Hein & Kim's 94 Excella

[Hein]

Greetings most wonderful Airstream folks.

We are fortunate to have recently been able to purchase a 28 ft Airstream Excella to use as visitor lodging on our property. We are van people (also owned a Motorhome in the past) and some of you may recognize us from the Sprinter-Source and other van forums. We produce and sell products for up-fitting vans.

Our new-to-us Airstream is parked up at the barn where we have 30A service. We don't have any immediate upgrade plans but I can't leave any piece of equipment untouched for very long. The coach was well kept by the previous owners and has had some updates (AC, fridge, carpet, upholstery, etc) about 10 years ago. Probably in need for a little more TLC which we are happy to do. Not sure how long it's been since the awning was put out so if the wind dies down here in Hood River then we'll give it a tug.

We looked at other 'trailers' but much preferred the aesthetic of an Airstream.

All the best,
Hein & Kim



living area:


kitchen and view of the twin beds in back.

[Hein]

First things first. Burnt shore power plug. This probably won't do well to carry the current load of the air conditioner.

[Bob Blarney]

Congrats & Hello! This looks very similar to my 95 Excella. I'm in the process of renovation, and considering bed options in the rear. Could you please post a pic of the rear bedroom with the twin bunks? Mine had the short queen, which seemed very cramped to get around. I'm debating which configuration would be for me. I've also considered making one or both twin bunks on heavy duty drawer glides so that they could be latched together to make a queen/king bed.

Oh, and a bit of advice about opening the awning. Lubricate the struts and joints with silicon spray. Undo the travel clamps (faucet knobs) and then look for the Z-lock on the right side and draw it open with the hook. Because the awning may be stiff to open after such a long time, tie a rope on the center web loop, about long enough to reach the ground and then tie a crossbar (broomstick) handle. This will allow you to draw the awning out by pulling mostly horizontally instead of mostly vertically.

[Hein]

Thanks for your reply and awning tips, Bob. Here is photo of the twin beds. There is outside and inside storage underneath each one.




I like your idea of being able to slide one twin over to combine into a 'queen'. Let me know if you need more photos.

[rmkrum]

Except for the obvious problem with the shore power cord, it looks to be in remarkably good shape. Great find!

Do feel free to document (pictures or it didn't happen is a tradition around here) any improvements or updates you come up with. Welcome to the forums!

[jucsb]

Identical to my '96 right down to the burnt plug! My plug seemed to be result of being connected to household 110, converter plug almost melted onto the trailer plug.I have been curious if this is a common problem and what suggestions folks have to correct.

Your upholstery/drapes are in amazing shape, my couch is being reupholstered now and Ive ordered new drapes. My clearcoat also in much worse shape and needs major work.

Congratulations on a good buy. Enjoy

[Hein]

We too had a 30A RV to 15A duplex adapter with a matching burn zone. That's in the trash along with the plug I cut off of the cord. It appears that we found a fairly clean AS but I am finding lots of things to fix.

Below. New plug installed. I tinned the ends of the wires, screwed the terminal clamps tight and then wrapped each with cloth (FMVSS302 rated) electrical tape. Then saturated that with thin hobby CA (super) glue. A section of shrink tube provides a strain relief for the cord where is enters the plug body.








Started and tested the air conditioner and it works well.

[rmkrum]

On the plug question, I've just installed a 30 amp plug in the places I park the Airstream. That damage is typically caused by drawing too much current through the household to 30 amp adapter--like trying to run the air conditioning, for example. I try to run much less than 15 amps total when I use an adapter from 30 amp to household outlet--like a small space heater or just the battery charger.

The problem is the contacts get a bit dirty, heat up, get worse, and you get a lot of voltage drop and heat at the contacts. Eventually something melts or catches fire. Gotta avoid drawing much power when on the adapter...

[Hein]

Thank you for the added insight. The plug blades were dirty. I went to clean them when I noticed the burned spot.

Great advice about having 30A service nearby. We are lucky to have that installed last winter when we powered up the barn with 3-phase for some equipment. We should be good as long as we don't overdo it with the appliances.

Below. New plug into outlet. Product reviews on Amazon said the handle wouldn't let the cover close so I might just cut that off


And the 'ta-da of the day' is that the awning came out easily enough and looks to be in great shape. Rare windless day here in Hood River. Thanks again, Bob, advice was spot on!

[dbj216]

Hello from Colorado: Your Excella 31' will make a great guest house. Maybe you have water and sewer connections out there too. I'm sure this Airstream is in good hands and you will surely make it a better coach. Keep track of your expenses and upgrades so when time to sell comes, quite likely you can recover some of the costs. Buyers like to know the trailer is in good shape.

David

[Bob Blarney]

Originally Posted by Hein

Thanks for your reply and awning tips, Bob. Here is photo of the twin beds. There is outside and inside storage underneath each one.




I like your idea of being able to slide one twin over to combine into a 'queen'. Let me know if you need more photos.

Thanks for the pictures - they give me an idea of the spacing. Here near Detroit, there is a foam mattress/seating factory that offers many options for foam mattresses and will cut them to any shape or size that is needed. I think that heavy duty drawer slides or file cabinet slides will work for the bed frame. So far as the mattress platforms go, I could use interior doors, or make a stiff torsion box platform using thin plywood and yardsticks (they're perfect because the dimensions are uniform (1/4" thick by 1-1/2" wide by 36") and inexpensive. I've used them to make very stiff wing extensions for my table saw, and lightweight but strong benchtops and shelves.

I'm glad that the awning extended easily. In another recent thread, you'll see that the Lady Wife & I missed releasing the Z-lock, and ended up on our keisters! I think I'll always use the rope & broomstick to extend the awning - it's just easier and less stressful on the awning.

[rmkrum]

Some have made a nice bolster the same thickness as the mattress and a platform to fill the gap. The drawer slide idea sounds pretty good also.

[Hein]

A few details to make it our own. An AS key rack, AS coasters and an small 800watt coffee maker. -Which doesn't really fit the counter space with the spice cabinet there.



It's windy up by the barn and we've left the windows open to freshen up the inside. The window prop system looks like it could be overcome by a strong gust so I've added bungee cords to keep them from blowing off the supports. Maybe I'm being over cautious but does seem the frame-less windows could break fairly easily. Are there replacements available?

[Hein]

Before we tackle some bigger projects, we are having some fun accessorizing to make it our own. AS key holder, AS coasters and an 800watt (for when we add an inverter) coffee maker.




Also bought some new warm white LED bulbs for the tired and cracked light fixtures. Anybody upgrade those?

[Bob Blarney]

The light fixtures are still in production. Perhaps the covers are too. Several vendors carry them.

Also, I'd like to find some sockets for the 1141/1156 style bulbs. I would like to add two in the ceiling fixtures, and a few elsewhere.

[Hein]

They are still available and I found a good price on them:
https://mobilehomepartsstore.com/parts/201140.html
same place has lenses.

But my feeling is that the new ones will crack too. My guess is that the tight fitting metal reflector heats up (especially with larger hot running LEDs) and then expands. Which puts stress on the housing which then cracks. They aren't the most stylish fixtures ever designed. Heat from the LEDs also ages the lens plastic making it brittle.

I'd like to upgrade to more stylish dim-able LEDs with a nicer (easier to operate) switch. I have something planned but just wanted to see if there were other solutions.

All the best,
Hein

[Snowbird302]

Originally Posted by Bob Blarney

Congrats & Hello! This looks very similar to my 95 Excella. I'm in the process of renovation, and considering bed options in the rear. Could you please post a pic of the rear bedroom with the twin bunks? Mine had the short queen, which seemed very cramped to get around. I'm debating which configuration would be for me. I've also considered making one or both twin bunks on heavy duty drawer glides so that they could be latched together to make a queen/king bed.

Oh, and a bit of advice about opening the awning. Lubricate the struts and joints with silicon spray. Undo the travel clamps (faucet knobs) and then look for the Z-lock on the right side and draw it open with the hook. Because the awning may be stiff to open after such a long time, tie a rope on the center web loop, about long enough to reach the ground and then tie a crossbar (broomstick) handle. This will allow you to draw the awning out by pulling mostly horizontally instead of mostly vertically.

We’re finishing up the interior reno of our 92 25’ with rear twin beds. After much thought we rebuilt the twin bases with cleats attached lengthwise to support a plywood bridge that will convert the bed into a king when needed [emoji4]. The top of the night stand is hinged and opens to almost the full length of the bed. Just ordered 3 twin xl memory foam mattresses that will be cut to fit with one being the filler pieces for the center. The plan is to cut them so they will be “pillows/bolsters” during the day.

Got this idea from a sprinter van video I saw on YouTube.

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[Bob Blarney]

[QUOTE=Snowbird302;2148959]We’re finishing up the interior reno of our 92 25’ with rear twin beds. After much thought we rebuilt the twin bases with cleats attached lengthwise to support a plywood bridge that will convert the bed into a king when needed [emoji4]. The top of the night stand is hinged and opens to almost the full length of the bed. Just ordered 3 twin xl memory foam mattresses that will be cut to fit with one being the filler pieces for the center. The plan is to cut them so they will be “pillows/bolsters” during the day.

Got this idea from a sprinter van video I saw on YouTube.

Looks great!

I'm still tracking down one tiny leak in front, so the rear bedroom is occupied by the gaucho until that's done.

[Hein]

Rain is here so pulled the trailer in for some weather proofing...


Tired caulking above the windows.



I brushed off the loose stuff and then masked off to apply Phil Smith's grey Flexseal in a can.






Done with this window. On to the next.

[Hein]

Got most all of the window, storage and access panel caulking re-sealed and starting on the roof cleanup to check and reseal as needed. Decided to remove the air-conditioner to clean underneath it and replace the foam sealing ring. Other dirty area is where the solar panels were mounted. Looks like the person who installed the air conditioner had some time to leave a smiley face drawn in caulk.







The roof seals were OK and no sign of leak but I'll re-coat all of them. Next up is to remove the rear vent fan and replace it with a Maxxaire Deluxe. Considering a new Coleman Mach8 15K BTU to replace the AC.