Getting rid of Airstream parts
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- One of our family mottos is "Use it or lose it". This means, if we haven't used something within an entire year, we should strongly consider getting rid of it. In this episode we do a number of projects to repair, maintain, and simplify the Airstream. Papa takes the trailer in for new tires and upgrades to 16" wheels. While we are moved out, he also figures out how to repair the mounting bracket for the propane tanks, and uninstalls our Acuva UV water filtration system that has been sitting unused under our kitchen sink for over a year.
Editor: Kristin Lee Brown
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Enjoyed the new video! Olive’s “Cheese! & Thank you Maple!” was so adorable!!
Happy thanksgiving I hope you guys are with family’s tonight
Thanks for the tip on refilling the soap dispenser from the top!
Happy to help! We made plenty of messes until we finally figured that out. :)
Thank you Maple. Thank you maple. Olive is so sweet!! Love the three little trees. Makes my day to watch your videos. N
You are so kind Ashley thank you!
I.have to say that I enjoyed this video so much more than the one last week. Love to see how you deal with the issues that come up when you are full timing . Safe travels.
Happy Birthday Michelle! and Happy thanksgiving! safe travels!
Looks like you all are having fun on the road - Happy Birthday Michelle!
Thanks for your kindess, Grateful Glamper!!
I believe the regulator bracket goes on top of the T bar with the nut sandwiching the bracket. It will relieve the pressure on the hoses.
Thank you Maple! Olive is so cute 🥰
That bottle for your hand soap pump looks like a Tresemme conditioner bottle. I'm sure there's other plastic bottles that would fit too.
Glad you guys are posting again. Love seeing how you both parent and interact as a family. Hope you're all well!
You too! And thank you for sharing your kindness! 💙❤️💚
Get longer hoses... some have ss braid. Make sure to get some yellow teflon tape for the fittings into the regulator. Also the hold down is done with a large wingnut style requiring NO wrech and it has more bearing surface where you broke the previous hold down part. My tanks sit nice and hoses dress well.
Thanks so much Fred for all of the helpful tips!
Great clean up fix up video!! Enjoyed it!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
On the soap dispenser, I have a "hack" I've used a few times. I found the bottles that come with them are too small, too hard to remove and replace for filling, and filling from the top can lead to a big mess if you aren't watching the bottle the whole time---not easy. Instead, I just use a liquid soap refill bottle. Pick the refill bottle of your choice, and find a convenient place in the cabinet for it. measure from the bottom of the dip tube to the bottom of the bottle, and add a few inches. Take the dip tube to a hardware store, and get that measured length of flexible plastic tubing that fits snugly over it. Fit one end of the tubing over the dip tube, the other, cut at an angle, goes into the refill bottle, for a long time between refills. To keep junk from getting in the refill bottle, drill a hole in its cap just big enough for the o.d. of the tubing. When the refill bottle is empty, just replace it with another of the same kind, and the old cap goes on the new bottle. With the refill bottle being so much bigger than that little bottle that comes with the dispenser, your bottle replacements will be much less frequent than your refilling of the little bottle had been, as well as being far faster and less messy.
Love it! Thanks for the hack!
@@ThreeLittleTrees You're welcome. We've been following your channel for a while, but usually watch on the TV, which doesn't allow for comments. Thanks for the great videos. I think we first found your channel when you bought the Airstream from...um...another channel we follow. KeepYourDaydream? LessJunkMoreJourney? Anyway, we've found it charming. We're going to jump in with both feet in a few months, when my wife retires. We have our truck, but are still looking for the right RV, most likely a ginormous fifth-wheel toy hauler. We need a lot of space for two retirees and a microdog.
Thanks for sharing that story! Glad you’re here. Yes it was LJMJ we got it from. So grateful to have the chance to get a rig that we already knew and trusted. I can’t imagine we would have ever jumped in if we had to buy from an unknown seller. Looking forward to hearing about what you decide to get.
@@ThreeLittleTrees We were seriously considering the Riverstone 39FKTH for a while. It has the mini-garage under the master bed in back, like the Grand Design Momentum 376TH(s) we also like, and a fantastic kitchen up front. We have a list of pros and cons though, and doubt we'll end up with that one, or the 376 for that matter. Most likely, we'll get a Momentum 397TH, like Chad and Tara of the "Changing Lanes" have. The garage is the usual style, and we'd use it as our office space while stopped, which gets the office away from the TV area. It also can have a second bathroom, which could be handy. Nowhere near the kitchen, but still a nice one for an RV, and the usual front bedroom setup, with W/D hookup in the closet. We've walked through *so* many different floorplans. Early on, we thought we'd get something very small, like a class B, but realized that wouldn't work for us long-term. At this point, launch looks like June, but it would be good to have the RV before that. We'd like to get the RV, park it locally, sell the house, and have time to make any improvements we want while still local.
I agree use it or lose it. We tend to accumulate or inherit things and not use them but sometimes it's difficult to get rid of them. Your girls are so smart. Happy belated birthday too. I hope you and your family have a great day.
Olive saying, "Thank you, Maple! Thank you!" at the end is the most adorable thing ever! Happy almost Thanksgiving!
It's great that you have some down time for repairs. Before foaming hand soap, I was using a soap dispenser at my kitchen sink when the same thing happened to the under counter bottle. I also found that the only way to replace the bottle only, was to look around my house. I used an empty shampoo bottle that fit the thread and the space under the sink. Have safe travels.
That's a great idea! Love it. Thanks for being here Janice!
Hi family!
So good to see all the things getting done! You will be much safer and comfortable on your travels - if you travel.
I know your videos are a bit behind, so the next wave of covid might hit you in one of the next videos for us, but now for real.
Hopefully you are still with family and able to stay.
I have to follow very strict rules at work, bc other places in my occupation have horrible conditions with covid.
Please stay safe and healthy! Everyone here!
your three little trees are so precious ...l adore the simplicity of not correcting your daughter as she spells stop "tsop" .....l was re watching your video as you gathered a tool from the front of the airstream ...and at the bottom of the tank cover is a cut out section ..??? ...Do you maybe just have the cover on backwards ??...Be BLESSED ...Thank you for sharing your Birthday with youtube !
Thank you Channel Yum! We’ll definitely take a look into the propane tank / cover situation. Thanks again!
It was quite exciting to hear of your good experience at the Airstream dealer in Fairfield CA as this is the city I live in. I know your videos are not in real time, so out of curiosity when were you actually in Fairfield? I would have loved to have met you all at a park where the girls could safely play while we had a chat! Love your videos! Thanks for sharing your lives with us!
Hi Paula thanks for saying Hi! This one was back in July.
Looks like you'll be ready for another adventure with all those important jobs done. Always a joy following you guys. 🤗❤🇬🇧
How darn cute she kept saying thank you Maple. They are all so beautiful. Polite and pretty. Good job getting everything fixed up. How about your van did you figure out it's problem not to long ago? The Airstream is looking good.
Thank you Sheila! After a good night’s rest the van was back to normal and hasn’t happened since. We took it in for service and they didn’t find any issues. I think it was probably just a too hard of a drive in the heat that day and triggered the limp mode.
Oh I too cannot walk around with dirty hands and have to have soap and water accessible as much as possible!!! LOL
You know it. :) And in our case, walking “all the way” inside to the bathroom sink involves a fair chance of someone getting stepped on. 🤣
@@ThreeLittleTrees Oh yeah you wouldn't want that to happen!!! LOL LOL
Rotate the tanks with each other!! Maybe you put them on backwards!! Left to right and right to left!! Maybe they wiii fit better that way!!
I "think" you overthinking this issue. Our rigs came with big wing nuts to that no one could use a nut and a big wrench and break the cast metal tie down bar. As you know, the propane bottles are retained by a lip at the bottom of the bottle. The top bar is needed to provide a very small amount of verticle control. The broken part you replaced most likely was stressed at one time by a nut and wrench, which was never part of the design. Your rig and many others conquered bumpy Alaskan roads with no issues. Good luck. PS . If your are an IT person, or have an aerospace background , this is a common outcome when we venture into mechanical issues. :)
Ha! I've finally gotten around to simplifying the propane setup as you suggested, with the giant wing-nut directly on the tanks instead of the regular nut holding that other clamp. Makes such obvious sense now. Also replaced the pigtails with longer ones so they're no longer under stress.Thanks for the encouragement! :)
Looks like you got the box on backwards. If not cutout the bottom to clears the wires. Also put a washer under that nut 🇺🇸
Thanks for the tips Chuck -- we'll definitely investigate.
Hello! Glad you had a good experience at the Fairfield Airstream. You were asking if a cover was important for the propane tanks. Yes, it is. Here is why: (From our instruction booklet on our trailer, “Because air is required for proper operation of the regulator, it is very important that the regulator vent is kept clean and free of debris. This is why it is necessary to keep the vent facing downward and the regulator covered to protect it from contamination.” Thus the benefit of a cover. Hope this information is useful to you. Safe travels.
Thanks so much Julie for passing along that information! It also gives me a good reason to go and inspect and clean that regulator part.
The tank hold down bracket on our 30 ft fits over the top of the tank handles and is secured by a large “wing nut” about 7 inches long. Check with the dealer to see if this wing nut is available.
Thank you Cam! This is so helpful to know.
I think the bracket is designed to fit on the very top of t he propane tank. Look at the rounded part of contact of the bracket then the rounded part of the very top of the tank it matches.....
I thought the same
I too thought that.
Great suggestion. I will definitely investigate this! Thank you!
cute, cute, cute, cute is all i have to say about your girls.....
love your videos!!!
Chaos agents! HAHAHA! We went to look at Travel Trailers yesterday in our goal to upsize.. we toured 3 different Airstreams.. My husband is wishing he wouldn't have taken me inside....
How fun! Can't wait to hear what you decide.
I believe the hold down goes across the top of the tank not in the holes. Also for future reference, a standard tank hold down sold for most rvs should work as well. :)
Thanks Chilidog! Will definitely try this out!
What if you bought a piece of black pipe insulation tubing stuff from the hardware store or a solid piece of rubber tubing that you could slice carefully. Then secure it to he bottom of the aluminum surround tank cover all the way round for a cushion. You could also put the wires in a larger piece of tube cushion to protect them??
Not sure that you need the separate nut to hold down the propane tanks. My 25’ and 30’ Airstreams do not use the extra nut, just the large wing nut after the holddown bracket is placed over the tanks, then the cover is dropped over the tanks.
Should you be putting the bracket that hold the propane on top between the new part and the nut? Maybe that’s why the hoses don’t fit properly. At least on my trailer that’s how they go. Thank you for the videos by the way. We love them.
Going to investigate this idea ASAP! Thanks so much for sharing!
An alternative to the tank enclosure box utilized on modern Airstreams is to do away with the enclosure and polish your tanks - that is assuming that you have aluminum LP tanks like those on many of the Vintage Airstreams. The twin forty-pound LP tanks are polished to Mach my 1964 Airstream.
Love that idea! I knew there had to be an alternative approach! Thanks so much for the itp.
Noooooooo! They look so baaaaaaad, uncovered, polished or unpolished and your two are white!!!!!
Interesting my propane cover has a notch cut out for the cables.
Are your propane regulators on backwards? Mine are readable from the front. Also my bundle of wires run along the frame away from the tank cover. I also secure my tank covers with a bungee so it doesn't take a trip while I'm driving down the road, safe travels
Thank you so much Calvin for all of those tips. We will definitely investigate!
We took the box off the front of our airstream and just left the tanks like that, it hasn’t caused any trouble
Yes, a rubber-lined washer
If u can why not cut out that area so the lines have no pressure on them from the tank cover
Thanks for the idea! I'll look into the options with that cover.
@@ThreeLittleTrees if you do just sand down what you cut out & put rubber on it. You can cut rubber tubing & glue it on so the metal don’t cut your wires if it rub on it from vibration.
Can you take the propane box and turn it around? Looks like intentions on other side!
MommaFaye 🌺
Thanks for sharing the idea Faye! I will definitely investigate!
I’ll happily take that water filtration system off your hands. I’ll pay for shipping. Been looking for one for a few weeks now. 😀
Poor Nathan really put his heart and soul into installing that. He did a lot of research on the best system, and it was a difficult installation. Watch LJMJ’s video on that. But, I guess if you don’t use it, might as well reclaim the space. Let’s not tell Nathan.
Hi Gus T -- sorry we didn't notice this before. If you still want this stuff, I have all the parts in a box and would be happy to send you them "as is", of course can't promise it will work but you're welcome to it if you send your address to Michelle. (You can use the contact email on our youtube channel or DM on instagram, FB, patreon, etc.). And don't worry about shipping, I'm happy if it goes to a good home.
@@ThreeLittleTrees omg that would be such a blessing! I will definitely be reaching out. 🥳 thank you so much!
You can us a pop bottle for the soap.
Zis is Kaos agents tree lil twees!
Man, i would buy that water treatment unit from you and pay to ship. I didn't understand why you would get rid of it. That thing is 700 dollars new. Second, you remove the water lines by pressing in on the coller like shark bite connectors.
Thanks LLLT. We removed it simply because we never used it. The reason we never used it because it leaked from a connection. The “clean” tube that goes to the faucet is tiny and doesn’t have a robust connector like the other tubes.
I would think bottled water would use much more room than that filtration system. Just get it fixed.
UV is a neat idea but the installation hardware is fragile and the failure behavior is a pressurize leak under the sink. Even repaired or new, I wouldn’t be able to trust it not to leak again. It is true that bottles of water take up space, but on the flip side, they also provide additional water capacity for boondocking.
@@ThreeLittleTrees Have you thought of using a different kind of filter? We use a disposable (after 6 months) know me that just hangs on the cabinet wall and is part of the faucet line. I just really hate bottles of water whose containers end up everywhere!
We are definitely interested in new ideas for all of the RV systems. It’s probably a pipe dream, but someday would love to make a simplified RV from scratch. What kind of filter system do you use? We almost bought a Berkey but couldn’t quite get there after reading some mixed reviews.
Get longer hoses, all around
Great idea, thanks! It’s on my list to redo the propane mounting and connection system.
Excuse me my brother you have the cover on backwards you need to have the thing that flips up going towards the window this is John chalker Waterbury Connecticut you have the tank cover on backwards and it is illegal to run without it it is a DOT then you will get a ticket the dot will have you the state police will give you a ticket if you do not have that box on cuz you have it on backwards the way that things supposed to flip up it's supposed to go against the window
Don't know what kind of engineer you are, it sure ain't mechanical.