Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: 69 Avion on 09/29/13 08:18am

rfuerst911sc wrote:

Need advice on how to clean the exterior ? Years of crud, left over decal adhesive etc. I need to clean before resealing all the seams. Can I use a Scotchbrite pad ( maybe white low grit ) along with maybe TSP as a cleaning solution ? I want to at least get the roof clean from the awning rails and up so I can caulk the roof seams and recoat the roof. Whatever that black stuff is that Avion applied it seems to be on there pretty good with just one spot that I see that has some flaking. I'd like to coat the roof with silver mobile home roof coating or some other silver product. I don't want white/black against that silver skin. Thoughts on roof coating ? And finally once the anodized skin is clean is there a clear product that can be brushed/rolled/sprayed on for protection ? I'd like some extra protection against water intrusion for possible tiny holes or rivets that appear tight but might not be.

I cleaned the skin on my camper with Metall aircraft polish. I think that is what it is called. I used the silver roof coating that was recommended by Cayo. I can't remember what it was called, but it took a gallon of it. There are two different brands that are almost identical, but Cayo said that you just scrape off what you can (platic scraper) and then recoat the roof. I used blue masking tape to mask off the edges and then recoated the roof. It took an entire gallon of the stuff. I'll bet the brand is covered in this thread somewhere. I know I had to order it off the internet to get it.

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

Posted By: 67avion on 09/29/13 09:07am

69 Avion wrote:

I think there is a wiring diagram in this thread somewhere. It would be nice to have an index for a thread this large. Any Volunteers? LOL

Page 146 of the thread:

tonyj64 wrote:

Hi all.

Am I mistaken, or did I see a pretty detailed wiring schematic on the forum recently? Would really love to find a complete one for our 66 C-10, if one is available for copying or download. Also, this may be a rather goofy question, but is there a difference between the red and black wiring used on the Avions? I thought maybe they used the red for the dc wiring, but that doesn't seem to be the case, so maybe I'm totally out to lunch on this subject. Thanks, gang.

Tony, I have the operators and service manual for the 68-69 in PDF. it has the wiring diagram for that model, which may relate to the issues that you are discussing. I can email it to you. Just PM me and I'll send it along.

Here is a quick peek at the diagram from the manual.

rfuerst911sc wrote:

Need advice on how to clean the exterior ?

Page 92 of this thread is a discussion of cleaning and repairing the roof.

69 Avion put his finger on it when he suggested that someone make sense of this thread and post an index. In the meantime it is possible to Google the information since this is a "sticky" and appears open to the net. For instance, I put in "wiring diagram avion truck camper" and was able to find the post above. Searching inside of the thread is somewhat possible by clicking on my posts and reading quickly through them. There may be a search function but I didn't figure it out just now.

There is a wealth of information on this thread, but our access to it is becoming problematic.

Posted By: garryk6 on 09/29/13 10:09am

cajunavion wrote:

Howdy!
I do like your lift rfuerst. I have a question
to yall. I have a wiring mystery. I hooked up
the trailer harness to my camper using the 1968
pinout. I dunno if there was a change from
1964 to 1968. Anyhow I get nothing on the exterior
lights(running, stop, and turn). I do get correct
voltage on the interior and all works perfectly!!!!!!!
I have no battery bank or inverter yet. I get the same
results no matter where on the harness I connect
positive power to( pins in the trailer harnas) as long I leave
the ground alone. Now I know I have an early C10,
I just do not see how power to the running lights
power the interior only? Any ideas where these things
could be crossed? I am mystified.

When I bought my C10 it was gutted. The PO had strung up temporary wiring to the tail lights using house wiring... I took a good battery, grounded it to the shell, then hooked up one wire at a time, then using my multimeter, looked for where I found 12V. I had to pull most of the light fixtures to make sure I had the wire, and that there wasn't poor or broken connections between the fixture and the main harness. Carefully as you work, since the original harness does not have much extra wire. And adding length is hard with the foam insulation, unless you remove the interior aluminum...(I only removed one piece in the bathroom to replace the disintegrated wood that holds the grab handle and to chase a few wires....). I replaced all the exterior lights with sealed LED fixtures, and they have been GREAT! And they are similar to the original in size and basic shape. If your tial lights have been changed or altered at all, they are probably corroded, and the original clearance lights get corroded easily too.
Hopefully this helps you out. The diagram here, is what I used as a rough help, but it is not what I had in my 66 C10. For instance, the two switches above the door feed both the ceiling light 12V and the 110V. The back porch light has 12V power all the time the interior has power, and takes a fixture that has its own switch.

Good luck!

Garry in wet and rainy Kodiak.

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: cajunavion on 09/29/13 10:53am

Howdy!
Tiki your a genius! I think the house has
a dedicated ground and the running lights are
grounded to the body. I still dont see how the
house is getting power, but I think your correct
there too. As long as I have direction, Im fine. Its
when Im wandering aimlessly amongst the endless
tangles of wires, praying comes to mind!
thx

Posted By: 69 Avion on 09/29/13 11:09am

The running lights are definitely grounded to the shell. When I installed my clearance light LED's I just riveted the ground wire, of the LED, to one of the mounting holes.

I spent a couple of days trying to figure out what was wrong on the inside of the camper lighting. I removed all the fixtures and I figured that it would be easy to determine what went where. It wasn't that easy for a simple system. I traced every wire several times. The duplex wiring should have been hooked up the same throughout the camper. The duplex aluminum wiring has a ribbed side that should always be the same polarity. It wasn't, and that threw me off. Also, I ended up with an extra wire in the top, center light that I thought would be a ground. It ended up being an extra wire and I don't know what it does, but I grounded that light to the shell and everything works great.

Posted By: cajunavion on 09/30/13 03:13pm

Howdy!
Thx all yall. I am still looking for the blue ground wire, but I have
direction. I got my stablelift in and trying to fit it correctly. Rfuerst
do you have interior pictures of the wings so I could see your bolt
patterns. Did you use a backup plate on top of the wings?

Posted By: rfuerst911sc on 09/30/13 05:35pm

cajunavion wrote:

I did not use back up plates on the top. Most of the force on the wings is when the lift is going up ( lifting ). The downforce should only be when the stable lift hoops dock in the truck frame supports. I just used large fender washers. And remember I have 1 1/2 " of plywood vs. the foam sandwich that was originally there.

Posted By: 67avion on 10/04/13 08:47am

There are two Avion truck campers listed on eBay at this time. One in Michigan that looks like it may be OK. One in Mississippi that appears a bit more "toasty".

Posted By: garryk6 on 10/04/13 10:37am

67avion wrote:

There are two Avion truck campers listed on eBay at this time. One in Michigan that looks like it may be OK. One in Mississippi that appears a bit more "toasty".

I just looked at the "Toasty" one...
TOASTY
It is a very early C-10. With the serial number it appears to be the 60th C-10 built. So this is a 65 or very late 64. The front window is narrower in height, the rear propane door is smaller and does not wrap around the back as far.The clearance lights, if original, I have not seen used on a C-10 before. The interior is worth the $300 for all the cabinetry and hardware, but the body is abysmal... There is hardly a straight panel on that thing...
But it would make a good candidate to use to start from scratch, utilizing the bows and the cabinetry and do a complete rebuild with new skin, and make an extended bunk like the other one that recently sold on ebay. And at the same time throw away the wood tub and wood framed bunk, and just go all aluminum. Just guessing, not counting labor, it would be probably $7 to 10K of material to do that, but then one would have a TC that would last nearly forever! If I was closer, I would consider getting it for that or just for parts for my C-10, but hopefully someone gets it so it doesn't end up at the recyclers...
Garry in AK

Posted By: 67avion on 10/05/13 12:15pm

Garry between you, Ticki,CAyo and 69Avion (and others) I think we are developing an historical braintrust on these Avions. I was reading the Silver Avion book last night and found it interesting...but the knowledge being developed on this thread is getting beyond even that book. Thanks!

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