one black tank and two black eyes

The original Thetford valve mounted on the previously "repaired" black tank which is on its way out!
Another shot of the fun...you can see the black tank's old insulation honeycomb.

Looking aft from the curbside.

One used '66 blacktank. The valve is actually in good shape if anybody needs one, let me know.

The tank and its former support box after what must have been a few years of leaking (yuck).

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I'd like to officially enter this picture as my VAP black tank story in hopes of winning the $25 booty toward a Vintage Trailer Supply purchase.

And finally the two black eyes. This is what can happen when a hockey puck hits you in the nose and your nose is big enough and strong enough to pass the shock on to your face. Yeah, the chicks really dig a guy that looks like a raccoon. This happened to me last Wednesday night at my regular skate. I gigged the next three nights (Ames, Iowa...Mankato, Mn...and LaCrosse Wisconsin) and got a lot of sideways looks and had to spend more time than usual explaining my face.
I was thinking of calling this post "SHIT HAPPENS," but I didn't want any links to my blog spouting profanity.

level headed thinking

She's level and off the ground. I'm using two tall jack stands behind the axle on the frame rail (one on each side), two shorter jack stands to help out on the A-frame in front, and a couple Airstream issued stabilizers on the frame rail just in front of the bumper to help out.
Here's a look underneath at the frame rail, crossmember, outrigger, axle plate, axle, shock, etc. From all that I've read and heard, this is a great place to put the jack stand. Stable as a mofo.

Here's my genuine one-of-a-kind story stick made from leftover hardwood. It is amazing how fast a colored pencil dulls when drawing on an old subfloor. I used a couple different colors to help sort out the confusion of lines. After I remove the section of subfloor, whatever parts of the curve don't survive can be recreated by putting the story stick back in its tracing and adding the wall thickness.

Nothing conveys satisfaction like a Vintage Trailer Supply t-shirt with rolled up sleeves! The deeper I get into my project, the more confidence I am gaining. I know I have miles to go, but I also am starting to see the distance behind me. Next step is to crawl under and remove the elevator bolts that hold down my old subfloor. My plan is to remove the back two sections first, wirebrush, Por 15, figure out a new black and gray tank, and replace the subfloor. Sounds like a hoot! Any advice is always welcome.

bellypan down and I'm out of beer...

After a couple days of drilling out many rivets, down came the bellypan. Even though I have read countless stories of finding dead or alive critters, my Fifth Avenue on Wheels had none. Just a lot of gravel and insulation that had let go.
Here you can see how the '66 era trailers' side panels wrapped down below to meet the bellypan. A previous owner or two must have done some work under the bathroom because a seperate sheet had been tacked on toward the back.

The black tank holder has seen better days. I'm thinking that the new black tank will go above the floor and the gray tank I am adding will go within the frame just behind the axle.

I got a good look at the condition of the frame and I think I got lucky with just how intact it is. Next step is to remove the subfloor insulation and the subfloor and then wire brush the frame making it ready for Por-15.

Yeah the axle has to be replaced, too. At least it had some travel left in it by the looks of it.

As a post script, I would like to express my appreciation to Tim, Colin, and Rob of VAP fame for all of the podcasts they have produced. It sure makes working on a trailer more fun listening to the three of them plus all their great guests telling stories about how to fix and how to enjoy a vintage Airstream. Now if I could just get Rob to draw my name as the winner of that '64 Tradewind, I could bring my family out to D.C. for a visit and add to my aluminum collection.

Now I'm off to the beer store.

beer belly pan

I've moved the Airstream (which still needs a name) from the backyard to my front driveway so I have a nice semi-level place to put it up on jackstands and remove the subfloor and work on the frame. It seems to be happy in its new location next to my cargo trailer.
I started to drill out the belly pan rivets and then it started to rain. I was forced inside to drink beer and look for leaks. I found one leak coming through a window hinge (typical on a '66), but I still have to do the hinge silicone treatment that is suggested for my vintage window.

Now that I have the trailer level, I am messing with different ways to make a template for my subfloor. This is an idea that I came up with using aluminum foil. I am also going to use a "story stick." This is a method of copying curves that someone on the airforums mentioned. I am constantly amazed at how much information can be gleaned from the forums if you spend enough time searching it. One thing I have learned, though, is that if you find something useful you should bookmark it so you can find it again!

so much to do, so little time

Since my last post back in March, all of the old window and door gaskets have come out and most of them have been replaced. Not as easy of a job as I thought it would be. It's not that it was hard, but it did take me awhile. The old gaskets came off with a plastic scraper. The old adhesive came off with adhesive remover (imagine that!). The gobs of silicone came off with silicone remover. Whatever was left came off with various abrasive, elbow grease and that ellusive thing called "time." My Airstream quality time has been shortened because of my oldest son, Leo, graduating high school and all that goes along with college planning. He's heading to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to become a golf management professional. I'm hoping he finds a course to manage that has nice weather and a place to park my silver beauty. I have also been coaching soccer three days a week and teaching my other son, Louie, how to drive a stickshift. Being a Dad is great yet very time-consuming. Happy Father's Day in advance to all you Dads!

This is the old
double-flare door gasket....>>

...which I replaced with brand new Airstream gasket.






all of the old dried up window and door gaskets










This is the silicone remover in action.



Yup, that's the adhesive remover.

Next on my list is to finish the gasket on the three small windows (I didn't get enough linear feet to complete the job even after measuring twice and cutting once. Pretty sure my order was shorted.)

After that it's on to stripping the old clearcoat, dropping the bellypan and removing the old subfloor and then posting the classic "me standing in the middle of my trailer with no floor shot."

Enjoy your summer, your families, and your Airstreams!

silicone is for Hollywood, not Airstreams

Silicone worms...

this is just one of the many handfuls of bleepin' silicone I removed from my Safari.

I used sharpened wooden sticks and my thumbnail (thanks, Frank) to do most of the removal. When it gets warmer out, I will try out the silicone removal gel that I have to get the remaining junk off. It's -25 with the windchill today, but should be above 40 degrees by Friday.




Today is my birthday (48), so I took the next three days off and am watching the Minnesota boys high school hockey tourney. It's as big in this state as football is in Texas and basketball is in Indiana.

I'll take some time Friday morning to listen to the VAP which is always a great listen. If the weatherman is right on with the mid-fortys projection, I can continue with the silicone removal while listening.



more shots of the skin after the initial scraping with sharpened wood sticks...

I also took off the homemade rock guard along with the old TV antennae mount. This leaves many holes to deal with, but progess is progress.

silicone removal time is coming...

If Springtime ever comes to Minnesota, it will be time to remove a ton of silicone from my silver beauty. As you can see from the pics, there is a lot to be removed. I found McKanica Silicone Caulk Remover in the big tubes at Ace Hardware. I've got a couple tubes and I will see how far they go and just how well they work as soon as we get a little warmer weather here. January temperatures only got above freezing one day (the 31st). I still get out to the trailer and have a couple beers and dream of her future. It's very, very peaceful just sitting in a gutted out Airstream listening to music or the VAP and trying to figure out just what needs to be done and in what order. Enjoy the pictures. Be glad that you don't have this much silicone to remove. Tomorrow I'm taking my two boys to see Dr. John and the Neville Brothers in concert. We have front row center tickets and I can't wait to absorb that great New Orleans vibe!!! Peace...