I Forgot to Post an Update, So Here You Go.

Holy smokes I'm long overdue for an update!

Recovery from surgery sucked. I was down for six weeks of not being able to do any heavy lifting and everything I needed to do to the Airstream was heavy lifting!

I last left off with the shower floor being tiled and only a couple of walls up. Now that the bathroom was fully framed in, it was time to frame in the closet so I would know where it ended, and the "nook" counter began.

And with a snap of the fingers, all of the walls were covered in tongue and groove cedar. As a reminder, this tongue and groove is only 1/4" thick and it's really light!

For a little bit of extra cedar, I used aromatic shiplap cedar inside the closet. This stuff smells great.

I struggled trying to find the best finish to use for the cedar, but settled on Amber Shellac. I think it has just the right tone I was looking for.

I then began framing in the cabinets.

A little bit of CAD for the fridge wall (Cardboard Aided Design)

I decided to take a break from framing and install the shower wall tile. These wall tiles are very light weight and made specifically for walls. It's about as light as the cheapest LVP you can find (no backing, etc). Ignore the gaps where it meets the aluminum shell. The way they fit together necessitated wiggle room. Still haven't figured out how to make that look good yet.

With the shower finished and the sinks not far from going in, it was time to tackle the plumbing. The flow is: Freshwater tank to water pump, water pump to accumulator, accumulator to one way valve, one way valve to water filter. From the City Water connection (built in one way valve), it goes directly to the water filter, then to the bathroom and split off to the toilet, water heater, faucets, then under the shower seat into the kitchen sink. There is a manual valve on the hot water exit from the water heater that is plumbed right back into the fresh water fill tube. This allows me to be on fresh water and spin up hot water without wasting it since the water heater requires flow to work. It also doubles as a way to fill the fresh water tank while connected to City Water.

I didn't plan on it, but my microwave fits perfectly on top of the fridge. I also wired in the tank sensor control panel and the power button for my inverter.

GLAMOUR SHOT! The counter tops are in! These things are gorgeous.

One huge problem I ran into is the really snazzy sink I bought is too deep for the Airstream drain. The drain pipe rests on the bottom surface of the sink and any water passed through the sink keeps the basket area submerged all the time. I had to revert to my boat knowledge and bought a sump pump made for boat showers and such. The sump sits on the floor, the sink is plumbed directly to it, the float switch senses the water level rising in the sump, then kicks on a bilge pump to pump it up and out. The drain line isn't connected in this pic. It works great. The only modification I'm doing is adding a Water Witch level sensor that will run the pump for several seconds after there is no more water in the sump. Out of the box it leaves too much water in there for my tastes.

A rare photo of me installing the flooring. I’m usually behind the camera. I had a friend come visit for a couple of weeks and she helped me with the flooring. Way more help than I realized!

Remember the harrowing story about bringing this thing to Pensacola and the front fell off? Well, this is what fell off. A couple of pieces of the 2" polystyrene went with it and a couple of the screws holding the insulation in place. I even ran over my own screw and got a flat!

I cut some replacement polystyrene, replaced the front 48" of belly pan, and installed new stabilizers all around.

Now this one was interesting. I expected there might be an airflow problem with the mini split way in the back. There was. It wasn't completely awful, but a small fan really made a big difference on the air distribution. I found the perfect solution: AC Infinity Duct Fan https://acinfinity.com/inline-fan-systems/ I cut a hole for a vent grille in the bedroom, placed the fan right there, then through duct tubing in the closet (just hanging in the photo), and then to a grille in the kitchen nook area. The fan has a smart controller that will ramp up and down the fan speed and run the fan when it's below 68* or above 75* (I set those limits). It moves a significant amount of air pretty quietly and the entire Airstream is the same temperature now. The grilles will be painted black.

MY AXLES ARRIVED! I went with 32* down angle uprated axles. To give you an idea of how much lift to expect, the axle on the left is the new one supporting the entire load and the right axle is the old one hanging at full droop. The new axle still sits lower! New wheels and tires soon.

Today's project was the bed platform. I'm going with a North-South Queen. It's going to take up every inch from the back wall to the bathroom/closet walls. The large center section is hinged to lift the mattress for storage underneath. The left side will mirror the right side with the structure beside the mattress. It will be about 2" shorter than the mattress is tall, and will have doors on top and can be used as storage. The entire section on the closet side (imagine the hallway closet face extending all the way to the rear) is sealed off for outside storage. I think it's roughly 2' deep and 5' wide and 15" tall when seen from the side access door.

Next steps are to complete the bed platform, take care of a bunch of little things like corner trim, baseboards, sink securement, cabinet paint, etc and she'll be ready to hit the road. I'm still up in the air about the living area. Part of me wants a comfy reclining couch, while part of me wants a convertible couch for guests. Then, some other part of me wants a pair of recliners! I'll decide on that soon enough.

Goal is to be on the road by June 1st!