Stage 1 comes to a close.

Stephen was very thankful for help and advice from Bryon and Diane Liepper from the Sierra Nevada Airstream group here in Reno. They were wonderful about letting us hook up and test everything at their house.  The kids ran around their yard and especially enjoyed looking at a group of chickens being studied by the state of NV. 

All in all things were very positive. Almost everything major worked fine.  The only mishaps were the electrical and battery which we expected and the bathroom has a few hiccups. 

The floors are done with four layers of Poly. They look wonderful and I am glad we did it despite my bruised knees. We have decided to not cover the floor in the bathroom just yet. It has a sometimes leak.  It not bad enough to stress us out because the shut off valve works well.  Stephen replaced the toilet and replaced some of the copper pipe with a blue plastic piping. ( I don't remember its name :} oops) It took him two days and many trips into town for fittings.  We will remodel more of the bath in a few month                                                   as we travel along.

 Stephen worked hard over Father's Day replacing some of the electrical system.  He and my father-in-law pulled out the stove. This allowed them to replace the old converter box, rewire the battery, and put in a new fuse box.  They also did some carpentry repairs to the kitchen.  The stove was hanging in by two screws and the counter top had fallen in two spots. We didn't do a complete redo but the repairs really improved the kitchen. In between project starts and stops, we journeyed to Lake Tahoe for a fun family drive and some pictures.

Now, I will start gleaning and packing. 

We hit the road officially living in trailer on July 1st.

Home Development 101

The past few weeks have been busy and exhausting.  We have parked our Airstream Sovereign nearby our apartment here in Reno, NV.  This has allowed us to pop over to the 'stream to do revamps, changes, and repairs.  Our beautiful began as a lounge set up in the main room with lovely blue carpet throughout the interior.

Even though we adored the comfort of the lounge it wasn't the perfect choice for us. As full timers with children we needed to consider floor space and table space.  I needed a table that would break down and go outside or into hiding.  The kids need a rainy day play area with a bit of room.  The first thing we did was pull out the carpet. Carpet is wonderful but fulltiming with the kids I wanted wood or cork which is easier to keep clean.  The lack of carpet is also easier on my asthma. After pulling out the hard fixtures, Stephen and the kids laid down 1/4" plywood. The 4x8 sheets were $13 a sheet and 5 sheets would do the whole trailer.

After the living area floor was stuck down with silicone caulk, we built a lovely shelf storage under the front window with a aluminum top.  I hope to have a small herb garden growing there soon. The original futon couch was then centered in front of the shelf.  We plan to build side cupboards later after living in the stream for a while.  We want to build it to our needs as we figure them out.  

 

As for a table we bought a small adjustable folding table from Sam's club. The kids have already done a few days of school sitting side by side while momma cleans and sets up our new home. 

As we complete the set up and test all our ideas I will post more. Until then, I recommend everyone think about the old adage
"LESS IS MORE"
We are loving it!