Inspired potential fueled by the internet.
A deadline was given. By February 20th 2008, the "Silver Fox" would depart from AURA headquarters and venture off in another Fish Bum expedition. Within this short time period I was ordered to have the "Silver Fox" renovated and in good health. Meaning, it needed to be liveable under Fish Bum qualifications. (There needed to be a place to comfortably hang up Waters, and tie flies.)
The water logged floor was definitely a step back from my schedule, I felt as if I were back-tracking from my set goals. In the days to follow the water incident, conditions worsened and my stress level began to rise ever so slowly. However, I tried not to let this problem deter me. It would only slow down the renovation process. I needed to see which appliances worked and which one's did not, immediately.
Whatever can go wrong with Airstream's, went wrong with this one. In fact, I'm not sure how it even made it from Washington State down to Southern Oregon with only one wheel plugged into its brake system. (Kate, you might want to check you break pads, I doubt you h
ave any.)
Most appliances need 120 volts to run, the main ones include refrigerators, blenders, air conditioners, coffee makers, etc. However, when 120 volts evaporates before it leaves your breaker pannel.
You might have a serious problem on your hands. Or in my case a catastrophe. If it's not going to my appliances, where is it going? Hopefully nowhere that I'm going to touch.
At this point, some might give up and find themselves an electrician that will touch something other than a grounded house. I guess there is a "liability issue" and most licensed electricians will not touch piles of junk on wheels. To many potential problems to get blamed for... However, there are people out there that specialize in this work, and do not mind the liability. The only
problem is that they cost a lot of money.
Instead of giving a grand to a "specialist," I did what any stubborn college kid would do and decided to take on this job myself. The folks at "Diamond Home Improvement" are extremely knowlegeable, however their expertise dwindles off by the time I explain which doo-hickey goes into which chiga-daroo. The Internet was the only reference I had.
Other than the lights working a few weeks back, I found my first source of inspiration on the internet. I can't even began to describe, how big of a craze "Airstream Renovation" is. There is a subculture out there, that make lifestyles and careers out of what I do everyday. Immersing myself in "airforums.com" was the best thing I could have done at this point in the renovation process. Each post submitted was answered within minutes by the same type of people. All helpful, and knowlegable in "Airstream Science." I was bombarded with wire diagrams, inverter recommendations, followed by the ussual, "check out what I recently did with my airstream model." My inspiration was created by these people, every single one of them was gleaming with pride in their work. The need to feel that same pride, fueled my desire to dive into my work even deeper.
I'm not going to lie, I gave up on the fuse box and asked my dad to come down and help me with the wiring when he had a chance. Some might consider my quest to fix the 120 volt problem a failure, however I doubt it would have brang me to the internet for help.
The refrigerator was extremely rusted and needed to be replaced whether it worked or not, I felt like I never lost any ground.
When you consider how close the furnace and stove top was to my faulty water pump, you might began to understand the amount of rust that developed each time someone turned on said pump. Why anyone would constantly turn a cracked pump on is beyond me...Were they expecting a different result?
The only appliance that worked wa
s the oven... I do not understand why.
I finally saw potential in what I originally thought was the Hellen Keller of the airstream world. There was a glimmer of hope within those aluminum walls even with the nearly approaching deadline. Thank you airforums.
On a side note...the recent rain has uprooted another problem, it looks as if the seals around the vents have cracked, along with the chaulking around the window sills. I am going to spend the rest of the day mopping it up... and sealing outside cracks. This is rediculous.
The water logged floor was definitely a step back from my schedule, I felt as if I were back-tracking from my set goals. In the days to follow the water incident, conditions worsened and my stress level began to rise ever so slowly. However, I tried not to let this problem deter me. It would only slow down the renovation process. I needed to see which appliances worked and which one's did not, immediately.
Whatever can go wrong with Airstream's, went wrong with this one. In fact, I'm not sure how it even made it from Washington State down to Southern Oregon with only one wheel plugged into its brake system. (Kate, you might want to check you break pads, I doubt you h
ave any.)Most appliances need 120 volts to run, the main ones include refrigerators, blenders, air conditioners, coffee makers, etc. However, when 120 volts evaporates before it leaves your breaker pannel.
You might have a serious problem on your hands. Or in my case a catastrophe. If it's not going to my appliances, where is it going? Hopefully nowhere that I'm going to touch.
At this point, some might give up and find themselves an electrician that will touch something other than a grounded house. I guess there is a "liability issue" and most licensed electricians will not touch piles of junk on wheels. To many potential problems to get blamed for... However, there are people out there that specialize in this work, and do not mind the liability. The only
problem is that they cost a lot of money.
Instead of giving a grand to a "specialist," I did what any stubborn college kid would do and decided to take on this job myself. The folks at "Diamond Home Improvement" are extremely knowlegeable, however their expertise dwindles off by the time I explain which doo-hickey goes into which chiga-daroo. The Internet was the only reference I had.
Other than the lights working a few weeks back, I found my first source of inspiration on the internet. I can't even began to describe, how big of a craze "Airstream Renovation" is. There is a subculture out there, that make lifestyles and careers out of what I do everyday. Immersing myself in "airforums.com" was the best thing I could have done at this point in the renovation process. Each post submitted was answered within minutes by the same type of people. All helpful, and knowlegable in "Airstream Science." I was bombarded with wire diagrams, inverter recommendations, followed by the ussual, "check out what I recently did with my airstream model." My inspiration was created by these people, every single one of them was gleaming with pride in their work. The need to feel that same pride, fueled my desire to dive into my work even deeper.
I'm not going to lie, I gave up on the fuse box and asked my dad to come down and help me with the wiring when he had a chance. Some might consider my quest to fix the 120 volt problem a failure, however I doubt it would have brang me to the internet for help.
The refrigerator was extremely rusted and needed to be replaced whether it worked or not, I felt like I never lost any ground.
When you consider how close the furnace and stove top was to my faulty water pump, you might began to understand the amount of rust that developed each time someone turned on said pump. Why anyone would constantly turn a cracked pump on is beyond me...Were they expecting a different result?
The only appliance that worked wa
s the oven... I do not understand why.I finally saw potential in what I originally thought was the Hellen Keller of the airstream world. There was a glimmer of hope within those aluminum walls even with the nearly approaching deadline. Thank you airforums.
On a side note...the recent rain has uprooted another problem, it looks as if the seals around the vents have cracked, along with the chaulking around the window sills. I am going to spend the rest of the day mopping it up... and sealing outside cracks. This is rediculous.
posted by airstream renovation specialist at
3:40 PM
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