Almost ready...

The trailer is almost ready to go. Now we are just sweating the small details, but pretty much we are ready to go. All we need now is to move our stuff in and make sure all fits as we planed.

One of my photographic projects for the trip is to document as much as possible about Airstreams, and the lifestyle associated with them. I have started to study the technical aspects involved into photographing interiors and exteriors of these trailers. It may seems easy but it is not. The interiors bring wide angle barrel distortion challenges, while the shiny exterior brings spectral highlight issues.

Metrosexual vacum cleaner...

As we prepare the Silver Whale for the road ahead, we have found that the list of trinkets and gadgets needed to live the RV lifestyle is seemingly endless. We are about to become platinum members of Camping World and word on the street is that I am now in the REI's watch list for high treason.

From the list so far, we got:

• Rhino Flex hoses and fittings for the black water system. It seems that having the fittings at the end of the hoses freely swivel is a big plus when when "messing with the mess".
• Water hose with water pressure regulator.
• Tire chokers
• Water filter
• Fresh water tank fillers
• A bunch of chemicals for treating all sorts of water
• Electrical adapter
• Collapsible trash cans
• Cooking and diner ware suitable for traveling.
• Vacuum cleaner.
  

While acquiring all this stuff, I started to notice that some things have been clearly designed for RV usage, while other things have been just re-packaged and re-priced to the RV crowd.

But one particular item proved to be a challenge to get just right for the Airstream: The vacuum cleaner. Not too big, but not too small, able to do bare floors and carpets. We have been getting by with a broom, but the trailer has so many knocks and crannies that a vacuum is almost a must.

We searched high and low at local stores, but nothing was quite right. We came close to getting stung by a Scorpion Vacuum and then, Vicky found the amazing Metrosexual Vacuum.

This is a fuchsia colored vacuum that hangs out of your shoulder like a Gucci bag. To keep things androgynous, the savvy marketing people at the corporate offices slapped some Indi 500 looking stickers. Now you are off to the races vacuuming and looking fabulous.

How I wish it would come in black, red or yellow, because it is a great vacuum. Great suction power and plenty of accessories to clean every surface and corner in the Airstream.
As a matter of fact, Vicky liked so much the "Indi 500 Metro Vac" that she went bezerk cleaning all over the house before taking it to the trailer.

Manita De Gato project...

"Manita de gato" is a phrase in Spanish that probably can be roughly translated as "light touch fix". A more literal translation, "Kitty paw fix".
This is a reference to how a cat gives itself a "shower", by lightly licking itself here and there. Not a "real" shower but something like it.

In the last couple of days I "fixed" a number of things that perhaps did not need any fixing. Just a touch on retentive-compulsive tweaking. The kitty paw fix list included:

• Seal an open air gap under the kitchen side bench
• Relocate a sub-woofer speaker under said bench
• Scrub and paint the rusting areas of the Hensley hitch, plus grease it.

We winterized the trailer some weeks ago. While looking for the water pump, I unscrewed a section of plywood under the cushion of the kitchen side diner bench. The pump was not there, but perplexity was. I found under there a hidden sub-woofer for the JVC stereo system (?). Also, in the same area, an opening for electric cables coming through the wooden floor. The opening generous enough to let light and elements form the outside in.

At the time I figure that I wanted that speaker out of there (it sounded pretty good once out) and that I needed to seal that hole somehow, but all these needed to wait for more important things like winterizing and fixing the roof vents.

Well, the time came to deal with these little issues. For the open gap, I cleaned the area and sealed it with "Great Stuff" foam. This is really a nice product. That corner (upper right area on the photo) reminded me of the bathroom initial design and condition. Not sure what goes on at the Airstream factory in terms of quality and labor, but it seems that there is just not pride or care for craftsmanship and attention to detail. You can see the floor linoleum and wall material just flopping around. There were several staples in that area that never reached any surface to tack on to. Their only purpose seemed to be nail unsuspecting fingers attempting to straighten up the mess. Here is the area without the speaker and the hole sealed.

Here is the sub-woofer out and secured with velcro. It is removable so the benches can still be turned into a bed. I think that in the end, if I can not rip the CD changer and use that input for the iPod, I may replace the whole thing with an iPod Bose system.

Next. While reading the instructions to grease the Hensley Hitch, I read that the thing needed also re-touch paint to prevent excessive rusting. So after greasing it, I embarked on a surprisingly futile hunt for orange industrial grade enamel. Only red, green, black and cooper available. I found a nice tough silver enamel with a hammered finish, and I settled for that. I carefully removed the original Hensley stickers and I will put them back after the paint dries. I scrubbed the rust and weak paint areas with a wire brush and repainted most of the piece. Next time...it will need sandblast and proper air gun paint. Here is the before and after pictures.

While I was busy "licking" all these things, Vicky measured and fitted nice plastic containers under the bed, in the lower pantries and other areas. We also ran some drills with the propane appliances. With all these latest activities, we are just about a week behind. We wanted to do our first test trip on the Jan 1 2010, but we fell a little behind. Next week we will do it.

What's in a name?

When we decided to buy this particular Airstream trailer, a 2005 Safari 30' Bunk Bed, we did not know how special this model was. Just about 78 units were made, and as I read recently in Airstream Forums, this number is going down as some units have shipped outside the USA.

But also, as it turns out, we were lucky to get an Airstream with a documented pedigree of exploration and happiness. We have been able to contact the previous owners of the trailer and they have been gracious enough to answers some questions and share the trailer's past in their blog.

In the time honored tradition of baptizing objects of utility and/or desire, we have named the trailer Silver Whale--a clear, if not obvious morphological reference.
The trailer's former name was Shackleton. I have not asked, but I suspect it is a reference to Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, the Anglo-Irish explorer.

At the back of the trailer we found a small whiteboard with a heart-warming message wishing good luck and enjoyment signed by the former owners, the Welshes. We plan to leave the message in place as a remainder of this unique opportunity that we are about to embark upon.

Happy trails ahead!

What separates humans from monkeys...

This is what I was thinking while I was struggling to unload a 150lb generator-inverter off the 33" tall bed of my truck. The crude use of a 2"x4", briefly upgraded me to "Missing Link" in the evolutionary scale. Tools...yes, that is it, humans use tools from Home Depot. But at the rate Home Depot is opening stores every 5 miles, soon even Monkeys will have access to these tools, and tall lattes.

Well, after priming the generator battery, filling its engine with SAE 10-30W oil and unleaded gas, the time came to put it back in the truck.

Here the relevant question became:
What separates humans with back injuries from humans with healthy skeletal-muscular systems?

The answer in my case:
- A 2000 lbs rated Come Along pull crank
- 4ft of 3000 lbs rated chain
- 2 1500 lbs rated 3/8" safety fasteners.
- And...a temporary plywood ramp soon to be replaced with a Lund aluminum loading ramp.

As you can see, I have discovered the pleasure of dispensing weight ratings way over their intended use. With these toys I was able to lift the generator into the truck while drinking a cup of dark roasted coffee, black one sugar, thank you.

Now the only missing part is the 3 prong trailer-to-generator adapter.

The bathroom project...

We got started with the smallest, less power hungry task, the bathroom. I was surprised and appalled to learn that peeling unglued linoleum, is a common trait in Airstream trailers.
From the get go, this looked like one of those projects that will require 10 trips to Home Depot and another 10 to Lowes. Here is a photo of what needed to get fixed:



The design is just wrong. The aluminum piece, instead of acting as a nose / step guard, lays underneath the linoleum. My initial idea was to rip all the linoleum off and replace it with aluminum panels. I got into the design state of this and...Whoa! slow down Frank Gehry...
That turned to be a bit more that I could chew with the tools needed to cut and bend aluminum.

Moved on to Plan B, which involved ripping the existing vertical linoleum, clean all surfaces, re-glue, double-side-tape tape all edges, and reinforce stubborn spots with broad head tacks. Also double-side-tape the edge of the second level. Also, removing the useless aluminum edge and replace it with new stock aluminum angle, finish all edges with aluminum bar, and finally seal all edges and gaps with clear silicone.

Here is the project finished.



My inner Frank Gehry had to settle for a pair of $15 sheer cutters. The rest of the tools just needed dusting. I think the last time I use them, was when I built my skateboard ramp.