My husband, Ryan, has been busy!! We’ve had Annie (our 1976 Airstream Sovereign 31′) for almost a year and slowly but surely we’ve been tearing her down so that we can build her up. Here is an update with more to come! (The next update can be found here.)

Post in progress… Annie’s not ashamed to let you know she’s having some work done!! Stay tuned to see exactly what she’s been up to. #annietheairstream #airstream #vintageairstream #vintagecamper #lifeisgood #jollyandhappy

A photo posted by @jollyandhappy on Feb 28, 2015 at 7:23pm PST

We posted this picture on our Instagram around 7 months ago and that was the beginning of our shell off restoration. We began by bracing the inside of the shell with 2×12’s, 4×4’s, strong tie braces and A LOT of screws!If you would like to read about Annie’s beginning click here

After we braced the shell, we used a floor jack to lift one side at a time. Watch out for hidden rivets that are still connecting the floor and shell together!

We have lift off!

Here is a couple of good shots of the reason why we decided to do the shell off restoration. Our Annie had a ton of dry rot and water damage in the bathroom and kitchen areas!

Here’s Ryan (isn’t he cute?!) raising the shell from 4 inches to 8 inches above the trailer. He was able to borrow some mobile home jacks to use for the lift.

The trailer is ready to move!!

Now this part was a slow and steady process. I kept envisioning our cute Annie tipping over midway through the separation and her beautiful aluminum crushing like a soda can! Anxiety-filled moments for sure!

Minor set back… We ended up letting air out of the tires to get the extra couple inches for the trailer to safely move from under the shell.

Half way there!

Annie’s shell being supported by the bracing.

Peek a boo!

Inching our way out.

And phew!! We did it!

After it was all finally separated, I was so proud of this guy right here! He totally reminded me of those magicians who saws people in half and stands proudly as the crowd oooo’s and aaaa’s. He had me clapping for sure! Now to move on to the next project… Floor removal and restoration of the trailer. (The next update can be found here.)