A Small Celebration

May this be the first of many happy meals in Bessie the Bouncing Bullet.


Wonderful company. (This is what Brie's hair looks like when she's hopped up on caffeine and been writing all day!)


And good eats. In a swanky setting.


What's for dessert?

The Draw-Bed

The music blasting right now would make a great soundtrack for this post. Why? Cuz I'M PUMPED!!

Hard to think with the volume cranked up to 11, so the photos'll do the talking. I LOVE finishing these projects!

Background: In May 2010, Brie and I sat down on the concrete floor in Home Depot for FOUR HOURS trying to figure out a way to custom build a futon with the weird dimensions of the single bed-frame left after Bessie's demolition.

We pulled pieces of poplar off the shelf and arranged them on the floor. We smuggled measuring tape, pencil, and paper and we brainstormed forever. We were having fun. A distilled version of our final product is below. It looks hair-brained on the paper, but remember this was the final cut!


We left Home Depot that day with all the parts and pieces necessary to build that funky futon and they sat in our house for eight months until Brie and I had an epiphany. We decided we had over-thought the bed and were clearly procrastinating.

We went back to basics. We drew up a plan of the bed while in bed and I headed to Home Depot to return the previous lumber and hardware (they took it all!) for what we needed. This is what I got.


And this is how I arranged it.


And this is how it came together. The goal is to make a double bed in the space that was once occupied by only a single bunk that took up the footprint below.


Can you tell where we're headed yet?


Hell yes that fits.


And that's how it works. It's a big ass drawer. For a bed. A draw-bed!


The craftmanship comes under scrutiny...


The craftmanship starts shakin' its groove thang.


And that beautiful smile means an A+.


Look we even have room to slip into the terlet when the bed's down.


So a couple adjustments needed to be made. Kickstands were built to support the hanging edge of the draw-bed, and I replaced the front lip of the bed cuz it was too short. Also the pretty oak veneer I got for the flat support was uber-weak so I swapped it for 1/2" plywood. The kickstands in progress...


And boom. We done. Brie would like us to leave so she can take a nap now.


OK Brie, we out. Back with a mattress soon.


Simplicity and elegance reign supreme.

The Whisper King

Finally got the water pump installed. I sat at Bessie's booth and soldered the wiring.



It starts with a spiral like this...


And gets the torch put to it so that it melts into this...

These photos are always confusing. the white tank has a hose that connects directly into the Whisper King water pump which has another hose heading under the booth towards the kitchen and bath. The wiring is to the switch next to the front window, in case it gets too loud at night or we want to conserve batteries.



And that's all folks. It runs very quietly. Like the Whisper King is hunting wabbits.

Front Endcap Shelf Replacement

Bessie arrived in "As-Is" condition. Two leaky winters in Oregon took their toll and her wood rotted away in many places. All the rotten wood was removed. What was salvaged was salvaged and what was unsalvaged was set aside as templates for replacement. A good example of this is the lower shelf in the front end cap.


The lower shelf sits directly below the front window and is the support for the kitchen table. The shelf itself was rotten plywood and a complete mess. It was used to cut a new piece of mahogany for replacement. The support beam had some tricky angles I didn't want to replicate so it was refurbished. Unfortunately it wasn't made of mahogany, so the appropriate stain didn't create the appropriate color.


Once sanded, stained, and sealed, the shelf needed a unique part to properly connect it to the aluminum wall. Yes I could have done what the previous owner did and just cut some 1" x 1" wood as a support beam, or maybe used some L-brackets, but I wanted the lower shelf to match the upper shelf in craftsmanship. I ordered this part from Vintage Trailer Supply (.com!) and cut it to length.


Brie helped me level the shelf and install the support beam to its original location and ta-da! Now it can support the table.


And that's a wrap ladies and gents. A front-end shelf ready for road-action!


Since the lower crossbeam is made from a different material than the upper crossbeam, it is clearly not original. I am unclear if the original design had a lower shelf at all. Many of the photos I've seen simply had the metal piece bolted onto the aluminum wall. I suppose I'll have to consult the forums on this one.

Wally "Bilbo Baggins" Byam

"It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to." ~Bilbo Baggins of The Shire


"Don't stop. Keep right on going. Hitch up your trailer
and go to Canada
or down to Old Mexico.
Head for Europe, if you can afford it, or go to the Mardi Gras.
Go someplace you've heard of, where you can fish or hunt or collect rocks or just look up at the stars.
Find out what's at the end of some country road.
Go see what's over the next hill,
and the one after that,
and the one after that." ~Wally Byam, founder of Airstream

Dreamers are not made, they are born. The same can be said for us gypsies, who are often dreamers as well.

2574

Once you own an Airstream, you may join the Wally Byam Caravan Club International (WBCCI). A yacht club for Airstreams (a land-yacht club?). When you pay your annual fees, your membership includes numbered stickers to put on your trailer. Bessie has what are known as "ghost numbers", which means the adhesive residue from the worn stickers still remains, allowing us to see what her membership number used to be. Her number was 2574.

If you know your number, you can sift through membership archives to discover if your trailer was present during some of the early caravans or rallies. From what I can tell, this is the difference:

(1) a caravan meets and travels together to a destination
(2) a rally occurs at a destination where everyone meets


Many famous caravans occurred in the late 50s and early 60s as Airstream began selling more trailers and promoted itself by example. Some caravans were international, traveling much farther than neighboring Canada or Mexico; Europe, Africa, India, and South America are all international rallies I've read about, and I'm sure there are more.

We asked the historians if Bessie had record of attendance at any early rallies or caravans, and were surprised at the results. A very kind man on the Airforums (.com!) dug up the WBCCI membership archives for the number 2574 and this is what he found...


"#2574 was first assigned in 1959, so the number is probably original to your trailer. (The duct tape - not original to your trailer.)

In my 1960 WBCCI Membership Directory, which reflects membership at the end of 1960, #2574 is assigned to Clarence and Gertrude Inman of Fresno, CA. The Inmans are last listed in the 1970 Directory (membership at the end of 1969). They are listed as having participated on the following caravans:

27 - Kentucky Derby - Indianapolis - Summer 1961
31 - Western Mexico - Fall 1962
33 - Eastern Canada - Summer 1963.

We cannot be totally sure your trailer belonged to the Inmans without seeing a 1959 Directory, but it's likely they owned it. If so, it is not certain that your trailer was on these caravans without other evidence, but it certainly is possible. In the 1971 Directory, #2574 has been reassigned to Hubert and Ella Mund of Cathay's Valley, CA. The Munds are last listed in the 1975 Directory. They are not listed as having participated on any numbered caravans.

It is possible, but not certain that the Munds also owned your trailer. I suggest this for two reasons. First both the Inmans and the Munds lived in California, so a sale from one to the other is possible. Second, there were no years that #2574 was unassigned between them.

Typically when a member does not renew, the number was left unassigned for a couple of years in case they later decided to rejoin. Immediate reassignment suggests that the Inmans told the club it was OK to reassign the number, possibly because they sold their trailer. #2574 was then unassigned until 1980, at which time it was assigned to Marshall & Beulah Thomas of San Angelo, TX. It is much more improbable that the Thomas' owned your trailer given the different state they lived in. The Thomas' are last listed in the 1989 Directory and are not listed as having participated on any numbered caravans.

Since then #2574 has been assigned to a couple from Virginia and then a couple from Iowa, each for a few years. I doubt they owned your trailer."

Executive Summary: The Inmans of California owned Bessie for a decade (1959-1970) sold it to the Munds of California (1970-1975) who retained membership until the year I was born (1976!) and then the trail goes cold.

The fact that Bessie still has her original 1959 California license plates also suggests she never left California to be registered in another state, so I agree with the historian who thinks the Texans and Iowans didn't own Bessie.


Using the information given to me by the previous owner, I can piece together another 11 years of history:

I purchased Bessie in 2010. The Californians who sold her to me had her in Oregon for two years prior to the sale, and bought it from a man who lived in her as a trailer park manager for 9 years in California, which puts her in Cali from 1999-2008.

What happened to her from 1976 thru 1999 is a mystery that will likely remain, although I'm certain she stayed in California for that spell. She was seventeen when she disappeared from the historical record, and forty when she reappeared. That's an interesting time in a woman's life. What secrets she keeps are mysteries that simply add to her allure.

Heirarchy of Needs

"If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you'll be unhappy the rest of your life." ~Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)


Chances are you have seen this pyramid before - it's the most recognizable contribution of Abraham Maslow to the modern field of psychology and the human condition. The simple premise is that the upper levels collapse if not properly supported by the lower levels.


In my fourth season restoring Bessie, I appreciate this pyramid in a new dimension. Winter-time at 45deg N brings the cold, the wet, and the clammy conditions. Accustomed to making large strides when I worked on her in the spring, summer, and fall, the winter progress slowed to a halt.

The rains arrived and limited the dry workable areas. Then the cold numbed my hands, my feet, and eventually my ears. The days grew shorter, ending the after-work tinkering hours. The available daylight grew dim with the overcast drear and the low sun angle. The Pacific Northwest offered its typical flat light, so dim and diffuse that shadows disappear, or perhaps blend into the light. The trailer was cold and dark. Hibernation.


And then one weekend brought a storm of warm rains (mid 50s) and a break in the clouds. It dawned on me that heat was more critical to life than I understood. I always understood that we as creatures require food, water, and shelter - all of which you provide yourself when you go camping. Typically when camping, people use the term "roughing it" to describe the absence of civilized convenience. Typically when camping, a fire and a warm sleeping bag provide the necessary heat. Typically, I don't think about needing heat all day long.


Lack of heat will bring your spirits crashing to the ground. Your mood changes, you draw inward, and your motivation dissipates. All you want is to warm up - for the cold to stop. Thinking about equipping Bessie for four-season camping brought to mind cold nights and cold mornings - but also cold down-time throughout the day. The trailer is meant to provide the comforts of home in a transportable fashion, and it became apparent to me that after a full belly, heat is the most important aspect of comfort. It's time to replace the missing heater.


I shopped around and did my research - did I want a gas furnace or a catalytic heater? It had to be propane-powered for the ability to boondock, or drycamp, or if we decide to pull over at a rest stop on a long roadtrip. The idea of a giant wall of flame from a gas furnace unsettled me and seemed like overkill, so I opted for a catalytic heater - no flame. A catalytic pad of platinum crystals creates low temperature heat (700F) when propane mingles with the atmosphere. Sure the process consumes oxygen, but Bessie is quite drafty and has plenty of windows and vents to open. We'll manage to breathe just fine.


So here's where our heat will come from, mounted in the front section of the trailer. It's an Olympian Wave 6 Catalytic Heater. Stay tuned for the installation.


Now the ski resort parking lots will be much more pleasant!
As will the after-surf mellow time!