Our 23′ Airstream Safari Special Edition trailer was made in December 2006, Airstream’s 75th anniversary year!
Our custom order through our local dealer included our Airstream factory installed solar charging system with two solar panels and AGM batteries. Our records show that on most non-hookup days our AGM batteries are back to 100% by midday. See how I changed our Lifeline AGM batteries.
Also see how I replaced the failing OEM Parallax converter with the Xantrex XADC 60A converter/charger.
See how we changed out our hot Halogen lights to cool LED lights that use less energy. Our LED lights are seen below, along with our new 10-year sealed battery smoke detector that I installed last January.
Last year I replaced our Dometic refrigerator’s brittle plastic drain hose with a more durable, vinyl hose.
We use neither sharp tools nor a hot air blower and yet easily and routinely defrost the Dometic RM2551 RV refrigerator (5 cu. ft.) in less than 30 min.
We are now on our second set of Goodyear Marathon ST215/75R14 tires, which have served us well with only one flat (due to a screw). We monitor our tires with sensors and rarely travel more than 62 mph.
Over the past 10 years, we have taken our trailer on 86 200-mile or less round trips for a total mileage of no more than 17,200 miles, which contributed to our good marathon experience!
Modern Airstream trailers*, such as ours, have an exterior body of clear coated aluminum sheets that can corrode beginning at the cut edges and rivet holes where salt, water and air can enter. In our experience, the spread of filiform corrosion can be limited by washing and waxing the trailer regularly and using corrosion retardants and protectants such as Boeshield T-9 and CorrosionX.
Additional improvements:
Cleaning & adjusting brakes and repacking bearings
This Safari celebrates Independence Day* as it awaits its next safari!*
*This is a link to a YouTube video.