problem -- now to find the part. And here's the answer I just got from the Airstream Forum:

It's a generic auto relay, should be able to find one at any auto parts store. You can see that one of the pins is burnt, with all the black plastic around it. Curious why it would fail but I would get a new one and see what happens.

What a resource the Internet can be. Off to Advance Auto Parts.

No Smiley Face from McDonald's

Throughout our trip to the Southwest, we were careful about cornering and getting caught in tight spaces with the Airstream. Many a time, we passed up a gas station because it looked too tight to get in and out of the pumps. Anyone who pulls a trailer or drives a big rig knows: you've got select your food and gas stops a little more carefully.

We did very well until the last day of the trip. We'd found that McDonald's for coffee often worked well -- the coffee is passable and there is usually room to park the truck trailer. Well, we pulled of I-81 north of Scranton at a little burg called Clarks Summit, which has a strip with many of the ubiquitous service and food outfits. We saw a McDonald's and after a tough left turn, pulled in. We parked and I could see right away that it was a mistake -- there was no exit on the "drive-around" side.

To cut to the chase -- after getting some breakfast, we carefully circumnavigated around the facility and made a sharp turn out to the access road. Too sharp, as it turned out. When we got home, we noticed paint down the right side of the Airstream. We never heard a thing but Mary remembered seeing a pole over there as we left.

So, once the weather is warmer, it will be time to take out the lacquer thinner (which seems to work) and get the blemish removed, or at least looking better. It sort of matches a crease the former owner put on the other side. I'm glad it is a 1999 Airstream and not a 2009 model. It's a little road rash but we'll see how it turns out when cleaned up, washed, and polished. Just another item on the "to do" list for this Spring.
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