We are not really long-term campers. I work a lot and it is hard for me to justify escaping the office for more than a long weekend unless it is during the holidays. But when we do travel, we take our dogs, so hotel stays are not too realistic for that one and I simply like having my own space. We do however also use our Airstream as the "guest house" for friends and family when they visit. I don't usually cook a whole lot when we travel as we like to sample the local restaurants.
Why we decided to get rid of the propane -
Our previous fridge worked on propane only - the electrical portion did not work. It usually just was not worth the hassle to turn it on. (rarely used)
I've only used the stovetop maybe 5 or 6 times and the oven once or twice.
I used the furnace once, but our AC has a heater on it so it is really not needed.
The water heater was used frequently when we traveled, but because the trailer is not taken out frequent enough, it always took about 30 minutes to get the air out of the lines and get the heater lit. If it was windy, I would be out there frequently relighting it. Nowadays a lot of people use the electric wands in their water heaters anyways.
I really like the idea of just being able to plug in the things that I want to use and be ready to go. Not have to stand around outside getting things running when I could be enjoying my time away from work doing other things. I enjoy camping, but it was starting to be a real drag to get everything set up to use. We got to the point where we would only hook up to electricity for the AC and lights, eat out and use the campground showers and bathrooms.
Quite honestly we probably won't even use the generator that often...just on special occasions.
Who knows though...maybe in a couple of years..and I hopefully have a little more leisure time, I'll wish I had propane.
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We may be getting in way over our heads, but oh well we will sink or swim.
A good synthetic rubber based sealant is far superior in many ways to silicone.
Thank you for that advice, I will definitely have to do some research on that! I would not have even thought to check that out on here.
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Some of the Motor Homes have central "switch systems" which allow you to choose just which electrical appliances you may want to use at any given time. These "switches" lock out other systems to prevent the umbilical connection from being overloaded.
I had not thought of that. I was just planning on keeping everything unplugged unless we need it. Great idea!
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We may be getting in way over our heads, but oh well we will sink or swim.
It sounds like you are getting ready to spend a bunch of money on this project, and you should certainly make it the way you want. Having said that, don't forget that it is likely that at some point you are going to want to sell the camper. In all honesty, going all electric will limit the number of interested buyers and lower the value of the unit. If you can live with that, fine, but I would hate for it to come as a nasty surprise down the road.
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Rodney
The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.- Mark Twain
going all electric will limit the number of interested buyers and lower the value of the unit
Actually that was one of the first things we discussed when we considered doing this. This airstream is something that we plan to keep for a really long time. (example: we are building in bunkbeds for kids that are still completely non-existant). We really just made the decision that this is something that we are keeping for the long-run.
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We may be getting in way over our heads, but oh well we will sink or swim.
Just wanted to give you an update on our remodel project. We are as close to being gutted. See pic. Had way to much fun doing this.
Stay tuned,
Patrick and Christi
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We may be getting in way over our heads, but oh well we will sink or swim.
I just stumbled upon this site and I have to admit that I am hooked already. I wish you luck on your remod. and I most definitely will be following your progress since I need to do the same sooner than later!
Our previous fridge worked on propane only - the electrical portion did not work. It usually just was not worth the hassle to turn it on. (rarely used)
I've only used the stovetop maybe 5 or 6 times and the oven once or twice.
I used the furnace once, but our AC has a heater on it so it is really not needed.
The water heater was used frequently when we traveled, but because the trailer is not taken out frequent enough, it always took about 30 minutes to get the air out of the lines and get the heater lit. If it was windy, I would be out there frequently relighting it. Nowadays a lot of people use the electric wands in their water heaters anyways.
I really like the idea of just being able to plug in the things that I want to use and be ready to go. Not have to stand around outside getting things running when I could be enjoying my time away from work doing other things. I enjoy camping, but it was starting to be a real drag to get everything set up to use. We got to the point where we would only hook up to electricity for the AC and lights, eat out and use the campground showers and bathrooms.
Quite honestly we probably won't even use the generator that often...just on special occasions.
Who knows though...maybe in a couple of years..and I hopefully have a little more leisure time, I'll wish I had propane.
not to change your mind about propane but with new fridge, new water heater and new furnace you wont have to be worry about lighting any pilot. It's all electronic ignition.
Though I like having the option to run elec. or propane. So if you decide to keep the propane option and change your water heater take one that work both way.
and by the way even if you don't want to use it just think to keep the propane line plug in.
I thought I said I "not to change your mind" sounds like I try...
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1st VP Canadian Atlantic Unit WBCCI # 6162 - AIR #8059
hey there - good luck. All I can offer is 'take your time' . I am nearing a one year complete overhaul and remodel of a '69 31" - several time I've found that we saved ourselves hassle and $ by taking the time to think things through - will post some pics when i'm done - hardwood floors going in next week
and by the way even if you don't want to use it just think to keep the propane line plug in
I was thinking about that and like the idea of having it there in case we ever change our minds. Patrick wants to take it all out because the lines are all over the place (maybe once we get the plumbing replaced it won't seem like that - now there are copper pipes running everywhere!).
Our water heater seems to be ok, so I don't think we are going to replace it at this point. I know a couple of people who have used the hott rod or lightning rod to convert their water heaters and really liked them, so I think that is what we are going to do (a $100 trial on one of these seems a lot cheaper than replacement right now)
We are completely eliminating the furnace. I am not a cold weather person - the temperature drops to 75 and I am wearing a sweatshirt - so I don't plan on camping in very cold temperatures.
But, we did briefly think about replacing it all with updated propane.
Thanks for all the comments everyone. It has definitely brought some issues up that have made us think .
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We may be getting in way over our heads, but oh well we will sink or swim.
We wanted total electric on our trailer too. We went with the LP/elect water heater and just put in an apartment size frig. up front. We did leave the original L/P Elect frig in place and it works perfectly. I just find that having a "new" electric frig saves time and worry. Of course we don't go many places where we don't have elect. We just wanted to leave the trailer so we could go out to the boonies if we ever wanted to. I will tell you that runing the water heater on electric takes a lot of current. You have to be careful using too much else on the circuit. I'm watching your project with interest since we will be picking up our 76, 31ft Sovereign later this month. Great pictures, keep um coming.
Woo Hoo! Some support! I am glad to know that others have done this as well! Thank you Juel! Also, thank you for the advice about the water heater, we will keep that in mind.
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We may be getting in way over our heads, but oh well we will sink or swim.
This week we managed to get a couple of things done.
We removed the rest of the floor tiles. We we first got the Airstream 5 years ago, I ripped out the nasty original carpet and for a quick, easy fix, installed those vinyl stick-on tiles. The worked ok for the last few years, but they seperated and got dust between them, etc. Taking them off wasn't easy but it could have been worse. But, the sticky adhesive that it left behind has been a real pain!!!! I live in flip-flops and they constantly stick to the floor. Patrick had to use a putty knive to detach me last night! Good thing is that the more dust gets on the floor, the less sticky it is.
We removed some of the bad sections of the flooring. Previously when we were younger and a little less bright than we are now, we had decided to cut out the bad parts of the floor and then fill it in with spray in foam...then just covered it up. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS. Getting it all out was a pain in the rear end.
We also removed the old cracked paint that was on the aluminum around the lower windows. All back to metal now!!
Then today, after reading lots of info on this site, I decided that I was ready to break out the inner glass of my vista view windows. The center punch tool was recommended so I went out and bought it. I tried it on the floor first just to see how it worked. My first thought was "how will this not break both windows?" But so many threads said it worked so I figured what the heck. This is one of those times I wish I would have gone with my gut feeling. I, of course, broke both windows.
Lesson learned: DO NOT USE CENTER PUNCH TOOL TO BREAK OUT INNER WINDOW!!!!!!!!
We replaced it with plexi that I had on hand for now.
Here is a much better way to remove the inner window:
Get a glass drill bit and drill a hole in the first window. If it does not crack after going through the first layer of glass, angle it little and keep going. Eventually it cracks and you can go from there. Way safer method!! I also recommend putting tape all over the window just to be on the safe side - no matter which method you use!
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We may be getting in way over our heads, but oh well we will sink or swim.
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I am glad to know that others have done this as well! Thank you Juel! Also, thank you for the advice about the water heater, we will keep that in mind.
I, of course, broke both windows. 
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