It’s time. After over 16 and a half years I’m retiring from theVAP.

We’ve had a great run. Much longer than any of us thought. I like to think that we have helped hundreds, if not thousands make their Airstream dream come true.

In over 400k downloads in multiple countries, we have talked with the Airstream CEO, rock stars, polishing gurus, Airstream entrepreneurs and enthusiasts from all over. Each has contributed to the longevity and entertainment of the show! Thank you!

The fun in creating the show each week was possible from the Panel Pros, Colin Hyde, and Rob Baker! Thank you to them!

In 2005 when I had the idea for an Airstream podcast, I sent an email on an Airstream list, and Rob answered up. He had recently started working with Colin on his own restoration. The dream team was born!

Over the years each of you had a big role as well. Calling and emailing with your questions and comments for the show made it so much more interactive for us. Seeing the photos of your field finds, in-progress work, and restorations, was very exciting for all. Answering your questions each show was fun, and let us banter back and forth on each topic. You’d get the Pro answer, and some of my weekend mechanic input! So a big Thank You to you, the listeners of the Vintage Airstream Podcast!

Lastly, I have enjoyed learning from all of you, the Panel Pros, and through my own restoration and travel experiences. The writing of my book, Restoring a Dream, was another accomplishment I had never imagined. Thank you all for the support over more than a decade and a half!

Where do we go from here?

I will continue to release Vintage VAP (reruns) for as long as there is an audience. I’m thinking of sprinkling in some Airstream Stories episodes.

I would like to do one on one discussions with Airstream owners about their Airstream life, vintage or not. If you’re interested talking about your own adventures whether it be your travels, personal airstream experiences, or restoration, send an email to tim@theVAP.com.

Thanks again and I hope to see ya down the road…..

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The last few times we were camping, I noticed our bathroom fan would sometimes not come on.

A couple times I noticed if I closed and reopened the lid it would work. I started doing some research and found it’s common for the plunger switch to go bad. I was able to find a part breakdown and ordered the switch from Amazon. https://amzn.to/3v8mnsO

It would probably take about 15-30 minutes do it yourself. Plus it saves the hassle of replacing the $280 fan.

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When we camped near Yosemite this spring, the temps dropped to freezing! We normally stay away from freezing temps in the Airstream since we only have a heat pump to keep us warm.

I did take some steps last year to help cooling, that worked equally well for heating. Since the heat pump is in the kitchen, the rear of the trailer was cooler due to the curtain.

In comes the heat pump notch!

The air from the heat pump would hit that bulkhead and keep the air flow out of the back of the trailer. The notch solved that problem.

The notch cut is centered. I never realized the heat pump wasn’t.

This one seems obvious now, but it really helps to close the bathroom door! That’s a large space to heat over night and it makes a big difference when keeping it closed. Of course, I feel sorry for anyone needing the facility at night.

Even with the lovely notch and closing the bathroom door, the heat pump starts to fall short at 40F. I’ve carried an electric ceramic heater as a back up for years. This was the first time to dig it out.

This helped a lot. It took some of the heat load off the heat pump. However when temps dipped to freezing the heat pump would let a big groan and stop blowing any heat.

Time to pull out the big gun, or Big Buddy heater.

I just picked up the big buddy after our campground lost power last fall and we needed to borrow a buddy heater. I’m glad I picked this up!

On low, this keeps the airstream inside temp in the 80’sF. It has low, med, and high settings.

This Big Buddy can hold two 16oz propane canisters that should last all night. One can only lasted around 5-6 hours. You can also get an attachment to connect to a larger tank.

You do need to follow the directions about cracking a window for fresh air. It does have tip, and low oxygen sensors, but we don’t want to rely on that. Also I recently replaced my CO and propane detector.

Well, that’s how we survived the flash freeze! We kept warm and slept well.

Of course in the morning, I turned the faucet on and nothing came out. But that’s another story….

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I’ve always wanted an awning ready to deploy when taking our 1960 Airstream Ambassador out around California. The problem for me was keeping to the 1960 period correct of my Airstream, and also keeping it stream-lined.

They did have awnings available back in 1960 of course, but getting one now to look correct would be having a custom one built. And they are hard to put up and down each time.

When I came across the MoonShade, I thought wow, this looks promising! MoonFab was nice enough to send me one out for review.

It’s not much larger than a portable camping chair and around 8lbs when packed away.

They offer many different anchors for the awning including, suction cups, magnetic mounts, etc. But the one we are interested in is the awning rail anchor.

These make it a snap to install on our vintage Airstreams that have original awning rails.

With anchors in place, the setup is easily less than 10 minutes by yourself, and you won’t even need a ladder! Check out our video to see step by step how to set it up and the other uses you’ll find for the MoonShade.

MoonFab has provided a discount code for $30 off for our listeners. Use code VAPMOON30OFF on checkout or simply click here and it will be added for you. The code is valid until 8/31//2022.

The only real downside is the size, being 9ft × 7ft. If they made one a bit larger that would be perfect!

Thanks MoonFab!

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