Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: cajunavion on 09/20/13 05:56pm

Howdy!
Someone had a great idea in the thread about
using the heater stack for getting rid of all the
heat produced by mico, frig, etc. by stacking
them and vent them out the enclosed back and
up and out the roof stack. I am thinking about
doing this and putting one of those $100 5000
btu window units on top. Insulating the whole
thing. Kind of a hot inside duct in the back.
Theres plenty of ventilation below and above.
Those small windows are capable of being
run from small generator or even a good sized
inverter and no ugly window unit hanging out the
side. i just dont know if such a small window
unit will keep it cool enough. (i like it cool enough
to hang meat!)

Posted By: 69 Avion on 09/20/13 07:36pm

cajunavion wrote:

My Frigidaire 5000 btu AC unit will take the temp down quite a bit. Since my Avion C-11 is on a trailer, I mounted my AC in the front window. It needs a secondary fan to move the cold air up high though. It also won't make the camper cold enough to hang meat, but it makes is comfortable. It will drop the temp an easy 20 degrees. Keep in mind, it is rated for a 300 square foot room which is much larger than a TC. Mine works great as long as the camper is in the shade. That aluminum is quite a heat sink.

Ford F-350 4x4 Diesel
1988 Avion Triple Axle Trailer
1969 Avion C-11 Camper

Posted By: rfuerst911sc on 09/21/13 02:49pm

Guys is there a good caulk/sealant that is silver in color to be used on our Avions ? If not silver how about clear ? I'm assuming each lap joint on the roof/sides should be sealed ? What about the rivet heads ? Good possibility they might leak after 40 years of camper movement.

Posted By: NJAvion on 09/21/13 03:06pm

For lap seams and small stuff under 1/8" I'd highly recommend Parbond. Goes on really easy from the tube if your seam is clean.

For bigger stuff where you'd use caulk, TremPro 635 (also available from Vintage Trailer) has worked well for me. Again, make sure it's clean and wiped down with a solvent before applying.

As far as the rivet heads? Well, I'm praying and sticking my head in the sand on that one.

Posted By: garryk6 on 09/21/13 05:48pm

The trempro comes in grey, as does the parbond. Big thing though, do not use any silicon based sealers, as they do not stick to the aluminum very well. Also if any one has ever used silicon, it needs to be cleaned off first before the new is applied. I had to use lots of lacquer thinner and a bunch of elbow grease to clean the seams between the verticle front corners and the cabover joint. There are a number of seams that the previous owner didn't do so great when he rescaled the whole camper. Overall he did pretty good, but I think there was some left over silicon in several spots...

Hope this helps.

Garry in wet and windy Koodiak, AK

Garry K
Wife + 4 kids
Retired Military Family.... Alway's on the move....
2002 F350 CCSB 5.4 6spd 4x4 in AK
1966 Avion C-10 Truck Camper

Posted By: rfuerst911sc on 09/22/13 03:36am

Thanks guys I'm not ready for the caulk/seal project yet but was getting prepared. Today's major project is installing the used Stable Lift. My son is coming over to give me a hand. To say the least I am nervous about getting it right the first time but I've taken a bunch of measurements and spoke with Mont on the phone at Stable Lift. I want to make sure it is installed straight and provides clearance at the front for my dually fenders. I have replaced all the wood in the wings so installing into fresh 1 1/2 " wood. Wish me luck !

Posted By: 67avion on 09/22/13 11:16am

Well, good luck! Post photos. This looks like an interesting mod. It seems to me that I saw Stable Lifts on another C-10, but I can't remember where it was.

Posted By: rfuerst911sc on 09/22/13 04:02pm

My son and I installed it today in about 6 hours. We must have measured 100 times before drilling holes ! But once you drill the first one you are committed. All in all it went as planned. I still have to finish up the wiring but I tried it with a battery and it seemed to lift with no issues. Hopefully the pics will post.

[image]

Posted By: 69 Avion on 09/22/13 04:44pm

That is looking awesome. I can't wait to see it on the truck.

Posted By: rfuerst911sc on 09/22/13 05:03pm

69 Avion thanks. I was pretty nervous installing this, in a perfect world the camper should have been on the truck. But I could not do that so I took a bunch of measurements and went for broke. I hope it all lines up when I load it on the truck. I hope to do that next weekend. I want to move the camper from where it currently is to a metal RV port I had installed in the backyard. That way she'll be out of the weather and I can start some stuff up on the roof. New vent covers and roof coating.

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