From my front door

Here is the view from my front door of the Caravel.. out here at Lunga Resevoir - the camp ground on base here. It's a great location, and a nice campground for $13 a night (can't beat it). When I pulled in yesterday, my right wheel bearing was still HOT to touch so I've got to locate a new bearing to install this week as I pull this home for Memorial Day. Taking it easy.... here on the lake. I received a link to a very cool RV ad out of an Airstream that Matthew McConaughey did - check it out here .

Wheel Bearings

I am now back on Active Duty for 6 months with the Marine Corps here in Quantico, Va. I am staying in the Caravel these first two weeks, giving me something to work on in the evenings. On the tow down here, I pulled over after hearing something funny dragging... I'm glad I did. The front belly pan had pulled loose and part of it was dragging...easy enough fix with my rivet gun... I went and checked the road side wheel and cool - then over to the driver side... HOT!!! to hot to touch....so, I got on my Garmin and found a very close Pep Boys and pulled over there. I have Bearing Buddy fitting on this new axle so I borrowed a grease gun and injected until I saw grease.. many pumps.. must of been low. So, I was 40 miles from Quantico, I slowed down and pulled to my final destination. Yesterday, I pulled into the base Auto Hobby Shop and took it all apart and cleaned them up and repacked them, put it back together and now them seem good to go. I'll pull this home this next Friday and bring the SOTR back down. Today and tomorrow I'm gonna mess with some plumbing.

A few more of Assateague

Assateague was a great break and VERY relaxing. There were no crowds and the weather was mid 70s with a light wind... and sunny! Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy.

Towing through the Valley

Yesterday am, we departed for home knowing we wanted to tow to Valley Forge and go through the park. We departed Assateague right around 9am, stopped at the Visitor center to touch some horseshoe crabs, then headed out. It rained on us in Philly and by the time we got to Valley Forge, the rain had stopped and the sun came out. Valley Forge was great! A beautiful park. I was last here in 6th grade on a safety patrol trip (I think). Here are some pictures. We ended up in Jim Thorpe, PA ( take heed on Jim Thorpe Camping Resort ) - it was an adventure. We'll go back to Jim Thorpe but we'll try a state park next time. Enjoy! It's good to be home.

Assateague is wonderful!

Here are a few pictures from today. We went out to the beach (the wind made it cool) and then we headed over to the National Park just south of here ($20 a night for boon-docking right on the dunes - not bad). We then hiked on the trails some and saw alot of horses. We also had a horse right outside the SOTR too - I think it liked the shine. Tomorrow I think we'll explore Ocean City some in the afternoon. Gas here is $3.50 so it's not too bad as compared to the $3.73 we paid in NY. The weather here looks good with rain coming in on Thursday night...it doesn't look good pulling home though - just a little wet.

Here at Assateague State Park

Well, we made the pull over to Chatham, NY to the Celtic Festival Airstream Rhendevous (it was more of that Boondocking rather than a Rally)... and then on Sunday, we pulled through the $40 of tolls of New Jersey and the Delaware Bridge to get here to Assateague State Park out on a barrier island on the Ocean shores of Maryland. We pulled in around 545pm last night and we are here until Thursday. Here are a few pictures of our site. The beach is just over the sand dune behind the trailer. We're hoping to see some horses while we are here. I am thinking we'll spend Thursdy evening up near Valley Forge outside of Philadelphia.

Getting ready for the Celts

On Friday afternoon, the family and I are heading for Chatham, NY where we'll be joining a bunch of other Airstreamers at the Celtic Festival. There will be many Metro NY and WDCU WBCCI members there - and it's gonna be tons of fun! We did this two years ago with the 1960 Trade Wind... this time we'll be in the SOTR. I have propane lines run now as well as plumbing drain lines... but the fresh water tank is out getting a small fitting installed so that I can hook up the onboard 12v air compressor for the water system. Here are a few pictures... I've been doing some polishing. The tank goes in today.... Zoe's just happy she will be able to use the stove!

Items left to complete

Things I'm working on:

• I'm doing the second cut of polishing (with a year in between). It's looking good.
• Running propane lines to H2O heater, stove, fridge, and fireplace.
• Install vent for fridge.
• Install vent for fireplace.
• Installing 12v Air pump.
• Installing grey water drain lines.
• I still need to install diamond plate (this is in my outside storage hatch - complete) and,
• Install the outside door seal on the entry door

I am getting there.

From here to Eternity

Well, where do I begin. I departed home on 1 April and returned last evening. In between, there was towing to Quantico, Va where I worked on the trailer each night after Reserves, then I flew down to Charleston, SC for a few days, then flew back to BWI where I towed over to Virginia's Great Falls National Park, worked on the trailer there, and then towed over to the WDCU Cherry Blossum Rally (CBR). CBR was great, with 43 rigs showing up, and tons of kids. Tim of theVAP flew in on Thursday and we taped theVAP on Saturday night live. After CBR, I towed the 600 or so miles to Charleston, SC where I stayed at the James Island County Park, just south of downtown. It was great. Zoe' and the boys came with me for the first week and on Thursday night, I started for home. In Santee, SC I met up with Sig and Dawn VanDamme (Airstreaming in NY blog) and we camped next to each other in the Cracker Barrel. I departed at 530am yesterday and drove the ~833 miles home with the SOTR in tow. It was a long day, getting in at 930pm. It's nice to be home. It seems like it's been a while since I was home last - it has!

Items left

Today I stopped here in Charleston at The Trail Center for parts - an did they have them! They used to be an Airstream dealer in the 70s. They hooked me up with my fittings for my black tank. I've got to find a 3" OD coupling to go from my fitting on the tank to a bayonet fitting.

Here is what is left of my list of things I wanted to get done:

Polish the trailer (next time)
Install fresh water tank (Tomorrow night)
Install Ogden water filter (Wednesday)
Complete fresh water tank (tomorrow night)
Run propane lines (Wednesday)
Install 12v Air pump (next time)
Install black water plumbing (Wednesday and Thursday)
Install dead bolt (next time)
Install diamond plate (this is in my outside storage hatch - complete)
Install outside door seal

I've bolted down the stove, the fridge, completed what I needed to on the gaucho, installed the H2O heater (need to cover the outside with original cover still), fix curtains, install radio.

I'll be at the Great Falls National Park in northern VA on Wed am from 9-11am and then will be heading to downtown for a short caravan. Only two more days!

At the Airport

Well, Sophie the SOTR is parked here at the Airport. I'll be flying back into here on Tuesday evening - late, and I'll just end up crashing in the trailer until Wed am and then tow down to Great Falls. I have to locate some plumbing parts tomorrow while in Charleston - wish me luck! Instead of Caravanning on Wednesday, maybe I should be installing some plumbing parts. Tim, you ready for your flight east? Frank - good luck! See you Wednesday am buddy. Thanks John for letting me borrow the shears - they worked great.

In the dark!

Well, I got the new hot water heater in tonight... finishing with the aid of a flashlight. So, I'm hooking up the PEX lines now. I'm here in northern VA and it's nice weather... but supposed to rain tonight through tomorrow afternoon. So, all I have left is to install the front fresh water holding tank - which has been one problem after another. My welder Daryl welded in a patch on the tank and while he did that (it's aluminum) he put in new fittings for the fill neck and exit point. When I got it home, I put it together (mocked up) and put it into place to make sure everything was going to work... well - when I went to take the fill neck out, the aluminum threads (it was hand tight) became buggered up and it stripped the threads on the way out... so I had to take it back over to Daryl's to get a new fitting put in (1" and a 1/4). So, on Tuesday late afternoon on my way south to here in Northern VA - I stopped by Darly's to pick up my tank. This time, when I install it, it's all going together and not coming apart again. Wish me luck.
We'll be Caravanning into downtown DC on Wednesday... CBR is here (almost!)

Trailer Access Hatch

People have asked where I got the access hatch. It was from Ebay - and they have 6 more available. Ebay: item number 140217741216. Good luck. They are 12" x 12" aluminum.

Cuttin the hole!

Frank called me a whimp the other night on the latest episode of theVAP - and said to "Just cut the hole!" - so, since the fridge access is the smaller of the two, I cut my first hole. So, here are a couple pictures. I borrowed my buddy John's electric snips and man do they give a good cut. It came out pretty well. Now I can bolt that fridge down and get the gas line run into the rear of the fridge. Now to the H2O heater hole on the other side of the trailer tomorrow. Thanks John.

Let the Flags fly!

I sold one of my flag holders to a West Coaster. He sent me a shot of it today. Thanks Jot for the photo. Glad you like it! Love the colors!

Been busy, been sick and been on travel

It's been slow going - I've been on travel alot lately and was sick on travel all last week, spending all day on Saturday in bed. Ugh! Here are a couple shots of where I am. The tub is in, the pex is 80% run, and I'm getting ready to CUT the HOLE for the water heater. Next is propane lines. I've got to get this fresh water tank in as well. Check out those LEDs under the galley shelf. It feels as if the trailer is an utter disaster. I'm getting there!

Win a 1964 Airstream

My town is doing an Airstream Fundraiser. The prize: a 1964 AIRSTREAM Trade Wind 24’ Travel Trailer w/ a new axle. As Wally said:

"Don’t stop. Keep right on going. Hitch up your trailer and go to Canada or down to Old Mexico. Head for Europe, if you can afford it, or go to the Mardi Gras. Go someplace you’ve heard about, where you can fish or hunt or collect rocks or just look up at the sky. Find out what’s at the end of some country road. Go see what’s over the next hill, and the one after that, and the one after that." This is the message and the legacy of Wally Byam – founder of Airstream.

Become a member of the WBCCI (you have to own an Airstream) and begin your dream of adventure and exploration – all in your own Airstream.

The how - tickets are $25 each. Once the town sells 400 tickets, they’ll draw a winner. So here’s your chance to win big!

New Axle, Polish has been started. This trailer will need to be restored, but it’s a chance to have a clean canvas for your own customized Airstream! Interior is all there and the outside shell is near perfect - so Start DREAMING now! I'll be posting the how to get tickets shortly so check back soon!

Working out the bugs

Mechanically, I lost the drive shaft to the rear end. So, that's getting fixed. The 454 is running great and the Buick runs down the road great! All new Michelins mounted and once the drive shaft is re-connected, we're in Business. I'll continue to cruise locally to work the bugs out. Only 1 month until CBR. I've got so much to do! I've been terribly busy at work too so it's been hard.

The final outcome

I like it. Now to get turned onto the plumbing. This weekend.

The Love Tub

So, what does everyone think of the tub? - we painted it last night. Thought Frank and Tim would like it.