The fulltiming adventure begins

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by vswingfield

Hi Terry,

It looks great. Now you just need to get a 1930s vintage Airstream to complement your new faucet.

So you don't think the post-retro, modern antique look is good for a 1970's Airstream?

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by overlander63

So you don't think the post-retro, modern antique look is good for a 1970's Airstream?

Well, I think that Art Deco or Art Nouveau is always appropriate. Go for it!

Damn, Terry, why did you have to bring that up? Not you got me thinkin’ again.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Phil/Edee

Love the new faucet, Terry!!! Um... why did you get kicked out of the trailer again???

P & E

Umm, Marie wanted to run the vacuum, and there isn't enough room for two plus a dog when sweeping.
As a side note, we found out Sophie doesn't like vacuum cleaners...

[Chuck]

looks great...but now, you'll have to remove the bathroom, re-finish the fixtures w/ por-15 white-coat to match the handles on the faucet.

[Boondocker]

Looks good Terry! I replaced the faucets in the TW with nicer ones (well the bathroom one is still in the box) and they really to help.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Chuck

looks great...but now, you'll have to remove the bathroom, re-finish the fixtures w/ por-15 white-coat to match the handles on the faucet.

Uhh...Hello? Is this thing on? tap, tap...

[sd90mac]

Originally Posted by Chuck

looks great...but now, you'll have to remove the bathroom, re-finish the fixtures w/ por-15 white-coat to match the handles on the faucet.

No, 2 people and one chicken dog do not need tear out said bathroom. I like the faucets.

Marie

[elolson]

Very nice Terry. I also replaced my bathroom faucet with an after market Moehn I picked up from the HD. I did it to get a longer reach on the faucet. The factory one was just too short and we kept slopping water up onto the counter. With the new one, with the extension out over the sink, it is much less of a mess for us ducks.

E

[sd90mac]

Good afternoon,

I really like the new bathroom faucets and now I want to change the kitchen one to be a little higher and forward from the base, kind of like the one we put in Goliath, also for the longer reach.

New awing fabric arrived from Inland. Next project will be installation.

Then off to St. Augustine May 30th for a relaxing weekend. Can't wait!

Marie

[overlander63]

As you may have noted in Marie's not-too-subtle hint, a good-sized box arrived from Zip-Dee Friday. I had ordered some new awning material from Inland Andy a couple of weeks ago. With nothing better to do today, I decided to install the new awning fabric. How hard could it be?
I'll show this as a series of illustrated posts, it may be easier to follow along.
First, I opened the box and made sure we had the correct fabric. This may sound like a wise-a** thing, but believe me when I say I have gotten the wrong paint, part, food, etc. So it never hurts to be sure before ripping stuff apart. Zip-Dee got the right fabric, in the correct length, with the stuff to install it. First, here's a picture of our old, original, very tired, 1974 awning.
As you can see, it is very worn, and full of more holes than a Bigfoot sighting.

[overlander63]

Next, for those of you that don't have one, Zip-Dee awnings are held on the roller tubes by a series of aluminum rivets. After releasing the spring tension on the roller tube, I used my "famous" rivet-removing method: a sharpened putty knife smacked by a hammer. The rivets sheared off, and no fingers were smashed in the removal of said rivets. The thrid photo shows the fabric sans rivet:

[overlander63]

After removing the rivets, we found the fabric stuck to the roller. Since we weren't going to re-use the fabric for anything, I grabbed my handy locking blade knife, and cut a slit down the length of the roller tube:

[overlander63]

After that, things happened a little too fast for clear and concise photgraphy. The roller fell onto the picnic table with a resounding "whump!", crushing 3 of the little lighted Airstream decorations we got for Christmas a few years ago from Vintage Trailer Supply. Well, we wanted more of them anyway...
I slid the awning fabric out of the gutter mount, and piled the fabric onto the ground near the car.
We unrolled the new fabric, and with the assistance of a neighbor, I slid the new fabric onto the gutter mount. Then I removed the roller tube from the awning arms,and slid it into the hole sewn into the fabric. Everything went back together with no problem, and I re-riveted the new fabric onto the roller. After this task was completed, Marie held the roller tube while I cranked the tension back into the spring, 28 turns clockwise worth. I put the awning arms back into place, and we made sure everything went out, then back, as planned. The only glitch in this method of installation is the aluminum guard that protects the fabric when the awning is rolled up got pushed back toward the rear of Bertha when we shoved the new fabric into its slot. This I'll have to correct this coming week after I get a couple of tools from work.
Total time to install was 97 minutes. Here are a few pictures of the finished product:

[Sugarfoot]

Terry, Bertha looks great in her new Zipdee clothes. Nice job!

[overlander63]

Over the course of the past weekend, I performed a few tasks, some better than others...
First, I took the truck apart, and installed a new clutch and flywheel for it. It now shifts like the day it was new. I also put a new belt on it, and rearranged the totes in the bed of the truck. I looked at the warranties on the clutch parts I installed, and think I should advise everyone else that does this to look closely at the warranty. The warranty was for 6 months (what happened to a year???) on most things, but a couple of items only had 30 day warranties. The thing with the shortest warranty (30 days) was the part that is the furthest into the job (pilot bearing). That part, if it fails, will require going all the way back in to replace it. Let's all keep our fingers crossed nothing breaks.
Now, for the Airstream part of my weekend... I adjusted the awning so it rolls up like it should, then rolled up all the awnings, grabbed a bucket, soap, hose, and brush, and washed Bertha. I think this is the first time I have washed the entire trailer at once. I noticed that Bertha is as much larger than Goliath, as Goliath was our Argosy... Our kids hosted a barbeque for Mother's Day, so we got our food served to us. A good thing, because after washing Bertha, I couldn't lift a plate.

[overlander63]

Being something of a traditionalist, I recognize the last Sunday in May as Memorial Day. So, on that note:
From two proud Americans, to the many members of our military who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and our freedom, thank you. Without you, we would not be enjoying the freedoms we have today.

[overlander63]

We have passed one year of ownership with Bertha, and the first anniversary of our first outing occured today. As I did with Goliath, I thought I'd run down the list of stuff I wanted to get done, and see not only what got done, but what else wound up needing attention that either I didn't foresee, or thought it would last longer than it really did...
I knew we would need:
Tires
Fridge
matresses
goucho
window and door gaskets
tambours
flooring
awning fabric
a/c shroud
water heater
SOMEthing to replace that hideous awning on the front windows
repair to the rear to correct sag
curtains

Strangely enough, all items on that list have been replaced or corrected, with the exception of the tambours (still need the two over the bed). The gaucho replacement has been put off for the time being by recovering the gaucho cushions. Since Bertha was in such good shape, we really didn't needto do much to get ready to full time with her.
Riiigghhhhtttt....... Famous last words...
In the last year, since everything was so good, we replaced, refurbished, or just plain got rid of and put something else in place of:
Breakaway switch
Rock guard
drained the aquarium in the wing window
got a pair of genuine Airstream fold-o-matic chairs
tinted the windows
fixed the dry rotted front floor
repaired the kitchen counter top
removed and permanently blocked off the LP line to the oven
installed indirect flourescent lighting in the living area
installed a new household type electronic thermostat for the a/c
installed a parade of new fridges
replaced both axles with new loaded Henschens from Inland Andy
installed a pair of Fantastic fans
installed a solardome I got from Inland Andy
Installed a new Intellipower converter I got from Randy at Best Converter
replaced the toilet
repaired the crappy repair that caused the rear sag, and replaced part of the floor
removed the dead furnace for more storage
replaced the bathroom faucet
Installed hubcaps, which I managed to promptly lose one of
installed a new batwing tv antenna
installed a new microwave/convection oven
installed blue rub rail moldings all around Bertha
began upgrading the clearance lights to LEDs
And a host of things I've forgotten (probably with good reason, I still have flashbacks to the awning arm follies)
I think it was a good idea in retrospect, there's no telling where we would be now, or what we would be doing, if we hadn't embarked on our fulltiming adventure.

[Aage]

Wow, what a great saga, Terry. You and Marie have packed a lot of living into the pages of this thread.

Thanks! And may you always have

"Fair winds and following seas".

regards,
Aage

[Jim & Susan]

Terry, just catching up. Let me know what you need for tmbours and I may be able to fix y'all up.

Jim

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Jim & Susan

Terry, just catching up. Let me know what you need for tmbours and I may be able to fix y'all up.

Jim

We need both tambours for over one bed, both are about 35" long.