Materials List

Krylon Fusion spray paint in White Satin
This was applied to bed bases, cabinet doors, and the plastic piece of the ceiling that is above the dinette area.


Sherwin Williams Paint
Color: SW7007 Ceiling Bright White
This was applied to the walls and ceiling throughout the Airstream. We found it very well matched the color of the Krylon Fusion spray painted pieces / objects without doing a custom mix. If you compare the walls surrounding the dinette area to that of the ceiling, you'll see what I mean.


Sherwin Williams Paint
Color:SW7075 Web Gray
This paint was applied to the lower kitchen cabinets and closet doors.
We may rebuild the cabinets down the road but this improved and refreshed them for the time being.




The laminate used on the dinette table and applied to the front of the fridge is__________ and was purchased from Youngblood Lumber Company in Minneapolis, MN.


The bamboo flooring was purchased at Costco. The brand is Golden Arowana. http://www.bambooflooringinstaller.com/strand%20home.html


The curtain fabric and the panels upholstered by the twin beds was purchased from Fabric Guru (www.fabric.guru.com). It is Premier Prints Dyed Solid Cotton Drapery Fabric in Flamingo Grey. We had blackout lining sewn to the backside (white -3 Pass by Hanes).

The air conditioner is a Dometic Duo Therm Brisk II 15,000 BTU. We had it installed by Mike's LP Gas Inc and RV Service Center in Maplewood, MN.


The dinette cushions were ordered from RV and Van Surplus (www.rvandvansurplus.com). The fabric we selected is a black vinyl that has a basket weave pattern to it called Central Park Ebony. 

Set of 4 Custom Made Complete              
Dinette Cushions With Medium Firm                                          
Foam, Central Park Ebony Fabric,                                           
Seat L52x22D, Back L52x15H, 5 Inch                                         
Cushion Thickness 

Total price with tax: $334.14

The leg that acts as the base of the dinette was ordered from Vintage Trailer Supply. Trim used around the tabletop was purchased locally at Eagle Mouldings in Loretto, MN.
https://eagle-aluminum.com/


The new 15' awning was ordered online from Amazon. The brand is Sun Wave and the color is ocean blue fade.


The shower faucet was ordered from Amazon and is a brushed nickel finish.

Gone Camping

Well, the dinette cushions have finally arrived but it took two months and a lot of phone calls to the online store that I ordered them from. I wasn't certain I'd ever receive them after all the excuses I was given and the overall lack of customer service. Almost exactly two months to the day that I ordered them, the cushions arrived in the mail and they look great!

My husband built a dinette that transforms into a full sized bed for us to sleep in while the kids each have a bunk bed in the rear.
We have camped twice now. The first time, we went to St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park in Hastings, MN. We didn't yet have our dinette cushions so we made a makeshift bed out of tent camping mattresses placed on top of the dinette platform. Those mats slid all over the place and made for a restless night of sleep. Well, that and the kids playing musical beds. At one point, I woke up in the night to one of the kids calling for me. I could not figure out how I'd gotten to the bed I was in and was extremely confused about it. Sleep was in short supply, for sure. The campground itself was very nice with very new, clean restroom facilities. It absolutely poured one whole day that we were there so we not only tested the camper out for leaks but we got to test out the TV and DVD player too. I initially scoffed at the idea of a television in a camper, as that seemed like we wouldn't get the true feel of camping and enjoy the outdoors fully with it installed. But, it proved absolutely priceless to have when we were all stuck inside for the afternoon.
And, the camper did not leak even a little so that was a relief. We had such a great time, we booked another few days later in July at the same place. I have been craving the fajitas we had at a restaurant in the area and this may or may not have played a big part in my we're returning. :)

Then, we went to Elba, MN last weekend. The weather was actually pretty mild but it got humid enough that we turned on the air conditioner. It was a relief to know that works very well too.
I had hoped it had been installed correctly and that there were no mechanical issues with it so it was great to put any fears to rest. The campground we stayed at in Elba is owned by my husband's uncle so other family members were camping that weekend too. We caught up with them and just relaxed.



Butterflies were everywhere so we had a lot of fun catching and releasing.



It was a lot of fun but we endured another night of rain while camping. Eventually, we'll camp on a rain-free trip but at least we were leak-free in the camper again. We did have a slight plumbing issue and discovered we need to replace a pipe under the bathroom sink with new pex. We could tighten it to stop water from leaking for now but it's not a long-term fix.
We got back from camping and immediately purchased a 25-gallon portable water tank.


Our gray holding tank has only a 10-gallon capacity and we fill it quickly after washing dishes and hands for a day. This will be a huge help when camping for a few days and wanting to shower a family of 4! Each time we camp, we learn something, possibly learn of something we need to fix, and find more things to spend money on! But, we're having a blast. We actually looked at a camper for sale in Elba, too. We thought it might be a good one to flip since we had recently passed up buying another Airstream and had some regret about it.




We ultimately decided it would be a lot of work, that we don't have a place to park it to work on it right now, and it's a longer RV than the masses want to buy. In our opinions, the shorter campers seem easier to sell (judging from how quickly they sell) because a special vehicle / large vehicle isn't needed to pull them. It would be a cool project to take on but just not the right one for us right now. Plus, there were many unknowns about what worked and what didn't. It could be a money pit. We have enough projects to do on ours still but I think one day we'll flip an Airstream to make a profit on.

The Maiden Voyage-June 2014

We still were without cushions for our dinette area but we made due and went on our first camping trip June 13-15 at St. Croix Bluffs Park in Hastings, MN. It was a great time, even if it did rain every single second on our second day/night. We just stayed inside and watched DVDs. I had teased my husband for putting a TV and DVD player in the camper because that wasn't roughing it enough. But, it came in so handy with two small children on such a rainy day. This trip was a great test to see how everything operated. The heavy rains tested the camper out for any leaks and she's airtight! I was able to test out the cooktop by preparing breakfast of pancakes, bacon and ham and cheese omelets for four adults and 5 children. It may be a small space and cooktop but it got the job done. The fridge worked very well, too. The one thing we discovered that we'll need is a portable gray water tank because ours only holds ten gallons. We can fill that in a day if we wash dishes and shower!

Before we went camping, we did replace the old awning. It wasn't tough, just awkward. My husband and I each had to stand on a ladder, while holding the roller and awning. It looks great though and gave us a dry area to sit and read when the rains came.

May 15---Finishing Projects and Prepping for First Camp

We got the camper out of storage at the end of March, just hoping the majority of the snow was done flying so we wouldn't have to hassle with moving the camper for snow plows. So far, so good, but you just never know in Minnesota. After all, there were frost advisories in effect last night and for tonight. In the last month and a half, we've had air conditioning installed and our major systems tested. The oven and fridge work well but the knobs on the fridge are hard to turn. To remedy it, we would have had to pull up the flooring that we just put down last summer so they could remove a panel and grease the knobs. The fridge is still useable so we'll just turn the knobs carefully and leave things alone for now. We did find out that our furnace doesn't work. We installed a heat strip on the new air conditioner so we hope that will be enough to take the chill out of the air if we camp in cooler weather. We don't think we'll do too much cooler weather camping so we may be able to get by for a while until we have the money for a new furnace.

(pictures taken in the rain so please ignore debris and rain droplets!)



We also discovered a small leak in our water tank. So, repairing that is now on the list of things to do. Let's get back to things that have been completed though, as that's a more fun list to talk about! The ceiling has been completely painted now, including the portion above where the dinette will go.

Before:


After:


Painted the magnetic lights white:



Our dinette cushions have been ordered and should arrive in the next week or so. We went with the black vinyl called Central Park Ebony that I mentioned in a previous post. We've also purchased chrome trim for the dinette to give it a diner feel. It should look pretty nice. Curtain fabric has been ordered but I'm now busy trying to located someone to make curtains for us, as the person I had been talking to last summer doesn't seem to be taking orders now. One step forward, two steps back. But, we did find someone to sew new fabric on the panels by our rear beds and they might be able to help us with the curtains. The good news is a lot of progress has been been. The bad news is that once one area starts looking good, you more easily notice the areas that don't look so good. That area would be our bathroom. I think we'll start on that this summer, too.

The Dinette is Taking Shape (September 24, 2013)

In the past week, my husband has been tackling miscellaneous jobs left and right. We updated the look of the fridge by installing a piece of silver metallic laminate to the front of it. We decided to use this laminate on the surface of our dinette's tabletop and thought it would mimic the look of a stainless steel refrigerator if we applied it there, too. Plus, we had plenty and it was one less thing to paint or buy something additional for! He also installed a new side panel to the refrigerator, using pre-finished maple. Although the laminate pieces look like a steel blue here, it is more of a silver metallic in person.

The before


No panel



The maple side panel is installed


The laminate pieces are in!








The dinette construction has begun as well! We're using maple on the base and benches which will be lacquered to match the side of the refrigerator. And, I think we're going to go with black vinyl to upholster the cushions with. We had wanted charcoal gray leather but, but because of our cushion's dimensions, leather is not doable. And, we could not find a charcoal gray vinyl from an affordable manufacturer. It was either go with a light gray vinyl / black vinyl for X amount, or pay three times that for the same quality but to get a darker gray color. We decided it wasn't worth it. Plus, I want a black countertop eventually in the kitchen, so I think it will help tie it together if we do use the black. We didn't just go with a traditional vinyl though. The one we selected is called, "Central Park Ebony" and it has a braided or woven look to it. Since we plan to add '50s diner style trim to the edge of our dinette tabletop, this felt like it had some flair /lended itself to that diner look.



Progress









You can see that one area in the front of the Airstream is still the original yellowed color. We will paint that white at some point. We also have to decide what to do with the cabinet below it that butts up against the dinette table. We will most likely not tear it out and build something new but maybe paint it white instead. We only have a month before we store the Airstream for the winter so it's just a matter of how much we get to before then. Otherwise, the list of projects will be waiting for us in the spring.

The flooring is almost completely finished now too, aside from trimming a few pieces here and there.
We installed a new radio and speakers. It's just a car stereo but you can play your Pandora playlists on it, while controlling it with your iPhone. We don't have a bed to sleep on yet but we have a rocking sound system! :)

In the last week, we also painted one of the bed's bases.

From (the look of) walnut to white...





And, while it may look like genuine walnut in the picture, it is really like a vinyl or laminate. I promise you, it's more photogenic than it should be!

So, for my next post, I hope to show our finished dinette and provide a materials list of the products we have used so far. And, maybe we'll have camped by then to report on that, too (fingers crossed).