Interior "before" photos - Round Two

Here are a few more "before" shots of the interior. I told ya we've got our work cut out for us.

The air conditioner vent - no vent cover, just a portal to coolness.

Groovy bedroom couch/sleeper

Totally NOT awesome carpet job the previous owner did at the entry step

Another example of awesome carpentry. Billy (my nephew) said he could have laid this carpet better. I had to agree that he probably could have.

Steering wheel and driver's instrument panel - not very high tech, but I do see a cb radio mike holster. 

Driver's seat. Super 70's upholstery and a wonky tastic chair sitting on a home made base. Awesome.

View from the driver's seat toward the back. You can see our really roomy kitchen area.

This is where the magic happens, a sofa by day, wonky bed by night.

Whip it...whip it real good.

Much to our delight, when we were further exploring the RV and checking out all the bells and whistles we found a BLENDER! Yep, a built in blender. Upon further investigation I learned that it is not only a blender, but a chopper, hopper, dicer, slicer and can opener! Seriously, the RV came with a Nu Tone Kitchen Center. Back in 1976 this baby was the shiznit. It's a counter mounted motor with interchangeable attachments including: blender, mixer, chopper, knife sharpener and can opener among others. I was delighted to find that Nu Tone is still in business and the current array of attachments will fit my retro motor drive. Awesome. I have the original blender jar, but alas, no lid. Will be searching ebay and the like to find a lid so we can waste away in margaritaville as we work on this labor of love.
Here's the blender hooked up to the motor...how cool is that?

Extreme Makeover Motorhome Edition - Before Photos

This weekend we went over the RV with a fine tooth comb, checking out all the bells and whistles and also seeing up close how much work we have in store. Jeff busied himself finding all the hook ups for gas, water electric while I attempted to start cleaning. One bottle of Krud Kutter later, I had to take a break. Here are some photos of the camper as we begin our renovation process:

The view from the back of the
RV looking toward the windshield.

The "bedroom" near the rear of the RV.
We have decided to scrap this folding
bed - which is only slightly larger than
a twin and install two bunk beds. The
end result will look something like a
sleeping berth on a train.

This is the groovy shelf with a light over the bed
in the "bedroom" notice the wishful thinking of
that wall mounted thermostat...right. It was only
about 120 degrees inside the RV that day.

The tiny bathroom has an equally tiny sink
Not sure what/how we are going to upgrade
this most vital space in the RV but we are
certain to make some improvements.

Funky storage bin over the bed in the
bedroom - seems like a great place to
knock your brains out when getting
up from the bed!

 The wall opposite the bed has several
storage cabinets, his and hers closets and
a space for what I think must be a TV?

Inside one of the bedroom closets.

 The kitchen has gas appliances. Here's
a shot of the Magic Chef range. We also
have a tiny oven below the range.

 Jeff's nightmare of the day - the generator.
It cranks like a champ, but then wants to
knock off on its own. When it's running,
it does an excellent job. We think we'll
need to replace it with a slightly larger one
because if you run the air conditioning and
turn on the lights, everything turns off! lol

 Here's the kitchen pantry - pretty roomy

 The shower stall is not built for today's
large and in charge camper. But we think
we'll be able to make some modest
improvements like adding a rounded
shower rod.

The end of this post appropriately is at the rear
of the RV where we'll obviously need to replace
the toilet. It's cracked and whack.




More photos to come....

Hop in my camper, it's as big as a whale - and it's about to set sail! I got an Argosy and it sleeps about 20, so hurry up and get your sleeping bag, honey.

Well, we made the 200+ mile round trip trek to Rome, GA to pick up the motor home last night. So at least we now know that it is road worthy enough to travel 100 miles one way, on the interstate and go up to 65 miles an hour. Not too bad.

I took some quick pictures on my way out the door to work this morning. I'll post more later - the inside is a hot mess, can't wait for you to see that disaster!

We have our work cut out for us for sure. But I am still excited...how long will that last?

I think this may be like buying a lottery ticket...the
real fun is dreaming up all the things you'll do and
see and buy when you win...then you check the numbers and resign yourself to go back to work
on Monday.

Thanks for everything...Batman.

Hi everyone! We are working out the details with the current owner about taking delivery on Sunday of the albatross! Did I mention that the dude we are buying it from looks just like Christian Bale?

No, seriously, it sort of freaked us both out when we met him. We didn't say anything of course, but then when we got in the car to leave his house, Jeff turns to me and says "I think we just bought a camper from Batman" Hilarious.

Have re-designed the camper a 100 times in my head last night while I slept. I know it's going to be a bit of a nightmare but I am excited all the same!

We have taken on a major project - Lord help us!

Well, we've just made a commitment to purchase a 1976 Airstream Argosy motorhome. It is in need of some minor structural and some major cosmetic repair/renovation. It's going to be a labor of love and I'm going to chronicle our progress here. Jeff, Noah and I will be working on the RV and taking it out on exploratory missions. Our goal is to have it in tip-top shape by summer 2012 so we can make the all American journey west to camp the Grand Canyon. Until that epic roadtrip can commence, we'll be posting photos, essays and comments here about the long road to renovating a vintage camper. Hope you'll enjoy the ride with us!