Its been a long journey rehabbing our Vintage Airstream. I remember our naive plans of completing the remodel in 8-10 months. Two and a half years later and 100’s of man hours, repairing rusted frame, replacing rotted floor, drilling out 100’s of pop rivets then replacing with solid buck-rivets, the endless headaches chasing down leaks, solving wiring issues and the list goes on… Remodeling the Airstream has been one of the most challenging and rewarding things I’ve done (outside of aiding my wife through 36hrs of med-free birth and the arrival of Paisley).
Land Yacht Tour
Our remodel is not entirely finished…we still have the shower/tub to plumb and repair, upholstery and a few odds and ins to finish. But the interior is looking presentable enough to warrant a tour. So here is brief tour of the Land Yacht. Also checkout our tour video at the bottom of the page!
Bedroom / Bathroom
Our bed folds out of the way for comfy seating during daylight hours. Underneath the bed is storage for clothes and our battery bank. The bathroom features: shower, tub, composting toilet, small sink and linen closet storage. Underneath cabinets LED lights provide area specific mood lighting plus LED’s are super efficient for off-grid applications and are surprisingly bright.
Kitchen / Sink / Range
Our mini gourmet kitchen features ample counter space for appliances and food prep, stainless steel propane stove/oven, large double tub sink, butcher block and stainless steel counter tops and lots of storage for appliances and pots/pans. We love to cook and its a vital for our business so its nice to be able to spread out and cook!
Counter / Pantry
The counter opposite of the sink is a space for appliances (Vita-mix, food processor & Bosch) with stainless-steel counter tops for easy clean up. Above the counter is a framed chalk board for inspiring quotes, bible verses and the weekly menu. To the left and above the counter is pantry storage for bulk foods, oils and spices. For the bulk foods the pantry features long slides outs for easy access.
Airstream Land Yacht Video Tour
Land Yacht Interior Photo Gallery
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- Front Door
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- The Land Yacht!
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- Shoe cubbies
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- Fridge Cabinet
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- Blending Station & Chalkboard
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- Pantry
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- Pantry Slider
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- Kitchen
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- Stainless Range
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- LED Lighting
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- Large Sink
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- Butcher Block Counter Tops
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- Herb Garden
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- Bamboo Floors
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- Moveable Bench
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- Dinette
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- Paisley’s, “Room”
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- Pritner Shelf
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- Couch / Bed
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- Closet
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- Bathroom
Oh my goodness! It is gorgeous! Awesome job!
Thanks!
WOW! I love this reno. I have so many questions. Like 1 million. First off what did you use for your door knob? Also, I love your cabinetry, we have been thinking of using IKEA hacks like Smokeless Joe did from the Airstream Forum, modifying them to reduce weight. I can’t wait to show my sister your blog. It’s comforting to know there are others out there who share passion for free living and have been through an Airstream renovation too! You are livin the dream!
Hey Kaitlin,
Thanks! Our door knob came with the trailer so I’m not sure…
Ill have to checkout Smokeless Joe’s setup! The cabinets were super easy with a Kreg Pocket Jig! Highly recommend this tool! If I could rewind I would keep the cabinet bases the same built around some pre-fab doors and drawers from Ikea. We wanted to use thinner ply-wood for the doors and they tend to warp with the varying climates. I will eventually replace these…
Looking forward to seeing more updates on your rig!
Stay in touch!
-NICK
What do you pull it with and where do you park it mostly? I wish it was possible to pull up anywhere and just stay for a few days then move on without paying fees or being harassed. I would like to go this way but the idea of buying or building a movable home like this then having to find a piece of land to park it on sounds too restrictive and too much responsibility for something I might want to be around to keep all year round.
We have a Ford F250 Diesel that we tow with. Does a great job and gets fair economy for a very large truck (15mpg in tow).
Parking can be a challenge. We are currently parked at a friends house that has an unused RV pad on the side of the house. We had a knock on the door a few weeks ago from the City informing us that we cannot live in a trailer in the City. After doing some research on the ordinance (my brother in law is a city planner) and a phone call to the city everything checked out.
When we are on the road we have parked at Walmart parking lots and rest areas that have worked well for single nights. Campgrounds can get expensive!
One thing I am learning is there are always options…
Cheers!
-NICK
finances!! what did you pay for your airstream? how much for your renovation so far? i want to do this same thing…thank you
Great question! Ill do a more in depth post on this then link to it…meanwhile here are some rough numbers:
We bought the Airstream on Craigslist for $2750. Our original goal was to keep total costs under $5k. Off the top of my head we are probably in it around $7.5k and still need new axles ($1400) and a fridge ($1200). So when its all said and done we will have roughly $10-12k in the Land Yacht.
This is awesome! I am curious about your self-composting toilet. Where did you get it, and what was the cost?
Thanks! It’s working great!
Our toilet is basically a box and seat over a bucket…we made it and it probably cost less than $50.
We are going to do an update video on the composting toilet soon. Stay tuned…
-NICK
Beautiful!!! I’m curious though, where does Paisley sleep?
Thanks!
Paisley sleeps under the dinette…its a little fort of sorts. Right now she is on a little foam pad but when we get the bench cushions done we will move that down for her to sleep on. Underneath the table we have glow-in-the-dark-stars that she loves to gaze at. Its working well!
Nick,
You two are an inspiration. My hubs and I are in the beginning phases of looking to buy/purging our house. We stumbled on your blog through researching and are amazed at how many parallels we have with you. We also have a 1 year old! Your blog has become a great resource for us.
My question is centered around the baby:
1. When Paisley goes to sleep do you two have to be quiet? Logistically how does that work? Even with a sound machine when our daughter goes to bed we are in monastery mode (also were first time parents haha). I imagine living in close quarters it would be hard to do anything besides read..?
2. Does Paisley mind being in a car seat for drives? I worry I’ll be making her sit for too long as we travel…
Thank you!!
Sommer
Thanks Sommer! We wish you the best in your journey!
1. Once Paisley is asleep we don’t need to be super quite but until that point she can be distracted if we are walking around, doing dishes, putting clothes away ect. For us it hasn’t been an issue & I guess we have adapted.
2. She does pretty good on drives. We try and keep travel time under 8hrs and ideally drive when she is asleep. Otherwise she has special books & lap toys she plays with, musical singalong CD’s and of course her little steering wheel so she can drive along with dad! We take breaks often and if its nice we stop at grassy rest areas to run & get the wiggles out.
Hope this helps & let us know if you have any other questions! Keep us posted on your journey.
Cheers!
-NICK
Nick thanks for answering my questions! I forgot to mention to you, we live in a DC suburb. If you want somewhere to park near the Capitol, we have a long driveway you’re more than welcome to park in (then I’d get to ask you a million more questions hehe). You have my email, otherwise Ill be in touch as we progress. Love the blog! Can you do a post on what you have in all your closets (like you did for your “garage”?).
Thanks Sommer! Yes, that’s a great idea…stay tuned.
AGGGHHHH you are so awesome! I just took my 76 Airstream overlander out this past weekend…. It was so much fun! I am sure I paid too much! $5500 needed new tires. Everything works but the furnace. I am in Mississippi so that didn’t seem like a big deal.
What are you using for shades on the windows? Mine has walmart blinds and I would like to replace them. Do they attach at the bottom so they don’t sit away from the wall?
Thank you!
PS. Thant composting toilet thing…. I don’t know…got to see to believe.
Thanks!
I love the look of the 70’s trailers! $5500 isn’t a bad price if its a solid trailer…
Our shades are from Ikea…they are simple roll down shades and the bottom has a plastic pull tab that we slide under the window frame to keep it down. Works great! They are sleek, functional, easy to install and fairly inexpensive ($20ea).
We too were skeptical about the composting toilet…but now we love it!
Enjoy your trailer!
-NICK
Wow, great job so far!! Your ‘Stream looks a lot like ours will when we’re done. We’re also doing all white with butcher block counters. What’s crazy is that we’re on a VERY similar timeline as y’all, too!
We bought ours in August 2 years ago and thought we could finish it in 6 months – 1 year. Ours had smoke/ fire damage, so it’s turned out to need a lot more work than we ever anticipated. We also can only work on it on Saturdays, since it’s stored at my grandparents’ house 45 minutes away. We’re about 65% done now, and can’t wait to start living in it full time when we’re done. Hoping to finish by the end of this year…
Here’s a link to pics of our build so far:
https://picasaweb.google.com/108410317681187936300/Our1986Airstream
Happy ‘Streaming,
-Dustin & Dom
Hey Dustin!
Awesome work, cant wait to see it finished!
Are you guys going to travel while your full-timing or stay put?
Keep in touch!
-NICK
Wow! love your home. It is soo nice! You’ve done beautiful work! Was so nice meeting you at the Expo. Enjoying your blog livinlightly. Many Blessings to you both.
Thanks Laura!
It was a pleasure to meet you too. When you get your new property it would be fun to come and take a look!
Cheers!
-NICK
Looks great! I call our 1978 Land Yacht “31 feet of madness” because it is just that! That thing never stops giving us “surprises” but we love it anyway 🙂
Thanks! Madness indeed!
Wow, Your Airstream looks great. We have decided to go the same direction with remodeling an old Airstream and your design and color choices are a wonderful inspiration. Of course, I think I can get the transformation done in 9 months….. That being said, if I ever really knew up front how long my projects actually were going to take, I would never begin. So I’m sticking with with my estimate… Heh heh.
Congrats on a truly wonderful job. And thanks for sharing with the rest of us.
Thanks Charlie! Good luck with your reno!