Fire Mountain

Our first target outing for the Tin Pickle was a friend's gathering in the Mendocino County hills of Northern California. For that, we only needed to have the trailer road worthy. The interior was basically gutted of sleeping furniture, but we had new axles and functional running lights.

Set up for the weekend

With an airbed on the floor and curtains on some of the windows, we had a cozy haven as a retreat from the exuberance that was available outside. Bart and I cooked outside on a portable barbecue and had a cooler for a fridge. We had a 5 gallon Igloo for water storage, plus a table and chairs and a rug outside. The Tin Pickle worked just fine as an aluminum tent.

New Axles

One of the common tasks with older Airstream trailers is replacing the rubber torsion axles. Evidently, if the trailer is not used for long periods of time the rubber rods inside the suspension units harden and the trailer loses much of its suspension.  This is hard on the trailer and contents, and will lead to popped rivets, leaks, etc. if not addressed. Here's a drawing of the axle on these Airstreams:

Floor repairs

One of the characteristic problems that can beset older Airstream trailers is dry rot in the floor plywood. These trailers used 3/4" fir plywood over steel frames; the plywood was typically covered with carpeting. If a leak developed somewhere, the carpeting would both hold the moisture against the wood and conceal the leak from the owner. There were several small areas of dry rot in the Tin Pickle, which were evident once we removed the brown shag carpet.

Curtains

The naugahyde covered gaucho hide-a-beds were removed in February when we pulled out the old carpet and started floor repairs. Selecting a muted green and blue color scheme set the stage for future color and design decisions. Discount drapery fabric came from newtoto.com.

Pulling out one thread across the fabric leaves a clear cutting guide.

Flat felled seam detail

A-frame

The front of the trailer (A frame in trailer parlance) was pretty cluttered, with bits of an old weight distributing hitch, temporary lighting wiring, and a broken electrically operated jack without motor that could only be used with a knuckle busting 6" short emergency handle.

As We Found It

The Tin Pickle was mostly original when we bought her. This was a result more of neglect than of any interest in authenticity. She became obvious that the previous owners had done quick repairs when they had to and that fixit projects were not their strongest suit.

Still, the skin was intact and the size and price were right. We knew we had something that we could camp in while we worked on her.