Little Green Airstream
The green renovation of a vintage travel trailer
One of the parts I was eager to see if I could have repaired on my 1969 Airstream was the original Armstrong brand air conditioner, built into the roof of the trailer. As usual, the question was whether it was more cost and energy efficient to repair something original or to replace it with something new. Offhand, my goal was to bring the original unit back to working...
Continue reading
Working in Manhattan as a residential construction project manager, one of the things my bosses clued me into was that the further along you get in a renovation – creating pristine, finished surfaces – everything else around your work starts to look a little rougher. Such was the case with my Airstream’s vintage wheels. I’d already put a lot of work into the systems and interior, but once...
Continue reading
By the end of June, I’d started moving forward with my new contractors, Éamon and Paul McMahon. We’d placed orders for replacement parts for the chassis, and agreed on the following scope of work: To supply & install five new outriggers for replacement on the chassis To sandblast and paint the entire chassis, including the A-frame and bumper To fix the entry stairs (which were wobbly in part...
Continue reading
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 reading