Son Nathan is more of a captain than a streamer.  He is starting an adventure of his own with his new 30 foot Tartan.  His yacht is a 1975 versus my 1973 Land Yacht.  Its amazing how much we have in common to talk about when it comes to these two vessels.  I hope he takes more pics that I can share.

I’m still working on the back up lights dilemna, but I did get 10 marker lights replaced with new LED lights this weekend. There were many challenges with getting the old ones off and the new ones on due to rusted, broken screws and rivets and inexperience. The good news was that they all tested positive for voltage.

The LED lights are not as easy to mount as the old style ones, especially since I was going to do it with connectors or twisted wire caps, but there’s NO space behind the flush mounted ones. The lower ones have a mount, so four of them were done nicely, the rest were wired with electrical tape and heat shrink tubes. You can see the pictures from the 1970’s Airstream type marker lights installation if you’re interested.

The trailer has not been plugged into a vehicle since Fletch delivered it 3 years ago. I guess its not surprising that only 4 of the 20 running lights work. The left blinker and tail light works, but not the right. The backup lights didn’t work at all. The picture below is how I found it when I took off the lense – do’ya think thats why? There is no socket remaining on either side. I’m debating whether to jerry-rig (as opposed to jimmy-rig) a closed unit that I found at Northern Tool or re-wire a socket.

I made a list of the bulb numbers based on the owners manual for running, tail/blinker, backup, and license plate lights. I was able to find them all at Advance Auto (bought a few at Camping World since I bought out the entire stock of running light bulbs at Advance).

There was an Airstream rally (July 18-20) at our country neighbors, Melissa and Tom Fowler, on Ellis Hollow Creek Rd. The local paper came out and did an article. I didn’t take Rosie over, but Craig and I went to dinner on Saturday evening and we were inducted into the WBCCI. I’ve been a member (#8185) for 3 years, but due to my bike accident, back surgery, and slow trailer progress, I’ve not made it to any rallies or meetings. It was nice to meet many of the Finger Lakes Unit members. I’m hoping they post the pictures from the rally online. It looked like everyone was having a good time.

I sure hope there is a VTJ09 (VTJ08). The folks at Airstream Life, GSM Vehicles, and Vintage Trailer Supply did a G-R-E-A-T job of getting this first jam organized. Feel free to take a look at my VTJ photos from the weekend and if you see an errant caption, let me know.

I was a “walk-in” and went without a trailer (sorry, Rosie) and stayed with my daughter in Albany. I learned a great deal from Rich (photos and life on the road), Colin (left – talking about structural integrity), Steve (finding parts) and Suzanne (designing the interior). The generator and satellite seminars were also interesting.

One of the highlights of my weekend was getting to meet Rich’s daughter Emma. I wish I had my camera when Rich invited 8 yo Emma to come up and talk about home schooling and full timing. She has such a wonderful grace about her. I feel as though I know these folks from reading Rich’s “Tour of America” blog and it was a joy to see them in person.

I got to meet lots of friendly people (many from Canada) and dogs and to see over 80 trailers, most of them vintage.

She’s back on her wheels – THANK YOU TIM!

After an uneventful and non-productive winter, I was getting geared up to get Rosie some much needed attention. Unfortunately, I had another bicycling accident, not as bad as my broken back though (just broken jaw, ribs, and arm). As a get-well gesture, my buddy Tim came out while I was home recovering and put Rosie on cinder blocks and got her wheels off.

Now she’s waiting to have her new Wheels put back on. They’re Good Year 15inch Class D tires I got at Ithaca Tire and Auto Center on State St. Craig tells people they were my 50th birthday present – can’t think of a better gift! Brandon at Ithaca Tire told Craig they should last 50 years like the last ones. I guess they were impressed with how old the others were. I can’t believe they were original, but maybe. The old ones were also Good Year with some tread and lots of dry rot.