Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: D1trout on 03/01/14 10:40am

Dodgeavion, that's very helpful. I have been using a plastic scraper and a beehive tool to strip the foam away from the areas I've needed to get to and they've worked well - quite quick and easy. I'll just keep using them. What are your thoughts on refoaming? I'm disinclined to use those little Great Stuff cans. I believe there are more efficient foams available in bulk containers, but they're pricey. I've called a local foam insulation contractor but not had a conversation with him yet. It may be too much trouble...

Re: venting, I find there is a device called an AAV that can be installed in a drain line within a wall without any roof penetration. It could be retrofitted onto the kitchen sink drain line if things don't flow properly. I'll keep you posted.

I'm seriously considering the dual 6 volt golf cart battery design. Lots of amp hours and very sturdy battery construction. I'm not good at ongoing maintenance so AGM would make the most sense for me. Solar's a question. As you pointed out, 67, it requires a lot of real estate to get 100AH back into the batteries in a day. My truck alternator is rated at 65 amps but I don't know yet how that relates to recharging the Avion battery bank if I'm dry camped and not cruising down the highway.

So many interesting questions to answer

Dick

Posted By: 67avion on 03/01/14 12:58pm

If the golf cart battery is a lead-acid design, then the issues of venting, spilling and maintenance become very important. I specifically wanted the batteries on board and under the seat, so the AGMs were my only choice. As you know you can mount AGMs upside down and backwards and it doesn't affect them at all.

Posted By: Dodgeavion on 03/01/14 01:29pm

Wouldn't use great stuff, pretty sure it's open cell foam not the closed cell we want. Absolutely recommend re-foaming as it is structural to the camper. Greatly increases the stiffness and dent resistance of the skins. There are two part do it yourself kits available if a contractor isn't interested.

Posted By: cajunavion on 03/02/14 11:11am

Howdy!
D1 thanks again for the table arm suggestion.
Lagun, a Swedish boat company. This aluminum
table arm wall mounts, swivals, raises and
lowers without an EVIL pedistal leg.
I am devising the holding tank system as well.
Maybe, Avion had it right to begin with; use pipe
for the grey water tank. Since I have a 6 in basement
I want to get the holding tanks completely out of
the camper and use 6 in sch 40 PVC in 10 foot
length for the grey and black tanks. I still think
venting is critical if you want anything to drain
properly.

Posted By: 69 Avion on 03/02/14 01:03pm

cajunavion wrote:

If you have a 6" basement, 6" pipe won't fit in it. If you decide to use 4" plastic pipe, you may want to consider ABS for DWV usage, or storage. It is durable and seems to be more resistant to exposed elements than PVC is.

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

Posted By: cajunavion on 03/03/14 08:58pm

Howdy!
69 your likely correct that 4 in pipe would
be the largest diameter that I could reasonably
get away with. A 10 foot 4 in pipe would hold
6.5 gal. about 54 lbs full. I could T them
together on both ends. With 41 inches below
the tub, I could get 9 pipes in there. Vent thei
frount end, empty from the rear end. Thats
almost 60 gal capacity.

Posted By: garryk6 on 03/03/14 10:00pm

Hey all! I have been reading, but havnt answered lately. When I built and installed my grey water tank, my in/out is on the aft portion of my tank fed by a 2" abs line. Without a vent it didn't drain to well, and had draining problems with the sink, as I didn't vent that line either. Ended up pulling the tank, welding a 3" piece if 1/2 tubing to the top of the tank, drilling a matching hole in the floor, the I ran some clear 1/2" Tygon tubing up to one of my old plumbing roof vents that had been filled with foam by the previous owner, the just drilled a 1-2" hole and pushed the Tygon through the foam. Now the grey water tank works great! One thing with my floor, it is a2x4 framed floor with 3/4" plywood deck. I took out one if the cross braces to fit my 23"x48"x3" tank under the floor, as the previous owner had gone every 24 inches with supports. I now have a bit more flex in the floor where I took out the brace. Depending how you build your basement, you will need some manner of supports for the floor, so you may not be able to fill the floor with the piping... Just a few thoughts.
Good luck!
Garry in Alaska

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: Jfet on 03/04/14 06:33am

D1trout wrote:

Tiki2, I'm going to use the HepVo waterless trap for it's compact efficiency. It seem to me that it will act as a vent when water flows down a drain or out a gray water tank...?

I just installed this exact waterless trap in our flatbed camper build and vented the gray water tank. It works perfectly and is much more compact than a traditional p-trap.

Posted By: D1trout on 03/04/14 09:02am

Cajunavion, that Lagun table is great!! Much better than the sliding idea I saw in the Lance. Still get to move it side to side. Makes it easy to get in and out of seat at table. Plus the quick fold up of the supports to drop it down to make the bed support is ideal.
Thanks a lot for that link.

I too am considering gray water storage. The key question is how much do we need? VTS has a tank that fits nicely for 12 gallons. A flexible bladder-type tank might hold around 30 gallons and would conform to the available space better but they are quite pricey. I'm even considering how I might glass a top and side into the bustle to compartmentalize the right side entirely. Then put the drain valve within the area where the original drain handle went. Any thoughts?

Dick

Posted By: cajunavion on 03/04/14 01:34pm

Howdy!
D1 I guess the more capacity the better,
but water is weighty. Gray capacity should
mimic water capacity less black. So if you
have 20 gal water, 15 gal grey and 5 gal black
would be in the ballpark for me. Of course,
your use will vary.

Just check out the strange holding
tanks those yacht boys come up with. If I continue with my
pipe tank idea, thats 3 grey, 4 potable, 1 black. I want my tanks
out of the camper and down low. I am not so impressed with
traditional tanks, I am crazy about the stainless
steel tank 69 built! Thats a tank!

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