Meet the Rockin' A our 1984 Airstream 310 Motorhome
The Rockin' A is our 3rd motorhome. We originally started out with a 1976 Coachmen 20 footer that we bought with idea of using it for our race hobby as a tow vehicle and a something to camp in while at the race track. Shortly afer acquiring the Coachmen we realized that if I lived in it instead of the rental house I was living in while working in Arkansas we could save some money and have the motorhome pay for itself. So I lived in it for close to a year before reaching a point where I really wanted something larger to live in. So we went looking and happened upon a 1983 Winnebago 27' motorhome. While looking at the Winnebago the dealer also had an airstream motorhome that looked like one of the Classic Airstream trailers. We were very interested in it but didn't know anything about Airstream motorhomes (I had never seen anything like it before!) and it was quite aways out of our budget. So we settled for the Winnebago which served us well for several years. I ended up living in it for about a year and a half. Well our thoughts kept turning back to that Airstream motorhome so we started doing some research and found out more about them. One thing led to another and while browsing eBay one day I found a 1984 310 Airstream motohome located in Savannah, Georgia. Susan and I discussed it and we made an acceptible offer for a Buy It Now with the seller and so we ended up with the Rockin' A!
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Prior to making our first trip I needed to pull the generator due to it having issues starting. Its not easy access to work on these things so I decided to add rails to allow for easy service and removal. I'm quite pleased with the results!
I'm glad I did put the rails in because the starting problems returned and I had to pull the generator and take it to a service shop for a complete rebuild of the starter and replacement of the voltage regulator.
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Another thing that had to be done prior to our first trip was reinforcement of the hitch. The factory hitch is rated for 200 lbs tongue load and 2000 lbs total trailer weight. Towning a 14' flatbed trailer with Susan's 68 Spitfire was obviously beyond the capacity of the factory hitch. I scoured the Airforums website and found how others had strengthend their hitch and using their examples I upgraded ours. I did all of the fabrication work and bench welding myself. But when it came time to do the overhead and verticle welding on the motorhome itself I elected to have a friend of ours who is or was a certified welder do the difficult parts!
One of the things that really has me baffled is why the waste dump line storage compartment is located inside the water/electrical compartment! The last thing I'm going to want to do after dumping the black water tank is to take the hose and try and stuff it into that little area. I can just imagine what kind of mess that would make in the storage compartment. Yuk!
For now we have been storing it in the side drawer inside a plastic bag but I'm not thrilled with that arrangement either. I'm going to look at adding some kind of storage tube under the rear of the motorhome that I can slide the hose up into when I'm done. Similar to how the S.O.B. motorhomes store theirs in the rear bumper. I think I can place the tube well enough that it will be up out of the way yet accessable. Anything's better than the current arrangement.
The Rockin' A didn't show too many signs of water damage inside which was fortunate. However shortly after we brought it back from Georgia the rains in Arkansas started. We found water pouring in from below the rear air conditioner and running down to the rear deck below the windows. The only thing I could figure is the rough ride on the trip back to Arkansas (due to rear air compressor failure) and the fact that the three rear air conditioner mounting screws were loose caused the air conditioner to shell seal to fail.
I erected the scaffolding below to allow me to replace the seals that go between the air conditioners and the shell of the motorhome. Most people just stand on the shell but I just couldn't bring myself to do that! Heck, I had more than enough scaffolding to build one over the entire motorhome front to rear so why take the chance of slipping or denting the shell when I didn't have to!
Susan has started the remodeling job on the Rockin' A to give it a bunk house theme. One of her first tasks was to replace the front curtains in the cab with new ones that were made for us by Silver Threads (Airforums member).
Other changes will include the following:
Replace the carpet with wood flooring.
New curtains in the back.
Remove the twin beds and replace them with a queen size bed with more storage underneath.
Install a shower door.
Replace the dinette table with something more appropriate.
Rework the dinette seats with something different. Not sure yet we're still thinking about that one.
The Rockin' A meets Cleo!
A couple that we had been corresponding with on Airforums was passing through Little Rock on their way from Connecticut to Texas and stopped for the night at the KOA in North Little Rock. The next morning Susan took the opportunity to take the Rockin' A out to the KOA to meet them.
Cleo belongs to Chris and Liz. They are spending the next year or so "full timing". Needless to say Susan had a blast meeting them and touring their motorhome. We wish them luck during their "full timing" adventure!
Future projects:
1) Finish rebuilding the rest of the front suspension.
2) Replace all of the window seals throughout the motorhome. They ALL leak!
3) Replace the door hinges. They are worn out and allow the door to vibrate.
4) Replace both roof air conditioners with the newer low profile units.
5) Replace the original rear air suspension air compressor with a new replacement unit.
