Monday, January 30, 2006

Can you tell?



The new Antenna from Vintage Trailer supply arrived today. Compare it to the Antenna on Colin's 57 SOTR. Pretty good if you ask me! SYDTR!
I am in Virginia this week, staying in the 65 Caravel, working on it in the evenings. I can't wait to see that antenna installed. Thanks Steve!

Saturday, January 28, 2006

My Antenna source






Many are asking where I found the Antenna replacement for the dual post side mount antenna. Well - Vintage Trailer Supply. Click over on the right side of the blog, on my link to Steve's store and searh on part VTS-290. Here is a picture of it. It is arriving at GSM on Monday, so you'll very soon after that, see the new Antenna (the SOTR never had an antenna) in place. Man it'll look awesome!

Shivering outside!





The Sovereign of the Road is now weather tite. Well, sort of. All the windows are now in, the new Astrodome is installed, but the Heir vents are jsut covered and taped right now, as we are waiting on new gaskets from Vintage Trailer Supplier. Figured we wouldn't spend all the time to reinstall them, and have to take them off again, so they are just temporarily covered right now. The SOTR has been temporarily moved out into the lot, so that a Globetrotter (1963?) could be moved in - it's having the front and rear floor replaced. It's a nice little GT. Here are a few shots of how the Astrodome came, it old makeshift cover removed, and the new Astrodome on. SYDTR.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Planning - current state




Well, we found an antenna replacement. It is supposed to arrive on Monday at Colin's. I am ow searching Vintage Trailer Supply for my Intellipower charger that we will be installing. Also looking at front electric jacks, but I will stay with a manual for now. There is Colin's wife, Susanne, checking the coloring for the Vintage awning material - a 20 footer! Then, Colin snapped a shot of me sitting there in the door...man that floor is solid as a rock. See, the factory only welded one side of the outriggers. The outriggers are doubled up on each side of the step as supports, but only one on each side was actually welded to the chassis rail. Colin's team welded all the way around, to, as Wally would say, Improve upon things! Look at the inside of that door within the door. We are doing some metal fabrication on that as well to fix some deterioration and a crease.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Well, it was Dicky!





Remember yesterday's post where we thought it was Dicky Riegel that we saw on the Northway - well it was him! Let's just say that I've had an email exchange with him about it, and it was a way cool moment for me - ya know he's got that gorgeous 54 Flying Cloud Custom that was restored at the factory, and he spotted the Cruiser and thinks it is way cool too! Here are a few more photos of the SOTR to enjoy. The new Airstream badges are on the front and rear, with plastic still on them. The fan vent ($5) off a old mobile home (you'll never know it) looks great too. Then there is the fresh water tank filler. It is coming along nicely. I talked with Colin today, and the new Astrodome vent cover is on, and the fridge and furace vents are back on too. I've got to get going on the interior now! I dropped off two 30 lb aluminum propane tanks yesterday too. They need to be polished as well. Next will be ordering some Cragar smoothie rims from JEGS that I saw at GSM that are to go on the 65 Caravel there - they'll look sweet and set off the trailer! Here is a link to the rims

Monday, January 23, 2006

Badges and traveling





First, I think, after today and flying, 3 hour delay, can't find my baggage, no rental car even though I had a reservation, and tired from my weekend adventure, I'd rather be on the road towing an Airstream anyday. So, I made it to Charleston. I am still looking online for that antenna and have a good lead on one. Tomorrow, I'll hunt it down. So, here are a few more photos of the progress. SYDTR,

Rob

Help - Where can I find one?



Does anyone out there know where I could source one of these antennas? The SOTR has no external antennas, and so we want to add one...and I need to find one soon, as the inside skin is going back on shortly. If you do, shoot me an email at robbaker91@adelphia.net. Thanks.

Rob

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Successful!





Well, we and the Cruiser made it. It was nice to see the good old Sweer SOTR again. I'll post some pictures of it tomorrow, besides these few as well. Got to hit the road, from the house her in Central NY for a meeting in VA tomorrow. Tomorrow night, I'll be posting from Charleston, SC. Enjoy! As we were heading up the Northway, I-87 out of Albany...a maroon suburban pulled up with the rear window down with a gentlemen (who I thought I recognized) was hanging is arm out the window with a big thumbs up!!!! We think it was Dicky Reigel...wish I had a GSM Vehicles or Bust - AS Life's Vintage Lightning in tow!" sign...but it was cool if it was him. Maybe Dicky is reading the blog too! There's the Cruiser in line. Another shot is with Steve Hingtgen's 56 Caravanner of Vintage Trailer Supply with the Cruiser in the background. Look at those SOTR windows, nice! Plus, the lower clearance marker's are on! More photos tomorrow.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

SleepOver!



Well, my two boys are glad I'm home. I arrived tonight around 6:30pm...after a temporary layover in Hartford, PA at the Flying J as I was trouble shooting the running / clearance lights (blew a 15amp fuse on the truck - old trailer wiring). I am departing tomorrow morning at 4:45, stopping at my parents over the hill (to pick up my newly painted Astrodome) and then over the hill to South New Berlin to get Dick Perkins, who is riding with me.... I think he's scouting out what he wants done to one of his Airstreams???? Ha Ha. So, here is a shot of the Silverado resting the 8.1 Liter power plant with the 52 Cruiser in tow in a rest area just into the state of PA. It will need about the same as the SOTR did. It will be VERY cool! Only 260 miles to go!

Friday, January 20, 2006

Airstream Shuffle / Where are the BATs?



Well, here I sit in Asheville, NC at 3pm on Friday afternoon. Why you ask? Well, it all started last week. I’ve had the 67 Trade Wind on the AirstreamForums for sale now for a few weeks. Well, last weekend, it sold, to a guy named Keith in Austin, Texas. He owns a Juice bar called the Daily Juice. He has been looking for an Airstream to turn into a mobile Juice bar – kind of neat - a kind way to say gutting it (oh no) - so look for some 67 parts on Ebay! He is driving here to meet me here in Asheville, NC today. On Tuesday, I drove from NY to VA with the Caravel in tow. Why are we selling the Trade Wind? Well, we bought the Trade Wind because we had sold our 1985 34’ Limited to purchase the Sovereign of the Road. Once we sold it, and realizing there was no way to use the SOTR while we restored her, we knew we needed another trailer (yes, we had the Caravel, but it needed work too). So, we bought the Trade Wind back in July, 2005 for the sole purpose to use it the rest of the summer, early fall. And we did! Since the fall, the Trade Wind has been doubling as my lodging and road office for when I was in Virginia, staying at Aquia Pines Campground in Stafford, VA. While I was away, storage was $2 a day, and rent was about $30 a night. Much less than a hotel and it was my place! So, I made arrangements to tow the Trade Wind to Asheville, NC. I left Stafford, Va last night around 5pm, drove to Haw River, NC and stayed at a Flying J truck stop last night (my last night in the Trade Wind) and got up at 5am, drove for 3 hours, stopped in Hickory, NC to work until noon, and then drove another hour to here in Asheville, NC. Keith is driving from Austin, Texas and meeting me here. He should be here any minute. We used Earth Google to locate a place to meet (I snapped a JPeg and sent it to him with a marker saying, “Meet me here!” Well, Keith forgot about time zones, so he’ll be here now around 4pm, giving me enough time to make this post, using my TREO 600 and PDAnet as an anywhere you have cell coverage 57kb modem (sweet!). “Why Asheville, NC?” do you ask. Well, go to Rich Luhr’s web Tour of America web site, and page back a couple weeks and look at Airstream Life’s next project for the magazine – Vintage Lightning, a 1952 double axle (rare) Cruiser! It is located here in Bat Cave, NC at Richard T’s Moonshine Junction (where we got the SOTR from!) . I am picking up Vintage Lightning and towing it to GSM Vehicles in Plattsburgh, NY – and to see the SOTR once more! It will have all inside seams sealed and outside running / clearance lights installed – and I can’t wait. I am stopping by my house, to spend the night, see Zoe’ and the boys Saturday. I will depart at 5am on Sunday, stopping over the hill to pick up Dick Perkins (fellow WDCU WBCCI member and a 59 Globetrotter owner) who is going to ride up to Plattsburgh and back with me. We will drop off the Cruiser, and see the SOTR, and turn around to get back to central NY to relax for a little, then it is back to Stafford for work next week. So, travel up the I-81 with me tonight, and tomorrow. I’ve got about 12 hours to central NY tomorrow, and 5 more on Sunday! What an Shuffle / Airstream Adventure! Give me a shout while I'm on the road by sending me an email to: robbaker91@adelphia.net . Drive on!

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Vents, Vents, Vents






Here are a few shots of the vent covers on the side of the trailer. There is also a photo here of the front window frame going back in. We are getting there vent by vent! My next story is about the sale of our Trade Wind, all planned, and my trip this weekend back to Bat Cave! - where all this SOTR stuff started.

Miscellaneous details a must!





Here are a few more shots I received yesterday. There you can see Carl working on the new window frame for the front window. The fiberglass is being sanded, and the makings of the new rear panel. There is the drip eyebrow lid over the doorway, which is bent some. That's be like new too! Enjoy everyone.

Rear Corner section on!





As I see it, there are two positives out of panel replacement. Those sections will be like new, and secondly, I'll be saving alot of labor on polishing those panels later. Here are the rear end and rear corner panels going on. Later.

Recycling an Airstream





It's been a few days since my last update. So I'll be uploading a series of photos where you can see that it's almost complete on the outside / structurally a new trailer. Remember that side panel we replaced? Well, part of it is bak on the trailer in a different place, on the spare tire access door. It is looking sweet. I'll be posting many more photos this evening. Man I can not wait for this to be polished. You think they'd mind if we were sleeping on the floor at Cherry Blossum? Zoe' wouldn't go for having to use those porta-potties though! I am back here in Virginia having towed the 65 Caravel down here last night, just missing the freezing rain stuff. I'll write more about my upcoming weekend journey tonight. Slept like a baby in the Caravel last night in a rest area on I-95.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Pics from last weekend









Here are a few more photos from last week's trip to Colin's. Enjoy. Look at those kids playing. The rear holes for the lights were a mail box. That is my 4.5 year old Stanton (on the right) with his Airstream buddy Malcolm (3.5) - Colin's boy, hanging out the front window. What a life they lead! There is Colin and I working out where the wiring will all go, and terminate in the trailer.