[silverbastards-blog]

so i'm getting started with the wiring. not knowing what the heck i'm doing, i've decided to remove all the wires that aren't connected to anything. simplify things a little bit.

it's like a jungle in here. sometimes i wonder how i keep from going under!

[silverbastards-blog]

Nice! I just saw these photos and drawings. Good plans all. There is no such thing as too much room for books and shoes/clothes, I've found. You've made sweet accommodations for both. Also, it's good to have music. Makes any space feel perfect, even when it's less than.

Thank you very much!

We might be able to get a record player going in here. I just think that would be the keenest.

[silverbastards-blog]

Hey Matt, love the plans. A question: did you hammer out the hail dents, or leave them?

We can't seem to hammer them out satisfactorily, but supposedly when the Airstream is down in warmer climates, they'll just pop out. I guess we'll have to see.

[silverbastards-blog]

Very cool!

My fiance and I are doing the EXACT same thing with a 1974 sovereign up in Bothell!!!!!  Not quite as drastic of a renovation as we are wanting to get on the road to keywest florida ASAP...but still funny!  Check ours out at: ismelltexas.wordpress.com Keep in touch! -Leo

Howdy Leo, looks like we're doin' pretty much the same thing. Y'all're ahead of us on the exterior lighting, though. Where'd you pick up yours?

--M

[silverbastards-blog]

Airstream Plans

So I got the subfloor in, and the power converter's in the mail, so for all intense and purr-pusses, I made up some plans (read: drawings) of what we'll make of this little project we call home.

Bedroom:

The very back of the trailer, room for a queen sized mattress (though we only have a full), a shelf against the very back wall, rolling drawers underneath, battery box tucked between the bed and the bathroom, completed with a flamboyantly lacey curtain, signifying casbah-status.

Bathroom:

Yeah, there'll be walls and stuff, but I left those out so you could see inside~

Also, this should look odd with the toilet and tub lifted for seemingly no reason, but remember that we took the septic tanks out of the way back, which is where the bed will be. So, the septic tanks will be put back in over the axles, which will handle their weight better, and will directly underneath their top-world counterparts. 

Sink:

Couch:

Shoe cubby:

Light table:

The actual colors will probably not end up so bright and pastel.

--M

[silverbastards-blog]

The black & gray tanks have been removed!

See?

The subfloor wood is completely in!

See?

Tomorrow I will solidify the subfloor and make calls to electricians. :)

—M

[silverbastards-blog]

Haven't posted in a while because the shit-removing process has been both anal and banal. At last, after like a week of calling every septic service in town, Island Johnny Toilets came to our driveway and got most of the shit out, leaving us with still some bucketfulls that we had no choice but to flush down the toilet. There was minimal mess, but all I really care about is that it's gone now.

The way we've been removing the old stuff from the airstream has been heavily destructive, which I think is just fine as pretty much everything is nothin' more useful than scrap, after these 32 years Tuna Mary's been on this planet, this planet of meth-heads and the laws of thermodynamics. 

So after all that cleaning out, as of this morning, those tanks are still in there, and with thermodynamics as my justification, I will be taking a reciprocating saw to those tanks. Who knows what will come out, just be glad that I won't post the pictures afterward (unless something truly amazing/awful happens).

--M

[silverbastards-blog]

So the subfloor is pretty much done, and has been for a while, except for, as you can see, in the very back, where the shit is. If the worst thing they have to say about me at my funeral is that I put off emptying my shit tanks, well, so be it, I say.

It's not like I haven't tried. Folks in the PNW, lemme just tell you, do not call Flohawks. Just... Don't do it. You won't like it.

--M

[silverbastards-blog]

I call this one "Moonrise, as Seen from the Stratosphere."

I call this one "Moonrise, as Seen from the Stratosphere as the Earth is Exploding."

Efficiency! 

--M

[silverbastards-blog]

the new subfloor is spreading like a wonderful disease

—M

[silverbastards-blog]

at last, destruction ends, and construction begins

Shh, shh, the rust-preventin' paint is drying..

Two coats have been applied, and they've been drying for a couple days. Let the floor shine in! This fresh, brand new insulation is a joy to behold, after the vintage, dusty, shit-filled stuff from the 70s.

The baby colors of the gender binary... As you can see, Tuna Mary is gender-neutral.

And the subfloor comes in! I realized at this point that I picked up the wrong kind of bolts, so when C gets back with the truck I'll have to go back and exchange them. But then there will be something to stand on! Progress!

--M

[silverbastards-blog]

Inside Tuna Mary, sage is burnt, to ward off the evil ghosts of meth heads who lived in her before us.

--M

[silverbastards-blog]

Hello again cyber-chums! I apologize from the seat of my pants for not having updated in ages. All my reasoning is just that we haven't really gotten around to anything exciting quite yet.

Days go by like waves crashing on the shore... The vinyl-removing process is not yet over.

So here's a lil more about us! This is my '69 Honda CT90, which gets 160 miles to the gallon~

This is our tow vehicle, which we are looking to sell.

Yep, well, here I am using an angle grinder to get the last stubborn bits of the old floorboard out, where the bolts had rusted to immovability. 

And here are some holes patched with spare aluminum (found in the airstream, they were using it to hold the insulation up(?!?)). They have since been sealed around the edges with a product called TremPro.

We also just got a key made for the door handle. No one will be able to rob us forever now! Hooray! This is the door handle with Rustoleum drying over it's secret, rust-prone parts.

Here's a family of small, black spiders that were living in a little hook for holding up wiring. They're gone now... I'm not proud of what I done.

The rubber gaskets around the windows are being treated with a silicone lubricant, which will restore their original bounciness, allowing them to close all the way. Goodbye, leaks! It'll be dry in two weeks.

Yesterday I tried to vacuum out the rust and sawdust that had accumulated inside the airstream with all the grindin' and sawin' I been doin' in there. I tried using the shop vac's blow feature, creating an indoor hurricane of dirt particles. This is my arm, in the aftermath.

And finally, here is a picture of the new plywood receiving a latex painting treatment! It will prevent the floor from rotting ever again.

Yeah, last night we bought the new insulation and floorboards from Home Depot. Really freakin' cheap, considering the square footage.

Anyhoo, now we shall continue to refloor Tuna Mary! And we gotta figure out what to do with those waste tanks...

--M

[silverbastards-blog]

Today I finished removing the insulation and the majority of the floor.

10 & 1/2 bags in toto of carcinogenic, shit-infested fiberglass stuff. Thanks a lot, 70s.

This is a Very Good Thing. The Silver Bastard no longer has anything poisonous in it!

All that's left is the aluminum shell and the steel frame, as well as the pipes and wiring and the water tanks. This new view has exposed some holes, though, that I didn't see.

I'll patch them up with some spare aluminum and some rivets tomorrow.

Never stop dreamin',

--M

[silverbastards-blog]

I believe it says “Joshua Mendez” here in the door frame, as pictured next to the brand new rubber seals I just installed.

What do you think it says? The best answer will become the new name of the Silver Bastard.

--M

?

[silverbastards-blog]

TARP'D!

take that, rain. 

this skullcap might have to be semi-permanent, even during our travels. never know. glad it's there. back to work!

--M

[silverbastards-blog]

Today I chopped up a toilet into little pieces, eventually slicing directly through the middle.

It can now be removed! The only downside to this is that underneath this toilet is an image not unlike looking into the bowl of a port-o-potty that's never been emptied.

We'll drain it soon, god yes.

Aside from that, just choppin', y'know. Choppin' up EVERYTHING! YEAHH~

Pictured above is the fresh water tank, which is freakin' massive and probably not going anywhere, but will be cleaned.

--M