After you got it home????

[Greg N]

This is really cool stuff...Thanx to all for sharing, and I hope more will...

Greg

[jjustice]

After ordering the owner's manuel we discovered the trailer had every upgrade they offered that year. Happy to say the least.

[tinman54]

At first I though I was really lucky to have found this old airstream to play with.
Then I found: Dead mice,Dead squirls, lots of bugs and other once living things.
No tanks at all!
Water heater did not work!
Stove did not work!
Furnace did not work!
Fresh water tank leaked!
Floors were all rotted out!
Wiring was shot!
All 3 roof vents were cracked and leaked!
Tires and axels were worn out!
Found I had to have a new barn to preserve this treasure?!
I have a new sickness-aluminitus, looking for more of these gems?!
My family has 1 more reason to think I am nuts!
I have no free time to worry about anymore!
The cruiser is 9 yrs older then me but I am catching up fast!
Some day I think I may crawl into the belly pan with the rest of the
creachers!
But I have found many new friends!
I think I am still having fun for the most part!
Not sure if I feel as lucky as I used too!!!
Accually I did not expect anything to work after 56yrs
and it has been fun for the most part !
We think we are going to name her Money Pit!

Doug

[tksbaskets]

We had was a huge onion and box of Kashi cereal in the little flip down cubby under the wardrobe. Glad I found that EARLY in the season as the onion had a good sprout going!

Also found that the water heater had a bypass mode (thanks canoestream for help with that!) who knew??

Found that the vent over the stove works much better when you release the latch outside

Found the fire alarm inside is indeed loud enough to wake a 17 yo when the stove is not properly vented (found out in that order too)

[ddstech]

4 garbage bags full of mouse/rat poop, their food storage system which consisted of filling every drawer with nuts, and the curtains shredded into beds.

[Ginder75]

I found a large envelope with several HEHR crank openers for the windows, water pump belt and the original reciept. Talk about a find, the openers were under $3 each and new ones would cost me almost $30 each.

I also found out that the more I dug the more I found and the more I had to replace. At some point, I want to get the AS out of my driveway and on to a campsite.

Oh yeah, and I found out that the PO had cut several of the propane lines. I learned to listen very carefully when you open the bottles, if all the valves are closed and you hear the hissing of gas you have a problem. But that has been corrected!

[AirsDream]

Oddly enough, found that on a ten year old A/S, EVERYTHING worked just fine, after a few minor adjustments. And it's all still working fine.

So I've been looking for projects to replace o.k.-working stuff with better-working stuff - added additional batteries and a solar panel charging system. Thinking about a new stereo and maybe an electric jack, possibly prettier wheels.

Life is hard when nothing breaks ... it's so hard to convince the spouse of the need for the new stuff!

[SpaceEgg]

We found Spoon and Dirty Sock. My girlfriend quickly reunited them with Can O Beans, Painted Stick, and Conch, who were hanging out at our house. They live in the Airstream throughout the restoration.

Also found fishing tackle, a christmas card, and a scrap of a classified ad from a time when coffee was 5 cents a can.

[Ginder75]

I also found where the PO used newspaper print plate (aluminum sheets with reversed black type on it, that resembled a newspaper add)to build enclosures around the medicine cabinet and the breaker box. I tried to save it, but in the demo it did not hold up.

[tpi]

I've never fixed up a vintage Airstream. But plenty of old cars and boats.

Lets put it this way-I've never initially overestimated what work it would need..always the opposite.