[VACList] Re: Restoring an Airstream is not possible

[Bill Worden <fantods@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tim et als,

You are certainly right about the difficulty in restoring an airstream to
an "as made" configuration and quality. I spend considerable spare time
impeding the deterioration of my '78 Excella and I've encountered the
substandard "replacement" parts offered by many vendors, including Thor.
Many things are not "hand made" anymore and cannot be hand repaired as a
result. The fiberglass vs molded styrofoam on the water heater is a good
example. You really run into this problem with the wholesale replacement vs
repair of old appliances. I would be very, very reluctant to change out my
water heater and lose the old manual controls to circuit boards, for
instance. I repair wherever I can, including mix and match and
cannibalizing other units to keep the XLA as near as built as possible. I
still use copper pipes, too.
On the other hand, LED and low-voltage fluorescent lights are a definite
improvement over the original high heat, high amp. auto bulbs.  Marine
suppliers often have a superior quality line of products that adapt well to
trailers. I agree on a basic level though, that planned obsolescence
(remember Vance Packard?) and liability issues have cheapened and dumbed
down our options somewhat. RESIST!! REPAIR!!  PERSIST!!	Regards, Bill