Bessie is For Sale

Bessie is for sale and many people wish to know what's left in her restoration and if there are any recent photos. All the photos in this blog post were taken August 6th, 2013 and I will do my best to use these photos to highlight the areas where she could still use some improvement. For the record, asking a trailer owner what is left to complete will always result in a wry smile. The improvements are only limited by your imagination, but I'll do my best...

Bessie in Oregon's August sun. Note the screened door within a door design that allows light and air flow. It should be apparent that her skin is in great shape (a little cloudy from oxidation maybe), and is completely waterproof down to each riveted seam. Only minor and superficial dents, dings, or scratches.

She's 54 years old and sometimes original parts wear down. Not all of her windows stay open without help, but all windows do lock shut. I'm sure this could be fixed if there was inclination.

There was a question regarding the amount of light Bessie allows in during the day. All the photos below were taken at mid-afternoon with no flash and no trailer lights were turned on. This is the natural light she lets in with all the window curtains pulled back. Brie and I are big on light so we chose colors to help brighten the space and kept the Airstream open with plenty of elbow room. Remember this is still only a 24' trailer!

Oops, just kidding, the photo below still has one window curtain pulled closed...

Not all the windows have curtains on them, so I've hung a few privacy drapes. Adding curtains will be a fun thing the next owner gets to customize on four windows, or they could take the fabric we already purchased and use that. All window curtain "brackets" are intact and in place, just waiting for fabric.

These photos are from the rear bathroom facing the front of the trailer.

These photos are from the front of the trailer, sitting down in the dinette looking towards the rear bathroom. Bessie has no fridge. We never made our minds up which type of fridge to get - strictly an AC powered fridge for when we're hooked up (about $100 from Home Depot), strictly a DC powered fridge for when we use Bessie as base camp in the wilderness (a power hog), a two-way powered DC/propane fridge, or a three way powered AC/DC/propane fridge. All variations come in different sizes and options and we realized that we've camped our entire lives just using coolers or less and we don't live in Bessie permanently so why the need to power an additional fridge? It seemed like a costly decision that would just add weight and not much advantage anywhere, so we left the space open and figured we'd see how we used it. Usually, a suitcase and a cooler went here, along with some folding chairs. And not surprisingly my beer stays cold and my food stays fresh in the iced coolers. This is an area that could use an upgrade. Or an ice box.

The catalytic heater is great, easy to use, and very efficient (uses little propane). On a forty degree night it takes about ten minutes to warm the trailer up to 50F. It would probably get warmer but we usually were too tired to wait and just cozied into bed, turning the catalytic heater off. I left space to add an additional one in case I decided to move somewhere like Alaska, Switzerland, or spent significant time snow-camping near the slopes. I'm pretty sure an additional heater will never be necessary, but there is room for improvement here as there is open space. I like how it lets in more light, so I left it open.

The lights above the dinette are on two different power systems, one is DC, one is AC, so you will always have light at the table no matter how you are powered. LED camp lights work just fine too.

The finished front dinette...

Also folds into additional sleeping quarters. The black box under the shelf is a junction switch for the DC power and was once covered by some terrible contraption a previous owner created. There is no high voltage - only 12volts if even powered - but it's not kid-friendly. This is definitely something that needs to be finished.

Wide screen shot of the same...

This is a standard sized pillow for reference. That switch on the wall powers the 12VDC water pump if you are not using hookups and instead using the fresh water tank.

The white PVC underneath the mahogany board is the fresh water tank. It has holes drilled for vents but I never decided where to vent it since it required I drill a hole through the trailer skin. My plan was to vent into the old battery box located on the exterior under the front window (see second photo in this post) but I never got the courage to drill through Bessie and always used fresh water hookups. Water pump is plumbed, wired, and ready to go but the water tank just needs a vent. This is an area for improvement.

View of the bathroom from the dinette. The bathroom sink works but leaks at the base so I shut the water supply valve off to this sink. I purchased the sink from Habitat for Humanity and I think all that's needed to stop the drip is a new gasket but I'm not 100% sure. I simply use the kitchen sink when needed. The bathroom sink still drains perfectly.

Same view with bathroom cabinet closed... This is still just ambient light.

Ok this area definitely could use work. We intended to put a foldaway work desk here to cover up the plumbing and wires but actually liked the open space so decided to wait on the upgrade here. What you are looking at is a white water drainage (grey water) pipe flowing from kitchen to the rear. It will meet up with the bathroom sink and drain out the bottom of Bessie. Black water is self-contained and has it's own separate drain. This is also where the AC electricity enters Bessie through the white wire twisted around the white pipe. The silver box on the white pipe has a big fat 15 amp cable that runs to an AC power plug (about 15-20 feet long). It pulls in through that hatch and rolls up when in transit.

Also in this photo is the white PEX freshwater intake that splits off towards the bathroom and kitchen. It's insulated towards the kitchen. The exterior hose connection is an exterior wall mount inlet that I never installed. I simply have it connected to the hose outside in a very lazy way. Again, I just wasn't ready to cut holes into the trailer skin since I wasn't sure where the best placement would be. The photos after this one will help explain...

The photo below shows the potable water hose from the bottom of the picture feeding into the wall-mount pressure-control (that isn't mounted to a wall) and feeding into Bessie through the hatch. Ideally this wall-mount pressure control would be mounted on the actual hatch door. Or maybe next to it?

This is the end of the 15-amp umbilical power cord that powers Bessie's AC system, that is fully operational.

This is Bessie's junction box. The smaller white box at the bottom is an older junction box that is no longer in use. The frayed wires attach to that box and probably should just be removed. Bessie was wired for a land line when I received her so this might be a part of that rig? She still has her mysteries.

One of them being the phantom short-circuit in the AC system. As I mentioned before, the AC system is fully functional meaning all lights work, all outlets are new and have been upgraded and replaced by me but sometimes it seems the trailer shell has a slight bit of current running through it - like an old electrical wire has frayed and is rubbing on the steel skeleton or something. I've measured this "leak" to be about 12.7 VAC with a Fluke voltmeter about half the time. The other half of the time there is no "leak", so it's perhaps not dangerous but definitely a concern. I had plans to simply rewire a few key electrical sockets externally with protected aluminum coil but never got around to it since the DC system works fine and so does the AC. This is an area that needs improvement. I simply shortcut the issue by running an extension cord to a power strip from my house for when guests stay over. It's lazy but I ran out of funds and again the electrical system works.

This is the original base of the second bunk. It would still fit in the trailer and is included in the purchase if desired. I also have the original 20-gallon stainless steel fresh water cylinder from 1959. It's interior is rusted beyond use for potable water but the options for what to do with it are pretty interesting. I always liked the idea of cutting it in half and turning it into a grill.

This is Bessie's hot water heater (6 gallons). It operates on AC power only so I removed it thinking I would buy one that operates on 12 V but wasn't able to get around to this replacement. This water heater works to my knowledge.

Bessie's rear window needs the tinting to be replaced. They don't stock the mirrored tint in my town locally and I never got around to looking online.

This is how you operate the draw-bed. Step 1, slide the bottom out...

Step 2, slide the bottom pillow out...

Step 3, slide the back pillow down...

Step 4, remove couch pillows and make the bed...

Step 5, nap time.

I spent a lot of time pointing out the things that need improvement on Bessie in this post. Remember the upgrades can be endless. It's all about what you need, what you want, and how you plan to use Bessie - permanent home, temporary home, off grid trailer camping, full hook-up trailer camping, or something else entirely. I did my best to improve her to the point where she was versatile enough for all of these options but fell a little short on funding. I would like to use this last photo as a reminder of the craftsmanship I put into Bessie. You will rarely see this portion of her since it's behind a dinette cushion, but I still treated that area as if it would be a centerpiece of attention, and that's how the rest of Bessie's restoration can be defined - attention to detail.

Thanks for your interest. Ping me if you have further questions or want additional photos.

Happy Birthday Bessie!!

Hard to believe, but this is the 3rd anniversary of Bessie being in our lives. I suppose it's only the completion of her second full year with us, so let's not get carried away, but 2011 was a wonderful year for us, and Bessie played a prominent role. Happy birthday Bessie! Thanks for hanging around.

The Maiden

One year after we bought Bessie, we took her out for her maiden voyage. The road isn't anything new to her or to us, but it was our first trip together and cause for major celebration.

It was the First of May, and the tulips were blooming in Oregon.


As you know, Bessie has been a major restoration project for Brie and me - the entire cause of this blog - and there were points in the early spring when we were planning backpacking trips that I began to wonder if I made a major mistake by spending so much time and effort working on a trailer.

I'm completely enamored with Bessie herself, Airstreams in general, and the idea of self-sustained freedom on the road (she's my Black Pearl), but there are aspects of trailer camping that I'm not aligned with. I wondered how this would all pan out in reality. In essence, I badly needed to get her out on the road.


We decided to take her out to the coast. One of the driving factors behind our purchase was to have a comfortable place to wait out poor surfing conditions (wind, tide, chop) as well as to have a temporary home if we ever decide to pull the plug on society and wander off into nomadic bliss.

We loaded her up and headed to the sea.



A myriad of stops along the way helped bolster my confidence that everything was running smooth. The hitch was strong, the safety chains were new, the brake and signal lights worked, she towed fine, turns were okay, the brakes were solid, and nothing flew off!


We took the highways and backroads of Oregon farmland as we meandered through the Willamette Valley, over the Coastal mountains, through Tillamook Valley, and up Highway 101.

There's still snow on the Coastal Range mountain tops!


"Go, go, go, go carefully. Go Airstream Driver"
-Gomez, Airstream Driver


Oregon spring skies. Patches of sun...


And patches of rain!


The photo above is of a rainbow, but the camera wouldn't turn on in time. It's in the middle of the photo, shooting straight up like a pillar. If you can't see it, well, it was beautiful. Perhaps now you see why we thought it a good idea to have a "hard shell tent" at the Oregon Coast!

Three hours later, we freaking made it! Is that just happiness and pride or is there a year's worth of blood, sweat, and relief gushing out of this face?


We arrived at dark, unhitched the trailer and went in search of food at 9pm in a town that closes at about that time. We found a pub with decent food, then came back to Bessie for the night. Brie's warming up in front of the heater.


The heater was key. It pumps out enough juice to warm ourselves next to it and it heats up the trailer a noticeable amount. Now it's time to go read in bed.


In the morning, I was the first one up, so I checked out the campsite which was mostly empty. I took a morning stroll and checked out the river and the wild bunnies. How cute are wild bunnies? Very. Way cooler than seeing deer.

(Bunny Law - all dogs remain leashed)


We had campsite number 57. I recommend it.


We both slept very well on that memory foam mattress. No tossing and turning. No rocks under my back, and my sleeping mat didn't deflate. I forgot the blanket though, so we used our sleeping bags.


We took our time and hung out in the morning, trying to figure out what to do for the day. We had a grab-bag of options from previous research but weren't sure what we felt like doing. We actually had spotty 3G coverage - that's surprisingly good for the Oregon Coast - so we're checking tides, weather reports, email...


We decided to have some breakfast. We recorded it on video and had a lot of fun playing around but the files are too big to upload. I'll have to edit them and drop them into a new post.


We decided to trail run Cape Falcon, a beautiful Cape in a State Park south of where we stayed. We wanted to try out our new trail running shoes. Brie and I get along well partly because neither of us like shoes, and these new trail shoes by Merrell incorporate the idea of barefoot running. They're simply a rubber sole that laces to the bottom of your feet. No socks required. They're awesome for trails.

Here's the trail - 5.4 miles roundtrip. We walked for portions - we're just newbies - but we ran a good distance. The forest air was so clean.


The trail was perfect. Trees, ferns, flowers, soft earth, waterfalls, creeks, birds, and sunshine. It was a fantastic way to get to the beach.


Which happens to be one of the best surfing spots in Oregon. The waves were a little mushy today, so we opted for the trail run, but the sets coming in were certainly beautiful. I had to watch a small crew of surfers repeatedly miss pulling into waves before I felt I could move past this viewpoint. Even if the waves are a little weak, it's never a bad day when the sun's out and the surf's clean in Oregon! But the same can be said for a trail run to the point of Cape Falcon!


We saw the beginnings of wild strawberries...


Wild sabretooths...


Wild monkeys...


And even some wild sea lions! A pair of them swam around the rocks below us.


I love this place.


Short Sands, you are one of the most beautiful places on the planet.


On the way back into town, we took advantage of low tide to check out the tidepools of Haystack Rock.


Monster starfish, barnacles, freezing cold water, little hermit crabs, and cute anemones.


Cannon Beach rules!


We returned to the campsite for a good warm shower (not in Bessie).


We changed and then strolled downtown for some noshing.


Downtown Cannon Beach has some very cool buildings.


We found a nice little tapas restaurant with live musicians (guitar, bass, and sax) to set the mood for excellent food and wine.


The plaque below says "Professor Lindsey's Magic Firewood", and that is the future Professor Lindsey at the table.


Sunday morning we strolled back into town for some crepes, smoked mussels, and to check out some of the shops. We bought Letters to Uncle Mike in a cool little bookstore, and a couple toys for our little friends at this little joint...



More sunshine and flowers from a weekend loaded with them.


We hitched Bessie back up to Battlecat and stopped for a picnic at another beach. We just missed the tide, but that was okay. It's always good to be around other surfers, and we did a fair amount of sleuthing for our next strike. Indian Beach is one fantastic place. You are literally living in a postcard when you're on this beach! We had a nice relaxing picnic and nap before our long trek home.


On the way home, we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. By this point we were tired of the camera, so it stayed in the truck, but here's a shot of Bessie in the parking lot!


And then we gassed up and headed home. It was a wonderful trip. Perfect getaway for the maiden voyage.

Here's one last parting shot of Bessie at our weekend campsite.


We are so thankful for the good karma we found all weekend. I hope we are blessed with many more happy memories, and may that happiness find you too.