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Old 07-20-2015, 12:00 PM   #1
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2002 31' Classic
Los Angeles , California
Join Date: May 2015
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New AS Owner! First time full-timer, the adventure begins.

So my girlfriend and I went and bought a 2002' 31' Classic this weekend and we are stoked!

Had been looking over the market for months, lurking here and getting lots of awesome info, we almost went for a 2015 27' FB FC - but decided paying off our home in 2-3 years sounded better than 10-12 years. Plus we are both handy and wanted to do some interior customization and feel a lot better modding out the finest decor the late 90s had to offer vs making holes and changes all over a brand new expensive finished interior.

We left our current apartment 3am Saturday morning, picked her up in Scottsdale on at 9am and were back in LA, parking her by about 7:30pm. And man, am I glad we changed our trip to Saturday instead of yesterday! Apparently on Sunday there were flash flood all through Phoenix and an I-10 washout bridge in Desert Center collapsed and I-10 between CA <> AZ is totally closed.

Anywhere- here are some pictures of the inside while we dusted and cleaned up after we landed. Plus one exterior sneak peek shower some of her totally awesome decals that are now thankfully totally awesomely removed.
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Old 07-20-2015, 12:13 PM   #2
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Dex it looks great glad it worked out for you.
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Old 07-20-2015, 12:51 PM   #3
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1999 34' Excella
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Hillsboro , Texas
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Congrats!! Sooooooo the "David and Goliath" theme was a "no-go"?????? Just kidding!

Congrats!!!!
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Old 07-20-2015, 01:46 PM   #4
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1962 22' Safari
Yreka , California
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Way to go! Please take photos of your changes and ask lots of questions if you aren't quite sure what changes you want to make! Lots of folks have customized their trailers and have had some great ideas! Looks like you will enjoy your sweet Airstream!
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Old 07-20-2015, 02:15 PM   #5
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Fleming Island , Florida
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Congratulations and welcome to the cult. It looks in really good shape.

Al
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Old 07-20-2015, 03:36 PM   #6
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Looks like a spacious floor plan.
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Old 07-20-2015, 04:26 PM   #7
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Beercity , Arizona
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Nice! I can't wait to see what you'll do to it.
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Old 07-21-2015, 01:50 PM   #8
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2015 30' International
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Beautiful !
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Old 07-21-2015, 02:11 PM   #9
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2000 36' Land Yacht XC Diesel
Fresno , California
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Lol, I have a 2000 AS pusher and I'm still two years into the process of removing Airstreeam's late '90s looks...from what I can tell they kep the same basic design scheme up till 2005 (at least in mohos) and finally changed in in '06...which, just my luck, was also the last year they made Class As so I'm having a helluva time finding one. I'm personally looking for an 06 A39 or my unicorn a '95 Classic pusher so I could also join the ranks of the silver bullet club...I don't know about anyone else but I always feel I'm only an Airstreamer by name since mine's fiberbglass...(I wonder if Argosy owners feel the same?)

Anyways, I full timed in mine for 6 months. You've gonna have the time of your lives so congratulations. However, the remodel (even though cosmetic) may negate any of said fun...but I wish you the best of luck. Great looking rig! Silver bullets always manage to turn heads in parking lots and campgrounds...hell even my Class A gets tour requests simply because few people have seen flat/Front fiberglass Airstream mohos.

Welcome to the club!!
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Old 07-21-2015, 06:03 PM   #10
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That Classic is HUGE, and very very nice.
I'm a new owner also, of a 25' Flying Cloud, that is quite different from my previous Hi-Lo. It's a very nice 'wagon' to live in; but I question the idea of a fresh water tank drain between the wheels of the 'landing gear'.
What was this guy thinking?
'Normal' designers put it on the edge of the skirt for easy access.
There are other 'strange' differences that are going to take some time to get used to.
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Old 07-22-2015, 08:41 AM   #11
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2000 30' Excella
Monticello , Florida
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Smile

Your 2002' 31' Classic looks exactly like my 2000 30' Excella which I recently gutted over 8 months. Right now it is in the shop getting a blackwater tank gate valve replaced.

I will post photos when I get it back.

I replace the flooring with laminate wood, tore off the wall carpeting replaced that with paintable wall paper and painted it white along with the ceiling, removed the table and benches and installed more cabinets covered with an eight foot wood counter top. Removed the oven/stove and counter top on the passenger side and replaced the faucet, put in a small 2 burner gas stove on a new wooden counter top. Stove is supplemented with a single portable induction range unit which BTW is fantastic. Built in a U shape seating area with lift up seats for more storage. Across the front of the U is a mattress for an extra sleeping area. The sides of the U are custom made cushions. A small round table occupies the space in the center of the U for eating.

We were 6+ years full time in a 43' Allegro Bus too expensive to run. bought an AS and spent 3 months in it and the walls began to close in ! Bought a house.

So basically we gutted the AS to make if more suitable to two old folks and will pass it on to our kids when we can’t travel anymore.

Congrats on your AS and enjoy the ride visit everywhere. What a trip we had and you will too.
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Old 07-22-2015, 09:50 AM   #12
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Eugene , Oregon
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Fabulous financial decision! Fabulous way to claim it as yours and having pride in your new baby by doing interior customization together! You know, I have just one word for what you chose to do....Fabulous !
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Old 07-22-2015, 09:54 PM   #13
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2002 31' Classic
Los Angeles , California
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Thanks all! Lots of love!

We're really excited. I'll keep you posted. First mod is a composting toilet. Glamourous, right? Although we have electrical hookups at our current "home base" spot, there is no sewer and we will be boondocking a bunch (or plan too). Plus from my research, seems you need so much extra water to keep the blackwater tank operating normally, it seems like a... waste- and I'd rather recapture that water weight in some new features - I've read up a bunch on them and the Natures Head sounds pretty great.

This is also top of mind because of some recent math and a stop at the truck scales- it seems my NCC is nearly non-existent (8300 stated GVWR, and clocked about 8000 dry on the scales :yikes: )...however, the trailer does have upgraded hydraulic disc brakes and I'm crossing my fingers that maaaybe means the axels were upgraded as well? Meaning the specs are underrated? (I can hope...please?).
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Old 07-27-2015, 02:41 PM   #14
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2002 31' Classic
Los Angeles , California
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Tearin' along...

So only had one day this week to work on things but made some good progress.

We are planning to do a J style seating area so we removed the gaucho and carpet left over underneath it. We also cleaned a TON of dust from the electrical area. The PO also put in a vinyl engineered style flooring but it was done poorly, has an MDF core (vs the desired ply/wood core) and not the color we wanted so well be redoing that as well.

Additionally, we started removing the "moose hair" as we plan to paint the walls white. I don't want to paint the aluminum directly because 1) the interior wall panels have lots of seams and would show the rivets and screw holes 2) I want to preserve the bare aluminum in case we want to polish it or at least switch out the wall finish later.

Aside from paintable wall paper, I haven't seen many ideas for wall coverings, seems most people who removed the moose hair end up polishing the aluminum. Any ideas?

I was going to either paint or remove the padded vinyl cells on the ceiling - however, after all the reading, it seems removing them may be the best bet to beat the chronic failing adhesive, I read so much about, to the punch.

Here are some pictures of the progress!
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Old 07-29-2015, 08:58 PM   #15
cwf
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1999 34' Excella
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Hillsboro , Texas
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Abby looks like you found some math graffiti! Probably a worker trying to figure out how he would NEVER afford a new AS...

Have you considered covering with thin plywood after removal of the "mouse" fur? Check out JMorgan. He did an awesome job and it looks like a ship!
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Old 07-29-2015, 09:08 PM   #16
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See this thread....
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f46/...ls-127555.html

I bet JMorgan has more pics.
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Old 07-30-2015, 06:51 AM   #17
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2000 30' Excella
Monticello , Florida
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RE paintable wall paper: do not expect the self adhering paper to work by its advertised self. Buy the adhesive made for paintable paper at Lowes and be sure to get the edges slobbered up real good and wipe off excess. Painting it hides all. Also get the textured type which hide the rivets.
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Old 11-29-2015, 09:48 AM   #18
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2002 31' Classic
Los Angeles , California
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Hey all- I did end up covering with Thin plywood after- though in my case I painted it. Wanted more of a traditional painted drywall feel. It worked out really well. I owe this thread some more pictures of everything painted and finished up!
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Old 01-17-2016, 04:51 PM   #19
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Dex, congratulations and welcome to the cult.
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Old 01-18-2016, 08:42 PM   #20
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2001 30' Excella
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Congrats!

We are leaving this summer to start full time Airstreaming in our 2001 30' Excella. Hope to get lots of advice on this forum! See you on the road.
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