The C-11 has two ASME horizontal tanks in the front. They are getting hard to find.
WOW, I just noticed, that we are on page 100. Nice thread, 67avion.
Ford F-350 4x4 Diesel
1988 Avion Triple Axle Trailer
1969 Avion C-11 Camper
67avion wrote:
Marietta,
I'm not sure if my tanks are what you are talking about. There appear to be a number of changes from my coach to yours. However, if this is what you are referring to, then you can have them for free. As to the Forum, I think they frown on any sorts of sales.
![[image]](http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx38/dgorton/tanks.jpg)
Marietta,
I'm not sure if my tanks are what you are talking about. There appear to be a number of changes from my coach to yours. However, if this is what you are referring to, then you can have them for free. As to the Forum, I think they frown on any sorts of sales.
67avion that is a generous offer but your tanks are vertical and on the c11 they are horizontal. To my knowledge your tanks can't be used in the horizontal position. If anyone knows this to be different please chime in. Thanks
67avion wrote:
Yeah, this thing just took off. I guess there was an unexplored interest in the Avion TC. Also this Forum is so easy to access, with good moderators. But, I am also amazed at the size of the thread.
Yeah, this thing just took off. I guess there was an unexplored interest in the Avion TC. Also this Forum is so easy to access, with good moderators. But, I am also amazed at the size of the thread.
I think that one of the reasons that this thread took off is because most campers will be junk by the time that they reach 50 years old. Many of them are junk by the time they reach 25 years old. The cost of rebuilding one isn't cheap and the Avion is worth rebuilding. It really isn't cost effective to rebuild a low quality camper. The cost of rebuilding doesn't change, yet the value is significantly different when you are done. Since nobody makes the Avion style campers anymore (too high of cost) it means that rebuilding the old ones is the only option for folks who want this old style camper.
The Avion was built in Michigan at a time when the industrial powerhouse of the Midwest was the envy of the world. Every thing in my Avion truck camper, from the fridge to the stove to the lights to the Zolatone paint was created and manufactured in the USA - and much of it in Michigan. No doubt the success of the Airstream, inspired by the aircraft industry, informed the emerging Avion brand. There were many competitors, but Airstream and Avion appear to have stood out and weathered the intervening years.
Ironically, as I rebuild my Avion, I find myself with LEDs as well as the stove and refrigerator made in China; radios from Japan; who knows where the Corian is manufactured....
Grand Rapids and Detroit are in profound trouble.
I am astonished at today's truck campers that range up to $95,000, a dually with slides and generators and all the comforts of home. The reality is that they are versatile and a tremendous asset to a vigorous lifestyle. But no one should think of them as something Pop loads up on Friday for a cheap week-end for the family.
Today's campers are unlike the modest ones I used to see in the vast parking lots of aerospace plants in Long Beach,California. In those days a working class Dad loaded his camper on Friday before work, and hit the road after his shift - with mom and kids onboard - headed for the mountains or the Desert as Jerry Dunphy used to say. "Truck campers" meant that you had a truck, something that only (or mostly) working people owned for their employment.
I have no disagreement whatsoever with people who choose the comfort of today's truck campers or 5ers or Class A's or whatever. God knows I'll do the same some day. But, for now I am interested in preserving something important.
When I sand the birchwood from the northern forest, I am tracing the hands of the original workers. When I am replacing the rivets or replacing bolts, it is their hands that guide me. Rebuilding these Avion TCs is an homage to the craftsmen who shouldered our nation, who fought the wars and who cared for their families. We recognize, I hope, that in this aluminum camper we actually honor the spirit of America.
* This post was edited 01/06/13 01:10pm by 67avion *
Steve.
'07 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab diesel + '91 Shadow Cruiser - Sky Cruiser 1
'98 Jeep TJ 4.0
'15 Ford Fiesta ST
'09 Fiat Panda 1.2
rfuerst911sc wrote:
I got hooked via my parents. From my earliest memory my parents always had some sort of travel trailer. I only remember two brands and they are a Franklin and a Avion. I remember my dad saying the Franklin was a tank......very heavy. Then the last camper my parents owned was a 1966 Avion 26 footer it was an amazing piece of engineering and what got me hooked on Avions. Excellent quality inside and out. Went on many Avion rallys and that's where I was exposed to the Avion truck campers. This was back in the early to mid 70's. Fast forward to last year when I stumbled across the 1968 C11 that I now own. Yes it needs some work but for its age it is in amazing shape, a testament to the original design and build quality. When I complete the rebuild/refurb I'm pretty sure it will be good for another 30 + years..........not many brands can say that.
I got hooked via my parents. From my earliest memory my parents always had some sort of travel trailer. I only remember two brands and they are a Franklin and a Avion. I remember my dad saying the Franklin was a tank......very heavy. Then the last camper my parents owned was a 1966 Avion 26 footer it was an amazing piece of engineering and what got me hooked on Avions. Excellent quality inside and out. Went on many Avion rallys and that's where I was exposed to the Avion truck campers. This was back in the early to mid 70's. Fast forward to last year when I stumbled across the 1968 C11 that I now own. Yes it needs some work but for its age it is in amazing shape, a testament to the original design and build quality. When I complete the rebuild/refurb I'm pretty sure it will be good for another 30 + years..........not many brands can say that.
Your experience is similar to mine. I remember my grandfather having an early 1960s Avion trailer. He would "full time" in it on many occations. I remember my dad and grandfather buying the 1969 Avion C-11 at Barger Trailer Sales in Sun City AZ. When we went to the lot they had two Avion C-11 campers with different layouts. I remember my dad and grandfather liking this layout (I think they called it the Gaucho) the best. The Avion C-11 listed for around $4,500 in 1969. I think they paid about $3,500 for it since it was on the lot for a long time. Remember, you could buy a new pickup for about $2,000 back then. I think that my Avion C-11 was worth about what they paid for it, before I restored it. If I had shaded parking for my rebuilt Avion camper, it would probably last another 40-50 years before it needed rebuilding again.
67avion wrote:
I remain in awe of an America that made things: things of quality and durability.
The Avion was built in Michigan at a time when the industrial powerhouse of the Midwest was the envy of the world. Every thing in my Avion truck camper, from the fridge to the stove to the lights to the Zolatone paint was created and manufactured in the USA - and much of it in Michigan. No doubt the success of the Airstream, inspired by the aircraft industry, informed the emerging Avion brand. There were many competitors, but Airstream and Avion appear to have stood out and weathered the intervening years.
Ironically, as I rebuild my Avion, I find myself with LEDs as well as the stove and refrigerator made in China; radios from Japan; who knows where the Corian is manufactured....
Grand Rapids and Detroit are in profound trouble.
I am astonished at today's truck campers that range up to $95,000, a dually with slides and generators and all the comforts of home. The reality is that they are versatile and a tremendous asset to a vigorous lifestyle. But no one should think of them as something Pop loads up on Friday for a cheap week-end for the family.
Today's campers are unlike the modest ones I used to see in the vast parking lots of aerospace plants in Long Beach,California. In those days a working class Dad loaded his camper on Friday before work, and hit the road after his shift - with mom and kids onboard - headed for the mountains or the Desert as Jerry Dunphy used to say. "Truck campers" meant that you had a truck, something that only (or mostly) working people owned for their employment.
I have no disagreement whatsoever with people who choose the comfort of today's truck campers or 5ers or Class A's or whatever. God knows I'll do the same some day. But, for now I am interested in preserving something important.
When I sand the birchwood from the northern forest, I am tracing the hands of the original workers. When I am replacing the rivets or replacing bolts, it is their hands that guide me. Rebuilding these Avion TCs is an homage to the craftsmen who shouldered our nation, who fought the wars and who cared for their families. We recognize, I hope, that in this aluminum camper we actually honor the spirit of America.
I remain in awe of an America that made things: things of quality and durability.
The Avion was built in Michigan at a time when the industrial powerhouse of the Midwest was the envy of the world. Every thing in my Avion truck camper, from the fridge to the stove to the lights to the Zolatone paint was created and manufactured in the USA - and much of it in Michigan. No doubt the success of the Airstream, inspired by the aircraft industry, informed the emerging Avion brand. There were many competitors, but Airstream and Avion appear to have stood out and weathered the intervening years.
Ironically, as I rebuild my Avion, I find myself with LEDs as well as the stove and refrigerator made in China; radios from Japan; who knows where the Corian is manufactured....
Grand Rapids and Detroit are in profound trouble.
I am astonished at today's truck campers that range up to $95,000, a dually with slides and generators and all the comforts of home. The reality is that they are versatile and a tremendous asset to a vigorous lifestyle. But no one should think of them as something Pop loads up on Friday for a cheap week-end for the family.
Today's campers are unlike the modest ones I used to see in the vast parking lots of aerospace plants in Long Beach,California. In those days a working class Dad loaded his camper on Friday before work, and hit the road after his shift - with mom and kids onboard - headed for the mountains or the Desert as Jerry Dunphy used to say. "Truck campers" meant that you had a truck, something that only (or mostly) working people owned for their employment.
I have no disagreement whatsoever with people who choose the comfort of today's truck campers or 5ers or Class A's or whatever. God knows I'll do the same some day. But, for now I am interested in preserving something important.
When I sand the birchwood from the northern forest, I am tracing the hands of the original workers. When I am replacing the rivets or replacing bolts, it is their hands that guide me. Rebuilding these Avion TCs is an homage to the craftsmen who shouldered our nation, who fought the wars and who cared for their families. We recognize, I hope, that in this aluminum camper we actually honor the spirit of America.
Very well stated. I think that most of the new campers won't last anywhere near as long as our Avions did. My wife gave me the choice of a used (approx 10 year old) Airstream Bambi, or fix the Avion. I looked at the newer Bambi trailers and I wasn't impressed. The frames are weak, they only hold 24 gallons of water and the Avion originally held 30 gallons which wasn't enough. I couldn't see spending the money for something that I felt not only wouldn't fit my needs, but wasn't a decent value. The new campers have nothing that I need, that my Avion doesn't have. I have an external generator. I don't need any slides. I have mostly new appliances. My original furnace, stove/oven and sink work as good as any modern one. The only thing that some of the new campers will allow you to do is to remove them from the truck and use them right on the jacks. The Avion won't do that because it doesn't have a strong enough floor and it has no basement. What it does have is a lower overall height, lower weight and a much better aerodynamic shape than most other campers. I figure that I spent about 1/2 of what a 10 year old Airstream Bambi would have cost me (that includes the trailer, etc) and my old camper will do so much more. That doesn't include about 4 months, full time, of my labor. Even if I bought a 10 year old Airstream Bambi trailer for $30,000, I'll bet that there would still be extensive work to get it back to like new condition.
In my rebuild I used several "foreign" parts. I replaced the old Dometic refrigerator with a new, larger Dometic refrigerator. I used much better hardware than Avion used, in most cases. I used Peterson LED exterior lights. I have almost $500 in exterior lights alone. I bought a new table tube and ended up returning it to the RV store. What a foreign piece of junk it was. I had my original tube covered with the vinyl that I had the upholstery shop use on the walls. It turned out great. There are so many things that are no longer made in the USA, but much of my rebuild was custom made locally, such as the stainless steel gray and black water tanks, the upholstery, the rebuilt cabinets and the repaired and repainted fiberglass. Most electronics will be foreign, but there just aren't any options.
I wonder what one of those $95,000 modern campers will look like in 50 years. I know what my Avion looked like. The interior was a digusting mess, but the structure was almost perfect. For not much more than 10% of that new, expensive camper, I was able to rebuild the Avion. I'm glad that I did.