This particular airstream’s layout had the bathroom at the very back. Rather than aluminum panels, the bathroom was formed out of a fiberglass shell, with additional pieces of molded plastic forming an infuriating interlocking puzzle. I stared at it for weeks wondering if I could successfully save the original elements by extracting them carefully so I could clean and reinforce them and put them back together. Yeah — no.

Everything had to come out, regardless. For reasons that I do not understand, Airstream conveniently hid all the important things under the bathroom components. The power converter, the wiring, most of the critical plumbing, etc. I could see from the rear access panel that there was significant floor rot hiding under the tub and toilet.

999 rivets later, plus some brute force to dislodge corroded fixtures, it was all out. I am planning to keep the outer fiberglass walls and cubbies. I have saved the storage compartments (left) in case I can re-use that.

I am now confronted with 50 year-old wiring that needs to be dealt with, sub-floor that needs replacing, extensive rust, and the classic Airstream “rear-end-sag.” Apparently it is very common that the weight of the bath (with the holding tank directly under the floor) causes the frame to sag just a little, just enough that it needs to be fixed somehow. I have anxiety about this, but I’m charging ahead. 

So now I’m studying wiring diagrams, learning about fuse boxes and breaker panels, and of course scrubbing. 🙂