No more floor.

 Let me just say that this part is a b*!@#  Now there's two ways you can do this.  Most anyone who is into Airstreams and on the forums will tell you to remove the shell (the top exterior pill shape) and pull the frame and floor out from underneath it to work on the frame and floor.  I agree that that is probably the best way to really "fix" the damage and maneuver around with ease.  However, this method is not possible for everyone, us being one of them.  You 1. need one of many techniques for jacking the shell up high enough to clear the wheel wells. 2. a large building or covering to park it all in while you work to keep it out of the weather. or 3. be fast enough to complete it all in a dry weekend without a shelter.  We just don't have any of those really.

We chose a "shell-on" technique...which can be a pain but allows you to leave the rivets attached to the channel.  With the older models this method can be more difficult because the channel is different and so is the method they attached the underbelly.  Anywho, I decided to take my circular saw and cut the perimeter leaving about 2" of wood still under the channel.  Then, I began the very difficult task of prying the plywood out piece by piece.  Each section of plywood butts up to the next and a long bolt is driven through the seam and into the steel cross members  underneath, then nutted & bent.  You can easily cut the top off of the bolts with a angle grinder but only AFTER you have pulled the subfloor.

Under the subfloor, you see, is MORE nasty fiberglass insulation which we DESPISE, especially now.  They're also squirrel habitats...we found lots of nuts, bones, and poop.  :(  I didn't mention it but we found that as well behind the wall panels.  It was a mess.

The large fresh water tank you'll see in the last pic sits on top of a 3/4" piece of plywood that slides in between 2 L-brackets attached to the frame.  Then, the tank is split between a smaller support cross member.  Basically, you HAVE to slide the plywood out of the the rusty L-brackets with the weight of the tank on it.  You COULD set your circular saw to the plywood depth and cut it out in three pieces but we thought we might use the plywood.  That took everything in me to pull out...during the hottest part of the summer!

There aren't pics for the edge of  plywood under the channel but it's THIS SIMPLE: take your angle grinder with a cut-off wheel/grinding wheel, a Dremel with a cut-off wheel, a hammer, a thick flat-head screwdriver, and some vice-grips and go to town.  :)  I know that sounds obscure but it really is that easy?  You have to work, and sweat, and cuss.  And when you get to that point that you wanna give in to the elevator bolts, go work on another task and come back to it later with a clear head.  That's how I did it and I got it done.  Persistence...

The other step is to get under the Airstream, drill out the rivets and remove the belly pan (the aluminum skin underneath the frame).  It's easy except the rivets weren't properly shaved so trying to get my bit centered and steady was a pain and my bit DID eat through some sections of the belly pan.

                                                 

Got walls?

On to the wall skins.  Again, so many rivets!  This also is only a few sheets of "Zolatone" aluminum panels.  One long center piece, and then a handful of long and short side pieces.  The end caps are a thick plastic.  We will be replacing all aluminum skin panels with .025 2024 T3 aluminum.  Soft and thin enough to flex for installation on the turns but durable enough to resist penetration.  It can be polished as well.  We will be keeping the end caps after some debate.  We will paint them and patch them up.  The front endcap has a small built in bookshelf.  I will remove the shelf and make a larger shelf of my own.
We also removed the wiring which will be completely replaced.  There was as much wire as a normal home would have!  The plumbing goes as well.  Gross!  I will, however, try to re-use the fresh water and black water tanks

Soooooo, let's begin!

Off to the races!  It was a surprise just how quickly you can dismantle these things.  The thing is, you can't just take a piece or two out and stop.  You have to remove it altogether because that's how it's installed.  Guess I enjoyed that...  Anyways, at this point the bathroom is all that's left then on to the walls.

The old "bedroom"

Too much bending over in this job!

So many rivets and random screws

Nephew taking 1 last bath...

Should we keep this?

Empty minus the bathroom!

In the beginning, God created...Airstreams!

Some people like to plant their roots deep in one spot, while others like to float around dropping seeds everywhere.  We're the latter.  No matter which you are, it's hard to deny that Airstreams are one of the coolest ways to go "glamping."

Definition: glamping
	Glamorous camping. Satisfying your craving for the outdoors and your penchant for a good meal, nice glass of wine, and a comfortable bed. No stinky sleeping bags on the hard ground and freeze dried food for me. If its not a Glamping trip, count me out.

Now, on to the show.  It's gonna be awhile before we can post on our travels.  Currently we're in the process of remodeling/restoring a 1972 29' Airstream Ambassador.  The exterior has a few bumps and bruises and the interior needed to be gutted and overhauled.  Here's Gypsy Star when we first bought her.

For 40 years worth of living, she's in pretty good shape.  She's been around the country too!  She has stickers on the back window of some different places she's been.  Our plan is to begin gutting her.  We will remove the furniture and sell what we can to the Airstream community via airforums.com.  Then, we'll remove the inner skin (aluminum wall panels).  After that, the insulation comes out :( anyone who knows fiberglass insulation knows that face.  Then, we'll take all of the wiring out and flooring.  

Flooring...this is where it'll get tricky.  If you're not familiar with how Airstreams are assembled, check this out Assembling an Airstream.  When they build them they put everything together as if it were one piece to give it strength.  The exterior skin is attached to a boney aluminum frame.  There is then a c-channel, often called a j-channel, that wraps around the "pill shape" of the interior.  The subfloor is actually shoved inside of the c-channel and then bolted to the frame.  Then the wall frame and exterior skin is riveted to the channel.  It's smart and ridiculous all at the same time.  Makes a repair, remodel, or restoration a you know what.  So, now we're down to the frame after cutting and prying the subfloor out.  You can then take the "belly pan" and "banana wraps" off...who came up with these names!  You can assume that a 40 year old stock Airstream will have quite a bit of rust and rot on the frame and subfloor.  We will then sand and grind away at the frame to remove the loose stuff.  After that, we'll coat it with Por-15 and install new sub flooring, which we'll coat in some sort of epoxy or paint to seal it top, bottom, & sides.  We should never have issues on our subfloor or frame ever again (in theory).

 Once we're at that stage it will seem a less daunting task because we'll have new, clean sub-flooring to work on and a re-strengthened frame under us.  We'll also be able to put it back together inside.  We will be attempting to use mostly items from IKEA because 1. we love the styles 2. it's lightweight and durable & 3. it's less expensive than most alternatives.  We'll, of course, have to customize it.

The wiring will have to be completely reworked, as well as plumbing.  Now we're getting into less familiar territory.  I personally want the challenge to have to learn it and know it.  We'll be using solar panels, propane gas, and hopefully a wind turbine combined with batteries to keep charged for "off-grid" situations and traveling.

In conclusion, we have a BIG task ahead but we're anxious to get it done.  We're so ready to travel and see more and do more.  There's a whole world out there, how can we stay in just one place forever!!??