The Airstream Restoration

Step by Step

Step 1: Take Pictures of the Original Airstream

Our best friend is documentation. We made sure to take photos of EVERYTHING, took note of every nook and cranny, how things are fastened together and how things are layered.

Step 2: Gut the Airstream Interior

We took our sweet time here removing rivets to make sure everything stays intact. As much as we wanted to Hulk Smash the entire thing, we knew it was in our best interest to keep everything in its original condition so we could either reuse, repair or use as a template. The only thing we didn’t keep intact was the bathroom because we knew we would not be reusing the pieces.

Pro Tip #1: Once you’re done, take stock of everything you have and don’t throw anything away if you have the storage for it!

Pro Tip #2: Secondly, you’ll want to take pictures of the bare walls, taking note of where the existing holes are and how the pieces overlap.

Step 3: Take Apart Belly Pan

Matt then crawled under the airstream to take apart the belly pan. These are 3 big pieces of aluminum that hold up the insulation underneath. Unlike the interior, there were so many different sizes of rivets (likely from repair over the years).

Pro Tip: Make sure the water tank is completely empty. Ours was half full and that made it heavier and harder to remove the piece underneath it.

Step 4: Make a Mock Layout of your Desired Layout

We grabbed some free pallets, broke them down and make a rough mock layout of the interior we wanted. When choosing our layout, we took note of our weight distribution, making sure to follow the 60/40 rule, with 60% of the trailer weight in front of the axles. We were also able to make decisions like the height of countertops, storage solutions, plumbing layout, electrical sockets, etc which saved us a TON of headaches later on.

Step 5: Take Apart Walls, End Caps, Insulation, Vents, Fans, AC & Old Wires

More rivets! Again, we made sure to take your time and LABEL THE WALL PANELS. We took a sharpie and wrote on the back of each panel describing it’s placement as descriptive as possible. This is a dirty job so we made sure to wear a respirator, safety glasses and long sleeves to protect our from touching the fiberglass as it can cause irritation. Not to mention dealing with all the rodent poop and nests! The roof components were attached with buck rivets. We found using this rivet removal tool was helpful for removing the rivets.

For our 23ft airstream, we filled 7 large garbage bags with insulation from the walls & floor.

Pro Tip: Your end caps CAN be repaired if they look like they’re in bad shape. We repaired both of ours even after they both survived a winter outside and uncovered.

Step 6: Disconnect Shell from Floor

Behind the walls are the C channels (on the sides) and U channel (on the front & back) connecting the floor to the shell. Using an oscillating multitool we cut all the bolts connecting them to the floor. Then, we went outside and removed the trim along the lower edge, and removed all the buck rivets connecting the frame to the channels.

Pro Tip: There is a steel plate at the front of the airstream used as a tie-down plate. Make sure you remove the rivets connecting it to the shell before attempting to remove the shell!

Step 7: Lift the Shell to Replace the Subfloor