Ben and Lynn's Bambi II Re-do

[Hittenstiehl]

Looking great, love the chearful colors and bunks.

[Becky B.]

I saw your article, Ben. It took me a moment to realize that I know a celebrity!! Congratulations on the article....that's pretty cool!! Hope you enjoy your camping this summer

[PA BAMBI II]

I am trying to get a bunch of systems up and running for our upcoming Florida/Disney trip. Included are gray tank installation/gray tank plumbing/LP lines to fridge and stove/interior mods for the girls' bunk beds/stabilizer jacks/and toilet install.

In testing the black tank tonight, it leaks. So toilet install will likely not be in the cards unless I can figure out a way to seal it. It seems to be leaking around one or two screws threaded into the original brass casting in the bottom of the tank. Ugh!

As you can see, Cora has been my little helper!

[PA BAMBI II]

OK, I have done 1001 things to the Airstream since my last post. Life gets busy. The girls are growing up. We have been enjoying several years of camping in our incomplete Bambi II. It is comfy and serves our needs. We sleep really well in there. Another Disney trip is being planned for this summer.


But, I am posting these pics. After 5 years, I finally got back to polishing. I got tired of people asking me all the time why there are perfectly shiny spots on the trailer while the rest is dull. I polished those spots initially so that I would not have to polish up close to marker lights, emblems, etc. later. But enough is enough and I found some clear, fairly warm days over Christmas break. Two passes with the most course grade of Nuvite tells onlookers that I am working on it.



All these years I have been working on interior accoutrements and making things like plumbing happen. It will eventually be totally shiny, too.

[PA BAMBI II]

After several years of use, the subfloor paint (gray) had begun to show a great deal of wear. I decided before our trip to New England to repaint the subfloor. I resisted installing the 2 boxes (they only had two boxes...just a tiny bit over the perfect amount!) of VersaLock Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring I had bought at the local Habibat ReStore until I had chased all known leaks.



Long story short, I decided to fill the elevator bolt depressions with Bondo before I painted with a tan/brown paint similar in color to the VersaLock flooring to freshen things up. The Bondo was UV activated; not enough sunlight got to it to harden it; so now I had sticky Bondo spots here and there. No problem...I will just paint over it and move on. The paint got icky-sticky from the uncured Bondo beneath it. Nothing left to do...but install the flooring!


The VersaLock is quite easy to cut and lay, and after putting down a layer of underlayment (also from Habitat ReStore), I got to work.



It ended up looking quite good. It would be some time before I got to trim it out with aluminum angle material, but that is all done now, too.



So much for planning. The girls love to slide on the vinyl planking in their socks.



Now two years later, it is holding up beautifully. It is not averse to extreme temperature changes as the product information had alluded.

[PA BAMBI II]

As of now, polishing the Bambi II is about 65-70% completed. The entire trailer has been rubbed out with the first stage of Nuvite. Part of it has been rubbed out with the second stage, and the front third of the trailer has had all three stages done.


Acquiring (borrowing) scaffolding from a friend has been a lifesaver making the work more "enjoyable." It is definitely better than ladders for the hard to reach areas. Still, I was unsure of how to get to the very top part of the roof-the thin line of aluminum in front of and in back of the roof vent. Very hard to reach, even with the scaffolding while holding a HEAVY polisher.


So I went two scaffolding sections high and bridged to the second floor loft door/opening on my old barn. I gave those hardest to reach sections the first and second level treatment (I am not going to Cyclo those), but they do shine now!


As you can see, a high level of physical flexibility is needed to get the job done. Looking forward to polishing while standing on the ground again! My goal is to get all of the highest areas completed with all three stages, then tackle the lower body panels whenever the mood or time strikes.

[PA BAMBI II]

Little trailers, like life, require compromises. A 17' trailer for four people can be a bit tight. Still, our Bambi II has everything we need for comfortable camping, both for long and short trips. Sleeping space is no issue with bunk beds for the girls and the sofa/bed up front for us. Lounging is not a problem; there is plenty of seating. Dining does create some challenges.


For Lynn and I, sitting on the sofa and resting a plate on our lap works out fine, but for the girls (6 and 8 last Summer), this was a challenge and sometimes messy. We had them stand at the folding counter that encroaches the main doorway sometimes, but they protested this more than not. Sometimes, they ate sitting on the floor. None of these solutions was ideal.


I determined I could install a small folding table between the sofa and jump seat to create a Tiny Dinette...a Tinette. This consists of a small piece of 1/8" thick aluminum (13" x 27" rounded at the front corners) hinged directly to the wall with an aluminum hinge. A small brace (app. 16" long) with bent ends to engage a small bracket on both the underside of the table and the lower part of the wall holds it upright. When it is folded down, it only takes up its own thickness. I added a small piece of foam to the underside of the table to keep it from rattling with movement in the trailer.


Simple and effective, our little girls now have a sturdy spot to safely place their plates for dinner. It also does well holding a morning coffee cup or a frosty beverage in the evening.

[PA BAMBI II]

This message is late to this thread. We have done more to the Bambi II since I last posted here, and at some point I will update on progress. I have re-worked the bunk bed ladder and rails a few times to accommodate the girls changing ages and sizes. Currently, our beloved Bambi II is stabled under roof waiting for the end of Winter and warmer camping days ahead.


Before Thanksgiving, we added another Airstream to our family. We didn't need another project (does anyone ever?), but with the girls growing up, we did need a bit more space on the road.


Lynn and I looked separately, passively for a little while, only mentioning a bigger trailer occasionally in passing, and seemingly in jest. Then I found a suitable candidate near Syracuse, NY, and conversations with the seller began.


We brought home a 1961 24' TradeWind Double shortly before Thanksgiving, 2020. I have been at work tearing it down ever since.


In many ways, this one is a bit less daunting than the Bambi II project was. I have done one vintage Airstream, so this one seems like a reminder course. Also, having the first be a Bambi II, everything was small and manageable. I am just remembering and repeating a lot of processes with this seemingly much bigger trailer!


Feel free to check out our progress on the 1961 TradeWind here:


https://www.airforums.com/forums/f11...ts-218294.html


And, no, we have no intentions of selling the Bambi II! We love it too much.

[Bubba L]

Looks like a lot of fun. Plenty of room in the Tradewind. Thanks for the pics. Good luck and stay safe.

[Hittenstiehl]

Congrats on the Tradewind!! We think they are one of the most popular! Were a bit biased as that's where we started our Airstreaming with a 65 Twin. Good luck.

[PA BAMBI II]

No work progress on the Bambi II (much of our project focus is now on the TradeWind), but we recently took an awesome vacation in the little guy.


Leaving from PA, we toured Shenandoah NP (VA), Asheville, NC (Biltmore Estate), and the Great Smoky Mountains NP.


The trailer performed flawlessly...fridge is dialed in, all of our upgrades worked well. The weather was great, which was good, because we left the window air conditioner at home to save weight, and we did not think we would need it in the mountains. Fortunately, we were correct.


I got a good chuckle when we got new neighbors in the Cherokee, NC campground where we stayed for a few nights. The place was tight over the weekend, but opened up a bit for the weekdays. A large Jayco 5th wheel backed in beside us...nearly hit our Pathfinder a few times trying to get it parked "just right." These fine folks from Florida gutted every storage compartment in the big trailer, the entire bed of the full-sized pickup truck, and a Jeep Gladiator pickup truck...then proceeded, for over 2 hours, to set up their "home away from home." Seriously...if you're going to bring this much crap, it would truly be easier to just stay home. I wish they had.



Our entire family of 4 watched, all with that good chuckle, from our 17' vintage Airstream, and minimally accessorized site.

[PA BAMBI II]

Woo-hoo! Our little trailer made the newest issue of Airstream Life! It was a pleasure working with the managing editor to write up a little article on our adventures with what is likely the only Bambi II bunkhouse!