The Walkers' Arctic Renovation: 1967 Tradewind

[Dwwalker18]

Well, it’s finally happening. After 7 years and a couple false alarms, Otis and Family are finally on our way out of Alaska and heading towards northern NY. We’ve done two short days so far (out of 24) after spending the last week camping in the yard while the movers packed up the house. This is the moment Otis was designed and built for and I’m pleased to say he’s living up to expectations!

Initial thoughts:
- So much storage! Between truck and Airstream we have everything we need to be on the road for nearly a month, and tools/supplies needed at our new home before rest of our belongings arrive in a couple months.
- running the inverter to power an AC fridge sucks more energy than I thought. Don’t think it’s going to be an issue overall, but will look into replacing with a DC fridge sooner than later. Went with AC initially because couldn’t get what I wanted without paying a fortune in shipping.
- lost a hubcap before we even made it out of the county so that sucked.
- door latch broke through the door catch plate. Thankfully had one of those wooden stops to keep the door shut while on the road. Still Looking for a replacement, but was able to flip the broken one around to keep us rolling.

[Bubba L]

What an adventure. Hope the door latch and hubcap are the worst issues that occur. Keep us posted and let us know when you settle in. Take care

[Slats]

Good to hear from you Dan. Safe travels.

[Dwwalker18]

Originally Posted by Slats

Good to hear from you Dan. Safe travels.

Thank you! Made it back into the US and will spend a couple days exploring Montana before continuing east.

Lost another hubcap somewhere and removed the remaining two before they had a chance to run away. Only other issue was the fridge cut out on us. But I implement the trust unplug-it-and-plug-it-back in technique and it came back to life. 60% of the time it works every time…

All in all, super happy with how Otis has been handling and holding up. He’s a champ and has really earned the bath he desperately needs lol. Nothing like a 3 week and 5k mile excursion to identify and work all the bugs out!

[Slats]

So, Dan, where is Otis spending the 4th?

[Dwwalker18]

Originally Posted by Slats

So, Dan, where is Otis spending the 4th?

Hi Dale! Sorry for the late reply- Otis and crew spent the 4th in Sackets Harbor, NY at our new home! We’re still living out of Otis since we immediately turned the house into a construction zone. Apparently I don’t understand what rest is lol.

But, a 21 day and 5700 mile cross-continental voyage is now under our belts. Lots learned and now have a pretty extensive to-do list of small improvements to further optimize Otis for our use. Most (all?) will have to wait until spring once we’ve tackled most of the big stuff in the house we need/want to do.

[Slats]

Glad to hear the both of you made it to your new home safe and sound. I will anxiously await your list of improvements prompted by the trip. As for the house, been there done that. Bought my first house, a complete gut job, in 1974 for $2,500. Sold it 15 years later, after it and the rest of the homes in the neighborhood (Hyde Park in Kansas City) were placed on the National Register of Historic Places, for $90K. Not anticipating that with Hal, our Tradewind in progress.