Maiden voyage!!! 3 years in the making!

I'm so thrilled, I just had to post again today! 

Here's the "before" photo from February, 2014:

Duane finished installing the brake controller - so it was time to take the Avion out to calibrate the controller. 

Amazing - we parked the Avion almost exactly 3 years ago in it's spot in the hangar.  (I will admit that we didn't do much on the trailer during 2015...busy sailing....)

Other than jacking it up and down, it hasn't moved all that time.  It's been a long process - but we're intimately  familiar with the entire trailer now!!

We made sure everything inside was stowed properly -  and Duane attached all the towing "bits".  

Buttoned up and ready to go!!

Just a little 10 mile local loop - brake controller worked well - everything behaved as expected....even blew a little dust off!  

 It was too chilly today to wash it - but tomorrow may be much warmer.  Will be nice to pull it back out and wash off all the "hangar grime".   

We have a "short list" of things to finish before we can take it out camping!

Roof seal finished!

Pretty much finished up on the roof!!

We had replaced all 3 of the old plumbing roof vents - and applied copious amounts of Dicor self-leveling sealant to make sure there are NO leaks!!

Everything all tidy - just have to remove our "walking boards".  Glad to be off the roof!!   We may go back up sometime to put solar panels on.  We'll save that for a bit later when we have some camping experience and decide exactly what we need.  Bye-bye roof - won't miss you!!

Window shade repair

The shade for the rear window appears to be original to the trailer from 1973. It's necessary since the sheer curtains let lots of light in - but they give almost no privacy.

The part of the shade that was exposed for years is crumpled and discolored.

I did a preliminary amount of shopping and it's clear that shades are no longer a popular window covering!!  


Fortunately, the blind is about 5 times longer than it needs to be for the short window.   So, I decided to simply cut it and modify it to use the existing "pull".

I just made a pocket with the sewing machine for the existing pull board.

I was worried that the plastic would tear, but it sewed very nicely!

And it worked perfectly - cost - almost nothing!!

Rear window

We're finally to the point that we could re-install the rear window...

Remember what it looked like originally -

If you remember, I took it all apart, ordered new tempered glass panes, and reglazed it.  Then we tucked it away because we had work we needed to complete first before re-installation.

Now that all the plumbing and countertop work is complete, it's time to button it up!!  With new sealant and a little muscle...good as new!

Interior shot before adding the curtains.

The sheers re-installed.  There is also a rollup shade behind the shears for privacy.

All done!!

Propane bottle covers

We're getting closer to being able to finally pull the trailer out of the hangar!!  Since we went to all the expense of replacing all the hoses/regulator/etc for the propane gas tanks, I thought it would be good to protect them from the elements.

I tried to find a "hard shell" cover - but ours are the larger 40lb tanks and I couldn't find one to fit.  They make the hard shell ones for 20 and 30 lb tanks, but not 40 lb.  

All I could find was the pull-over vinyl one.  It will do the trick....I'm not terribly pleased with the look right now, but hopefully it will smooth out once its out in the sun. 

Bathroom plumbing complete

Finally wrapping up the bathroom refurb.....

We glued the Corian countertop down.   Then Duane installed all the drain/water supply plumbing for our new sink and faucet.

Here's the "before" photo -

Lookin' good!!!

Entrance door molding

The entrance door molding was brittle, discolored and cracked.  So, I pried it all off - since it was brittle, it came off pretty easily.

After much searching on the internet, I found some almost identical molding.  It's flexible vinyl with a metal interior that "grips" the metal of the doorway.

And there you have it - a nice, white/clean doorway trim!