[VACList] the whole scoop - almost

[Terry Tyler <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Karen,

The short and sweet of it is our '77 31' with its new refrigerator, new
furnace, 3 solar panels, 3 batteries, totally refurbished interior,
repolished exterior, awings all around, new brakes, new tires, 3 Lindeen
vent covers, convenience features galore and dozens of great  improvements
is now on its way to becoming an winter cottage for a southern family who
want a retired Airstream on their lot.

How come? Two reasons mainly. You may recall we were in New Orleans during
Christmas and New Years visiting family and parked at the Navy Base
Campground. Getting to and returning from New Orleans meant traveling the
horrendous I-10 roller coaster highway.

Our Airstream was not a happy camper on that roadway, especially after one
occasion when what looked like a fairly flat stretch of highway ideal for
accelerating above 35 mph (on a 60 mph highway) turned into the grand daddy
of "thank you ma'ams."  I'm sure this wasn't the case, but it seemed like
our truck and Airstream were airborne momentarily before landing with a
resounding thud and jarring jolt. It got our attention big time - gasp.

Everyone knows how much the frames on Airstreams enjoy frolicking on such
roads, even after they've had a frame strengthener kit installed and after
their main frame has been beefed up from a previous encounter with a road
under reconstruction .  Anyhow, the net result of I-10 did not enhance the
integrity of our Airstream's frame and suspension.

After leaving New Orleans and stopping at Hill Kelly Dodge in Pensacola for
an evaluation of our rig's readiness to continue serious travel on the
continent, we decided to nibble on an offer by a family to buy our
Airstream. They wanted to park it on their lot and not tow it.

With that option on hold, we continued east across Florida to I-75 and then
south. For those not familiar with this section of Interstate, it's where
big trucks dominate the passing lane and gleefully roar past every puny
Airstream they encounter.  Dealing with them wasn't the tough part. The
hardest was playing the new game of miss the rubbish on the highway. It's
called "dodge em" and the objective is to avoid the steel needles sticking
out of stray portions of carcasses left from blown out steel belted tires.

I think I'm good at that game, but unfortunately I became a bit cavalier
about my skills. Not smart. Suddenly, there was a POW, one tire on the
Airstream had caught the needles of a tire shred and the explosion tore the
ruined tire and rim completely off the drum. They went rolling into the
swamp and thickets.  And it was one of my prize aluminum rims.  In two
seconds, I opted to forfeit the rim and not introduce myself to the snakes
and baby alligators who were by now probably inspecting this new silver kid
who had just rolled unceremoniously into their backyard.

Fortunately, the next exit ramp was almost upon us and a dilapidated garage
was on the right side immediately off the ramp. Rolling into the parking lot
mish mash of wrecked cars, trucks and a mountain of ruined tires brought out
all the gawkers and experts who asked, "Did you lose a tire?" >>> Duh!

Being my usual cordial self (cough), I asked which one of them wanted to
earn some easy money. I'd supply the parts and pay them to do the labor of
pulling the drum, pounding out the sheared off hub studs, insert and pound
in the new hub studs (every Airstreamer carries a spare set, right?) and
then mount my spare tire (with an aluminum rim).

I'd even provide the plastic cover off a can of shaving cream to substitute
for the lost grease cap, plus the duct tape to secure it in place until I
could find a legitimate replacement cap (20 miles later, I found one).

While he did that, I worked on a three foot section along the curbside
behind the wheel of the Airstream where it was torn apart like a can opener
had been used.  I pounded the loose aluminum sheets and trim back into place
with my 2# hammer and used soft copper wire (scraps from my stash box) to
hold several sections in place so they'd not flap in the breeze after we
returned to the Interstate.

An hour and a half later and $50 lighter, we were rolling south again on
I-75, this time with all four aluminum rims and tires. It was late
afternoon. We were near the city of Ocala, Florida and guess what appeared
on the next Exit sign - a Publix market advertisement.

Every family has their quirks. One of ours is to pick up "ready to eat"
meals when we don't feel like preparing and cooking a meal. Publix is also
one of the few places where the ATM doesn't charge for giving cash on our
debit card.

After shopping and coming out of the market, another Airstream family had
pulled into the parking lot with their trailer.  They parked in the adjacent
lot (filled six car spots like we were doing) and introduced themselves as
local folks who were on their way to a nearby campground.

After the usual chit chat, I asked if there was a local mechanic who
specialized in doing Airstream repairs in his backyard at his home.  That's
always a good question to ask when repairs are needed, when it's late in the
afternoon and when local folks are standing next to us.

The answer shocked me. Not only did they say "Yes," but they gave us
directions (7 miles away) to his home. Sometimes serendipity is more than
alive and well. It is shouting for attention.

We followed the directions, turned into one of Walt Barksdale's driveways
(on 5 acres) and introduced ourselves to him. My original intention was to
get one of two estimates (insurance companies prefer two) before settling on
who I'd invite to make the repairs. During the course of chit chat, I
noticed five other Airstreams scattered around his property and in his RV
sheds. They were there for repairs.

Out of curiosity, I asked if any were on consignment for him to sell. His
reply, "There is one, but it's not a Vintage." I couldn't understand why he
said that.  After all, just because our Airstream is a Vintage, our Ford Van
is a Vintage and both Sandie and I are Vintage (like fine wine), I didn't
think he should conclude we'd only be interested in another Vintage
Airstream. We're not quite centurions yet.

After more chit chat, I called our insurance company to report the damage.
The agent would be at Walt's tomorrow and settle it promptly. With more chit
chat, Walt offered, "Why don't you stay the night here? I have a spot with
water, electric and sewer over by that building."

Both Sandie and I were bushed. We took him up on the offer. Later in the
quiet of the evening, we discussed the idea of looking at the consignment
Airstream. Who knows, it might be something we'd like. After all, we still
have two Vintage Airstreams back in Upstate New York (a '63 22' Flying Cloud
and a '67 22' Safari). Our Snowbird Airstream didn't have to be a Vintage.
It's year of manufacture could be any year.

The next morning, Sandie suggested I look at the consignment Airstream and
if I liked it, she'd look at it. I liked it, she looked at it and smiled. We
knew the NADA figures on it because of looking at an '89 34' Limited two
days earlier. Walt told us more about the trailer and previous owner, then
he left us on our own to nose around and talk among ourselves.

Two hours later, Sandie and I had made up our list of conditions we would
want in place before making an offer. From there it was offer, counter
offer,  agreement, write the check and then search for a wooden plank to
begin walking it. We ended up needing five days to move our things, modify
certain features, swap select components, rewire the pigtail plug, adjust
the hitch and deal with mundane necessities.

Karen, that's it in a nutshell. It was a simple process where many variables
were seemingly waiting to fall into place. True or not, it felt like we were
at the right place at the right time with the right person and made the
right deal for our needs.

There's a lot more, including a few critical conditions we wanted in place
which sweetened the deal to a point where we just couldn't refuse this
opportunity to swap into a younger Airstream.

If you're interested in this latter aspect and a bit of the history, I'll
share those thoughts. After all, they will be in a separate chapter of our
upcoming book. It's about Airstream adventures we've had since 1989.  Maybe
I'll finish it by 2009. <grin>

Terry

'89 32' Airstream Excella 1000

This Airstream still looks and smells brand new. It has a list of extras
purchased by the previous owner which left us with our jaws hanging open.

Tomorrow, we leave the Escapees Park in Bushnell, Florida for the Airstream
Park (Port O'Call) in Melbourne for a week.