Once I’d found fabric and an upholsterer to make the new cushions for my vintage Airstream, I needed to place an order for the cushion filling. The original cushions had been stuffed with polyurethane foam, which was still a relatively new material in 1969, the year my trailer was manufactured. Polyurethane foam was (and is) inexpensive to produce. When it hit the market in the late ’50’s, it...
Continue readingFulltiming at Home
I wanted to start mentally and physically preparing for my cross-country trip and for full time living (a.k.a., “full-timing”) in a space that’s under 200 square feet. Instead of waiting for the day my vintage Airstream would be ready to hit the road, I figured I could use my apartment’s existing space and start scaling down my domestic life in the meantime. I got the idea to recreate...
Continue readingCreating a Schedule for Your Vintage Airstream Restoration
Once you’ve generally figured out the budget to fix your vintage Airstream, the next step is to figure out when all of the work is going to happen. How do you prioritize what’s most important? How do you get all of the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place? First, print out a copy of your budget; it’s essentially a list of all the tasks that need...
Continue readingCreating a Budget for Your Vintage Airstream Renovation
Understanding the costs to renovate a vintage Airstream and figuring out the sequence of work can be very daunting. Initially, I didn’t have those concerns at all – it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of picking up your trailer on eBay or Craigslist and figuring that with a little clean up, you’ll be ready to start your adventures. I suppose that’s true to some extent....
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