The boring Wednesday post

Today is one of those “get stuff done,” days.  Laundry to be done.  Sheets and comforter need to be washed.  Cleaning in the Airstream.  You know, life stuff.

Yesterday I’d noticed there was some flexibility in the kitchen counter top.  So I popped my Tikka headlamp on and took a look under the sink.  Sure enough, somewhere in the recent travels a screw came out that connected the counter to the aluminum wall.  Left a sizable hole too.  So a little maintenance was in order.

After seeing that a screw had come out it struck me.  When was the last time I checked around the Airstream for loose screws, and other such issues?  It’s been a while.  So today I’ll open every cabinet, storage compartment, etc.  It has to happen occasionally in any RV.  You travel with it, bounce around, eventually things are going to come loose.  So today I’ll check it over front to back.

Props to the Airstream

10 years ago the Airstream was purchased.  My ex and I got it at Marty’s USRV in Massachusetts.  When we were first shopping for an Airstream the thought was the 22 foot International CCD.  Several trips were made to Marty’s to look around.  And after a lot of window shopping we decided on the 25ft Safari Six Sleeper instead of the 22 CCD.

Gotta say, I’m happy with that decision.  I don’t think I could have full timed in the 22′.  Of course, at the time I never expected that I’d become a full timer, but the purchase decision worked out the right way.

In 10 years of ownership I’ve had very few issues.  Just like the Nissan Titan, the Airstream works.  And it has worked for 10 years!  The few problems I’ve had have been simple fixes.  Standard maintenance mostly.

• The heater was flaky when we first bought the Airstream.  Brought it in for service several times in 04′ and couldn’t find the issue.  In 2006 while on the road a mobile RV repair guy found that the connection wires to power were never screwed down tight.  Issue solved.
• There was a small leak when we first bought the Airstream.  A rivet had been double tapped on the roof, leaving a half moon hole in the Aluminum which allowed a small leak into the kitchen area.  I plugged it and have been fine since.
• Day one of leaving New England in 2006 I had a tire blow out.
• The back emergency escape window leaked in heavy rain.  The Airstream dealership in the Dallas / Ft. Worth area fixed that right up.
• The power converter finally died in 2010, so it was replaced with a better one.
• The pedal on the toilet broke in 2011, and a new toilet was installed.
• I’ve been through 2 shower heads.

Those are the big ones, and as you can see, not so big.  Today I’ll check around the Airstream again, do the little maintenance that needs to be done, and be happy that this Airstream has served me so well.