Ford F-350 4x4 Diesel
1988 Avion Triple Axle Trailer
1969 Avion C-11 Camper
![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
So dumb question of the morning....why do I need a grey water tank? Can't I just have one tank that both the toilet and sink/shower go into? Is that what you mean by a "combination" tank?
Sorry for all my questions. I'm a bit ADD/OCD.
I'll be better once I get everything read and understand more.
So, mark this down for what its worth: stay determined but have fun. Its more important that you go and enjoy the possibilities of the TC than have the dents fixed. Your first responsibility is to make sure its safe. After that, its your business.
No, you cannot mix black water and grey water in the camper under EPA standards. If I'm wrong about that then I'm sure one of our posters will correct me. However, you can mix them on discharge???? Most TC water systems have a means by which the black water is released first, then the grey water is released to clear the hoses. The system we devised for the Avion separated the two discharges. So, I have to clear the black water system with a hose or other similar means.
The toilet is connected to the main water system and clears the stool when you depress the release with a stream of water. You place chemicals in the system in order to minimize odor and maintain good microdial health.
Too much about toilets? Maybe. But the subject comes up a lot. There are other solutions that are perhaps better for you.
I see that one of the most knowledgable posters on this thread, 69avion, has already written. You will find several other experts - especially Ticki2 who loves in New Hampshire I believe. Garry is a hands on kind of guy, who puts camping with his family first...
Most folks start out as novices on these campers. They see the beauty of the old aluminum machines and fantasize about hitting the road. We're happy to help.
Now, about that Avion gathering in the wilds of Wyoming.......
Wyocuttergirl wrote:
OH! And 67 - the kid also made an angle iron frame for it to sit on when off the truck. I have that too. Put it on the roof rack to haul it home. It's HEAVY! But I think she's supported well enough.
OH! And 67 - the kid also made an angle iron frame for it to sit on when off the truck. I have that too. Put it on the roof rack to haul it home. It's HEAVY! But I think she's supported well enough.
Welcome to the club . From the picture the angle iron frame looks like a good way to store the camper .
In the second picture showing the drivers side it looks like the rear jack is at quite an angle slanting back . Before loading and unloading much more I would investigate very carefully as to why .
I agree with 67Avion , get it functioning and structurally sound and go camping to get the feel of it before tearing it all apart to fix panels and other cosmetic things . You won't need black and grey tank immediately if you use a campground with sewer hookup .
A thorough cleaning does wonders for morale , good luck .
'68 Avion C-11
'02 GMC DRW D/A flatbed
Let me chime in regarding gray and black water tanks, from my camping and boating background. I'm dealing with tankage now in my rebuild. I have chosen to use a single tank for gray water and a cassette toilet. The new self-contained toilets are very efficient and compact. The bottom comes off and can carried to and dumped into any regular toilet, outhouse or a hole in the ground. This completely eliminates what I regard as the most unpleasant aspect of truck campers: driving around with a black water tank looking for a dump station. I will run the gray water out onto the ground when I'm camping off road - my preferred venue.
Before you Avionistas take offense, let me just admit both my bias and my lack of experience right upfront! It's just the principle of the thing!
Since you don't have the fiberglass "bustle" under the rear of your rig, your tank space could be extremely limited. You may chose to design a custom tank space and have it fabricated to fit under the bath. There are lots of plastic tanks in a dazzling variety of shapes and sizes - tank depot and plastic mart are a couple I've studied at length. And Vintage Trailer Supply. But I'd urge you to consider the cassette toilet option. One tank has got to be better than two...
Onward!
Dick
I have been busy this week in Anchorage picking up an old F700 box truck, and filling it with mine and others stuffy to haul back to Kodiak. We just got on the ferry in Whittier, and are preparing for a 22 hour boat ride to Kodiak.
Depending on your budget and your intended use as well as your budget, will determine where this adventure will lead you. First a few questions you can ask yourself to help guide you in a direction for your TC.
How will this be used? Dry camping in the wilds of Wyoming? Or stopping at a campground every night? Exploring close to home or long distance travels?
Will it be used during winter months or summer only?
These are the questions I asked myself, and helped steer me to what I have now. If the previous owner replaced the "entire" floor, then your bathroom will look very similar to the early pictures of my bathroom. Flat floor of plywood. This can be a very good thing!
The cassette is a good option if you don't mind using some of your potable water to flush. If you have or get a porta-potti, just use that till you determine your needs. Since we travel with a family of 6, I needed a toilet that didn't use a lot of our drinking water for flushing. We also use it for camping in the winter, and didn't want the toilet to freeze, but still be able to flush. And finally we didn't want to fill up a black water tank with a bunch of flushing water. The recirculating toilet requires an initial 3 gallon "charge" of water that is provided to flush the toilet with a recirculating pump. This is why you add the chemicals to keep the odors away. One note, the recirculating toilets a re not vented, so you must use the formaldehyde based chemicals, or your nose will pay.....
The max capacity is 7 gallons, but with our family of 6, we can go over a week before needing to dump! The toilet requires a standard plastic toilet flange to be mounted through the plywood floor, then an elbow and dump valve can be added. I have also modified a 5 gallon bucket that we can dump the contents into, for remote dumps, or out house dumps. In the winter I fill the "charge" with windshield washer fluid, so it never freezes, and still flushes!
If your rear overhang is free all the way across, you can get some rectangular 4" deep tanks that will mount up underneath for grey water. My previous owner redid the floor with 2x4 framing, so I had my son weld up an aluminum grey water tank. It has worked well, but I think we will add a second. Our water tank is a 40 gallon which gives us quite a range since we don't worry about flushing water. We hope to add some manner of hot water heater, but I think we will use one of the tenters, shower-tent, and run a shower hose from the camper with some manner of extension. Again, this is for boondock camping. If we are in a campground, we have to keep the grey water in the tank, and we just use the showers provided.
You can keep the bathroom sink and plumb it into your new grey water tank, or you can delete the bathroom sink, and just have the kitchen sink. Less to clean, less plumbing etc. if you are coming from the realm if tent camping than you are very aware of all these things. I have owned many RVs through the years, so I knew the direction I wanted to go, and then just slowly worked that way. I would recommend that for you. You can get a cheap porta-potti, and then get out camping. You can even run a hose from the sink to a 5 gallon jug to catch your grey water, till you decide what to do. My recommendation, before you change a bunch, is get out and start using it like a hard sided tent, and figure out what works for you, and what doesn't, then start saving for the pieces that you want to change. We spent two seasons using an ice chest for camping till we saved up for the Engel Fridge. Key is don't get discouraged. Use it as is, and find what works and what doesn't. Then prioritize the plan to change things, and only change one thing at a time, if you can to keep the camper useable.
Good Luck, and welcome to the official, unofficial, Avion Truck Camper Club!
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
Wyocuttergirl wrote:
Best of all NO LEAKS! She just survived a Steamboat winter with hundreds of inches of snow without a drop of moisture getting in.
Best of all NO LEAKS! She just survived a Steamboat winter with hundreds of inches of snow without a drop of moisture getting in.
Be aware that some leaks only show up when driving in the rain. This is particularly true of leaks in the clearance lights and in the air conditioner gasket.
Quote:
My first thing will be the bathroom. It's all there. In good, original condition. It was painted pink!! UGH!! At least part of it was. The stool and lower half. And the only crack in the entire interior is in the bathroom above the window. It luckily doesn't leak. Floor is solid and shows no signs of rot at least from below. I haven't removed the shower pan, etc.
SO...how to repair the crack. Epoxy? Bondo?
My first thing will be the bathroom. It's all there. In good, original condition. It was painted pink!! UGH!! At least part of it was. The stool and lower half. And the only crack in the entire interior is in the bathroom above the window. It luckily doesn't leak. Floor is solid and shows no signs of rot at least from below. I haven't removed the shower pan, etc.
SO...how to repair the crack. Epoxy? Bondo?
It depends where above the window the crack is. The curved area near the ceiling is fiberglass, while the lower wall area is aluminum.
An enduring repair to the fiberglass would require sanding and a new application of glass mat and, ideally, epoxy (though polyester resin will work it is not as waterproof), followed by primer and paint.
On aluminum you would want to patch it with a new piece of aluminum.
In either material the first step would be to drill relief holes just past the ends of the crack to help keep it from getting worse.
Quote:
Also, I'm considering going over the entire bathroom, floor the ceiling in epoxy paint to give it a fresh facelift and get rid of the awful pink paint, but on the other hand I hate to ruin the original-ness of it. Will the epoxy stick to the vinyl? Thoughts? Advice?
Also, I'm considering going over the entire bathroom, floor the ceiling in epoxy paint to give it a fresh facelift and get rid of the awful pink paint, but on the other hand I hate to ruin the original-ness of it. Will the epoxy stick to the vinyl? Thoughts? Advice?
I painted my bathroom walls and ceiling with one-part marine primer and one-part marine topside paint. I used Interlux Brightside. There are other good brands. I sanded everything first and then wiped the walls with the recommended surface prep solvent. I've been happy with the results -- though it's only been a year and we've only spent about 10 nights in the camper.
It may be necessary to remove the pink paint, depending on its condition.
1971 Cayo C-11 truck camper, 2010 Airstream Classic, 1997 Chevrolet K2500, 2004 Chevrolet Suburban 2500 8.1.
D1trout wrote:
The new self-contained toilets are very efficient and compact. The bottom comes off and can carried to and dumped into any regular toilet, outhouse or a hole in the ground. This completely eliminates what I regard as the most unpleasant aspect of truck campers: driving around with a black water tank looking for a dump station. I will run the gray water out onto the ground when I'm camping off road - my preferred venue.
The new self-contained toilets are very efficient and compact. The bottom comes off and can carried to and dumped into any regular toilet, outhouse or a hole in the ground. This completely eliminates what I regard as the most unpleasant aspect of truck campers: driving around with a black water tank looking for a dump station. I will run the gray water out onto the ground when I'm camping off road - my preferred venue.
In Minnesota running greywater out on the ground is a violation of environmental regulations. While fines are rare, there are cases where people who were doing it on an ongoing basis (usually permanently parked on a private lot) have been fined thousands of dollars. At most parks or campgrounds the host would simply ask people to leave.
I know there are places where this sort of thing is still allowed or at least tolerated, but they are becoming rarer. It depends where you're planning to travel, I guess.
I added a greywater tank and patched the original holding tank, and am happy with the way that combination is working out for me.
And you're probably figuring out that I'm easily excited! AND I overuse smiley faces! Trout - you're a man after my own heart. I have only spent 2 nights in 42 years in a campground. So that brings me to Garry's questions which are just what I needed to hear. We will mostly be dry camping. That was part of getting a TC, I can go where others cannot. Growing up my dad didn't consider it camping unless there wasn't another human within at least a mile radius. And it will usually be close to home, relatively. Living where we do we needed a hardsided camper. I know it's odd to many (except probably Garry) but we have a LOT of grizzly bears. You're just not safe in a tent around here.
AND the other reason for a TC was so we can still pull my hubby's pride and joy, a 1976 Sea Ray (with the Chevy 350 and the captains choice exhaust, but that's another topic!) and only take one vehicle to the lake.
I think the porta-potty is the right solution. And I've thought of a new rule! Girls get to use the porta potty in the camper, boys get to use the tree outside for #1 and the porta potty for #2.
Being the only female in the house has it's advantages!! One question on wiring. The orginal owners manual shows the brake light hook ups etc. going to the front right of the truck bed (when standing behind it). The outlets on my 02 Duramax are on the drivers side rear and by the receiver. Should I run the wiring from the camper under it to plug in to the truck or should I have a new outlet put in the truck where the trailer wiring comes out (currently on the front of the TC)?
I'm gone for the weekend. I will be reading this thread through so I can speak intelligently from now on. Next week I'll be back for more.
I don't discourage easily and this is going to be a fun adventure! THANK YOU for the dialog!! Have a great weekend!
The larger question deals with the rest of the wiring. If the outlets are already in place then create a connection to the wiring harnesss inside the truck. Be sure that you have an ample fuse box for the present and future upgrades, as well as an inverter for shore power.(ask Garry his solution to the fuse box/inverter) If you are going to use house batteries, then they have to be wired in as well. Finally, you can use your truck generator to charge the house batteries, but the wiring should include a shut off that will not drain the truck battery.And finally, finally, if you plan to use solar for dry camping, that also has to be wired into the system.