Monday

rallys on hold for me

After suffering a stroke aug 28 which disabled me , i am taking a break from rally organization until I am restored to near100% mobility. rallys are still being held in fall AND SPRING IN HIAWASSEE, GA  AT THE  GA MOUNTAIN FAIRGROUNDS CAMPGROUND.. YOU CAN CALL AND MENTION THE GEORGIA AIRSTREAM GROUP TO GET A SPOT  FOR A GOOD TIME WEEKEND...

Wednesday

Life gets in the way

aug 28 my Airstream campin came to an abrubt end. On my way home from the gym, I suffered a stroke! Read more if you like here. All I can say is; I am glad to have survived, and expect good recovery, but Fall is my favorite season to camp, and I still have ongoing projects in the trailer, so bahhhh, not happy at the moment! A lot of therapy to accomplish.

Saturday

An hour and a half turned into three days.

This was supposed to be an easy job. A few hours of pulling off the old crapped out Solardome vent cover, and then applying the new one. This is the very long 26" or so front vetn on mid-60s Airstreams.

It did not go well.

I got the old cover off no problem, then cleaned all the tons of old caulking off the area around the vent.
Next I re-caulked with a grey gutter seal and let it dry overnight. The daily rain cycle we were (and still are) in made the it mandatory to tarp the trailer well. A two foot hole in the roof is just not compatible with inches of daily rain.

Once dry I set out to attach the new cover.  The lifters on each end of the lid became a problem. THey did not work well so I soaked them in Blaster overnight and sprayed them again before attempting to attach. Directions with the lid were that I rivet through from the top, and use the rivets supplied.

This is where the fun began. Drilling the rivet holes was nerve racking, but I made two sets of 3, going through from inside to outside. No cracking. Phew that was amazing. I used the drill on slow speed and lubricated with vegetable oil.

To my surprise the rivets were too short to grab the hinge that holds onto the lifters. Now what?

I hit up my supplies for longer rivets and managed to get the lifters on. the lid. Had a few broken rivets in the process, which had to be drilled out. Now this is getting tense.

When I tried to attach the lifters to the hinged bracket was where the fun really began.

No rivets were short enough to go into the very small space between the bracket and lifter. None.
Now what?  A trip in the rain (which came in hard and heavy again), to the largest ACE hardware provided the shortest rivets I could find.
Arriving home I waited out the rain overnight then found even the shortest rivet would not go through the hole in the brackets without banging up against the lifter body.
Now I know why many replace these lifters, which still did not work right after 2 hours of soaking in Blaster spray. ARRGGGGGG!

After wrestling the brackets I realized I would have to be creative somehow. Screws would not work so..
Finding some bailing wire in the tool box,   I wired the bracket to the lifter, which held it firmly in place but looked kinda crappy. It did work though and with a trip looming in a day or so, I would have to go with it,,, for now. Hope the lid does not find its way loose.

The plan is to go on top after the trip and drill through the vent lid edges into the raised aluminum surround over the roof hole, permanently ( somewhat) attaching the two.
 This will prevent the lid from blowing off the roof and make it a skylight which is what it is supposed to be anyway.

The pathetic old lifters will not open, so this is my solution. Can't wait to try it.....

An hour and a half turned into three days.

Gotta love the 50 year old trailers.



    

Still getting caught up

It's now almost July (!) and I have several projects still on the table. 


1.The new Solardome vent cover I bought is still in the box. 2. The portable A/C unit I got is now in the trailer and needs the vent attached to the rear window.3. The replacement plexi front window is cut and ready to be installed.4. The caulking tube is still unused. 5. Door curve must be reset.6. Lubrication of the wheel bearings is an idea, they may be fine but "safe is better than sorry".7. Touching up the polish would be good.


Well, enough to keep me busy but for the daily rain getting in the way.Most of these projects require open windows or vents, and a steady rain is no way to get it done.At least not in the driveway.So I am on hold for a few more days....I can only hope.The plan is to head out for a week or so of camping...If I can get most of this accomplished.If not, we will still go. Gotta hit the road soon. 😎



Thursday

Spring Updates

Warmer weather means it is time to fix and clean and update.

First I ordered a much needed, long wanted SOLARDOME roof vent cover for the camper.  The original has held up for 50 years and was last repaired with fiberglass tape. Looked like crap! Ready for a change but budget dictates when this will happen.
Amazing the old one never leaked even in 60 mph winds while in Florida.

There are a few sources for these and I chose Inland Rv in California for mine. They offer a very sturdy model that comes in smoke grey, which I like. After a mess up with UPS shipping who evidently could not find my address, though they have been there many times..............I finally got my new dome after 3 weeks.
I checked out methods of installing it, and decided to pull the old one off, withe the lifters intact. This means spreading the metal clips that are in the vent, and pulling the lifters out with the top. Better than sitting on the roof. This can be done, but at my somewhat ancient age I am not inspired to climb onto the roof of the Airstream anymore.

I will measure the new cover and install the lifters, then replace it on top and re-clip the lifters in place. Photos to come.....
*********************************************************
Next-
 I have wrestled with the air conditioning issue for some time. We used a window unit in the front window, supported by a small wooden table arranged over the lip of the window and onto the propane tanks. This has been mostly successful for us, but in mid 90s southern temps it does not make the trailer comfortable during the day and blows on your head while using the couch.
At a cost of $35 and in use for 5 years it seems to have done the job. We don't typically camp in August which is the hottest month here,,,,,
But seeing a deal on a used roof air unit got me thinking -- which is always dangerous.

I went around with the idea of putting that ugly lump on the roof-- but just could not do it. A better look is the low profile models, but at $1000+ this was not an option for me
I re-examined the mini split ductless units. These have the main unit on the tongue of the trailer and the blower unit mounted inside. Requires running the hoses and lines under the belly pan ( or elsewhere) to get into the camper. Worth looking at but not my idea of an option.

Lastly I looked into portable air units. These have come a long way in the past few years and are affordable and efficient. I decided to try one. I found an open box deal on line at less than 50% of original price. If I chose to NOT GET a remote I could save even more. So for about $130. I purchased a 10,000BTU model.

I set the unit into the bathtub in my Overlander. Vented the exhaust hose out the back window with some clear packing tape holding the hose vent onto the screen. I surrounded this with clear heavy vinyl using velcro to hold it to the sides of the screen. This had worked for me in the front window, and survived many years and many rains. The velcro makes for easy removal when ready to travel.
The drain is at the lower rear of the unit and will run when needed, out the bathtub drain. This seems like a fine plan.

So far temps have only been in the low 80s,and the unit cools very well and is surprisingly quiet. I used a short extension cord to access the wall plug in the bathroom. We will have to wait for mid 90's to see how effective it will be but I am optimistic. Also it can be pulled out and stored for winter.
So maybe a win win for us?
********************************************************************
Next-
Onto one more unexpected item.-
The front window of our trailer has been plexi glass for years. In fact it came to us with that stuff  installed.
It has never broken and only displayed a few scratches. I intended to upgrade to Lexan at some opportune time.
 The time came a few weeks ago, when a very strong wind blew through the open camper door, and lifted the window out of its frame on smashed it on the ground. Evidently the seal had dried out releasing the window and the plexiglass cracked from impact. A few of us were outside talking when this happened and it was like " what the heck was that" and all of a sudden- no window.I had to tape the broken piece back in to get through the rain on the ride home. I had just redone the shelf behind the window and did not want a leak to ruin the job. Clear havy duty packing tape worked super well and will come right off the aluminum, something that gray duct tape will not do.
Now onto the big box store to get a new sheet of Lexan cut. I will go with smoke gray to match the new roof vent cover and seal it in place in the track with 3M Trim seal which I have found to be very permanent. The only issue is the window clips, there are 3 on the old plexi and I am not sure if they will come off. If not these are 6$ each plus shipping. So not too bad,
*********************************************************************
All this should make us good to go for another year! Let's hope so.

Sunday

A different kind of Rally?

The weekend of April 22-23 we helped host a Rally for Vintage Campers at the Atlanta Motorama Auto/Bike Show.
It was the first time a category and a display area for Vintage ( pre-1989) Campers was set up.
The publicity lacked a bitπŸ˜– but will be better in the future.
There were also many other early Spring events held on the same weekend.

About a dozen campers attended and their owners enjoyed the over 1000 Cars on display, many motorcycles, a swap meet, bar-be-cue competition, engine rebuilding contest with High School students from many area schools, food truck court, and live music...
The indoor car show area featured pre-war high end restorations that were truly fabulous. Also a separate building for select custom and resto-mod cars  full of interesting and beautiful autos.

The vintage camper area attracted lots of attention, mainly from folks who are curious about what it takes to locate a vintage camper and restore/resto mod one. Some who were simply curious.
There were people who already have a camper but not sure how to proceed with restoration, and were able to ask questions of those who have been there, done that.

 A great weekend for all.

Watch for this rally again next year at 
 ATLANTAMOTORAMA.COM

Vintage Camper owners have an early truck and this muscle car too

Camper area framed by Vintage Chevys


Trans Am to the MAX

Bugatti  Atlantis- Wow!

Camper section at show

Tow your camper with this Big Foot !

1951 Vagabond, 1954,1962, 1964 Airstreams lined up

The 1951 Vagabond is truly gorgeous, and in the same family since 1960.
Note the 13 Panels on the Airstream.. a 1954 model

Friday

SPARTAN CAMPER GOES INSIDE

I like this idea, saving money and enjoying the vintage camper::


If you have an awesome trailer this is very cool.

It ain't no Airstream

Ok so this is not made by AIRSTREAM, but I gave always liked SPARTANS and seen some great ones.  But this is too much!


                             What a project this could be...just watch the overpasses.
                             I bet its a 40 footer. Mansion model.

We had the opportunity to by a Spartan at the home of a friend's uncle. It had a great original interior, with a tree growing up through the middle. The roof vent had been long gone and creatures were all over it. I had to say "pass". But someone got it later and towed it out of the woods. My 66 Overlander was rough enough when we got it. Had to suit up and do some extensive cleaning before any restoration or repairs.   I remember this all too well:


YUCCH!!

Tuesday

Don't Bypass Macon Georgia

I have driven through Macon for years. Stopped for gas, food, etc but never for long.
We took advantage of the 4 day Presidents school holiday to spend a few days there.
Stayed at Lake Tobesofkee park, a lakefront campground that is very nice. It has a few minor issues: showers that have only hot water, no cable of sewage as advertised. But it is a nice park with great paved sites and close to everything. All for $22 a night. Funny, they close the gate at 9PM, and we were out late both nights, but managed to get in anyway:brows:

Visited the revived downtown area. Great brewery and tap room; the
Ocmulgee Brewpub. Food and beer and nice family atmosphere.
The streets are wide and parking is easy.
We liked the layout with the center islands in the streets.

Visited the BIG HOUSE, Allmans Brothers museum. Where they lived and put the band together, with all the memorabilia a fan could want to see. Duane's guitar and many other great items. Plus the house itself is very interesting place. Live music happens on a stage outside often. Being a huge AB fan I was very happy with this visit.



Allman Brothers music playing around you constantly...make it awesome!


Went to Duane and Berry Oakley's graves in Rose Hill Cemetery. Quite a scenic spot and if you are brave you can drive your car through the winding hilly roads.


Nearby is St Joseph's Catholic Church, perhaps one of the most beautiful anywhere. Reminiscent of European churches that we love to visit when there. The pipe organ is phenomenal.


Driving the area around Mercer College are many historic homes and large beautiful homesteads to see.

Near downtown is the Payne Mill antique mall. A terrific old mill restored and loaded with collectibles and such. We always manage to find  something, and this trip was no exception.


Also right off 75 as you go South, you pass a Starbucks, well next door is a Mediterranean Restaurant that serves up some mighty fine Falafel, Hummus and such. If you enjoy this food as I do, its well worth a stop.

At only 90 minutes from Atlanta, I am embarrassed to say this was my first visit to a great place. 'Stream on down sometime!

Thursday

Storms and a Fridge Vent leak..what?

For starters to our new year, we 'streamed down to Pensacola beach area, and camped at Big Lagoon SP. Lucky to find a park with sites over the Winter break, we took advantage of it for 5 nights.
This is a great park just across the water from Perdido Key on the water of the Intracoastal. Typical f Florida state parks it is very natural, but well equipped with showers and all that.

On the way down we drove through some hellacious rain storms that lightened up as we got the campsite. Great... so we could set up and connect before the next round came in.

The night was a bit rough with heavy rain, and high winds. But we slept well with the rain on the roof and no leaks! The 66 stayed dry and cozy all night. Temps were in the low 60s so it was comfortable. 

Monday however, started out clear, but then in the evening the storms revved up and came in strong.
Tornado warnings all around us and the winds really started to rip. All of a sudden we got a large amount of water running out from under the refrigerator. 
We never had a leak there or really anywhere and were surprised. Grabbing the stack of towels from the bathroom we soaked up what we could. 

The storm broke for a little while, and we took the soaking towels to a nearby  ( somewhat...)
laundromat. Dried and cleaned we headed back to the trailer as it started to pour again. No hail noted, thankfully but the roads were treacherous and very dark, except for the blasts of lightning and thunder.
I got out to run into the camper and a bolt of lightning hit the woods right behind me..I jumped into the trailer and had to catch my breath. 

Luckily the wind had changed direction and very little leakage came though the vent this time. Other bloggers and writers have said they experienced fridge vent leaks when the wind whipped the water over and in. Luckily my wood sub floor is sealed with poly.


The camper sat in a small lake of water, but I was happy we were in it and not in the tent our neighbors shared. Typical of Florida, next morning you almost couldn't tell it had rained.

The scene in the early evening, BEFORE  the rains came in again harder.



Friday

More Rallying Fun

For 15 years I have helped promote twice a year camper rallys in the North Georgia mountains. These rallys spawned a lot of others in nearby states. Mostly Airstream rallys but also Vintage trailer meets ups and more.

For 2017 I have relocated our Springstream Rally and later the Falluminum edition, to  Riverbend Camping on the Hiawassee River in Hiawassee GA,

April 7 2017 weekend will be our first at this nice spot. Come on up to the beautiful Blue Ridge and join us.

                                                    Riverbendcamping.com
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Also- I am helping with a Vintage Trailer show and camping at the ATLANTA MOTORAMA, This annual event is a huge hot rod, vintage and custom car show sponsored by Summit Racing, and held at the Atlanta Motorspeedway.  April 22 weekend is the scheduled date.

Vintage campers ( pre-1989) can come and camp in the mid field of the speedway track as a group.Cost is a mere $35 for the weekend which is the cost of a ticket. No charge for the camping in this location. Outside camping is $100 for the weekend.

Electric hookup will be available for $10 additonal paid on site.

This should be a great show and the Vintage Camper thing may grow into its own weekend in the future.

                                        ATLANTAMOTORAMA.COM   for registration.


Monday

Three Awesome Rally weekends

Our April travels began with the Chewacla Lake Tin Canners rally in Alabama. --Just across the highway from Auburn is the beautiful Chewacla State Park. Wooded with a nice lake and pretty waterfall, the park has been home to the Tin Canners rally for 4 or more years. This year it was held in honor of John the founder of the event, who passed away last year. He was a park host who donated many hours of his time to helping keep up and preserve this great place. About 20 or so vintage campers were arrayed around the central area, making the views a pleasure. The open house was a special part of the weekend with such interesting campers to visit. We had one of the two Airstreams present, coincidentally both being 1966 Overlanders. Many other brands were represented with Shasta being the most popular. All of us enjoyed a low country Bama boil on Saturday night with shrimp, potatoes and lots more laid out on a large table lined with paper. What a feast. During the day Saturday we visited Auburn and walked the college campus and town. It was A day when the football team debuts in a home match against itself. Great crowds in town, and we enjoyed the local coffee house. The crowd at Chewacla Lake honors the rally founder with Hawaiian shirts - his favorite t.hing to wear
In between trailer travel we hit Chattanooga Tenn for the Bug A Paluza VW rally and show. What an awesome day! We walked amidst at least 500 Volkswagen vintage cars and buses on display and saw some fabulous customs and restorations. Always a favorite town to visit, the afternoon was topped off with a special lunch at a Farm to Table restaurant and a visit to the old Knitting Mill, now an antique mall.
--On April 22 weekend we headed up to Hiawassee, GA in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where Lake Chatuge is the site for the twice a year rallys presented by The Georgia Airstream Campers and Tin Can Tourists with added attendance by the WBCCI SouthEast Camping Unit. This weekend was set off by a blast of rain and thunder during the Friday night meet and greet in the pavilion. The storm though strong, was shortlived and the moon came out to light up the lake. On Saturday and Sunday we were treated to mid 70's temperatures, and it made for an especially enjoyable day of activities. Attendance was excellent with about 60 units of many varied types to see. The 1960s Chevrolet mounted camper on pickup chassis was a great one, with a matching towable behind it. Also the 1960 Silver Streak was a site to see.Overall there was much to enjoy. Once again our Saturday pot luck dinner was a big success with an abundance of food to share, followed by a live "jam" band and karaoke. The campfire outside was the capper to the day with fire roasted pizza and smores. Looking forward to the Fall version on October 21 weekend.
great camper sink!
Our Facebook Page

Spring cleaning and repair

as April is coming and we have three weekends of 'streaming ahead, I started getting ready. The skin was dirty and getting dull, so I washed with a solution of TSP and water, this seems to do a great job for us. Next I fired up the Cyclo polisher with foam pads and a few bottles of ToolBox polish.The polish really goes a long way, as I only dab a bit on the foam pad each time. I found the polish at Lowes on sale for 10.00 a bottle. I polish an area of 2 feet square roughly, spreading the polish out with the the Cyclo, and running it over until the black oxidation starts to dry. Then I use a rag with mineral spirits, rubbed on and let to sit a minute before polishing off with a cleaner cloth. This method gives a good shine, maybe not a total mirror, but satisfactory for our trailer which sits out all the time. It also does not wear you out like a rotary polisher with rouge bars or other polishes. I was able to go around the whole trailer in 4 hours total. Next I moved to respraying the black paint on the entry steps, and front A frame. With a bit of protective making this is done quickly. moving inside, the wood walls, cabinet doors and bulkheads were looking a little dry, and I touched them up with a rag and an oil stain. this deepened the color and brought back the shine. I siliconed the tires and rubber trim. Cleaned the windows, and we are ready for our first Spring outing. I found some water from the black tank (nasty) in the area right under the valve. Used a shop vac to dry it out and poured a bit of bleach in that area. Then I added some fresh water to the tank through the toilet, with some coconut oil mixed in. This helps lube the seals and preserves them. I looked into valve renew liquids sold at the RV store, and they were the same mixture but for a lot more money. I found the leak, and though I was worried about a crack in the tank, it was the screw that holds the Valterra valve to the tank outlet. it's super hard to get to the screw effectively, but I will try to screw it back in, then Flex seal spray it. Not a bad repair, as it could have been a lot worse. The old trailer seems to hold up well each year and does not demand a lot of maintenance.i think the 60s were great years for Airstream, the quality being extra good. But of course I am an owner and a bit slanted in my opinion because of that. photos coming !

Wednesday

Wood Veneer Repair time

I have not yet repaired the veneer on my bedroom wall. The cover for the vent pipe runs up the wall, and it was one of the spots that had gotten water damage as it leaked while the trailer sat unused for years. This was before we got it of course. It does not sit very long now at all, and when it is stored for some time I am always running over to clean or work on something.
This is the kitchen side of the wall. Note how the wood is colored...pretty ain't it ;)


The wood veneered cover on this vent pipe is a 3 sided box attached to the wall. The veneer cracked and the water damaged the plywood beneath it.
It had always looked bad, but it is not a big thing, and more important issues were there to be dealt with.
Today I unscrewed the holding screws coming through the kitchen wall, and pulled off the box. It is 31" long and about 3-4 inches wide on the sides. My plan is to build a fresh box from plywood a bit thicker than the original which seems to be 1/4". I will use either hardwood faced plywood, or veneer the plywood myself. I think the hardwood faced will work well and once stained it should be a close match. Of course the 50 year old walls have mellowed some and it may not be an exact match, but time will tell.

The area just below the box is a bit messed up, where the veneer has bubbled up a bit. I plan to shoot some wood glue into the bubbled area and get it flat. Then re-stain and seal. Photos coming...




Tuesday

Finally- Powder Coating

My stove top cover and inside control panel always bugged me. They would not clean up the way I had hoped. I tried many polishes, and various cleaners and techniques to no avail.
I wanted powder coating, but general costs seemed high so this settled in to the bottom of the want lists. Actually below a new solar dome.
Well solar dome will ave to wait a little while. I found a powder coating company near me that was very professional and super reliable. Ray Paul Coatings in Marietta, GA.
They assessed the panels and had them cleaned, coated and ready for pickup in less than a week.

The results are excellent.



The only issue I rant into, was the rivet holes for the top. When I removed the piece and drilled out the rivets, I left some material in the holes. The coating folks did not notice, and I didn't either. This created coated holes where I had to redrill for the rivets to go through. It was a pita. But it worked. 
The cover went on with no issue, and the control panel slid right in.
Now if I could get the burner grills replaced. The coating was discouraged on these as the direct heat would sear it off, Maybe high heat paint or a stove black paint will be the ticket. Not sure yet.

Monday

Winterizing Pex

Having PEX plumbing is very relaxing when it comes to winterizing. Especially in the South.
PEX is forgiving and a minor freeze won't destroy it.

I do want to protect the systems though, and so I drain all the water out of the lines. Then I blow air through to be sure they are drained.

The water heater can be susceptible to serious damage from freezing. I have had to replace this little unit on every one of the 4 Airstreams I have owned. This due to lack of winterizing. The tank cracks and is expensive to replace. Actually I found it cheaper to buy a whole new heater.

If you open up the drain plug on the outside, and use a shop vac to suck out the water remaining after it stops running out on its own you will be safe.
You can't put RV Anti Freeze solution in the water heater, as it is corrosive to the tank parts. You can add a bit of alcohol to it if necessary to protect any small amounts of water left in it, but the shop vac method is going to get most every drop.

I like to lube all the hinges and locks before winter as things tend to get stuck when not used regularly. I spray non -silicone lube like PB Blaster or old fashioned oil to get this done.

I also air up the tires, and be sure that everything inside is clean and ready for some storage time.
We try to use the trailer at least once a month, if only to hook it up and take it for a drive as well.

If the weather is bearable we will camp in it a weekend here and there. But to you Northerners, who suffer through the long dark winter, this may not be practical. Sorry, but that is why I live in Georgia.

We have a winter but it is relatively short and considerably warmer most years.

Plumbing  a water heater bypass with PEX

Tuesday

Checking out a project

I was asked to stop by and look at a project trailer. The Argosy is a 74, 28 footer.
It had already been gutted and that made it easy to see what it needs.
Which is pretty much everything,( though not totally)
Start Low...
I suggested the owners start at the bottom, meaning cutting out the bad floor sections, and checking for frame damage. Then replacing the needed plywood and sealing the whole floor with a waterproofing product.
Sealing the outside seams, and especially around all vents, windows and trim would be done too.
Then they can move up to the plumbing, and electrical.
The old Dometic fridge needs to be checked out and also the water tank. Hooking up to water supply will tell the tale on the pipes.
Then when all that is done, they can start the reconstruction of the cabinets and interior items as they choose. Using little or a lot of what was pulled out. Most of that seemed to be in OK shape.
Slow and steady....
The LAST thing will be painting the body shell. I suggested a trial camp out first. The shakedown will let them know what else needed to be done before the painting, which is a lot of time and expense.

Starting low and slow is the best route to go. Sealing and keeping out the weather is most important.
Ripping everything out, including walls, in my opinion is not a necessity.
Nor are new axles. If it rolls, tow it.
Check the bearings though.
Once you are sure that the trailer works for you then you can spend that extra money on whatever you want.

Saturday

To roof air or not?

Some chatter about 60s trailers and roof air came back around recently. I struggled with the decision for awhile the year we got the Overlander.
Since it was easily available on CL...I bought a frigidaire window unit. Using a small wooden snack table, I mounted the unit temporarily in the front window.
Removed the screen, and made a surround out of heavy clear vinyl. The vinyl attaches to Velcro strips inside the trailer around the window. The a/c unit sits on the table which has its front legs resting on the LP gas tanks. Rear legs are dust off leaving a small wooden plank that goes over the window ledge. It has a cut out in the middle so the plank rests flat when going over the window frame.

Works quite well in keeping the trailer cool, except during the day when it is well up in I the 90s. Then with the addition of a vintage fan in the kitchen, it's comfortable inside for our little dog to snooze while we see the sites. At night with temps outside in the low 80s or below, we sleep,quite well  with inside temps getting to the low 70s.

No extra holes in the roof, and the whole ordeal cost us 50 bucks.
Unit travels in the SUV when we roll, and stays home much of the year.
A Fantastic Fan in the bathroom helps year round. Kudos to Airforum member RideAir for the idea!


(May 2017) this had been my ac for a few years, and now we have opted for a portable unit as mentioned in a recent postabove. I actually sold the window unit and got $80 for it. A profitable venture after using it for 4 years or more. Can't beat Craigslist. 

Friday

T shirts

For our Airstreaming friends and interested others- here is a long or short sleeved T Shirt you can enjoy wearing..available until Sept 4 for orders


http://teespring.com/Georgia_AirstreamCampers


this is the logo on the front of a heather gray shirt

Cool trailers

Besides my own Airstreams, there are so many other cool trailers to dream about . Here are a few to gaze at;


For sure some of the coolest old trailers are from Spartan
This one is a 1947 Manor. These trailers have full wood interiors and the larger models have front and rear doors.


1947 was a great year for campers. Just after WW2 and a lot of folks wanted to hitch up and see the USA.
This is an AERO Flite. Not one that is easy to find these days.

Super rare Motorhome
Powered by a 460 Ford engine this was one of only 3 Western Flyer models built
Wow is all I can say!! But it worth a photo from the rear as well...

Except for there GM Autorama produced motorhome called the Futureliner this is the wildest coolest one I have ever seen.





Monday

Spring- streamin' & Forums Rallys

Our rally Springstream in the North Ga Blue Ridge mountains was this past weekend. We typically get 35- 50 units and this one was right in there.

This Rally is now 13 years old.
We started the "forum" Rally tradition in 2002, with a Mystic Springs Airstream park Rally of 7 units. It was an informal get together to learn more about our Motorhomes.
Most of us had Classic Airstream mohos and were on an internet chat board called AirstreamForums.
I am member # 005 there. (Now known as AirForums, due to some copyright infringement.)
I think there are near 50,000 members now. Though many are just observers.

 After this first rally we had enjoyed it so much , we scheduled a second one in the same park.
 Next we moved to parks nearer to Atlanta and increased our attendance and the variety of RVs.
After a few more years we moved the event to Hiawassee, Georgia at the very scenic Georgia Mountain Fair Campgrounds. Set on beautiful Lake Chatuge, the sites are raised on various levels to give almost every site a lake view. Also we had access to a pavillion for meals and such.

This proved to be so successful we quickly grew each Rally.  We also spawned a few more Rallys in nearby states. South Carolina and Florida soon were hosting their own similar casual rallys.

The scene at ours grew to include live music, lots of shared "pot luck" food and a "tour of homes". We sometimes included classes on topics of interest. But we found most attendees liked the relaxed lack of a schedule and agenda. So other than the meals and tour, everyone was free to mingle as they chose. e have had campers form as far away as Arizona, Colorado, Vermont and Quebec. Some even came without a trailer,  just to walk the tour and decide what kind of Airstream they would want to own.

Now in our 13th year we look forward to many more years with friends old and new, and lots of fun.

Here are a few photos from this past weekend.

 Our next one is coming up  Oct 23 weekend- called Falluminum ...Join us...no fees other than your campsite rental, its $35 a night. No agenda, no rules, no dues...





View from a 70's Sovereign







Saturday

Spring is springing!

Man I am glad for Spring to be here soon...our rally in N Georgia is coming in 4 weeks. Springstream  has been an April tradition for campers since 2002. It gets 35-50 units and is a whole lot of fun for us Airstreamers and others.

Ready!!

Meanwhile we moved, and I have yet to clean up the trailer and get it ready. I am waiting for some drier and warmer weather. The inside is in good shape, as I go out and wipe down the wood cabinets and keep the floors clean...just needs a general cleaning, and the outside a wash and maybe polish touch up..OMG more time with the polisher? We are certainly old friends..

I added one of those cheap Chinese electronic pest protectors. Supposed to keep out the little rodents that like to climb in for the winter. Seems to have worked. Or maybe its just a mental thing.




Monday

Moved and happy after a year+

We spent over a year looking for a home in a subdivision that would allow trailers in the driveway.
I also needed a 3rd garage for my older Porsche.
Not easy to find at all. In fact it was nearly impossible. I also like a large lot, with trees and hoped for a master-on-main. Too much to ask for I guess...

We found one almost right and it was sold before we could make an offer...then found no others and almost gave up... until this past August when we found what seemed to be the perfect home for us.
 A neighbor had an RV in his drive, and we saw it parked there over a few weeks so we knew that was a good sign.
We made an appointment to look at the home, and on a walk around the over an acre lot I noticed a parking space cut into the curved driveway.  I paced it off and it was just over 26 feet. Having a 26 foot Overlander I was really amazed with that discovery.

We saw the two car garage, which was one car short for us.
 I considered parking my truck outside if we bought it.
 Then on the house tour, we entered the huge basement and I saw the 3rd garage door leading in from the opposite side of the house that the main garage was on.

Wow. Now if we could only get a deal.

The house was some $40-50000 above what we had in mind, and we also needed  a contingency that we could sell our present home first.

Incredibly...the seller took our offer and terms. We went through a lot of anxiety and expense getting our house ready to sell. A couple of near deals fell through, one at the very last minute. Then ...

I am simply happy to say that after 3 months our old house sold to an excited and equally happy couple. Within a week we had the offer, contract and financing arranged ...

 We closed on and moved into the new place two weeks ago.
The Airstream slid right into it's parking spot and the old 911 went into it's new home. Other features of the house are perfect for us.

All is well. Sometimes you just don't know how good it can be when you have faith and are patient.

Pictures to come...


Sunday

Window Rubber not very Rubbery

The rubber molding weather-strip around the windows was in need of replacement. It was low on my priority list but I finally got to it.
Purchased the 25 foot strip from Vintage Trailer Supply and proceeded to get it done. I actually bought enough to do the bottom strip on all the windows, but not the vertical side parts. These are still in decent shape though dry.
I applied a car rubber restorer; "Gummi Pflege" a German product that you basically roll on from a tube with a foam applicator on top. This stuff did a great job on the rubber parts on my vintage Porsche 911 and I found it to help the vertical rubber on the Airstream.
The horizontal bottom strip looked like this: cracked, dry and missing some sections. Its amazing that the windows did not leak...much.
I used a Dremel wire brush to clean the old trim off totally for a good tight fit.


I also purchased some 3M Trim Sealant which is terrific stuff. Find it at any auto parts store. The new rubber came pre-glued but I don't trust that to hold, so I ran a bead of 3M on the window and the back of the rubber. After letting it dry for 5-10 minutes I pressed the cut rubber pieces onto the window frame. The 3M is a little forgiving, but not much so you have to set the trim right or you are likely going to tear it by trying to re-position.
After an hour or so the job was complete. The windows look better and the trim helps keep the water out.

Here is the 3M sealant. Great stuff, but hard to get off your hands!