Scope Creep- or Since I’m Here I Might As Well…
For me, projects always start out with a simple goal, but once I get into them I realize that at some point in my future, things will be easier if I just do this “one other thing”. The “one other thing” always seems to be at least four other things, but ultimately they needed to be done and it is just easier if I do them while I have ________ (fill in the blank) removed. So I do them and I seldom have a regret for spending the time and money to do everything I can to improve the camper.
I’ve broken these projects down into steps as best as I can. At the time there was no web site or Youtube channel planned, so many of these pictures were just taken for my reference. I did some of these projects over the period of weeks and I wanted to go back and see what it looked like before or during my last time working on it, so they aren’t always pretty (or even all that good). But if my pictures and processes help you, then that’s good.
And that leads me to my number one piece of advice- document everything with pictures and measurements BEFORE you start, DURING your project and AFTER you finish. I say this for several reasons- if you remove something, or disconnect something, or throw something away, you will have a visual reference of what you now no longer remember. And if you keep the photos semi organized you will have a record of what was done and how it was done for the next buyer. Documentation & receipts almost always add value in resale.
And a word for those of you who are starry eyed dreamers planning to gut your Airstream and turn it into your Pintrest perfect tiny home…. this is really hard work. The internet is full of gutted AS projects with captions like “the hard work has already been done” but a word to the wise… the hard work and expense is just beginning! I have no problem with people updating their Airstream however they see fit, but if you find a camper that has a really nice condition interior I’d advise you to either leave it mostly original or pass on it in favor of a previously gutted one. The original ones are getting harder and harder to find and there are plenty out there with interiors that are very rough or completely gone. And if you do end up gutting one, do yourself a favor and save all the interior pieces to use as patterns for your new build, even if they are in poor condition they will give you the curves and sizes you need without a lot of trial and error. If there are functional and decorative pieces such as light fixtures, handles, hooks, appliances or anything small that you don’t want please make them available to other Airstreamers either free or cheap. It’s good karma and those things are hard to find. Airforums and the Facebook groups would be a good place to list them.
And now that I’m off my soapbox, onto my projects. I was lucky enough not to have to do a frame off restoration, so these are smaller, easier to do projects.