[{"content":"A 1951 Cruisette came in for window work. Front window first: a quarter-inch gap and seals gone rock hard.\nThese are first-generation Royal windows built by Associated Pacific — the same company behind the Air-O-Lite windows on 1947–49 Airstreams. They get called Hehr windows; they aren\u0026rsquo;t. The whole assembly is a sandwich bucked into the skin with the gasket trapped inside, so the gasket only comes out with a full disassembly. Screen included. This one had been set in plumber\u0026rsquo;s putty, cracked and sealing nothing.\nI drilled it out and took the frame apart on the bench. New gasket. Wire-wheeled the hardware and coated it in POR-15. Three of the four tension bumpers were missing, so I cut new ones from aluminum. New aluminum screen. Set it back in the skin on oversized rivets.\nSeventy-five years had petrified the gasket onto the glass, and both original panes broke — one coming out, one later on an existing rock chip. Clean breaks, fine to travel on. The trailer was due to go camping, so I buttoned it up. The rebuilt hardware and the new bumpers work and the windows latch down hard for the road. Lower glass when it comes back.\n","date":"1 August 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/portfolio/1951-cruisette-front-window/","section":"Portfolio","summary":"","title":"1951 Cruisette — Front Window Rebuild","type":"portfolio"},{"content":"Full teardown and rebuild, in a barn built for the job.\nAs found — February 2021 # The floor is rotten front and back. Full floor replacement, then a complete rebuild.\nA building first — 2024 to 2025 # The trailer needed a roof over it before the real work could start. I dug out a level pad and put up a pole barn heavy enough to lift a shell and keep the job out of the weather. After final inspection the center of the pad came back up for the main power line, then foam and PEX went down — I was shooting for four inches of slab and averaged closer to five — and the slab was poured over a radiant floor. Water, power and data are all in.\nInterior out — May and June 2026 # The interior came out slowly and carefully, bagged and stored for reinstallation. The previous owner was not a riveter — screws turned up throughout where rivets belong. The galley is out and will not go back; its tambour is gone and the fridge could not have come out without it. Teardown stopped at the closets and the bathroom door, which are sound and stay.\nThe walls are out. The small angled closet wall probably will not return, and the sink will move to the curb side and out of the shower, like the 1966–68 Caravel. The water heater is out; the floor under it is not rotten, it is simply gone. The wheel wells came out too.\nExterior stripped — June 2026 # The Carefree awning came off, then the exterior trim. The battery door is going: it sits where the awning should be, costs the awning a foot, and breaks the rub-rail line, so it gets a bucked-in patch and the batteries move inside. The front antenna is off, another patch. The street-side Land Yacht emblem had been put back with steel screws. The frozen propane hold-down came free with a MAPP torch, Kroil and a pair of ten-inch pipes. Pulling the expired Missouri plate turned up an older Alaska tag underneath.\nUnderneath — June 2026 # The grey tank is sound, though how the shower drain ties into it took some tracing. The black tank\u0026rsquo;s drain valve sits outside the outrigger — I think that is factory — next to an add-on grey tank and a three-inch frame extension. The black tank came out and went straight to the trash, the rear floor material was hauled off, and the Univolt came out heavier than anything that size has a right to be.\nShower pan and the rot report — June 2026 # The shower drain had twenty-year-old plumber\u0026rsquo;s putty holding it. A heat gun and two large T-handle allen wrenches through the holes in the metal drain turned it loose. The front lip was nailed down with flat-head nails under the plastic, so I sheared the heads off with a putty knife into the old marine plywood and got it up nearly whole.\nBoth rear corners are basically gone. The area under the shower pan is better than expected and will hold my weight; the corner by the drain hole will not.\nA parts trailer — July 2026 # A gutted Sovereign came home as a parts trailer. Its rub rail is a different style but there is enough good long stock in it to make up the split at the Globe Trotter\u0026rsquo;s battery door. It carries the third street-side window I wanted, 1950s Safari style, and the skin to patch both fridge vents once the Globe Trotter goes to a DC fridge — with a small window going in where that vent was. Long term I will take it apart and save the endcap segments.\nInsulation out — August 2026 # Most of the insulation is out. Pulling the AC is next, and that means building structure on the roof, twenty-one feet in the air.\n","date":"1 August 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/portfolio/1972-globe-trotter/","section":"Portfolio","summary":"","title":"1972 Globe Trotter","type":"portfolio"},{"content":"We are Peter and Calee, and we just really enjoy Airstreaming. Some of our favorite weekends are the simple ones: hitching up, heading to a campground or rally, walking the dogs, visiting with friends, looking at old trailers, and ending the day around good people.\nAirstreams have been part of Peter’s family for generations. His grandparents and great-grandparents were part of the club, so being involved now feels like carrying on a family tradition. Our 1966 Caravel came through Peter’s family, and we have tried to take care of it in that same spirit. We like vintage trailers because they have stories, quirks, scars, repairs, and personality. Keeping one going takes work, but that is part of what makes it fun.\nWe enjoy learning from other Airstreamers, hearing how people solved problems, seeing what they have built, and getting ideas from trailers that have been loved for decades. We have spent plenty of time polishing, fixing, updating, and maintaining our trailers, but our favorite part is still using them.\nFor us, the club is about the people as much as the trailers. We love the rallies, campground walks, trailer tours, dogs, shared meals, casual conversations, and friendships that come from showing up again and again. Mostly, we are just grateful to be part of the Airstream community and to keep making memories down the road.\n","date":"1 August 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"airstream.ing","summary":"","title":"airstream.ing","type":"page"},{"content":"People who love their trailers bring them to me, because I love them as much as they do. I enjoy keeping these rolling pieces of art camping.\n","date":"1 August 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/portfolio/","section":"Portfolio","summary":"","title":"Portfolio","type":"portfolio"},{"content":" 2026 Rally Schedule # Arkansas Razorback Airstream Club Events # February 19-22: Unit Board of Trustees (UBT) - Stuttgart, AR. Join us for a weekend at Zach Bullock’s magnificent estate in Stuttgart, the duck and rice capital of the world! There will be all sorts of fun and some sort of meeting. Emphasis on fun. Host: Zach Bullock.\nMarch 19-22: Hope, Diamonds and Jonquil Rally - Hope Fairgrounds, Hope AR. Old Washington State Park Jonquil Festival, Diamond hunting at the Crater of Diamonds State Park, Tour of the Klipsch Speaker Museum and more! Hosts: Jesters and Belks.\nApril 12+: Spring Fling in Gulf Shores State Park. Make reservations at Gulf State Park (site #s 220-250). So many activities…Beach, Blue Angels, Seafood, Tiki Bar Cruises, Aviation Museum, live music, and so much more!\nMay 7-10: Bike Rack Brewing Co., Bentonville, Ark. Tentative - details to follow.\nMay 14-17: Bikes, Buddies, and Brewpubs at Downtown Riverside RV Park, N. Little Rock, AR. Morning bike rides on the Arkansas River trail and local bicycle pub crawls (e.g., Lost Forty, Stones Throw, Southern Tail Brewery, Camp Taco, Flyway). Make reservations through the Downtown Riverside RV Park at 501-340-5312 and request sites closest to river (mention Arkansas Airstream Club). Hosts: Paul \u0026amp; Jeannie Beck and Dana \u0026amp; Jason Landrum.\nAugust 22-27: 69th Annual Airstream Club International Rally - Minot, ND. Fun, friendships, and all things Airstream.\nSeptember 10-13: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Location TBD. Hosts: Laura Wessinger \u0026amp; Terry Madden\nSeptember 23-27: Region 6 Rally - Unhitched RV, Foley, Ala.\nOctober 15-18: 9th annual Airstreams on the Square in El Dorado, Ark. Plan for an out-of-this-world fun time at “Silver Trek: The Final Frontier” … think Spock’s pointy ears!\nOctober 22-25: Arkaluma aka “Burning Mouse” - Museum of Automobiles, Petit Jean Mountain. Join your friends around the campfire and hear the tragic tale of two lovers with tails - Arka and Luma. This is a boondocking rally on beautiful Petit Jean Mountain near Morrilton, Ark.\nOctober 29 - November 1: Halloween on the Rez! Jeff and Cindy have opened their place for a Halloween adventure in Jay, Okla. Costumes welcome!\nNovember 5-8: Buffalo Point Rally, Buffalo National River. The end of the camping season would not be complete without the Buffalo Point Rally on America’s first national river near Yellville, Ark. A hike to the Indian Rockhouse, and food, glorious food, are a few of the activities that delight Airstreamers each year.\nMissouri Greater Ozark Unit Events # April 3-7: Ozarks State Park - Lake of the Ozarks. Camping for 4 nights with the Nelsons in site 158. Please let your host know you are coming.\nJune 4-7: Joint Rally with Missouri Kansas Airstream Club - Petit Jean Mountain, AR. Contact Patti Kelly Host for information.\nJuly 23-26: 1st Annual Riverways Explorations - Pea Vine Road, Van Buren, MO. Make reservations at 573-323-4236. 50 amp electric only on loop 200 for 3 nights. Sites open January 23, 2026.\nSeptember 24-27: Fall Rally - Details to follow.\nEvents sourced from Arkansas Razorback Airstream Club and Missouri Greater Ozark Unit. For more events, visit Airstream Club International.\n","date":"17 June 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/events/","section":"airstream.ing","summary":"","title":"Events","type":"page"},{"content":" Under the back end — September 2020 # The factory belly pan was sagging galvanized. I pulled it off to get at the plumbing and see what I had. The shower trap was the lowest point on the trailer, the grey valve hung just below the frame, and the black valve still needed an adapter to take a standard fitting. All three went on the winter list.\nPolish — September 2020 # Years as a fishing shack on the Texas coast left heavy corrosion, and a brown haze had come back over everything since the last polish. I inherited my grandfather\u0026rsquo;s kit and added a high-speed grinder and Zephyr wheels. Brown Tripoli first, then moss green, then a finish pass with the Cyclo and Nuvite S. The front endcaps had the worst of it.\nNew axle — October and November 2020 # The axle was the last original thing underneath, and a single-axle trailer has no spare. New Dexter with a 33-degree start angle — better ride, an inch and a half of clearance back. Three bolts came out with a breaker bar, thirty inches of leverage and a torch. The fourth wouldn\u0026rsquo;t move, so it came out with a tungsten sawzall blade.\nThe new axle tube measured a quarter inch smaller than the old one, so I took an eighth off one side of the cutout and a half inch off the other. Cut both vertical shock mounts off the old axle and welded them onto the new one, floated it up on a motorcycle jack, and drilled four fresh holes with a step bit. Ten miles around the block, then three hundred to the Buffalo Point rally. Tows noticeably smoother.\nBlack tank and rear plumbing — January to March 2021 # The factory black tank measured seven gallons by bucket math, which is what limits how long you can stay put. I wanted the biggest tank that would go in without insane modifications.\nIt took the closet, the gaucho and every wall coming out — about ten hours just to get to bare floor. In went a corner-cut tank from Vintage Trailer Supply on a platform I built, close to double the old capacity. A 3-inch frame meant the 2-inch Valterra valve was too tall, so the drain came down to 1.5 inch and the grey valve moved up until it sits inside the frame instead of hanging below it. A HEPVO and a bar-sink drain took care of the shower trap. I re-ran all the water in crimped PEX rather than push fittings, moved several joints below the floor, and plumbed a black flush with quick connects. Pressure tested at 30 psi overnight before it went anywhere. The valve sits on a rubber coupler so pulling the drain puts no strain on a glued joint.\nSafety and breakaway — April 2021 # Ten-year smoke alarm, fire extinguisher, CO detector, and a proper breakaway switch to replace the old one hanging off the tongue with clipped wires.\nMicro blinds — April 2021 # The original blinds were ugly and frustrating to use. Micro blinds went in for about thirty dollars a window.\nRoof and vent seals — April 2021 # The Fantastic Fan housing was cracked and leaking. I shaved the old lumps off the skin and laid foil-backed butyl over the whole flange — the foil blends with the skin and blocks the UV. From the ground it looks about as good as anything else, and it bought the fan years.\nRub rail — April 2021 # Taped off, run with 3M 540, smashed in with a gloved finger and the tape pulled. Several years on it is still holding and still looks tidy.\nNew belly pan — May 2021 # The pan came back as fresh .032 from Airparts, cut and riveted to fit.\nBattery door — June 2021 # The original 1960s cargo door left the trailer on the highway, locked. I rented a brake and formed a new 17¾-inch door from 3003H14.\nBidet and pressure tank — June 2021 # We put a bidet in and use it daily. The pump pulsed on short draws, so a small pressure tank went in to smooth it out.\nShower tank and tank surround — February to April 2022 # The shower needed its own grey capacity for the times we camp somewhere urban. A second tank went up high with a boat-style bilge pump feeding it from the shower pan.\nMy grandfather set the bar inside this trailer, so the tank could not be a box bolted to the floor. I built a surround from veneered panel, prefinished in the shop to match his cabinetry, with a piano hinge down the length so the whole top opens for storage — the ends lift any time, the middle with the table out. The year-of-manufacture plate, the CO detector and the tank monitor went on at the same time. The new veneer is a decade behind the rest on ambering.\nSewer hose caddy — October 2024 # Sewer hose and fittings ride in a polished channel in the rear bumper, reached from below, with a tool box to go on top.\nMarmoleum floor — August 2025 # The trailer had click-together vinyl in it, which should never be used in a trailer. I pulled it, cut Marmoleum from a paper template, and rolled it with a rented 100-pound roller — back half, then flipped and did the front. It runs right up onto the shower pan, which smooths the step into the bath, and the edge is caulked in at the shower. Cut and laid with the interior in place.\nMissouri patch — August 2025 # An old antenna left a thumb-sized hole and several 1/8-inch holes, filled with sealant and streaking black and rainbow down the skin. I cut a Missouri-shaped patch and riveted it over the lot, the way the factory used to do state patches.\nRepolish — August and September 2025 # Five years on, and with a roof over it, the whole trailer got polished and resealed again. Zephyr 10-inch Kwik Cut Airway with TR-2 Brown Tripoli for the primary — instant gratification. Then the 10-inch Smooth Kut Joker with Moss Green. Then flannel with Blue Moon, and the Cyclo with Nuvite S. The Cyclo is slower once you count cloth changes, but it leaves more pop and I do not turn black using it. Forty to sixty hours over two weeks, in a full Tyvek suit and mask behind the big grinder.\n","date":"1 September 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/portfolio/1966-caravel/","section":"Portfolio","summary":"","title":"1966 Caravel","type":"portfolio"},{"content":"Shell-off rebuild, waiting its turn behind the Globe Trotter.\nAs found — December 2024 # Accident damage to repair, and a complete floor replacement — rodents left holes you could put a football through, with obvious rot around the wheel well.\nWhat it needs — December 2024 # The factory spec says only \u0026ldquo;polyethylene holding tank of approximately one week capacity.\u0026rdquo; For us a week means at least twenty gallons, which is what VTS sells for this era, and I would like ten more than that. The 1968 bath layout is different from the 1967, and I stood in the tub long enough to know I can shower in it without cocking my head — which is more than I can say for a lot of 1970s trailers.\nCleaned up — December 2024 # Road salt washed off and the first layer of gunk with it. The skins are in good shape, and I have a set of Olympic rivets put aside for them.\nWalnut for the trim — August 2025 # Four walnut logs, six to ten feet, put up for the interior — the same wood used in all the 1968 International trim. They go to a bandsaw mill in a year or so.\n","date":"1 August 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/portfolio/1968-overlander/","section":"Portfolio","summary":"","title":"1968 Overlander","type":"portfolio"},{"content":" What it needed # Filled the black tank — no leaks. Stood on the bumper and it showed its true colors: it needs a floor. Every system on the trailer works, so it stays a rolling project and gets upgrades along the way.\nRoof and reseal # West Texas does not get rain the way we do here, and the old sealant came off like an archaeological dig — layers of it, red Texas dirt through the whole thing. Most of the area between the roof awning rails is scraped, stripped and resealed. The Astradome is sealed up new and watertight. The two fans and the fridge vent are what is left.\n","date":"1 January 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/portfolio/overlander-west-texas/","section":"Portfolio","summary":"","title":"1967 Overlander — West Texas Pickup and Reseal","type":"portfolio"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Authors","type":"authors"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories","type":"categories"},{"content":"Where we went and what it was like.\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/journal/","section":"Journal","summary":"","title":"Journal","type":"journal"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/series/","section":"Series","summary":"","title":"Series","type":"series"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags","type":"tags"}]