AS Mods and Prep

Just thinking through some options... @yubabicycles Spicy Curry in the Fiamma Carry Bike on the back of the Airstream (bike weighs 66lbs with battery installed, rack carries 75lbs), two new mountain bikes (to be purchased) on the roof of the truck and kids’ bikes inside the cargo area. Now to wire for charging while on the rack... #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #yubaspicycurry #cargobike

We head back out in the Airstream for a few months this Fall, so now’s the time to start some mods. First part of adding a new pullout hamper under the bathroom sink is demo of the old inefficient storage. With dowels and screws holding the shelves in from the outside, the only approach is dropping the hammer! #airstreamrenovation #airganization #demolitiontherapy

Progress on the hamper/storage for under our bathroom sink in the Airstream. The trick is working around the undermount sink and plumbing, but I squeezed in a tall hamper (Wynne will make us a custom laundry bag on her sewing machine) on the left and a deep drawer on the right for detergent, cleaning supplies, and bathroom backstock. We’ll also be able to hang a dustpan on the right side wall. The whole thing will pull out on 12” over-travel drawer slides. #airstreamrenovation

Lets talk antennae! We’ve been rocking a trio of them mounted on “the batwing” HD TV arm (the SureCall 8.5” Omni, a Wilson Directional Yagi and a Wilson Trucker antenna) but find that the SureCall Omni is by far the most used.
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While the directional Yagi is still useful occasionally to hunt down a remote signal or scare college students by pointing it at them and changing the WIFI network name to “FBI Surveillance Airstream #1,” I’m getting a little tired of fixing the straining antenna crank handle with JB Weld and having the AS look like we’re trying to pick up reruns of “Judge Judy.” Plus, we often use the SureCall Omni direct to our JetPack while underway, and I’m going to permanently mount it in the upright position for better signal from the truck.
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So, what’s the latest and greatest antenna people are using? I may want to replace the Trucker which has just been “meh” and mount another one permanently on the front as an option (already have three antenna cables run!). It would attach either directly to the antenna dongle on the JetPack or into a WeBoost 4G-X or 4G-M.
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#airstream #mobileinternet #cellbooster #rvinternet #rvconnectivity #mobileconnectivity

I’m gonna post a super boring series of pics of our long overdue stove vent replacement, but mostly just so I can tell the story of some of our best full-time Airstream traveling friends who had been complaining about how bad the stove vent was and the next day we noticed that the exhaust flap on their stove vent was latched shut from the outside. “Wait, you can open that‽” #interrobang
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I’d gacked the cover on ours long ago with a brush on a pole at some coin-wash in who-knows-where and lost the exhaust flap outside of Bryce, for a while replacing it with a piece of cardboard from a twelve pack box to keep out the chilly wind at 7000’. Replacement took about 10 mins: Remove the screws, pull off the cover, scrape any remaining caulk, ignore the filiform corrosion (essential step), seal vent outlet with aluminum tape (seemed like a good idea), trim new cover with mounting tape (butyl tape would have been best but I had some outdoor 3M mounting tape handy that should work to seal around the screws), line up the screws in the old holes and caulk around the edges.
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#airstreamrenovation #venting #embarassingyourfriends

A little inspiration to keep working on Airstream projects. In a little over a month, these three trailers plus two more will be back on the road together! #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #airstreamcommunity #nomadicbreedersunite

Our girls will sit down with pens, paper and scissors and entertain themselves, but the key has been giving them easy access to materials. @advodna_ann “commissioned” this art caddy from me for the Airstream with room for 6 Ball jars, stencils and pastels and a wad of paper. After a few adventures in bad carpentry, it’s done!
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Last night, we all hung in the trailer while Ann and I talked through some details and the girls drew (and begged to sleep in it). At the end, I remembered why I always decide against replacing the factory white melamine table as I sprayed some cleaner and wiped the errant Sharpie marks right off.
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#airganization #airstreamwithkids #artstream

Updated our shelf dividing the cabinet over the back corner bed with some reinforcing trim to prevent sag in the 1/4” plywood. 4 small bins hold clothes for each girl: tops, bottoms, dresses, undies with some off-season backstock behind. Shoe storage tomorrow! #airganization #airstreamwithkids

Tired of the #airganization posts? Sorry, I’m pre-nomadic nesting. I promise, adventure is coming soon... 😂
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We added this cabinet end storage during our remodel, filling in about 10” next to the stove that just had a little flip-up counter extension. In a dramatic case of over-prep, I decided we absolutely needed a catalytic heater on a swing out panel fed by a tee from the gas line to the stove. We quickly realized that we preferred the convenience of the thermostat on the furnace (and the convenience of not having a scorching-hot glowing heat source at the same level as kids’ faces) and that our solar and batteries could keep up with the electrical draw of the blower. Reflectix on the windows at night in really cold temps also keeps the furnace use manageable.
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But of course, the real trade off was that getting rid of the cat heater meant more room for shoes. Short bins on top are our “junk drawers” (scissors, pens, headlamps) and the baskets are for socks, gloves and hats. All are held in place while underway with magnets on the back of the bins and cabinets. Shoes *generally* stay in place unless I’m towing in a hurry!
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#airstream #airstreamrenovation #tinyhouse #shoesblues

Our driveway’s not the most exotic spot, but it has its moments! #airstream

Finalizing designs for the mobile coop. #kidding #orami #airstreamwithkids #airstreamwithchickens #airstreamnest

Finished up the new hamper/under cabinet storage with a drawer pull matching the ones in the kitchen. I ended up using the back side of the punched aluminum center panel. A little hard to make out the mountain-scape, but it’ll work to hide dirty clothes! #airganization #airstreamrenovation #punchedtin

When you can’t get those custom-fitted Airstream corner bed sheets that the kids sleep on back to their original white... #gobig #airstreamwithkids #tiedye

After about 40K miles of towing, I figured it might be nice to know if anyone was behind me. OEM Tundra tow mirror install onto the Sequoia involved removing the interior door panel but was pretty straightforward. So far, I can’t get the power fold feature to work which is probably just as well since flapping these beasts might take us airborn. And yeah, the pics are not even with them telescoped out! #sequoia #toyotasequoia #towyotasequoia #peopleonthesidewalkbetterduck

A couple years ago, we were traveling with @livingistheadventure when he complained that they’d broken their bathroom exhaust vent handle. Not to worry, I ran to our trailer and grabbed the JBWeld (what my kids call “Dada PlayDoh”) to fix it the same way I’d fixed ours.
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That fix lasted him two years until breaking again (*not* where I had repaired it, I might add), at which point he caved and ordered a replacement ($8.86 plus shipping). Wish you coulda held out, buddy; These solid poplar bad boys are going up on my Etsy store later today. Now to start work on a new antenna crank just in case the part that’s not already JBWelded breaks.
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#thereifixedit #cheapbastard #airstreamrenovation #glamping #homeofficeimprovements #exhaustingwork

Finished painting the A-frame just in time for some salt air at the beach next week. A good cleaning, a coat of Rustoleum Rust Reformer and a top coat of Rustoleum Hammered Gray 7214 since I was out of the factory “pewter.” I’d say the color is 89% good and more importantly, the project is 100% done! #airstreamrenovation #deadlineshelpproductivity #89percentgood100percentdo e

In the past, the only plants we’ve had in the Airstream have been some bromeliads we found on a hike in the Florida panhandle and a revolving series of houseplants all named “Aaron the Airstream Plant.” Despite the first Aaron having flourished in the basement of IKEA in Richmond before we scooped it up, we managed to kill it in the trailer. The second Aaron had an equally unlikely origin and equally tragic demise. We even eventually killed the air plant that really only needed, well... air to survive.
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But there’s a new Aaron heading out with us this time along with this row of succulents hanging under the vista view window. I channeled my inner @airstream_charleston to cut these open-sided slots for mason jars in an old butcher block that Ann and I had made years ago but kept in a corner of the garage after it split. Some splayed angle brackets on the curved aluminum walls keep it level.
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The jars are a nice tight fit (2 9/16” hole saw for 8 oz jelly jars FYI), but I’m taking bets on whether the plants will die when they are ejected from their perches as I bust a u-turn over a dump station curb or from more natural causes, but for now, they’re quite pretty.
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#tryingtobeartsy #airstreamrenovation #airstream #liveriveted #myrivetedlife #masonjars #succulents #succulentsinmasonjars #airstreamwithhipsters

Packing up! We’ve had the two plywood platforms for years, sized perfectly for the telescoping ladder and 120W Zamp portable solar panel to slide beneath, but added the top platform for a new folding table and sidewalls to hold the paddle boards in place (all platforms got “speed holes” to reduce weight). Top left is a bin with the front and back cut out to allow access to camp chairs, hammocks, kites and princess tents from the rear or from behind the seats. The folding wagon fits nicely beside it, handy for getting a one armed 4 year old, propane tanks or water jugs from point A to point B. Far right is two super comfy LaFuma Elips camp chairs with the kids’ bikes across the back. Roof box has the 1000W generator, a campfire grill grate and a playmat. Let’s roll! #airstreamwithkids #sequoia #toyotasequoia #familyadventuremobile #airganization