This section contains information about our Airstream travel trailer. At the minute this is definitely a work in progress. We will be adding pictures and other info as we get the time to do so.

The trailer has a twin bed floor plan.

The trailer has solar panels that charge our batteries when we are not connected to 110V power. This has proven to be one of the best items we have on the trailer.

The first things we did was make some modifications to the motif that came from the factory. We really like the Southwestern portion of the United States. We both have spent lots of time in very arid climates as children and, as a result, like the desert. The picture at right shows the desert scene that Verna put on the bathroom wall behind the sink. This really sets the theme for our home. Verna also made some pillows with a desert scene using fabric we located when we were in Tucson, Airizona in February 2008, seen above

The pillow behind the desert scene pillow was also made by Verna many years ago and they were on our bed in our house when we lived in San Ramon, California.

In addition to the changes noted to this point Verna also changed the fabric on the window cornices seen below, right. We kept the brown background but wanted something more colorful as the accent fabric. The picture at right shows the new fabric on a window cornice in the bedroom.

The walls in the trailer are all white. As a result we thought that all of the colors that the southwest motif would offer would help brighten the atmosphere.

Once all this was completed we decided that the couch in the front of the trailer had to be replaced. Jim found the couch uncomfortable for his tall frame. We searched for replacement furniture and finally settled on two Stressless chairs from Ekornes. The picture below left shows the original couch and one of the two fold out tables in the front of the trailer as well as one of the two foot stools that also provide storage inside. We removed the couch and both of the fold out tables shown at left, which left the front of the trailer empty. The picture above right shows the two battery boxes (black boxes) and the box that holds the 110V to 12V DC power converter, 12 DC circuit breakers and the master 12V DC power cut off switch. Also pictured between the power converter box and the battery box on the right is the sub woofer Jim installed in conjunction with additional speakers to improve the quality of sound delivered from the stereo CD/DVD player.

We went shopping for alternatives to the couch using the internet to whittle down the number of items that we might be interested in. We found a company in Medford that had a showroom with lots of choices for chairs and sofas that are manufactured specifically for the RV industry. Unfortunately we were unable to find anything that we both liked.

After some deliberation we decided that we really like the Ekornes Stressless chairs, shown in the photo below, left. Also pictured is the small carpet we purchased when we were at the Raptor Sanctuary outside Tucson, Arizona in February 2008. Now that we had the chairs we were able to move forward with the next phase of our plan which was to have custom cabinets made to provide more storage in the front of the trailer. We made arrangements with the Airstream factory in Jackson Center, Ohio to call in and discuss this with them. We arrived there in mid September, 2008 and decided on a design.

We returned a month later in October, 2008 and spent one week at the factory while they installed the cabinets. This was an interesting process. At 7:00 AM each day they would come to the “Terra Port” that has been constructed for customers who come to the factory for warranty or other work. At the conclusion of the work day the trailer is returned to its space in the “Terra Port” and you can then spend the night. The picture above shows the finished product.

The picture at left shows the view as you enter the trailer.

The cabinet on the far left has a large file drawer on the bottom and the top drawer has a fold down front behind which is our printer. The printer drawer also pulls out so that the top of the printer can be lifted up in order to use the scanner function.

To the right, there is a space for a satellite receiver. We already have a built in DVD player. The bottom portion of the cabinet with the two doors contains Verna’s sewing machine. To the right of this cabinet, to the right of the chair if you were sitting in the chair. are three book shelves which are more than difficult to see in this picture.

The photo below right shows the side of the trailer where the door is located. We found that always being in campgrounds or in the countryside leads to lots of stuff being brought into the trailer on our shoes. When there is inclement weather the problem is made even worse. We wanted some way to store shoes near the door so we could remove our shoes when we entered the trailer and have some place to store them. This also makes putting shoes on when exiting the trailer very easy. And, more importantly, it cuts down of the stuff that gets brought into the trailer which reduces the task of keeping the floors clean.

What cannot be seen in this picture because they are hidden behind the chair is a drawer for miscellaneous office supplies with a cabinet below it that is storage for Verna’s serger sewing machine.

The area that can be seen between the chairs that is behind the chairs contains more storage. The thing we are liking the most now that we have everything installed is the counter tops. We now have someplace to put things when we come in the door. And it gives us lots of space to spread out when we are going to be in one location for several days.

When we first got the trailer, Jim ran 8 gauge electrical cable from the 12 V DC batteries to the access compartment for the refrigerator where he installed a cut off switch, a fuse box, a relay and switch that can be used to operate our macerator/pump for emptying both the black and gray water holding tanks.

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