Traveling with Tatay

[nryn]

I thought I’d start a post that catalogs “events of significance” in my ownership of a 2019 Airstream Globetrotter 27FBT (named after my maternal grandfather, who we called “Tatay”). My travel log will be kept on my website; given the audience on these forums, most of these posts will skew towards Airstream ownership and focus on modifying and enhancing my trailer, tow vehicle, or camping practices. I’m a designer by trade and made my living thinking about how to make things, processes and experiences better. I’m also hoping to give back to this community by conveying my successes and failures in a way informs or helps others dial in their Airstream/Globetrotter experience.

I’ll start by saying that I’m an RV newbie. I backpacked for years and recently started car camping with my family, but after a successful camping roadtrip with the kids last summer (and many years of contemplation), ordered a Globetrotter from Woodlands Travel Center in Grand Rapids, MI last August and a few months later, a Ford F-250 to tow it (details on the selection and speccing of that vehicle in this thread - post #108 for the build). The truck arrived in late November and the trailer arrived on Dec 8, though I didn’t take delivery of the trailer until March of 2019. It sat in my driveway for a few weeks while I moved in and modified a few things, then a friend and I took it on a 10-day, 1500 mile shakedown trip to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

I did a lot of research beforehand and read plenty of posts about quality and so forth—I knew what I was getting myself into. On all fronts the trailer, tow vehicle, my dealer’s sales and service departments and the overall RV experience have exceeded expectations.

The configuration of the trailer I ordered is as follows:

• Globetrotter 27 Front Bed Twin in Barcelona Blue
• 2 AC units
• Factory Solar
• I originally ordered the convection oven but changed back to the propane so that my family has an oven when we don’t have electric hookups.

Before taking delivery of the trailer, I had the dealer perform the following

• installs or modifications:
• Install 3” Dexter lift kit
• Install ProPride Projection hitch with 1400# spring bars and a 2.5” HD receiver
• Install 2 more solar panels, new wiring harness and Victron 100/50
• Install a Surecall Fusion2Go RV and WiFi Ranger Elite AC, both on 12V power with switches
• Install Shurflo accumulator
• Install a battery cutoff switch
• Install Victron BMV-712 battery monitor
• Rotate toilet on flange to allow for more knee room
• Replace the OEM water heater ignitor board with a Dinosaur board
• Install an inverter circuit AC outlet in the “electronics cupboard” (more on that later)
• Install Ford TPMS stems on the trailer’s wheels
• Swap out the steel spare rim for an aluminum rim that matches the mounted wheels
• Install a locking cylinder on the battery storage compartment

Before the trip I did the following to our tow vehicle (TowPorg):

• Had ARE Z-series cap and BedRug installed (details in this post)
• Wired an upfitter switch and installed a magnetic mount for the Voyager camera display
• Wired upfitter switches for a Garmin 55 dashcam (2 switches, one for parking mode)
• Ran wire from upfitter switch relays to the front grill for some Rigid LED lights (still waiting for those to arrive)

Lastly, before and during the shakedown trip, I did the following to the Airstream:

• Installed Ford TPMS controller (mounted to back of Airstream battery box)
• Removed bedroom TV
• Removed factory Blu-Ray player and HDMI splitter
• Installed an AppleTV
• Configured electronics
• Installed hooks and other organizing devices
• Modified drawers
• Built a holder for cutting boards
• Installed security latches on drawers and cabinets that contain heavy items
• Customized and mounted a screen door guard from Weathered and Worn design
• Installed the AirForums decal
• Reinforced attachment of drawer glides for drawers under the galley sink with 5/8” screws (factory uses 1/2” screws, a few of which popped out)
• Adjusted the ProPride installation—moved towers up to get the front storage compartment door to lay flatter, reconfigured the receiver/stinger of the PP

I have photos of some of these modifications that I’ll post soon. To start with, here’s a movie of my “first pull”—an exhilarating moment for a first-time RVer! (Low-res—export from Instagram)

[nryn]

One of the first things I noticed while packing up the Airstream for its first trip was that the silverware tray and drawer that comes stock with the Globetrotter is a poor use of space.



The drawer is a little over twice as tall as the tray, so when the tray sits on the drawer bottom about half of the vertical space in the drawer is wasted. There is a small space to the right where I placed my knives, but this too was suboptimal because it was not so easy to retrieve them. So I wanted to improve the overall ergonomics of this drawer.

I decided to not use that drawer for silverware and instead use it for both knives cooking utensils, since it is right next to the stove. I’m in the process of constructing a knife tray that will sit on runners above the cooking utensils, making full use of the drawer’s space.

I thought about general kitchenware use—I will be traveling with my family (my children are still less than 5’ tall) so putting things in the uppers would not be ideal, as they wouldn’t be able to reach them. Dinnerware ranks highest in terms of both weight and volume, so that goes in the large bottom drawer underneath the kitchen sink. It made a lot of sense to consolidate “glass”ware and silverware in the odd-but-useful tall drawer directly under the sink, above the dishware.



Construction was pretty straightforward—I removed the strange divider that existed in the drawer (not sure what that is for) with an oscillating tool. The silverware dividers are built out of baltic birch, edge banding, glue and pocketscrews, and a shellac finish. The knives are set at an angle so they fit vertically and so that they aren’t bearing their full weight on their tips.



For silverware, I'm using the same stuff we use at home--Knork matte stainless. It feels great in the hand and works well. In general I'm going for 6 place settings--not because I expect 6 people but so that I have extra for serving and cooking and so forth. The kids are the dishwashers, so what do I care?

As for glassware, we have a mixture of stainless steel vacuum mugs (coffee, hot chocolate), stainless steel cups, espresso cups, some large mugs we use as bowls, Tervis tumblers, and Govino wine glasses. I’m sure some of this will be removed from the trailer at some point, but on the shakedown trip (which was just me and a friend, all of it was used except the stainless steel cups (which are mostly for the kids anyway). On glassware I'm going for sets of 4--in the case that the kids make campground friends, we'll make do.

The drawer and overall kitchen flow worked out great on the shakedown. Note--the drawer now has a drawer liner (I installed the dividers so that a liner could slide under it).

[nryn]

This issue of toilet placement in the Globetrotter models has come up several times on these forums, so I thought I'd post this for general reference. In general taller folks have an issue with knee clearance against the bathroom vanity.

Before I picked the trailer up I asked the service department to see if they could rotate the toilet on its flange (i.e. without doing any complicated plumbing), using the angle from some of the other models as a reference. They did, and on our shakedown trip, my 6'1" traveling companion thanked me.

[Piggy Bank]

Can't wait to see what else you have done.

Very interested in the cutting board holder.

We travel with a 12 x 18 Boos Block cutting board, and a custom sink cover that is a crescent moon shape (covers about ⅔ of the sink, so you can run the the water to the sink with the cover in place). Both add extra cutting space, and a heat-safe place to land coffee pots and cast iron cookware.

Right now I put these both on the floor of the closet or on the floor in the kitchen when we travel. If you have a better idea I would like to see it.

Glad you are having fun with your new rig.

[nryn]

What my friend and I made for our Globetrotter works well for our needs...unfortunately I have only one photo of it “in action”. Here it is:



The cutting board retainer secures not only cutting boards, but also the sink and garbage bin covers that come with the Airstream. In this pic some of the items that the cutting board retainer are in use—when everything is in there the items are held tight against the wall.

Its construction is pretty simple—quartersawn oak standoffs screwed into the wall and a piece of lightly shaped and sanded aluminum screwed into the standoffs. I didn’t get the finish on the oak right—I think my friend used amber shellac instead of normal, but that’ll be easy to fix.

I use cutting boards a lot—not only for food prep but also for serving, even at home. It saves having to wash plates and are themselves easy to clean. So after the shakedown trip, I decided I’m going to add a couple more small cutting boards and leave the bin covers and sink cover at home, and do as you did—make a butcher-block style sink cover that will stay on the sink during travel (I’ll rig up some recessed/inlaid magnets or something). I’m also going to take this construction approach for spice jar retainers against the galley wall.

I’ll take a proper photo when I retrieve the trailer from the dealer this weekend and if there is interest, of the construction and mounting process as well.

[Piggy Bank]

Thanks. Now I understand. That looks good and is is a good idea.

I don't think that will work for me. That's my spot for artwork.
I also favor wooden boards, which of course are heavier.

But I do agree that cutting boards are so useful. We use outside, on the table top, across the sink, and on the counter

I will stick to the floor or the closet floor for in-transit storage.

Can't wait to see what else you do.

[nryn]

A few upgrades this week in preparation for a big trip. We aren't TV people--we have one relatively small TV in our house and it's not hooked up to cable or an antenna. So when I first got the trailer I removed the TV in the bedroom and related equipment (mount, HDMI splitter, etc.). But we do like family movie time and will probably watch a movie or two during inclement weather this summer. I didn't care much for the TV that came with the Airstream--the factory TV had a lousy picture and a blown speaker (replaced by dealer under warranty). So the TV got an upgrade.

Before:



Now:


Mounting the TV in the right position required modifying the TV mount's wall plate (counterboring some holes) and reconfiguring the arm a little to shift it over just the right amount.



I wasn't happy with the first try, so I ended up drilling another set and got the position perfect--it doesn't hit the wall and doesn't project into the hallway much more than the original did (maybe 1/8" more?). The photo makes it look like it extends into the hallway more but it does not. The image on the new TV is excellent (it's a 32" 1080P).

The VESA plate on the TV was also modified so that an optical cable could be used. Behind the TV bracket is an optical > RCA converter which lets me run the TV through the trailer's stereo system. It's a neat little unit that is even powered by the USB port on the TV, so no additional wall plug or USB port was necessary.

This is the "V" half of the AV upgrades I'm doing. This weekend I'll install additional "ceiling" speakers in the lounge.

h/t to @Wulfraat for the audio pointers (he has the same TV and optical converter)

[nryn]

It occurs to me also that in the above pictures, you can see the result of two of the enhancements I had my dealer do--the first is the grommet in the device nook above the TV, which runs cables to my internet electronics in the cabinet above the refrigerator. My wireless hotspot is in this cubby, which is powered by and has a USB-C data connection to the wifi router. The other cable coming from that grommet is for the cell booster (SureCall) "candybar" antenna. If I use a phone I can chose to create a boosted wireless hotspot and still charge the phone, or I can tether the phone to the router via the USB cable.

The other enhancement is more subtle--I had the dealer move the water heater switch to the lounge, replacing the solar charge monitor. I don't use the solar charge monitor (I have a Victron bluetooth MPPT charge controller and battery monitor), so it was disconnected anyway.

I'm one of those "turn it on when you need it then shut it off" folks, and it bothered me that to use hot water you'd have to turn on the water pump then walk into the bathroom and then turn on the water heater. Worse than that though, was that you had to check both places to know if they were on. As part of the routine checks I do when leaving the trailer I can now just look in one spot, even from the door, and know whether anything is on. It's a small ergonomic change that will save me lots of tromping around. The factory design was clearly a cost saving measure (locate the switch near the heater) but I'm not sure its use was thought through very well.

I have since rotated the switch and faceplate 90° so that flipping the switches right turns them on. I have the parts to add LEDS to the faceplate and will do that someday this summer as a rainy day project.

[nryn]

I've already written about the poor use of space in the topmost "silverware" galley drawer. As mentioned before, I moved silverware to the drawer below the galley sink and use the top drawer for cooking and prep utensils, since it's right next to the stove.

This is the second part of my home-brew upgrade. I cook a lot and decided when getting the Airstream that I was not going to rough it with cheap knives like I have done for several decades camping, and that I was going to kit it out with the same knives I use at home. Here was the drawer beforehand (I bought knife guards for the shakedown trip).

Before:


Now:


The tray sits proud of the drawer by about 3/4", making near full use of the drawer cavity. It slides left and right on runners and is intentionally kept open underneath the knives so that you can see the contents below.





I made the drawer out of some European beech hardwood and the thicker pieces are from a beech kitchen counter sink cutout that I happened to keep.

[nryn]

I’m embarking on an extended trip with my two kids (occasionally my wife will join us as well). This trip is about showing the kids the National Parks, and we’ll be camping there (I made reservations months ago). But cooking well for 3, sometimes 4 people for up to a week requires more space in the kitchen for storage, so I made some modifications to my Globetrotter. 3 posts for these.

First—sliding Elfa shelves, per Rocinante’s improvements.



I’m not sure how Rocinante’s install went, but on the Globetrotter this was more involved than I thought it would be. I had to drop the upper shelf by about 1.75” for the sliding shelf to fit back to front. That top shelf is held in one spot (near the door, actually) by a screw, which I had to cut (easily done with an oscillating tool but a bit of a pain—the dowels used everywhere else were of course a piece of cake). Truth be told, I was planning on dropping that shelf anyway just to make it more easily reachable. But I now use this top cabinet for almost all of “appliances” (Instant Pot, sous vide immersion circulator, induction burner) and a couple of mixing/storage bowls, and it’s so much easier to get at stuff. I spray-mounted some foamy shelf liner onto 1/8” hardboard so that things don’t bounce around as much and to distribute weight more evenly.

Thanks for the sliding shelf idea, Rocinante!

[nryn]

Second—a spice rack.



I actually made two spice racks—this one and an upper one with a shelf—that were intended to attach to the wall behind the stove cover, but decided after installing the first one that I didn’t need more spices than that and repurposed the second one as a “version 2.0” of the cutting board retainer, positioning it so that a larger jar of sea salt or a bottle of olive oil could be nestled securely in the corner.



I designed the rack around a set of uniform spice jars that I bought off Amazon. I originally designed the rack to accommodate differently-sized jars and can still do that to some extent (see below), but consistency in jar sizesmade for a less complex approach.

The pieces of aluminum bar, which I hammered and bent then ground and sanded have a strip of vinyl weatherstripping on the inside which pushes the jars against the wall to secure them and also prevents them from sliding laterally.

[nryn]

Lastly (for this round)—I repurposed half of the huge wardrobe for a set of drawers.



This little cabinet more than doubles my food storage and for our purposes, makes much better use of the closet than before. I sized the lowest drawer for cereal containers and other breakfast stuff (pancake mix, etc.), the middle drawer for snacks, and the upper drawer for “roll” storage (foil, cling wrap, bags, etc.). Because my kids aren’t super tall, I can’t use upper storage lockers for things they need to get at, so these drawers are working out great five days into our trip.



This was also a large-ish project—I had to reinforce the floor underneath, which I did with a combination of 2x4s and aluminum angle. I had to remove the right top shelf in order to remove the closet rod and fit the top of the “cabinet” in. I was going to make the whole cabinet myself but I was running out of time and ended up just Frankensteining parts from Ikea cabinets. So all I made were the drawer fronts (baltic birch) and some interior closet pieces, both of which used the same laminates found elsewhere in the Barcelona Blue/Natural Elm Globetrotter. Fitting it was finicky, but as you can see the whole thing works and I didn’t have to rehang any of the hinges, only move the latch up about 2”. Even better—it gives me a standing-height work surface. We don’t hang that much clothing, only rainwear and fleeces, and there’s plenty of room for all four of us for that. I also left some room behind the cabinet for longer items such as a vacuum wand, some exercise gear, and a poster tube (I like to purchase art and posters).







If I ever need to get access the shower controls, the cabinet can be removed relatively easily. After getting the laminate and laminating some baltic birch sheets, this job took me maybe 1.5 days.

[nryn]

One thing that I found on my 10-day shakedown trip was that the bedroom nightstand quickly becomes a crowded mess. I use a CPAP machine and between that, a couple of phones, a small electric heater/fan (and safety space in front of it), bottles of water, and so forth—it becomes the place where we knocked things over more than the place that we kept them.

I built a small shelf using baltic birch and the Natural Elm laminate used elsewhere in the trailer. It allows me to keep the heater about 4” higher so that I can slide my CPAP underneath but also provides room on the sides for our watches, phones, water bottles, and so forth. To secure it to the nightstand I removed the drawer and the board behind it and used screws from underneath.

[jayseejay]

That’s a handy and attractive addition - thanks for posting! Joe

[nryn]

All of these are pretty simple.

AIR decal



Patio-side horseshoe eyelets (I don’t remember what they are called). I purchased these and gave them to my dealer to attach to ribs on the patio side. I use these for some exercise bands, as impromptu clothesline anchors, or to hang towels from after the family goes on a swim. I like them so much I want to install a couple on the back to create a “garage” with a tarp for the bikes.



Smaller AV cabinet. I built most of this by just cutting down the existing cabinet. As mentioned above, I don’t use the Blu-Ray player and removed the TV in the bedroom, so the only thing in this cabinet is the Polk system’s amplifier and an Apple TV. I didn’t measure the original, but I’m guessing I save maybe 2/3rds of the space the original occupied. The top is removable and secured with some small rare earth magnets.






Larger trash can. This one is maybe 1/3rd larger than the stock can, has a lid (yay) and fits well, though you have to take the lid off while the can is inside the cabinet in order to get the can in and out of the cabinet. It’s made by Brabantia and I got it at the Container Store.



Securing bathroom storage compartments: the bathroom compartments in my Globetrotter tended to open in transit. My dealer’s solution, which I think is great, was to use a common magnet catch underneath the latch. Takes a tiny bit more effort to open, but that’s the point.



I took a similar approach to securing the sliding doors, which always seemed to wiggle their way open while driving. I inserted some tiny rare earth magnets into the sides of the cabinet (secured with epoxy) and used countersunk screws in the doors. They work great.

[SewStream]

I have a question about your Apple TV install. Can you operate the Apple TV remote with the locker closed? We do not use the blu-ray, and we also removed the TV from the bedroom in our GT. Our dilemma is how to *install* the Apple TV. This is a great idea, thanks.

[nryn]

Originally Posted by SewStream

I have a question about your Apple TV install. Can you operate the Apple TV remote with the locker closed?

Yes. The AppleTV remote is not infrared. It undoubtedly has range limits but it does not require line of sight.But I usually use my phone. There is an app built into iOS. As long as you are on the same network as the AppleTV it works great (and makes typing/searching for things much easier).

I took out all the stock HDMI stuff (switcher, extra cable) in the Globetrotter and just connected the AppleTV to the stock cable that runs from that cabinet to the television. If I want to play downloaded stuff from a device, I use the extra HDMI port on the TV.

[nryn]

The stock audio system sounds great but the only time I watch TV is for family movies with the kids, on the lounge (table down). And in this configuration, the stock audio system’s speakers are above and in front of you. The combination of subwoofer + trailer acoustics make it really hard to understand a lot of dialogue. I replaced the TV but as expected, did not really like the built-in speakers on that either. So I installed some Bose ceiling speakers. There’s a perfect space for them in the ends of the upper storage locker.



I went back and forth on installing these or doing a soundbar and ended up with the ceiling speakers. They run on the stereo system without turning on the inverter, don’t block any of the system monitors under the TV (a soundbar would) and provide excellent sound when sitting in the lounge. Installation was very simple with a 6-5/8” hole saw. I disconnected the speakers in the bedroom for these because I never listen to anything in the bedroom (if I did, it would be to get some space from the kids and I’d use headphones), but since they are in the same cabinet you could easily just run a bit of speaker wire from the existing lounge speakers to these and you’d be fine.

So with the larger 1080p TV and these speakers, now we have a little home theater that we fire up once a week or so while on the road.

[nryn]

Speaking of on the road...

The kids and I are well into our 80+ day trip to Alaska. My wife joins us from time to time as her job allows, but as she has almost single-handledly taken on childcare for our kids, I thought I’d give her a well-deserved break while I’m on sabbatical. And at the same time, get some quality time in with the kids while they still like me (i.e. before they go full teenager). We left on June 1 and have just now arrived in Yellowstone. We’ve stopped at Badlands, Devils Tower, Grand Tetons NP, and many places inbetween.



Much of this trip is about showing the kids our national parks, and we’re lucky to have the time to spend 6-8 days in most of them. Though our days are largely unplanned, we’re traveling on a schedule, which is not ordinarily my preference, but you all know the national park campsite reservations game. So this summer’s trip was planned well in advance. That said, the kids will fly home with my wife from Alaska and I will meander back home without any plans whatsoever.



The modifications I made (and some I didn’t document) before leaving are working out very well. I’m particularly happy with the wardrobe conversion—it literally doubles our food storage, which makes grocery trips far less frequent. I wish I had time to make drawers under the beds but am also glad I stopped modifying this thing and started preparing for the journey, because in the end it’s not just about the tinkering.



I’m also very happy with the AV modifications. Many people call me crazy for this, but I only let my kids bring Kindles on this trip (no phones or iPads). We have bikes, board games, campground games and fishing equipment. Every once in a while after a long hike or bike day it’s nice to sit down and watch a movie with the kids—we don’t even do this often at home (our TV is almost never on). So having an “Airstream theater” is pretty nice. They even like it better than the one in the Classic they sat in at the dealer.



The only thing that has gone wrong is that our fridge died during the first week of travel and after finding an authorized Dometic service center, I was told that the fridge needs to be replaced. But both my dealer and Airstream have been oustanding. My dealer had a new board and overnighted it to the service center, but the problems were deeper than that. Airstream has ordered a new fridge and has had it drop-shipped to Missoula, and if all goes well we’ll have a new fridge next week. For the time being, I just get ice at the campground every other day or so—not a huge deal. We’ll be doing a lot more boondocking through Canada, though, and having a fridge would be great! If not, we will deal. Part of this journey is about teaching the kids to not get upset when things go wrong.



The rig as a whole is working out great. The kids and I love the truck and we’ve taken it on a few gravel-road adventures and have had a blast. I’ve been dialing in the ProPride over the last 1,800 miles (mostly raising the stinger—I’m now on my fourth config) and I think I’ve got it pretty much perfect now. Little to no porpoising, absolutely solid performance on flats and in the mountains.

I was a backpacker for many years. Other than my shakedown trip and a small weekend outing with my family to show them the ropes, this is my first RV journey. I gotta say, it’s been pretty great and the kids are totally loving it.

[GOUSC]

What a great trip. Very brave of you to basically make your first RV trip one for 80 days to Alaska without the spouse. You will make some great memories with your kids. A little over 23 yrs ago my wife and I did a 6 week trip cross country with our kids. The National Park system was not as hard to manage back then. We only made 2 reservations, our first at Yellowstone and our last at the Grand Canyon and made everything up in between. This will be a trip that all of you will never forget. Your will see some beautiful scenery.

When kids were finally out of the house, my wife and I took a trip out West and the fridge went out on us as well. We basically would keep a block of ice in the fridge and made that work for the trip as we couldn’t get it repaired till we got back. I’ve always carried a cooler with me after that experience.

Enjoy!