Whoo heee! And so it begins! My husband and I purchased a 1963 Overlander on 2/19/11 from Colin Hyde, of the infamous Colin Hyde Restorations (https://sites.google.com/a/colinhydetrailerrestorations.com/home/) in New York. Colin is a great guy - funny and very knowledgeable too! A true gem in the Airstream restoration business. This, in spite of the fact he tossed a dead crow at us as we were leaving the parking lot that day. Yep he can't deny it!
We were about to leave and he deadpans to my sister (who is a vet and came with us) - "So, how good of a vet are you?" My sister was taken off guard and says "Well I'm good, why?" And Colin gestures to parking lot and says "Can you fix that?" It took a moment to pick out the big black dead crow in the snowbank and we realized that the joke was on us!! Must be the Canadian sense of humor...anyway I guess he thought the crow should fly once more!
Anyway back to the true nature of this blog! THE AIRSTREAM! When I purchased her she was buried in a snow drift! So I had to leave the lovely, (actually somewhat bedraggled) lady behind and wait for the spring thaw. Here's my first glimpse of her -
Today was the day that I actually got to pick her up! . Its been a tough winter here in New England and has been followed by a very wet spring (which you'll see more of in a few moments). I'm taking her to my sisters place in Vermont so I can strip her down! Then she's going back to Colin's for the start of a full monte restoration.
So yesterday I headed to Vermont arriving after dark. And quite frankly it didn't start out all that well . Within moments of arriving we determined that the temporary towing lights I had purchased had a different pin end than my brother in law's TV. Not only that but the package clearly stated that the wires were 20 feet long and since I knew my trailer was 26 feet long, how in the world did I ever think that was going to work! I'd like to claim a blond moment but since I'm not blond, I guess its age related! So off for a fast run to Home Depot (yeah right, this is Vermont - a fast run is 25 minutes one way) for a 4 pin to 7 pin adapter and a bunch of extensions. Whew, nothing like a a last minute panic attack to get your blood racing!
So Saturday morning at 7 AM, my brother in law and I leave to catch the ferry to NY to meet Colin. On the way we noticed that Champlain Lake is actually right up to the edge of the road, in one area it actually half covered the road. Turns out that Lake Champlain is at it's all time record high - 102.02 feet above sea level! We probably should have considered turning back - given that we were going to try and tow an Airstream that had axles that were 48 years old and tires that were god knows how old!! Nah, not giving up that easy!
We get to the ferry landing and discover that they've brought in a lots of new gravel and concrete blocks to keep the lake from flooding the landing. Hmmmmm.... wonder if the airstream can float? LOL We board the ferry and get to Colin's and that's where things start to look up. The Overlander is ready to go, Colin's checked the tires and bearings. Funny, the first words out of his mouth were " You know that those tow kits are only 20 feet long right? That's when I sheepishly admit to the late night run to HD. Go figure. :)
Tow lights check, new chains check, hitch done and off we went! But not before we got a tour of a cool 63 Safari that actually had an original on board generator!! Sweet! Only used for charging the batteries but just a neat thing.
We managed to load the Overlander onto the ferry ..... the tow boat captain actually came out and personally checked us out and said he "thought " we could make it!!!!! And she takes a boat ride!
Getting off was a little trickier.... but actually I think the water had receded a little.
A view of land under water on the drive home. This was actually part of a beach I think.
She is now parked safely by my sister and her husband's barn! She rode home beautifully, cool hubs and handled like a dream. My BIL backed her up and in one try had her snugged in between the barn and garage. SWEET!
More to come including the gutting and the reason for the name Moonraker!
We were about to leave and he deadpans to my sister (who is a vet and came with us) - "So, how good of a vet are you?" My sister was taken off guard and says "Well I'm good, why?" And Colin gestures to parking lot and says "Can you fix that?" It took a moment to pick out the big black dead crow in the snowbank and we realized that the joke was on us!! Must be the Canadian sense of humor...anyway I guess he thought the crow should fly once more!
Anyway back to the true nature of this blog! THE AIRSTREAM! When I purchased her she was buried in a snow drift! So I had to leave the lovely, (actually somewhat bedraggled) lady behind and wait for the spring thaw. Here's my first glimpse of her -
Today was the day that I actually got to pick her up! . Its been a tough winter here in New England and has been followed by a very wet spring (which you'll see more of in a few moments). I'm taking her to my sisters place in Vermont so I can strip her down! Then she's going back to Colin's for the start of a full monte restoration.
So yesterday I headed to Vermont arriving after dark. And quite frankly it didn't start out all that well . Within moments of arriving we determined that the temporary towing lights I had purchased had a different pin end than my brother in law's TV. Not only that but the package clearly stated that the wires were 20 feet long and since I knew my trailer was 26 feet long, how in the world did I ever think that was going to work! I'd like to claim a blond moment but since I'm not blond, I guess its age related! So off for a fast run to Home Depot (yeah right, this is Vermont - a fast run is 25 minutes one way) for a 4 pin to 7 pin adapter and a bunch of extensions. Whew, nothing like a a last minute panic attack to get your blood racing!
So Saturday morning at 7 AM, my brother in law and I leave to catch the ferry to NY to meet Colin. On the way we noticed that Champlain Lake is actually right up to the edge of the road, in one area it actually half covered the road. Turns out that Lake Champlain is at it's all time record high - 102.02 feet above sea level! We probably should have considered turning back - given that we were going to try and tow an Airstream that had axles that were 48 years old and tires that were god knows how old!! Nah, not giving up that easy!
We get to the ferry landing and discover that they've brought in a lots of new gravel and concrete blocks to keep the lake from flooding the landing. Hmmmmm.... wonder if the airstream can float? LOL We board the ferry and get to Colin's and that's where things start to look up. The Overlander is ready to go, Colin's checked the tires and bearings. Funny, the first words out of his mouth were " You know that those tow kits are only 20 feet long right? That's when I sheepishly admit to the late night run to HD. Go figure. :)
Tow lights check, new chains check, hitch done and off we went! But not before we got a tour of a cool 63 Safari that actually had an original on board generator!! Sweet! Only used for charging the batteries but just a neat thing.
We managed to load the Overlander onto the ferry ..... the tow boat captain actually came out and personally checked us out and said he "thought " we could make it!!!!! And she takes a boat ride!
A view of land under water on the drive home. This was actually part of a beach I think.
She is now parked safely by my sister and her husband's barn! She rode home beautifully, cool hubs and handled like a dream. My BIL backed her up and in one try had her snugged in between the barn and garage. SWEET!
More to come including the gutting and the reason for the name Moonraker!
OK, I love that you bought your Airstream from Colin and THEN restored it yourself! Classic.
ReplyDeleteYou're supposed to let him do that!
Very impressive work that you two have done (I am writing this six-plus years later).
I did that ferry journey with my '73 Tradewind from Vermont to NY and he put some new axles on for me and helped with a few other things. He's a great guy. That was 2007. I just bought my second Airstream in 2017 (technically my third, but one of them I just rescued from the woods and resold--at a small loss). Here's my new one: http://www.utahredrock.com/2017/05/an-airstreamer-again.html