Meet Murphy’s Law, our new house on wheels. This is an Airstream Trade Wind and has some really incredible options that called to Aaron and me like a siren of the sea. Without getting too technical, I will go into some detail about why this camper became our must-have home.
One of my favorite options is the hatch. This opens the back of the camper completly for views, airflow and a greater connection to the outdoors while Aaron is working, I am blogging, or we just want to enjoy an al fresco dinner without all the bugs that usually accompany such things.
I am also a huge fan of the flooring. The floor is one piece of composite. The composite floor is waterproof, and since there are no wood components, it will not get damaged or rot due to water. It looks like stained concrete and cleans very easily. Also, it does not show dirt or wear nearly as much as our previous floor. I also love the interior colors. The wood is a bit warmer in tone, the grey is prettier than the dark brown we had before, and it comes with pretty curtains to divide the front and back if we want to create some privacy between the bathroom, the bedroom, and the living/kitchen area. The pictures were taken mid decorating, so it is not the finished look.
This is not my photo; I found it on a Google search, but this shows the solar package on our camper. This design, along with the three lithium batteries, can run the entire trailer, including the A.C. and microwave, without having to plug into a source of electricity. For us, this is perfect. We also added 2 more lithium batteries that we already had from our previous camper and a portable solar panel to boost our power supply. This will allow us to spend more time in remote areas with more comfort than before. Our roof does look a little different. Aaron added some Wi-Fi extender antennas, and our Starlink is now mounted on the roof.
When we ordered our Trade Wind, one of the options was the composting toilet. As I discussed in my last post, we did not get the trailer we ordered, and settled for one with the conventional toilet instead. We did order the composting toilet from Airhead, and Aaron did the installation himself. This saves us water and tank space for wastewater. It is not nearly as scary or gross as I thought it would be. It doesn’t smell bad, and so far, it has been easy to manage. It is just another item that will make our journeys into the more remote areas less stressful and more doable.
We added a three-phase water filtration system so that we would not have to continue purchasing drinking water. We also have a one-phase water filter that we have always used when filling our fresh water tank or anytime we hook up to a water source. The combination of both systems will save us money and reduce the amount of garbage we accumulate during our travels.
Not to leave Murphy out, we ordered him a new kennel. We removed one sofa cushion and placed his doggy room there. We had to shorten the cushions next to it a little bit to accommodate the new kennel, but it works really well. He likes his own space, and we like having a place for him to go when he is wet from swimming, dirty from playing, or if he needs to be left alone for a little while so we can grocery shop or do some laundry.
Next is the tankless recirculating water heater. This is really awesome. When I turn on the recirculating feature, the system recirculates the water in the hot water lines to ensure that when a faucet is opened, there is instant hot water. Now, the shower is furthest away from the heater, so it does take a few seconds for the heated water to get to the shower, but not nearly as long as a standard water heater takes. This helps us save water in a considerable way, once again helping us keep our resources longer, waste less, and still have all the conveniences that we want in our house on wheels.
The last thing I am going to write about the Trade Wind is the 3-inch lift and 16-inch tires. The first image is the new Trade Wind. The second image is the Flying Cloud model we had before. The tires are an inch bigger, and the axle has a 3-inch lift. Altogether, this gives us about a 4-inch height difference. Four inches may not seem like a lot, but trust me, it is! We will have higher clearance on rough roads, and we won’t worry as much about bottoming the camper out on inclines in parking lots and things like that. The tires are also more rugged and can handle dirt and gravel roads more easily.
We loved our other camper, Yurtle. If Airstream had not come out with this brand-new camper, we would have happily stayed in Yurtle for a very long time. This one just called to us and has all the upgrades we had wanted and done, but better. The Trade Wind is named Murphy’s Law after our dog, Murphy. Aaron and I both enjoy a good pun. We just hope that the camper does not live up to its name. We are both excited to see where our new home will take us. Next week’s blog will be again focused on our wanderings. Thank you for reading my blog and going with us on our adventures!
Wandering Cindi 