‘68 Vintage Airstream

Geez, another two months since a post.  Now that it’s finally cooling off here in Austin, we are coming out of our air conditioning and blinking in the sunlight; excited to breathe some fresh air again.

First off, we’ve been training for the LIVESTRONG Challenge coming up next weekend.  We are planning on cycling 45 miles through the Hill Country west of town.  We checked out the course and agree that it’ll be a great personal challenge, but more importantly, a way to make a small difference in the fight against cancer.  You can see our fund-raising page here:  http://austin08.livestrong.org/steve.

We’ve been taking advantage of the Vintage Trailer Supply sales to purchase two 30-lb aluminum propane tanks (free shipping) and more recently purchased the remaining curved glass windows we’ll need to finish the weatherproofing process.  Along with the glass we purchased some new glass clips and the metal trim that was added to the ‘68 models.  We’ll probably get started on the installation process next weekend when the parts arrive (good thing we have a full work day before the big ride).

In the mean time we’ve cleaned and weatherstripped four of the windows (two curb-side, front and rear).  We have the small curved window next to the door, the window that currently has a room air conditioner hanging out of it, and the front street-side window.

Once the windows are complete, we are debating our next move.  We still have a few projects to finish in and around the house.  Knowing the Airstream will be sealed up eases our minds however we really want to dig in to the floor and see how extensive the frame damage may be.

We’ll have more here in a few weeks when the remaining windows are done and we have a plan for the next project.

We’ve had a few days of rain in Central Texas over the Thanksgiving holiday.  I took the opportunity to assess the Airstream for water leaks.  Several of the original windows have been replaced by plexiglass, which I assumed would be the primary leak points.  However, it looks like most of the leaking is occurring around the original glass - probably through the rotted window gaskets.

The lower window next to the door has been collecting water on the inside sill.  That explains some of the water damage I found on the floorboard near the door.  It appears that the topmost window in that section may be contributing to the damage as well.

The stovetop vent also has a small leak towards the rear of the mounting which has probably caused the rotted plywood behind the kitchen countertop.

At one point the street-side bedroom window was retro-fitted with a window air conditioning unit.  The remaining window opening was covered in plexiglass.  The air conditioner sits on metal brackets on the window sill and around this lower edge there is a small gap.  It doesn’t appear to be leaking, however there is water pooled in the metal channel below it.

All of the rooftop vents and AC unit look to be leak-free.  I was worried about one of the vents as the aft handle is disconnected from the vent top.

Priority number one over the next few weeks will be to find replacement gaskets for the windows and door.