Prior to our arrival, I had never met Butch, an Austin transplant and previous owner of the Airstream, who currently had the trailer parked in his backyard. "He's good people", Chris told me. Chris was right. Butch was a great guy, who did everything to help and facilitate our project, and to get this Airstream out of his hair. Being that I'd never met Butch, I was reluctant to get him involved in what I considered our mess, but I took what help he gave.
The first real work day was a matter of cleaning things up. I was hoping that after a thorough cleaning we would not only see what we were dealing with, but we might actually have a place to sleep on the way home. With the exception of torn upholstery and some pretty serious fridge funk, this thing was in terrific shape! Everything seemed to be fully functional, including the lights, fans, original radio, water pump, and everything else we checked out. It even had a full charge on the battery, which was amazing since this thing hadn't seen any use in years.
The only thing that really needed attention were the jalousie windows, which had the operational hardware removed at some point. For the trip home we taped them up with stucco tape (a tape I've found more useful than duct), and added a piece of plexi over the front window which was glass and seemed vulnerable to flying rocks. Vince added the red cross with the stucco tape, perhaps to signify the care and mercy the trailer would receive.
For more information and a different perspective on this journey, check out jenzahigian.blogspot.com, as well as the videos at vicenteaello.com.
The trailer, hooked up, still behind Butch's place.
The beautiful and clean interior (notice fully functional command center above counter)
Before taping the windows and adjusting the hitch height.
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