Hope's Log - '71 23' Safari Twin Renovation Journal

[Kei]

Hope's Log - '71 23' Safari Twin Renovation Journal: Reengineering the Twin Gauchos

[Kei]

With the bunk's new gaucho function engineered, it was time to install them and build the overhead storage, which took another two weekends,
but came together much faster than the months required to engineer and build the bathroom with all its compound curves.

Working with long straight lines using lightweight Alder wood from Woodworkers Source and Wainscot from Lowe's
made creating the Nor'easter yacht look fairly easy and very enjoyable!
I will have more pictures next post as I move into the kitchen to create a new fresh water system and custom cabinets.

[Kei]

Wanting to continue the Nor'easter yacht theme, the kitchen cabinets are modified project cabinets from Lowe's with Wainscot enhancements.

Since we decided to keep the original Magic Chef stove for its four burners and oven, I had to buid a platform for it and a cabinet under it.

The cabinets back sides had to be cut to account for the new 25 gallon fresh water tank, which I placed in that location to take advantage of the old Suburban furnace's exhaust port by adding a new pressure regulated city water inlet.

[Kei]

To give "Hope" some of the new Airstream look to our project, we purchased an 18 inch round stainless steel sink and customized it to protrude from the front of the cabinets about 6 inches.

I love the look after painting everything white and look forward to creating the teak counter top.

Happy New Year!!!!

[Hittenstiehl]

Did I say WOW last time. Really nice work love the bump out sink area.

[Kei]

Originally Posted by Hittenstiehl

Did I say WOW last time. Really nice work love the bump out sink area.

Thank you, Hittenstiehl. I wish I was able to finish the cabinets and travel to the New Year's Rally, but I will keep working on Hope in order to be ready to attend a rally later this year! I hope you enjoyed the rally!

Keith

[Kei]

Knowing I could not work all weekend on Hope, I decided to just work in my garage cutting the teak into various widths for a custom kitchen counter top.

The big issue after cutting all the strips of wood was gluing them together in a way that will minimize the amount of sanding to make the surface even.

Luckily for me, my wife was not too upset when she woke up on New Year's Day to find I had glued the strips of wood together in our house on the kitchen island (It was the best large, flat surface I could find!).

This coming weekend I plan to finish the kitchen counter then figure out how to connect the fresh water tank to the new Shurflo water pump and to the new Atwood water heater...I hate doing plumbing... )

[Kei]

Due to other life priorities, it has been nearly 5 months since I have been able to work on "Hope" and I was hoping to get more done before the Arizona heat prevented me from working inside the Airstream. To allow my family to go camping this Summer in the high country (Flagstaff and Prescott areas) I purchased a small Kenmore Freezer to allow us to freeze our meals before heading out in case there is no electricity and not have to rely on ice and coolers. I will eventually repair the original 1971 electric/propane refrigerator, but for now we can enjoy Lasagna, burgers and steaks while camping. Even without electricity I can get 3 days of camping before everything thaws out and a small generator can tied us over until I get the new solar panels and batteries installed. So much more to do, so little time to do it! In the meantime, I'm building the new cabinet above the stove and sink area and modified a fan unit for the stove's exhaust, which I hope to install this month. Unfortunately, the teak counter top that I custom made has shrunk in the heat and low humidity, which will now require me to do some maple or holly inlay to fill in the gaps, but that should make it look even more special.

[Kei]

This is the cabinet above the sink and stove. My next step is to build all the cabinet doors in the garage and install them in one day (or night when it is cooler...)

[Bullit]

Keith,
I "Hope" you don't mind me stealing some of your ideas. Everything looks great, even the countertop looks like a great start. It really will look even better with inlays.
Things take time is what my Dad use to say and I am way behind you on my resto-mod. When I get to the interior I will be looking back at your thread. Thanks again and keep up the good work. Stay in the shadows, it's cooler.
Be safe
Bullit

[Kei]

Originally Posted by Bullit

Keith,
I "Hope" you don't mind me stealing some of your ideas. Everything looks great, even the countertop looks like a great start. It really will look even better with inlays.
Things take time is what my Dad use to say and I am way behind you on my resto-mod. When I get to the interior I will be looking back at your thread. Thanks again and keep up the good work. Stay in the shadows, it's cooler.
Be safe
Bullit

Hello Bullit,

Feel free to take advantage of any idea or knowledge that I post, which is the greatest benefit of this forum and I have learned so much from our fellow members that have posted informative techniques on repairing and improving our Airstreams! I hope to get a few hours in to finish the cabinets then try to go camping up north soon. I will post more pictures when I do...

Keith

[Uberklasse]

Just finished the thread and am very impressed. After many years of lusting for an airstream I just put down a deposit on a '71 Safari 23.

I will start a new thread on my journey but really enjoyed seeing the progress...amazing work!

Jason

[Pams72]

Just caught up on your restoration. Your moving right along.

I haven't been on the forum in a while but I'm finally getting around to plumbing my gas lines and doing the belly. Will keep up on your progress, keep up the good work.

[Lensman]

Was this project ever completed? I would love to see the rest of the story.

[Kei]

Originally Posted by Lensman

Was this project ever completed? I would love to see the rest of the story.

Hello Lensman,
Thank you for the email.
The project is not complete, but will resume in November.
After my last post on this AIR Forum, I put “Hope” away for the hot Arizona summer. When I went to the RV storage in the Fall to continue renovating I discovered that all my woodwork in the bathroom and kitchen had shrunk due to the extreme heat.
I was extremely disappointed and have not done anything else since. Life with my wife and children became my priority, but now the kids are grown and I have new ideas on how to renovate with materials that will not shrink.
I’ll post new Picts when I resume working on Hope!

[Hittenstiehl]

We too suffer from Phx's incredible heat index. We will keep this in mind when selecting wood. Even our lexan dome covers melted.

It's a dry heat.

[Lensman]

We are just down the road here in Surprise,AZ. Our 72 Safari is ready for a makeover. It is a good survivor and we still use it. However the summer heat has taken it's toll on the plastic sink in the bath. I have had to patch it several times and it is as thin as and eggshell.

[Camper Crazy]

How disheartening. I hope you can find the momentum to start working on your trailer again. What you have done is lovely.

[Kei]

In November, 2016, I was disappointed to learn that the laminated countertop that I had fabricated along with the wainscot walls had significantly shrunk in the brutal Phoenix summer heat.
For over 4 years I let “Hope” sit stored at the Pioneer RV Park while I focused on life.
A new job, three promotions, my wife surviving breast cancer, 2 more properties purchased and one sold, 3 children through college, 2 weddings, the recent arrival of our first grandchild and designing our dream retirement home in Pine Arizona!
Phew! Life comes at you fast!
For “Hope”, the plan is to get her ready to travel up to our Pine property, so that we can live up their on weekends while building the house.
I’m using this week’s vacation to replace the laminate counter with a custom-made counter out of African Makorone, which looks like teak, but is less expensive and lighter. I also replaced the tall refrigerator with a 3.1 cu ft unit to allow for more storage above. I will post photos shortly...let the adventure continue...

[Hittenstiehl]

Kei,

That new counter looks gorgeous!! Really like the rounded curve.

We are also in Phoenix and feel your pain. When people say they leave things in their trailers and just add food and clothes prior to leaving I'm thinking not.

I have had things melt during just an average summer. We've started storing a bucket full of water in the tub for some moisture for the vintage wood interior.

Sounds like a full plate or platter of life.

We just brought a trailer home, (stored with a friend) we bought 4 years ago. I thought it had only been two years but time flies.

Good luck.