The first (often overlooked) thing to be considered when planning the interior layout of your Airstream is the water tank location and plumbing possibilities. Often, the way that the beams in the frame are laid out determines where your grey water tank is under the subfloor and thus will impact the location of things above like sinks, shower, etc. Keep in mind that the drainage is gravity fed so you will need a gradual decline from any drains into your holding tank.
Because we did a complete shell-off renovation and rebuilt our frame, we were able to relocate the grey tank from the rear to just in front of the first axel as we wanted to have our bathroom mid-way up (as opposed to the rear) and our kitchen sink beside that.
If you are using a propane fridge or other propane appliances, see if you can incorporate the existing ventilation cutouts into your layout. Also, plan on where the propane lines will be run and make sure you can run them through the floor in those locations without hitting the steel frame.
It is also very important to remember that inches count in such a small space. Many people do not consider that each line drawn on their layout, takes up at least 3 inches (if using 2×3’s) of real floor space. I’ve seen several projects designed without this taken into account and people are always surprised when they are a few inches short for what their layout requires.
Also of great importance, is to plan your electrical setup and run any necessary wire through the subfloor or along the walls first. It is easy to account for things like lights, fridge, etc, but there are many things easily overlooked. Below is a list of all of our electrical connections we need to run when considering layout.
- Toilet fan
- Overhead fans
- Water pump
- Water heater
- Exterior porch LED and interior switch
- Interior LED’s and switches
- Stove/Oven ignition
- 20A outlets for high draw appliances
- Exterior outlet
- 15A outlets, Switches and lighting
- Fridge
- 30A inlet wire
- Placement of battery bank, inverter, fuse box, solar charge controller
Don’t forget the extra space that is required to build around your wheel wells. We will be placing considerable weight on them with our electrical system on one side and bathroom vanity on the other so we used 2×3’s, however projects that do not require that much weight could easily get away with 2×2’s thus saving additional space.
Once these unseen details are sorted out, then you can start measuring the space for your furniture, appliances, etc. It is a good idea to go through several versions of a layout, brainstorming many options and then settle on the best!
Draw out a rough version of your final plan to visualize. You may want to do several to include the unseen electrical, plumbing, etc. and then get some blueprint paper and finalize a copy to work from. Below is our final rough version.
Renovating Airstream Trailers 