Well! We had a bit of an exciting find when we went to work on Maude this weekend!

Among other things, we're getting ready to get the 12-volt electrical system all wired up. This includes all of the interior and exterior lighting. All of it will get connected to the battery, so we have lights whether Maude is plugged into shore power or not! This is standard in trailers, and it will be kinda sweet, since I'll still have lights even if the power ever goes out <3

So Mike was charging an extra battery we had. He hooked it up last weekend. 

When we went out to work on Maude, we were greeted by a fun sulphury smell and an exploded battery! It threw battery acid all over everything, including the back of Maude.

So Maude got a bath to wash it all off. The above picture is after her bath, but you can still see where the battery acid dripped down and stained her aluminum! We're PRETTY sure it'll all polish out.

Also exciting has been the amount of rain we've been getting! Unfortunately, we found a bunch of new leaks around the windows at the front, back and next to the door. **Sigh** SO! After getting a bath, Maude is getting caulked some more! Upon inspection, it seems like the rain gutters over the windows were at least part of the source, so Mike recaulked the top edges of the three windows. Hopefully that takes care of the leaks!

ALL of the rivets in Maude have been caulked at this point - EXCEPT for the ones around the base of the trailer that hold the outer skin to the track that's attached to the frame. While Mike was doing damage control, I started getting those rivets all caulked. It's going to take FOREVER, but the job is started now, which makes it easier to jump in and complete small sections ;)

Maude is just one hiccup after another, but we continue marching forward!
Until next time! <3 Becca

Last week, if you'll recall, we made the drastic decision to scrap the fiberglass end caps and build our own out of aluminum.

We haven't got the aluminum sheeting yet, so we spent this weekend undoing the end cap progress that we HAD made.

End caps - REMOVED!

It's a little disappointing that we couldn't use them. And also that they're back, uglying up my backyard! LOL! But we're super excited to be ready to move forward once we get the aluminum!

We also took the time to clean up Maude's interior. We organized the tools, taking out the ones we weren't going to be using any time soon, and vacuumed! It felt nice to get her emptied out a bit and ready for our next moves :)

​Until next time! <3 Becca

End caps. I do not like them. ;)  

We have spent so much time on these end caps. Last weekend, we went back into Maude to try to prod the end cap into place better, but it just wasn't improving. So we tried to start thinking of other solutions. 
Here's where we started this weekend. It's a bit hard to tell, but the bottoms of the end cap just aren't flexing into the corners well enough.

So we got a new toy! This is a laser level. This way we could line up the laser with the window and then be able to trace a straight line around the curve.

No turning back now!

Unfortunately, even with cutting off the bottoms, it still wouldn't fit! Turns out that the trailer is enough of a different shape after rebuilding her that the end caps just won't fit. So! We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening researching how to build new end caps. We won't be going with fiberglass (that's WAYYYYY outside our wheelhouse!) But lots of other ages of Airstreams have aluminum end caps. We'll be doing that. We found some videos on YouTube showing the process, and it looks pretty straight forward! We probably should have just gone this route a million years ago, but oh well ;)

On Sunday, since we need to order supplies to rebuild end caps, we decided to tie up a few loose ends!
I caulked some more rivets on the interior, while Mike tweaked the door to try to get the last bit of leaking under control. We're having some rain today, so we'll get to see if it worked! ;)

If you'll recall, I patched where the old door catch was and installed the new one, only to have it not match up with the door. We thought we'd have to redo the whole thing! But with the tweaking of the door, it made it so that the door catch works now! YAY!!! We've been propping the door open with a piece of plywood - but no longer!! (It's totally dumb, but I'm REALLLLY excited about this catch working LOL)

And finally, we patched this section by the door where some previous owner had drilled holes to install a lock. It's not a cute patch like most of our others, but there just wasn't enough space. Functional is good enough ;)

For the first time in a LOOOOONG time, I'm feeling more positive about Maude and our path forward. Those end caps just weren't fitting right, and I had a lot of anxiety about the rest of the project not working out because they wouldn't install correctly. 

I'm very thankful to have made some drastic decisions and to be able to move forward with creating the new end caps!

​Until next time! <3 Becca

We're still working on getting the endcap to fit into the curve. Here's where we left it last weekend:

And here we are this weekend! I know... there's not a hugely noticeable difference in these photos LOL!
BUT! We got those bottom curves pressed back into the corners better. What you can't tell is that the endcap is no longer overlapping the windows. HOPEFULLY <fingerscrossed!> we can finish up next weekend?

So, like I said, there's not much to update you all with! Until next time! <3 Becca

We're still forging ahead with Maude's front endcap! 
Here's where we left off last weekend:

Trying to get these endcaps to fit back into place really isn't much fun ;)  But we've found that bracing it into something-resembling-the-end-position makes it a little easier to coax it into an even better position after a resting period.

This week we were able to get some rivets into place! We decided that the endcap was pretty darn close on that right side, even though we couldn't get the rivet holes to match up exactly, so we drilled new ones.

In this picture you can see where the clamps aren't, which is where the rivets are! Still a lot more poking, prodding, bracing and resting that needs to happen, but a bit of progress was made!

Until next time! <3 Becca

Hi guys! 

​We worked on getting the end cap installed this weekend.  Here's where we left off last week:

We had the Reflectix and some of the purple foam insulation installed.

This weekend, we finished getting the purple foam into place. It's not super pretty, but it'll (hopefully? LOL) do! Thankfully, it'll get covered up ;)

We shaved away some of the purple foam at the rib in order to tuck the electrical wires into the wall cavity.

We used spray foam insulation to fill in the gaps. I'm tellin' ya - the curves are really pretty, but they are a PAIN to work with!

Then we sanded the foam since it was all gloopy and sticking out of the gaps ;)

Read for the end cap! It's been sitting in the rear of the trailer, out of the weather, but COMPLETELY in our way. I'm super excited to get it installed and to clear up working space!

We had hoped that changing to the purple foam instead of the Rockwool insulation would make a huge difference in installing the endcap. Spoiler: It didn't. LOL

We DID get some temporary fasteners around the window and at the A/C unit on the first day, which was QUITE the improvement over the rear endcap. But, it's still not really matching up in that curve. We need to push and prod the endcap to hopefully push the edge in about another inch. We're letting it rest, like we did with the rear cap, in the hopes that it will relax closer to the correct shape, and then we can push it to the fully correct position next weekend? We'll see! Worst case scenario, we'll drill new rivet holes ;)

​Until next time! <3 Becca

OMG, it felt great not to have to work on another window! LOL

On Saturday, we started trying to decide our next steps. It was a long, rough week, so we decided to pluck some low-hanging fruit. As we go along, I add tasks to a list. These are typically little details that, for whatever reason, we didn't finish with the original project. For example: the hardware that opens/closes the windows and finding suitable replacements is on that list ;)  Another thing on that list was getting the front two stabilizing jacks installed. 

Mike had installed the rear two stabilizers last summer. But we didn't have great tools to do it, so he was pretty frustrated by the project, and dropped it. We've since gotten the proper tools, and HOLY COW! The right tools made the job SO much easier! And Maude is super stable now! THIS trailer ain't a-rockin'!

Not shown: We also snipped some pieces of the belly pan off that we'd been meaning to since we did that project LOL

On Sunday, we again hemmed and hawed about what project we wanted to tackle next. We landed on getting the front end cap installed. If you'll recall, the rear end cap was NOT FUN. It took weeks and weeks of pushing and shoving and reshaping the end cap, and in the end we accidentally cracked it (repairing the fiberglass is on the list! LOL)

​But really, the front end cap needs to be installed so it'll be out of our way for moving forward with just about any other project in the trailer. Here's what we started with!

We got Reflectix insulation installed in the front curve. I'm kind of in love with spray adhesive! It went really smoothly :)

For the rear end cap, we insulated with Reflectix and Rock Wool. Even though we cut the Rock Wool batting in half (it comes 3 inches thick), it still felt too thick for the 1.5" space between the outer skin and the end cap. We decided to change materials and bought the 1" purple insulating foam you see above.

The difficulty with the foam board is that it's flat. Airstreams are NOT ;) In order to help the board flex into the curves, we scored the back side. It worked fabulously! Gaps between the pieces of foam board will be filled with spray foam insulation. 

We only got as far as the picture above shows, but we're excited for next weekend to finish up the insulation and to start getting that end cap installed!

​Until next time! <3 Becca

Warning: This is going to be a short post ;)

We got the last window done!!!!!!!!!! 8 windows with an average time of 3 hours per window to clean and reseal each pane. What a pain! ;)  But it's done! And this last window was, by far, the easiest one. What a nice treat for all of our hard work!

The rest of our weekend was spent driving to pick up this cutie!

Meet the newest member of the Seitz Household - Fig the Hedgie Pig! She's 13 weeks old and a total sweetie :) 

​Until next time! <3 Becca

Howdy! We got a chance to get some more work done on Maude this weekend! 2 more windows are DONE! The only one remaining is her rear window :)

The first window we did this weekend was GROSS. Some previous owner(s) had tried to remedy some leaking, but went about it all the wrong way. Like a previous window, they used some products for home windows, not aluminum windows. But on this one, they ALSO used silicone caulk. You're not supposed to use silicone on aluminum - my understanding is that a chemical reaction happens between silicone and aluminum that is undesirable. We got to undo it all! LOL

Here is a closeup of the frame. In that little groove where you can see moss growing, it's PACKED with that home-window product. Unfortunately for us, we HAD to get it clean so that our new window seals would sit in that groove properly! It meant spending a HUGE chunk of time trying to scratch it out with a razor blade, because it's not just a groove - it has a little lip to help catch and hold the seals. Some dental tools would have been super handy! All of the white stuff you see around the frame is silicone that at least came off super easily with a wire wheel. But there was a TON of it!

Buh-bye, last of the nasty dirt/mouse excrement on this frame!

Hello, pretty new window pane! Mike's really getting good at cutting glass! LOL

Pretty new window and seals! Sorry for the picture with so many reflections PLUS our house THROUGH the windows! LOL

The second window we did this week went really smoothly! The original glass popped out nicely, they hadn't used any of the cement-like product! It went so smoothly I forgot to take many pictures! The good news is that this isn't your first rodeo seeing windows resealed on this trailer ;)

And here's Maude's front window all cleaned and sealed up!

Honestly, we've come such a long way on Maude! Her exterior, aside from not being fully polished, is looking clean and straight! 

We picked up Maude 2 years ago on August 25th. We've had SO many ups and downs, times I've doubted my life decisions (LOL) but the progress is undeniable! Getting these windows resealed is helping to renew my love and excitement for Maude. We're almost completely finished with her external projects and we're getting ready to move on to her interior!!

Until next time :)  <3 Becca

Howdy! More window this week! Surprise! LOL
​Last weekend we did the top window. This weekend we did the bottom.

Some previous fool decided to use the types of materials one would use to glaze windows in a house. It was a COMPLETE PAIN to deal with in a trailer situation! As you can see above, we had to chip off the material that was like a plastery-concrete material to uncover the edge of the window pane.

Then we used the heat gun to release the window pane from the tacky material that helps hold it in place. We managed to keep the original window pane in tact! WOOHOO! If you recall, we broke the last one we tried to remove from the frame ;)  A little acetone and a razor blade got it all cleaned up and looking beautiful!

While I was cleaning the window pane, Mike was chiseling out more of the plastery-concrete stuff. Once he got it all chiseled-out, he used a wire wheel to clean up the frame. Check out how NASTY it was! You can totally see the difference in the picture on the above right!

And just like all the other windows, the pane got placed with new tacky stuff and then the rubber sealing-strips that you see in the above photo! Doing these windows is tedious and really frustrating in the heat (the tacky stuff gets SUUUPER tacky and prefers to stick to fingers over the aluminum frame!), but MAN, they look really pretty all cleaned up! PLUS With the new seals they actually seal now! We're hoping that these windows were the main source of our remaining leaks!

3 more windows remain! 

Until next time :)  <3 Becca