projectmidge

Restoration of our vintage trailers. 1967 Airstream (Midge), 1957 Silver Streak, and 1961 Holiday House.

Water Proofing The Awning

It seems like every trip out this year it rained.  Man, I hate camping in the rain – especially with dogs.  We noticed that Midge’s awning has started to lose some of its water repellant properties.  It is made with great Sunbrella fabric, but with exposure the water repellant degrades.  The Holiday Rambler awning was made with a cheap outdoor fabric that never really did repel water very well.  Dagnabit!  I want the area outside my door to be dry with 4 dogs coming in and out.

I used Scotchguard on the HR awning, and it did absolutely nothing.  NOTHING!  I decided to buy some “Never Wet” at Home Depot.  If you’ve seen the commercials, you know how awesome it looks!  Spray it on something, and water and spills just roll off!  Amazing.  Well, geez…..it SHOULD be amazing – $15 for a tiny 12 oz spray bottle!!  I would need at least 5 bottles for one awning!  No way.  I made my awnings for less than that.

I love the Internet!  I did some searching and found a recipe to make it myself for much cheaper!!  It was incredibly easy, too.

*Disclaimer:  This worked for me.  Do a patch test first if you are concerned about the colorfastness of your fabric.  Proceed with caution.

WATER PROOF RECIPE

1 quart Mineral Spirits

1/2 tube 100% Silicone

DO THIS IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA, OR OUTSIDE!  

Mix well until silicone is completely dissolved (this takes a while).  Roll or brush on evenly, completely soaking fabric.  Let dry for 24 hours.  Use right away, this mixture doesn’t keep very long.

MY AWNING IS 7′ x 10′.  I used 1 1/2 quarts mineral spirits, and 3/4 tube of silicone.

How easy is that?!  I put a tarp down in my carport, and spread the awning out on it.  I used a cheap paint roller.  When you put it on, it darkens the fabric, and you will completely FREAK OUT.  No worries: it dries clear :-).

Pictures:

Mineral Spirits, use 1 quart.

Mineral Spirits

100% Clear Silicone. Use 1/2 tube per quart of mineral spirits.

100% Clear Silicone. Use 1/2 tube per quart of mineral spirits.

Mineral Spirits and Silicone

Mineral Spirits and Silicone

Mix until silicone is dissolved.

Mix until silicone is dissolved.

Lay awning flat.

Lay awning flat.

Apply with cheap paint roller or brush.

Apply with cheap paint roller or brush.

Freaking OUT!

Freaking OUT!

Applied!

Applied!

Leave it alone, and let dry for 24 hours.

Leave it alone, and let dry for 24 hours.

We took this bad boy awning with us to Pagosa Springs for the TCT Rally a couple weeks ago.  It rained in the middle of the night, and I’m sorry to say I did not get up to take pictures of the rain rolling off the awning.   I can say, that in the morning the awning was completely dry, as was the ground beneath it.  Everything outside the awning area was soaked.  In my pea brain, that means it works.  I’m not sure how often I will have to reapply.  Hopefully, it lasts a couple seasons.

The Rambler is tucked away for the winter, but I will be doing this for that awning as well.

A couple more pictures of the awning and Midge, just because:

Midge in all her glory

Midge in all her glory

Beauty!

Beauty!

Party on the patio!

Party on the patio!

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Party on the patio!

We are settling in to fall, and will be starting to work on the Silver Streak.  Stay tuned!
 

 

 

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Camping Season is Here!!!!!

Boy, did that seem like a LONG Winter!  Rain and snow in May.  That is not supposed to happen.  In addition to no camping, I lost my garden THREE different times!  Crappy May.  I’ve lived here for 25 years, and still plant my garden way too early.  I know better than that, but geez….the first nice weekend in April, and I’ve got to plant my garden.  Not very smart.  Someone PLEASE remind me of this fiasco next April!

We graduated our two sons in May!  Older son graduated from CU-Boulder and younger son graduated from Littleton High School!  We are very proud of our kids and relieved that is behind us.  Having 2 graduates at the same time is exhausting!

Anyway….I know this blog is supposed to be about Midge the Airstream, and it IS.  The thing is, though, our first trip out this year was with the Holiday Rambler.  It was a Tin Can Tourist gathering, and since we took the Airstream to the TCT gathering last year, we decided it was the Rambler’s turn to shine.  Midge is going out next!

Ramblin' On

Ramblin’ On

We camped at the Glenwood Canyon Resort in Glenwood Springs, CO.  (Campground review is at the bottom of this post). Hello, Beautiful!!  Gorgeous, gorgeous area.  All the TCT’ers were camped along the Colorado River.  There were some really cute vintage campers and we met so many awesome people!  The river was high, and it rained.  The resort employees were filling sand bags near us at a frantic pace, which was somewhat disconcerting.  Obviously, we survived.

Colorado River

Colorado River in our backyard 🙂

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Sand bags along the Colorado River

Camp set up

Camping!

The first night we arrived, we were to have a potluck in a central location.  Well, the rains came in and it was pretty miserable.  It was decided to have a “traveling” dinner:  everyone took their plate from trailer to trailer.  It was kind of funny and sad at the same time.  I did not make it to many trailers that first night because it was just raining too much.  Needless to say, everyone had lots of left overs.  We had a crock pot full of Dear Husband’s amazing bean dip and a huge bowl of spicy guacamole.  Not much made it home with us….those are some great left overs!

I’m just going to post some random pictures from the weekend.  Because of the crappy weather, I didn’t take too many pictures.  There were some cray-cray-adorb trailers, though.

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I’m a bit obsessed with our plug in “porch light”.  It is original to the trailer and just makes me smile.  Lord help me if I ever forget to unplug it and put it away….Dear Husband would surely divorce me if we lost it on the road!

Plug In Porch Light

Plug In Porch Light

Princess Nellie won the golden ticket, and got to accompany us on this trip.  At the TCT camp out last year, we had all 4 dogs, and it was a pain in the butt.  We weren’t going to bring any dogs this time, but Dear Husband decided she deserved a special trip.

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Princess Nellie

Tired Camper, Nellie

Tired Camper, Nellie

The rain ended in the evenings, and we enjoyed a couple large communal camp fires.  Lots of drinking and laughing.  Seriously, a fun bunch of people!  While raining, we would enjoy a cocktail or three under our awning.  For the most part, it kept us dry.  There were a few places that it dripped through the seam, but I think if I Scotch Guard it, it should help.

Cocktail Time!

Cocktail Time!

Cocktail Time!

Cocktail Time!

Here is the usual night shot.  I just love my campers at night time 🙂

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Night Time for the Rambler

We headed home on Sunday, June 7th.  Of course, it was a blue sky beautiful day!  It was an uneventful trip, and a beautiful day in the mountains!

Vail Pass

Vail Pass

Please forgive the poor resolution of that picture….damn iphone. (it’s probably my fault, but I like blaming my phone).

Vail Pass

Vail Pass

Glenwood Canyon Resort:

The resort is stunning!  It has beautiful cabins, secluded tent sites, full RV hookups, and a lodge (restaurant/bar) on the main level.  We were on the lower level river front sites.  Electric and Water hookups only.  There is a dump station up near the main bath house.  The campsites along the river are fairly small, but well maintained.  There are some beautiful tent sites along the river, too.  It was great fun to watch the rafters go by.  The cabins look really nice.  The only complaints I heard was the fact that there is not a bathroom or bath house on the lower level, and noise complaints.  It is quite a trek up the hill in the middle of the night if you need to use their facilities.  I was thankful we had a wet bath in the Rambler!  There was a wedding going on at the resort, which I didn’t mind.  It was fun to see the beautiful bride and guests all dressed up.  We could hear the music from the main lodge where the reception was taking place.  Not a big deal to me, but some of our fellow campers didn’t appreciate it.  Also, there are train tracks across the river.  I, personally, love the sound of a train.  I know that is not a popular opinion.  The resort does provide ear plugs if you need them.  It is pricey at $58/night for water and electric only, but we would come back.  They have a zipline and offer rafting tours, also.  Next time we go, we will bring the kids along.  They would love it!  It is a short 3 minute drive in to Glenwood Springs.  They are dog friendly (additional fee) and Nellie seemed to like it :-).

Next at bat:  Midge!  We are taking Midge to Lucy’s Place in LaVeta, CO at the end of June.  We are meeting some friends there.  They are bringing their vintage Avalair camper.  I can’t wait to see it!  I think it is a 1963 Avalair.  It is a silver trailer, too, and I’m excited to see the Silver Sisters camped out next to each other!  I will definitely try to get some decent pictures.  We will go to the Sand Dunes and enjoy a part of Colorado we’ve never been to before!

Stay Tuned!

 

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Maiden Voyage with the Holiday Rambler

We had a successful maiden voyage!  We made a quick weekend trip to Garden of The Gods RV Resort in Colorado Springs.  We got down there really fast!  It was kind of nice.  We were set up and walking the dogs by noon!  I will give my review of the campground later.

First of all….it hauled perfectly.  We used Dear Husband’s big boy truck (Chevy 4 door DuraMax), although my Tahoe would have pulled it just fine.  We stopped at Monument, CO for something to eat and a guy stopped and took pictures of it :).   It really is cute.  Granted, Midge has the “WOW!” Factor, but the Holiday Rambler can hold its own in that cat fight.

Here is our camp site, all set up:

Holiday Rambler Awning

Holiday Rambler Awning

The awning went up so easily!  And, I think it’s pretty darn cute.
But wait, there’s more! Click here!

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New Paint for the Holiday Rambler!

 

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The Holiday Rambler got a new paint job!!  We were not planning on painting it so soon, but stumbled upon a great offer and couldn’t refuse!  It is not the BEST paint job in town, but a vast improvement.

Look!

Before

Before

After

After


Blog entry continued here!

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Awning for The Holiday Rambler

Holiday Rambler Awning

Holiday Rambler Awning

Well, would you look at that!  I made another awning!  I amaze myself sometimes.   I had some requests to immortalize the making of this bad boy awning, so I have a tutorial listed on the right side of this page, up near the top under the “About” tab.  It is titled “Do-It-Yourself Awning Instructions”.  I know, clever, huh?

The instructions aren’t that different from the instructions I originally used for Midge.  I do not have a picture of the awning on the Rambler yet.  It is parked on my driveway next to Midge, and I need some dirt or grass to put up the awning poles.   We are planning the maiden voyage with the Holiday Rambler in a couple weeks and I will get a picture then.

UPDATE:

Here is the awning!  It worked great, and was really cute!

Holiday Rambler Awning

Holiday Rambler Awning

Holiday Rambler & Midge

Holiday Rambler & Midge

Back ends

Back ends

Holiday Rambler & Midge

Holiday Rambler & Midge

Don’t they look cute together?

 

 

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