Almost…
January 27th, 2011
……finished. Just a few more odds and ends to be done, and the Texas Belle can go back to her owner. The interior buildout is finished, a few more coats of wax on her hand rubbed finish, a shower curtain, shower faucet, and she’s ready to roll.
Finished galley. Quite spacious for a 14ft environment. My rule of thumb: a space that allows a 360 degree unobstructed rotation with arms wide stretched is visually comfortable… It works here.
Towards the front, we have created a very comfy dinette, one that can convert into a second, full width bed. The main bed is 54in by 7feet long when pulled out to it’s maximum width. It still allows walking past the bed into the rear of the trailer.
The Caravel is now fully loaded with modern conveniences. A Mac Mini as entertainment hub delivers music, movies, pictures, internet and work options, if need be. A Bose speaker system with hidden subwoofer brings audio into the space, and a stereo system with ipod hookup can entertain with very little power draw.
A pure sine wave inverter powers the Mac Mini and the 22” HD TV. Batteries are replenished either by the built in solar panel, or via tongue mounted generator. A 60A 4-stage converter charger takes over when plug ins are available.
A pure sine wave inverter powers the Mac Mini and the 22” HD TV. Batteries are replenished either by the built in solar panel, or via tongue mounted generator. A 60A 4-stage converter charger takes over when plug ins are available.
Her first outing – to the modernism week in Palm Springs. Rich and Brett of Airstream Life collaborated with the MW staff to put on a vintage trailer show at the Riviera Hotel. What a fun weekend, and what a great place to bring this little jewel for her shakedown cruise.
Except, nothing shook down. She tows like a dream, soft and confident. The disc brakes are wonderful, and her overall size and weight is just perfect for what the owner was looking for. She was in good company at her first trip in over a year…Spartans, Bowlus, Airfloat….a number of rare vintage trailers kept her company.
Except, nothing shook down. She tows like a dream, soft and confident. The disc brakes are wonderful, and her overall size and weight is just perfect for what the owner was looking for. She was in good company at her first trip in over a year…Spartans, Bowlus, Airfloat….a number of rare vintage trailers kept her company.
Stay with me for a final entry on this wonderful Caravel in a few weeks. There’s lots of cool details within this build.
Music during Modernism Weekend: Norah Jones, Harry Connick Jr.
Temps: brrr….50’s and rainy for 2 days, then a nice Sunday in the 70’s
Temps: brrr….50’s and rainy for 2 days, then a nice Sunday in the 70’s
