Praises to the forum

[zoom240]

Everyone,

I'm a new Airstreamer - bought my 28ft 1994 Excella in mid May and we've been out in it for just 3 short trips. Our big debut comes up in late July where we'll tow it 2000 miles for a 2 week family vacation through the Ozarks and Kentucky.

I don't post much, but I sure have been using the forum's search capability. We did a bit of remodling when I bought the trailer & it's all done now. Thanks to everyone who helped me while I was doing it & everyone else who posted all the questions in the past -- all I had to do was read the responses.

I've posted pictures in "My Gallery" for those curious about the changes.

What we did:

Replaced carpet with Pergo.

I learned: I don't like the new snap-fit Pergo. I have all sorts of little creaks at the seams when I walk on it. But it looks fantastic and is very easy to clean. Easy to do. I put a centerline down the middle of the hallway and lined everything up on that. I also had to cut the carpet at the cupboards, because airstream laid the carpet down and then put everything in it. Around the toilet, shower and sinks, I siliconed the edges of the Pergo to slow down water ingress in case of a spill.

Ordered a new gaucho from Steelcase.

I learned: A wife that sews is great. She ordered extra fabric & we redid the window ties & all the valences to match the sofa. Now it looks like an original job - the fabric pieces from the couch show up throughout the trailer. The previous owner had a cover that hid the batteries and I kept that and made cutouts where the sofa interfered. I had to shim the sofa with some Pergo strips to get it to clear the battery cases.

Converted the Twins to a Queen

I learned: Easy enough to do, but you have to push against the windows and bend the mattress till you're cringing to get it in. It turns the bedroom into a 2 ft high loft with a mattress on it. There is enough space on the far side to put glasses & a watch down and on the entry side there's about a foot. We put a tall fan in the corner and my wife made some fabric covers to hide the plywood. I cut the 1/2" plywood in three strips from side-side & they are removable (sitting loose on the existing twin supports). I had to add a brace or two against the wall to support the Queen in places the Twins never needed supporting. I've saving all the old kit, so I can return it if needed. The Queen mattress is better than most of the RV mattresses you can buy - it's 10" pillowtop & was our mattress before we upgraded to a King a year ago. I'd tried the Bear mattress and it was ok, but never could get it so it didn't feel like an air mattress.

Installed a Flat Screen tv

The old TV sat high on the shelf above the microwave and I kept forgetting to store it for towing (bad). The new LCD flat screens are getting cheaper - so I found one on open-stock and went for it. I pulled the microwave and installed a 2x4 brace on the backside of the thin paneling for the folding-arm mount that the TV bolts to. There were some 1x1 strips that the paneling attached to & I had to notch the 2x4 to fit flush against the paneling. It's all very secure now.

End result - fantastic trailer.

Only thing that's bugging us now is how to route the cold air to the back better. We live in Louisiana & the aircon is absolutely necessary. We find you freeze in the front & sweat in the back. I'm currently experimenting with strategically placed fans.

Dave

[Tin Hut]

Looks great....super work! I too thought my wood floor creaked when I walked on it until my wife observed that it was me creaking.

[dscluchfc]

There should be a damper lever on your AC that when in the up position will direct the AC to one end of the trailer and when in the down position will direct it the opposite way...when in the middle about equal flow both ways.

[j54mark]

Originally Posted by zoom240

Replaced carpet with Pergo.

I learned: I don't like the new snap-fit Pergo. I have all sorts of little creaks at the seams when I walk on it.

I had a similar problem with Alloc - which I believe it was the original snap-together laminate. I discovered my problem was a floor not totally flat; the Alloc is. As a consequence, it would sqeak as it was stepped on the low places in the floor. Alloc uses a sophisticated backing material that was the result of tens of seconds of research - cardboard. I gathered up some left over scraps of the cardboard and shimmed up the low places and SILENCE!

Mark

[zoom240]

Originally Posted by j54mark

I had a similar problem with Alloc - which I believe it was the original snap-together laminate. I discovered my problem was a floor not totally flat; the Alloc is. As a consequence, it would sqeak as it was stepped on the low places in the floor. Alloc uses a sophisticated backing material that was the result of tens of seconds of research - cardboard. I gathered up some left over scraps of the cardboard and shimmed up the low places and SILENCE!

Mark

Mark - The Pergo had a foam backing. I had it in a house some 6 yrs ago - but it was the type you glued on the edge... no squeeks, but it was over a concrete floor that had been leveled. You're probably right, the Airstream floor's not completely flat, but I don't think it would creak as much if the edges were glued.

But now I've got all the quarter-round down... I can handle the creaks! Next time around, I'll do something different, but this should last years.

Thanks,

Dave