December 2 – 4, 2011
Here is the Airstream parked at its (temporary) new home in Long Island, NY. Quite a far cry from the idyllic farm life it had in Virginia! But, home it is… safe haven for a makeover & a new life.
A couple of days in, I’m excited, but mostly daunted by the huge amount of unfamiliar work I have ahead of me. I need to get started, before doubt sets in… I remind myself to keep “baby steps” as my mantra.
Concerned about the two windows that are out (one on each side of the trailer), and the two open vents in the roof, I check the forecast. I have a couple of days before it’s supposed to rain, so Job #1 is to weatherize the Airstream and do what I can to prepare for the winter ahead. I remind myself not to think too much (for the time being, anyway) about the holes in the floor, where I imagine critters will come in from the cold and find places to hibernate.
The mechanic that checked my brakes had mentioned that you can purchase trailer covers that have a zipper that opens at the door, so I decide to start looking. I check the Air Forums (an online forum for Airstream owners) for a suggestion on what brand to buy, and discover that there’s an ongoing debate about whether or not covers will permanently damage the aluminum finish. Sheesh.
I figure that the best option may be to purchase a tent. In the meantime, I don’t want to spend any more time online. The previous owner had told me that the handle to close the vents was somewhere among the debris from when he gutted the trailer, so I decide to clean up the Airstream, and see if there are any useful parts lying around.
I give the interior a good once-over with a broom & dustpan, and pull up the last of the linoleum tiles from the bathroom area. I don’t find the handle to close the vents, but I do find an important strip of metal I’ll need to attach one of the windows. As I sweep the floor and clean rotted wood and pieces of old insulation from the belly pan, I set aside screws & plastic parts that might come in handy later, and throw away odds and ends from previous owners like the rotting handball and stray playing cards from the board game, “Risk.”
I decide it’s probably a good idea to keep the slightly moist & moldy set of original instructions for the hot water heater, but I keep the vintage Avon travel sewing kit and the lucky penny I find for purely sentimental reasons. Walking around the exterior, I peek underneath to see what can be cleaned up, and gain a new appreciation for the work ahead.
I brush & sponge the walls clean, using Simple Green All-Purpose cleaner diluted with hot water. Then I removed the cracked, degraded plastic and old insulation from the area around the wheel wells, and cleaned the window frames of dirt, dead insects & mud dauber structures.
Thinking back to the weather report (and needing a quick fix), on Monday night I decided to wrap corrugated cardboard with thick (6 millimeter grade) plastic sheathing, and duct tape it from inside & out to weatherize. I’m not sure how recyclable plastic sheeting is, but I figure that I can re-use the bulk of the sheeting when working on the interior, and for plenty of other projects after that. It’s perfect timing, as the following day is the first day of rain since the Airstream has been here in NY…
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Time spent: 6 hr.
Total time spent: 6 hr.
Skill level: Beginner
Materials Purchased:
- Simple Green (1 gal.)
- Bucket (15 qt.)
- Heavy Duty, All-Purpose Gloves
- Plastic Sheeting (6 mil.)
Total Cost: $_
