The Next Chapter . . .

[GearHead5]

My lovely bride and I are new members of the Airstream family, though seasoned travelers overland and sea. We're very happy to be fortunate enough to have found and secured our compact 2010 19' Bambi from a reputable dealer down in Alatchua, FL.

We recently returned from a cross-country overland expedition from FL to Denali and are itching to get back on those gorgeous, winding rural side roads. Our previous sleeping quarters was a Maggiolina Grand Tour roof top tent which we affectionally thought of as our snuggled treehouse. After many a mornings of 'THE SUN!!' superheating the interior of the Magg (Yosemite was an incredible 99 degrees), we decided that the next go-round would be a little more habitable and the Bambi was the perfect solution.

Our TV is a 2007 Toyota FJ, and although it's obvious there's the AS behind us, the FJ's doing a good job and is quite the stout little tank. The tow from the dealer to her new home in NW FL resulted in a painful ~13 mpg from a 'normal' 18~20 on the road for the FJ. We're using the factory direct-to-frame OEM hitch point and hitch assembly rather than an under frame add-on hitch. A supercharger is now on the FJ's horizon (good excuse, eh?) to help the little V6 guide the Bambi along.

Although we're very happy to look out our front window and smile as our eyes rest on our Bambi - we're really longing for our next adventure.

One thing I am currently researching on our forum is how to eradicate the mothball smell the previous owners effectively infused into the interior. There're aren't any moths for sure, but the not-terribly-unpleasent smell has gotta go. My chemist background tells me aromatic Naphthalene isn't something you'd want to aspirate excessively. It's just not good for us.

We are frequent users and supporters of a the forum concept and have participated on a few for our MacGregor sailboat, Jeep YJ, and FJ Cruiser. So, I'll help as best I can to contribute to the knowledge base that is our AS forum.

See you on those winding, country roads,

Michael & Marta
NW Florida

[Protagonist]

Welcome to the AirForums! Glad to have you with us!

Most of the smell has to be from cloth surfaces, which retain odors. Scrubbing with laundry detergent should help.

To get rid of the smell in the air, granular activated carbon is usually effective. Hang a mesh bag of the stuff where the smell is the worst, and then ventilate throughly.

To get rid of the smell on hard washable surfaces, white wine vinegar should work.

Side note, you haven't seen superheated until you've parked an Airstream in the hot summer sun for a few days! Shade is your friend.

And rather than a supercharger, you might want to change the gearing on your differential to the one that comes with the towing package. You don't necessarily need more horsepower nearly as much as you need more torque. And don't forget a transmission cooler. From the description, your tow vehicle apparently didn't come with a towing package.

[Wolfe]

If the smell still lingers have a long hard look in detail for hiden away balls,
got a car once found sone inside doors, back ash tray,under carpet.
Did good job all moths missing

[moosetags]

Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us.

[DKB_SATX]

Rest assured that the blower won't help your fuel economy any. It'll make a big power improvement at altitude, though. One downside of a blower is that it will likely reduce your non-towing MPG somewhat.

Actually 13mpg towing is quite decent. I don't get close to that without a tailwind.

[dkottum]

Welcome aboard.

Quite a move from car top tent to Airstream . . . relative luxury, you'll love it.

The FJ is a great, reliable vehicle with some stability concerns. Be sure you have a capable weight distribution hitch with a good sway control system. And that the rather lightweight FJ receiver can take the lifting the w.d. hitch applies.

Living near the Florida coast with a metal trailer, you may also benefit from some of the corrosion discussions here on the forum, with emphasis on prevention. There is also good info here on looking for and sealing water leaks before they cause damage.

doug

[StreamNTyme]

We also had a smell when we got our current 07 25'. After washing everything including ALL the drapes and putting in a new floor there was still a faint odor. The cushions looked clean but we took all the covers off the cushions and washed them in COLD water (washing machine gentle cycle is fine) w a very small amount of liquid soap. We put them in the dryer just for a few minutes and reinstalled the damp covers to the cushions then set them up so they could dry. That was no easy task on some of the longer ones. Came out perfect. No further smell! So now everything is really clean.