Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: 67avion on 10/05/11 04:13pm

Garry,

Here are the wiring diagrams from a 1968 owners manual. I can't figure out how to load a PDF, so I converted them to jpgs. I hope that you can read them. If not,I'll email them to you.

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Posted By: ticki2 on 10/05/11 06:03pm

Garry , I think the second switch above the door is for the 12v stair light outside . However , my C-11 has only one switch . I have seen different configurations of outlets and switches in same models and same years . Guess it was up to the worker of the day . These are very much hand assembled units .

'68 Avion C-11
'02 GMC DRW D/A flatbed

Posted By: 67avion on 10/05/11 07:19pm

Right. Its the porch light.

Posted By: garryk6 on 10/05/11 10:42pm

67avion wrote:

Right. Its the porch light.

I'll try it again, but when I hooked up the battery with my new LED porch light, no matter what the switch position the light was on. Also there is a switch on the bathroom wall below the window... Is that the Bathroom light?

Thanks again for all the help. I need to get the wiring figured out soon so I can move on to the plumbing, as time is running short...as the weather is getting colder and wetter...

Thanks again,
Garry

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: 67avion on 10/06/11 08:05am

Garry wrote:

The switches for the porch light - and - the dome light in the coach are located just above the back door.

[image]

The fixture for the bathroom is in the ceiling just inside the door.

[image]

The wiring can be a real hassle if the coach has been completely gutted since much of it is between the walls. I hope that the wiring diagram is useful. I sure admire your determination. We're into furniture restoring at this point, something that I didn't think would take so long. Its not hard, its just tedious. But the old wood of the Avion looks beautiful. I'm using three applications of Danish Oil with sanding and resting between coats. Then I have put on 5 coats of Spar Varnish with sanding between the coats.The spar varnish is resistant to UV rays, and has some flexibility - which is good in a TC coach. Here is the back cabinet. This is after a lot of sanding and then the applications of the oil and varnish.
[image]

Several of the cabinet doors were ruined by delamination. We are making new doors and shifting some of the old doors to the other cabinets so that there is a complete set of them (did that make any sense? We're scavenging wood from the old sections and replacing stuff elsewhere). The new doors and other replaced wood will be painted with a marine grade paint..that is offered in vintage boat colors. The paints are also resistant to UV and are also flexible as makes sense in a boat paint. Kirby's Paint....my kind of guys.

[image]

Posted By: My Blue Heaven on 10/06/11 10:08am

Lookin' good, D. I admire YOUR determination.

2001 F350 Lariat CC 4WD 7.3 PSD dually, chipped, 4" SS exhaust, 350 hp, Rancho 9000's, front receiver, front & rear Roadmasters
2009 Arctic Fox 990S, storm windows, Cummins/Onan, FastGuns, Torklifts

Posted By: ticki2 on 10/06/11 10:51am

67avion , the cabinets are looking good , that is probably my next project . Were your cabinets originally the light birch or the darker stain ? Mine is the darker stain , wish it were the light , but with the exception of the 2 wardrobe doors it's in very good condition so will probably stay with it . Need to find a matching stain .

Posted By: 67avion on 10/06/11 11:15am

I had dark stain on the cabinets, as I'm sure that My Blue Heaven remembers ;-)

But I took them down to bare wood without cutting through the veneer. Then I did NOT stain them. Instead I used Danish Oil in "natural". I applied two coats of it with a cloth. It WILL soak in, so its best to let it sit for several days between coats of oil. You can apply the second coat using a 220 steel wool. After it has dried from the last coat at least 96 hours (depending on humidity - I managed to do my application during a rainstorm and had to wait even longer) you can then sand with 180 or 220 to get down the rough areas.

Now its time to start with the spar varnish (also natural). Apply it with a sponge brush and not a bristle brush (unless you are a pro) and watch like crazy for the "curtains" - the stuff will flow and form curtains and waves. Now let it sit for 24-48 hours and carefully sand with 220. This time use a clean cloth and make sure that everything is off the wood. Use your hand to get a feel. Repeat till its got depth and finish with 320 before the last coat.

You probably know all this stuff, but I wanted to tell you how I did it. Mainly, you do not need a stain with this old wood. It has character that the oil and varnish will bring out.

We found the left bottom corner of the rear cabinet has a "knock out" about 3 inches that allow the thing to be removed. I don't know if you are thinking about finishing in place or not.

* This post was edited 10/06/11 12:15pm by 67avion *

Posted By: 67avion on 10/06/11 11:28am

Here is the left rear cabinet from my Avion. I hope that you can see the dark tone of the wood. In addition there were areas that had been discolored by water damage from the old fridge. We have replaced much of the wood inside the cabinet, but there will be more shelves placed in after we set the cabinet. Since its in a compound curve of the camper, we need to scribe the last shelves in place.

[image]

Earlier I posted an image of it being sanded. If you look carefully at the photo, you'll notice in the bottom left that it is separated - thats the "knock out" that we found on the Avion. Otherwise its impossible to get it in and out.

Posted By: garryk6 on 10/06/11 12:59pm

Thanks for the Pics and the Diagrams. I have the diagrams of the C-11, but I did not have the diagrams of the C-10. Those are very helpful!
Tha wood working is looking very NICE! Most of my camper is still virgin 1/4" plywood. The only original wod I have is the two upper curved cabinets above the kitchen and dinette, and they are the darker wood. The doors have started to delaminate, so I am debating what to do with them. I am leaning towards doing what you are doing. Make new doors. Sand the base frame to bare wood. then oil and varnish. This weekend my work is sending me to Anchorage to pick up some vehicles to be driven down to the ferry, and come back to Kodiak. I can finally pick up my Craigslist finds from my buddy's garage. A brand new in the box 10ft Fiamma box awning, and a brandnew horizontal camper propane tank. The tank will go behind the old vented refrigerator door, and the Awninf will go on the Passengers side of the camper right above the windows. The old propane storage area will be my outside storage for hoses, electrical cords etc....
Since I havn't hooked any plumbing up yet, I plan on re-working the counter under the window to accept a Engel 12Vdc compressor Fridge Freezer, and use my coleman 12V cooler till we save enough for the Engel. Same for the cook top. I will hook up the 2 burner cook top until I find a good deal on a stove and oven combo and range hood.
Where I was going to put the original wall back in between the old fridge location and the stove, I plan on extending the counter over the new propane storage, and place the sink there, on the opposite side of the stove from original. This again moves my heavy items forward, and lighter ones aft. This also places the sink near the bathroom deleting the need for a sink in the bathroom. Then I will do more cabinets above the new sink. Then rebuild a closet in the original location.

My grey water tank is nearing completion at the highschool. My son and his friend have been working on it for several weeks. 1/8" aluminum is tough to weld, but they are getting there. It will be 14 gallons. When I save a little more money, I'll get more 1/8 inch aluminum to finish the second tank. That will give us 28 gallons of grey water capacity mounted all the way forward under the Potable water tank.

Lots of plans, but still not alot of progress forward... Hopefully soon ;-)
Garry in Kodiak

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