Posts from the ‘Airstream’ Category

May 16

The Long Overdue Bike Hitch

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Kelly and I both have new bikes coming into our possession soon, so it was time to commence a project to allow for additional carrying capabilities. Airstream does offer their own proprietary bike rack, but it’s ridiculously expensive and is permanently mounted to the trailer — two characteristics I was hoping to avoid.

So, like many of friends, I opted for an entirely different approach. Specifically, I sought out a welder to fabricate a custom hitch received that is mounted into the bumper, directly attached to the trailer’s frame.

To carry bikes, I’ve purchased a 1Up bike rack that fits perfectly into the 2″ receiver … which also happens to be the same same receiver on my truck. Now, I can easily swap the bike carrier between the trailer and truck as I please.

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Jan 2

3 Comments

Travel Day

Today Kelly and I are traveling with two other couples to Death Valley.

But first, we stopped at a Las Vegas BassProShop parking lot (next to a casino obviously) to regroup while Kelly visits a nearby hair salon and our buddy awaits his wife to fly into town.

Tonight, we sleep in the desert.

Sep 11

Long Overdue Maintenance

A lot of sweat, elbow grease, and a few beers later, things are once again looking presentable at the tongue end of the trailer.

45,000 miles of road scars are no more … and I’m looking forward to accumulating the next round of travel bruises.

Jul 22

4 Comments

Big Storm, Minor Damage

Summer rain and hail storms here in the Midwest can be something fierce.

This week an afternoon a storm cell quickly snuck-up on me, bringing heavy rains and ferocious winds. Despite my best efforts to hastily retract the (Zip Dee) patio awning, I found myself wrestling with what was effectively a 20 foot sail. While I eventually managed to retract, I did not do so without escaping damage … specifically the ‘claw hook’, which is a piece of connecting support bracket hardware.

Fortunately, the claw hook is seemingly designed to fail under certain circumstances; I suspect this design helps avoid even more significant damage .

A quick internet search pointed me to a parts dealer and within a few minutes I had a replacement part on its way. The part was easy to replace and cost only $21.

Unfortunately, 2-day shipping from Utah set me back $20 dollars.