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mgm · 02-17-2010, 05:25 PM

My name in Michael. I have posted on the different threads for the past few months. I got into Airstream's this summer when i purchased a wrecked 2008 Bambi SE...which i started work on.

2008 Airstream Bambi- Wrecked

But i decided to upgrade in size and i recently purchased one of the Georgia Flooded trailers.

2007 Safari Special Edition 25ft FB flooded

So admist all the bad weather, my trailer was delivered from Georgia last week and i intend to post my findings and repairs along the way...and hopefully by summer i will be heading West in my Safari.

wheel interested · 02-17-2010, 05:27 PM

Congratulations on your new project. We will all be cheering you on and watching how you bring the Airstream back into shape. Good Luck.

mgm · 02-17-2010, 05:30 PM

So here are the photos post flood that were taken from the previous owner.... Judging from what i have been able to decipher, the water was up around the windows, if not higher. So i'm doing my best to check everything out.

mgm · 02-17-2010, 05:48 PM

The Gentleman i purchased the trailer from, took steps to repair everything he could see. And upon delivery all the systems checked out fine. So only time will tell of how they will respond to prolonged use, But here are some photos of how she arrived to me.

The cushions were dry cleaned, and new foam was made up. But i think i will be replacing them. I will hang on to them , and have an extra set for the woods just in case i need them. But i called Jackson Center and priced out new cushion covers and a factor bedspread.

The bedspread comes in at... $731.00. So i i'm going to pass on that and just make do with what i find at the local stores...ie bed bath and beyond.

I did however purchase new sheets and a mattress pad from AB Lifestyles.

The cushion covers I'm trying to have done up on Tropical Oak, which is normally a secondary fabric option that compliments other color schemes. But its pretty neutral and i'm hoping they will let me custom order them.

price to replace the covers in their current color of Stratus...came in around $1000.00

So we'll see. I have even contemplated getting 8 yeards of fabric and sewing some stuff up myself, so we shall see.

So right off the bat, those are some of my recent purchases

I did get a 19" Philips LCD to place in her and am looking for a TV mount. The factory mount will run me $200.00....more then i paid for the dam tv haha. So i'm also looking at my options there.

As far as the trailer is concerned. I'm waiting for the weather to break and then i will check out the axles again and make sure the grease is holding up. I'm interested in getting some solar panels, and letting the factory do a systems check, so when i can i will take her home...back to Jackson Center.

I 'm a fan of the rub rail molding that the newer trailer have on the seam the s of the side panels that runs around the trailer, so i may dress her up and see if i can have that put on as well.

Just some ideas, i'm excited. And although, i want to focus on the bigger issues from the flood, i would be lieing if i said a part of me just wants to live and let be and see what happens. But the other part of me, that wants this trailer to last for years to come, will be going over everything a few times

overlander63 · 02-17-2010, 07:26 PM

I got an "adjustable" flat panel mount from WalMart to put our 19" in the bedroom. It doesn't spin, twist, rotate, or anything fancy, just holds the television in place. But it was only $20...

Boondocker · 02-17-2010, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

I got an "adjustable" flat panel mount from WalMart to put our 19" in the bedroom. It doesn't spin, twist, rotate, or anything fancy, just holds the television in place. But it was only $20...

I don't even like TV, but at that price I wish I did

ASwifey · 02-17-2010, 08:48 PM

We also have the 25' FB. We purchased used, and have made quite a few changes to update, and suit our needs.
We purchased new fabric locally, and had new cushions, with new foam made by a local upholstry shop for less than $1000. We used durable, nuetral fabric. Turned out great.
We also got the cheaper TV mount for the "living" area. We found that we didn't need all that fancy articulating movement there.
My sheets, and bed spread came from Ross. Very inexpensive.
The new mattress was a memory foam from Costco, was easily cut to fit.
Have fun, make it your own.

2airishuman · 02-17-2010, 09:22 PM

good job michael!

and a new thread ALL for this trailer, nice.

big time PASS on the bedspread.

sure u can make the cushion covers OR pay someone locally to do them, using the current covers as patterns.

the tv mount IS pricey but nicer than the generic ones, which work fine too.

hope it thaws OUT soon and u get to the camping stuff!

then the real fun begins.

cheers
2air'

mgm · 02-21-2010, 07:13 PM

Well, i have an update. I had tp play army all weekend. But i did go through the trailer a bit on thursday.

Here is some stuff i found. Some of the metal slides in the trailer are going to require me to sand them. The water, rusted them and although they all function just fine. I think they require more gusto then Airstream had planned for. So i'm hoping that a few rubs with a brillo pad or sandpaper will bring them back to life.

That and the one drawer definately shows the sign of the water. And the pullout in the front shows some signs of mildew. So i will be sanding that down as well and perhaps staining hit

2airishuman · 02-21-2010, 07:53 PM

couple of thoughts michael which may/not be useful...

so freely discard if you've already considered.
__________

1. the slides have small ball bearings in a linear pack, with a LITTLE grease...

so it's possible sand/grit from the water is now mixed and impeding the bearings,

along with a little rust on the tracks.

the drawers LIFT up/out/off and it's easy then to look at the bearings, grease and so on..

or get to the rust.

2. u might want to look into this product line now...

Wood preservation, rot repair, and restoration using epoxy resin on boats and homes.

they make a variety of resins and sealers which may help with the osb/ply and wood used for the cabinetry.

there are also penetrating solutions that kill the crud u may wanna buy and start brushing on now...

with the hard/resin sealants it's possible to encapsulate the crud and prevent it's growth.

the point being folks usually apply to truly rotted woods but in this case early use may be very helpful.
___________

keep posting the INNER details...

cheers
2air'

mgm · 02-22-2010, 06:48 PM

Well,

The batteries wouldnt hold a charge. So i broke down and spent some more $$$. Not too bad. I paid $140 for these batteries and i hope they will do the trick. I should have read some forums on the best choice for my trailer, but i figured these would serve me alright for now.

here is what i bought.

GCinSC · 02-22-2010, 07:40 PM

Michael,

Good luck, this looks like a challenging task with a nice finished project ahead of you.

Best of luck.

Gary

Been through Ravenna, most I seem to remember was a big Horse Show somewhere back in my HS days.

mgm · 03-03-2010, 04:53 PM

Well,

I may have made my first rookie mistake. The snow has started to melt and i finally had some free time. So I connected up the batteries and enjoyed a few minutes inside the trailer. The sound system all checked out and all the lights and fans seemed functional.

I doubled checked everything when i left to ensure that i had turned everything off...but i forgot to disconnect the battery.

I did that a week ago and when i came back today, the batteries were dead. So i must have left something on...Anyone have any ideas. Do these things really kill the batteries even if not used, if left without a charge for an extended period?

Let me know what you think.

mgm · 03-03-2010, 04:57 PM

A few new purchases, hopefully i will be off to the factory this week to decide what i want to do about the new cushions. I may end up just buying the Material to make up the covers myself.

I did recieve my new TV and my sheets arrived from AB Lifestyles. Shipping on both was really fast.

Not sure if i want a Mattress pad just yet, but if i do. I will definately give AB Lifestyles my business. The sheets seem to be of great quality.

TinLoaf · 03-03-2010, 04:59 PM

My radio face has a lot of lights and will drain the batteries pretty fast when stored so I take the face off when not in use. Besides that, there's the fridge circuit board, propane detector, etc. that are a slow drain. Even so, draining everything in just one week with brand new batteries is suspicious. I'd check your outside compartments and make sure one of the lights didn't accidentally get bumped on.

mgm · 03-04-2010, 05:42 PM

Well, i got the batteries recharged and they seem to be fine. I checked all the switches and they all seemed to be off. So i'm still on the hunt.

The refrigerator was plugged in, when i opened the outside compartment. Would that drain enough juice over a 12 day period or so to kill my batter?

Anyways- the weather was nice again and the snow was all but gone. So i finally had my first real "date" with the trailer and checked her all out.

Just like any first time owner, i was smiling from ear to ear and felt like a genious each time i figured out how things worked....

Like finding the purpose for this odd hook i found in the closest.....i put two and two together when i started examining the awning.

Just a fun day, that and i did my best to clean her up a bit on the inside, just some spic and span spray and papertowels. But all the aluminum panels are now spot and streak free.

Looking forward to going to the factory tomorrow. Gonna pick up a few random things and look at some fabic samples for my re-upholstery plans.

Oh yeah....i finally got the jack to work, but in doing so. I did kill a fuse or two..???? so something is not right with the jack.

Upon arrival i noticed that a wire was grounded to one of the positive battery terminals and i assumed that was for the jack. Should i find an alternate grounding locattion?

The fuses were cheap and i just replaced what was already in there....30AMP. Does anyone know if thats the right Amperage?

Just trying to weed out the simple problems before i dig deep. I downloaded the owners manual so i shall indulge myself in some reading and searching on the club site. But if anyone has ideas, please let me know

Thanks again

Lumatic · 03-04-2010, 08:04 PM

If this is a 3 way fridge on 12v the battery will drain really quick.

Grounding to positive does not make any sense.

2airishuman · 03-04-2010, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgm

...Just like any first time owner, i was smiling from ear to ear and felt like a genious each time i figured out how things worked...

great expression of what many of us have experienced, very funny too.

the fridge (on lpgas) uses some 12v power for the controller board, but not much.

with 2 FULLY charged batteries, they shouldn't fully discharge in 10-14 days...

expect that the capacity of FULLY charged batteries varies with temperature.

so IF it was really cold (20s?) the flooded deep cycles may only have 50-60% of the capacity they'd have at 72 degrees...

so yes the fridge might deplete COLD batteries in 2-3 weeks.

and u may have other phantom loads...

the radio face DOES suck juice and needs to be totally powered OFF or removed.

cooking fuses at the tongue jack suggests problems that would RAISE the amperage/heat and fry the fuses...

this could be a crimped HOT wire, frayed connector, loose connection or corrosion IN the wire or along the connections (from the water exposure)

so LOOK for sources of damage or connectivity along the jack wire that may be the issue.

many of us have had the lpgas tank cover PINCH and FRAY the 12v wire to the jack, and a frayed wire will cook fuses.

it is a single HOT wire so the ground is somewhere else, perhaps directly to the battery post.

the television antenna has a small signal booster/amp and THAT needs to be shut OFF too, or it will contribute to battery drain.

cheers
2air'

ticki2 · 03-05-2010, 03:54 AM

Just curious , how are you addressing drying out all the areas that you can't see , like the wall insulation ?

DreamStreamr · 03-05-2010, 06:48 AM

The tongue jack is a big load. On our 2005, if we reversed the jack while it was still running in one direction it consistently blew the 30 amp fuse. Eventually it smoothed out and doesn't do this anymore. And the ground is not wired for the tongue jack, it is grounded via star washers between the tongue jack's flange and the frame's steel web plate between the A-frame. Make sure the jack's three mounting bolts are torqued down securely.

Tiki2 is absolutely right, some areas are tough to dry. Watch for mold in all areas you access. Mold doesn't go away on it's own and you will be addressing it. Anytime materials don't dry within 48-72 hours from wetting, mold formation is a likelihood. Drying out doesn't kill it, just puts it to sleep awhile until it gets wet again. Wear a mask when you're digging into the mold -- it can be hazardous to your health.

Very best,
Jim