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I began the destruction of the interior of the AS this morning and it took about 1.5 hours to almost completely gut the living room. I am going to be working my way from front to back and will be completely gutting down to the inner-skin and sub-floor for phase 1. I will then remove the belly pan, level the frame, and then finish the inner destruction by removing the inner-skin, insulation, and wiring.

We are missing the front, rear, and street side bedroom windows so I began the day by removing the temporary covers that the previous owner had installed. This really helped with the lighting and also allowing better air circulation, which is really needed with all of the dust and other stuff flying around as things are being torn up!

Front Window

Street-Side Bedroom Window

Rear Window

Time had done most of the work for me in the living room and the couches were almost ready to slide out without my help. The bases were the only thing still physically attached to the trailer, but they gave little resistance. The linoleum flooring was curling away from the walls so that was also easy to remove.

Living Room Before

I am hoping to find at least one pre-1965 silver coin, but so far a 1966 quarter is the closest winner. The previous owner had really let this trailer go to waste and I found so much junk in the living room that I can’t wait to tackle the rest of the rooms and get them gutted.

Living Room After

Things are starting to look better already and as soon as my work schedule will allow, I will be able to fly through the rest of the destruction. I am guessing that the bathroom will take the longest, but will also be the most interesting!

We have a new project and it is a really big one. I have been wanting to get a travel trailer for some time now and know that my family will really enjoy camping and exploring the US. We have wanted an Airstream for a long time, but didn’t really know about the massive community of Airstream restorers and enthusiasts. The requirement was a 30-31′ Airstream that was original and needed a “full monte” restore as they call it in the Airstream restoration community.

Last week I found one fairly close to us and we loaded up the family and went to go check out the old gal. The short story is that we left being the owners of a 43 year old trailer. We think she is a diamond in the rough, but others will see a 30′ piece of junk as she looks right now.

The trailer pulled like a feather on the way home, even with the original axles. The pull vehicle is a V10 Excursion and I couldn’t even tell that I was pulling anything.

The trailer has the well known problem of frame droop caused by a rear bathroom and leaks causing the frame to corrode aft of the axles. The first order of business will be to remove the belly pan, get the trailer level, and then completely remove everything in the interior down to the ribs. We will then assess the damage to the frame and repair the frame and coat with POR-15.  New axles are next on the list and hopefully we can decide on which wheels we want. I already have new Goodyear Marathons that are waiting for new wheels.

Here are a few shots of the interior before we begin the destruction process! Today we moved the trailer into the shop, but it is the hottest time of the year now in Texas and even though the trailer is in the shade and dry, it is like an oven in the shop. I am sure we will go through many cases of water until the temps begin to fall. We will post regular updates as we make progress with the restoration.