Chapter 4: Electrical Connections (Brake Lights are Important!) and Homeward!

June 15, 2021August 31, 2021 / jsshirley / 5 Comments

***Pete and Stef are homeward bound!!!*** ***(April 2021)***

Sunshine and progress! The first picture shown in the gallery below says it all! Gorgeous weather brings good luck! I didn’t show it before but the photo below the trailer also shows the new axle that was installed during the last trip. What follows are a series of shots of Pete and Stef’s work to get the brakes’ electrical connection working. Stef is her father’s daughter; loves tinkering and problem solving. We are not kidding that this trailer is a PROJECT! But it has not deterred either of them; of course, my hope is that a year or so from now, you will see the true fruits of their labor. I know Pete is hoping sooner rather than later.

So, what happened: lots of electrical wiring work as the dynamic duo prepped the trailer to go home. As you will note, Pete did get a temporary Texas tag to use for the trailer (Related stories — definitely if you are registering a trailer in Texas — with some notes on what you will need and can expect coming soon!).

The easy part was installing temporary driving lights to the trailer and testing them successfully with a seven-pin connector. The brakes, as mentioned the last post, proved more challenging as there was no good diagram to wire them up. Enter YouTube and wiring up Dexter brakes. What key equipment were they missing? A brake controller. Because they ran out of time during the March visit and both of them needed to get back to work the following Monday, Pete and Stef returned to New Mexico approximately two weeks later, brake controller in hand (Thanks, Amazon!!!) as well as a new seven-pin connector, 12-gauge and 14-gauge wires and a seven-pin circuit tester. So, while some of you well-versed in towing trailers may know this, Pete did not: a controller is required if you are towing a trailer with brakes even if your own vehicle has a factor tow package. Four-pin connectors (the type used for U-Haul) do not control brakes.

Chapter 3: Pandemic Challenges

June 8, 2021August 31, 2021 / jsshirley / 1 Comment

I am sure you have heard this countless times over the past year: the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges on all fronts. Making plans and solving any problems encountered as part of this airstream rebuild was no exception. Add family life matters and “voila!”; Pete’s and Stefanie’s perseverance and determination were key to overcoming any issues that arose during this time.

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” — Vince Lombardi Jr.

From a family standpoint, Pete’s dad passed away days before Christmas 2020. While he did not get COVID-19, like so many, many other families, my father-in-law was a victim of the pandemic. He went in for what was thought to be a routine procedure in early November (less than a week following his 86th birthday) and experienced one complication and continual health issues until his death. His Parkinson’s did not help as we had to remind him daily why he was at the hospital. When the hospital had to increase their COVID-19 restrictions again (meaning we could no longer visit him), he passed less than a week later. The “to-do” list of items related to Pete’s dad’s passing made time for the trailer that much more scarce. However, it was a time to reflect on the importance of family and friends and what was important in life.

Back to talking about the Airstream. While Pete and Stef had hoped to bring it home last September, there were a number of issues that cropped up:

Freak early autumn snowstorm delayed digging out the airstream
Power feed and wires were disconnected when the airstream was made a semi-permanent fixture on the property
Tires were rotted, and rims and axle needed replacement
After much online research, the width and heighth and other issues precluded use of a trailer.

Pete even did a little bit of impromptu handwritten analysis work too (shown below). Geeky?! Yes, but, as I always say, geeks are awesome! I have always loved sitting at the dining room table over food as the kids would discuss anything from math, science or otherwise. And, humor? We always had a lot of laughs. In any case, while the drawings may not be technically correct, you get the idea.

***Pete’s impromptu option analysis work***

Pete continued more research and managed to find an organization that could spec out a replacement axle. he bought an electric axle that was manufactured by Dexter axles. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 related manufacturing delays, the delivery time for the axle was several months with an ETC and delivery time of October/November. Pete arranged to have the axle delivered to a local Questa automotive repair shop (Northstar Tire & Auto in Questa, NM) with the intent that Pete and Stefanie would return to Questa before Thanksgiving to finally bring the trailer home. With the pandemic and travel restrictions imposed into and out of New Mexico, it would not be until Spring 2021 that our Globetrotter would come home.

Chapter 2: Extrication

June 2, 2021August 31, 2021 / jsshirley / Leave a comment

Can you dig it?

After talking about this for years, Pete and Stefanie finally put their plan into action: figuring out just how doable it was going to be to get the semi-permanent airstream home to Texas in 2020. The initial plan was to have some free help during the annual summer family gathering; however, we had not planned for the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, there was to be no family gathering and, therefore, no plans to get the trailer home mid-summer.

After much thought, and with the benefit of working remotely, Pete and Stefanie decided to temporarily uproot their “virtual” offices and take time after hours during that week-long visit to dig out the trailer.

The digging out of the trailer took about three days and much “gnashing of teeth” as Pete put it. They dug around the entire trailer to expose the shroud, and then ultimately removed it.

Once the shroud was removed they were able to see the wheels and confirm they were intact; however, the tires were rotted. Also, given that the axle was likely at least 30+ years old (and maybe even 50+ years!), they did not know if it would rotate or work. After replacing the tires, they found themselves having to do lots of research on how best to bring the trailer home — separate trailer bed? Pull the trailer as is?

Despite thinking it would make it home, the trailer remained in New Mexico after that visit and for the remainder of 2020. It would be at least 2-3 trips to northern New Mexico before the Airstream would relocate to Texas.

Chapter 1. The Beginning

May 31, 2021August 31, 2021 / jsshirley / Leave a comment

Before we get into the details and day-to-day (or rather, after-hours, weekends, etc) of this grand adventure of Pete & Stef’s first Airstream rebuild, I wanted to share the back story of how this idea began. Besides, it is an opportunity for me (Janet, wife to Pete and mom to Stef) to contribute. Tim, our son, is a budding graphic artist and he has created our icon, “Shirley (re) Creations (a mini size and full size version). While Pete and Stefanie will likely be the ones doing the lion share of the work, Tim and I will contribute albeit more infrequently.

But back to what got this going. When Pete and I met in 1989, Pete’s mom was already living in northern New Mexico. For as long as I can remember, on her property sat an old Airstream which was being used as a pseudo-apartment. Who would have thought that it was essentially a “tiny home” before it was chic! In any case, over the years that trailer fast became a storage area and fell into disrepair. Still, Pete occasionally would talk about the possibility of refurbishing/renovating the trailer. As the kids grew older, and Pete and the kids went to New Mexico each summer to meet up with his side of the family, the subject kept coming up. Just as Stefanie prepared for graduation from Johns Hopkins, she too started expressing interest in the idea of rebuilding the Airstream. Part of the desire was a better and safer place to store their bikes to visit other trails across the nation; in fact, I have put a few photos of those New Mexico mountain biking excursions down below. One picture shows Pete helping Stefanie with a class she was taking as she was obtaining her degree from JHU. It was so fun to watch the two working together.

More recently, Pete shared with me his motivation for rebuilding the trailer and I was surprised to find that his motivation stems pretty far back: as far back as when he graduated from the University of Maryland and began his career as a nuclear-trained submarine officer (around 1985-1990). This career path was pretty intense; it entailed one year of school-based training followed by two years of technical qualifications overlapped by four years of hands-on operating experience onboard a nuclear-powered submarine. He learned about every “shipboard” system (e.g., micro-circuitry, low voltage controls, power distribution, hydraulic systems, rotating and fixed equipment and more!) during his time in the Navy.

While the idea of having a trailer to house his and Stefanie’s prized mountain bikes was one of three reasons to rebuild the trailer, he also wanted to expand on his past engineering experience while learning more about design. Additionally, he thought it would be cool to expose Stefanie to another, more hands-on aspect of engineering. Another bonus: getting friends and other family involved in what he viewed as a fun project (and yes, you may hear or see them on this blog on occasion!).

And so, after months (and really, years) of talking about it, our weekends and free time will be living it! We hope you enjoy our blog and this journey.