Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: rfuerst911sc on 05/10/14 09:57am

Weight of the tanks when full is definately a valid concern and is part of the decision process. I'd like to extend the boards currently under the floor bottom into the rear section. Might even place aluminum C channel over the boards for additional strength. So there would be say 4-5 boards aprox. 15 ' long x 3.5 " wide by 1.5 " tall running from the front of the camper floor all the way to the rear in one piece. Those would be glued/screwed to the existing floor. Then C channel aluminum if I can find the correct size would slip over the wood and be screwed to the sides of the wood greatly increasing its strength without adding too much weight. The wood can be sized to fit the aluminum. It's just a picture in my head at the moment. Another idea is get rid of the wood slats and go with aluminum boxed channel, that could be screwed directly onto the bottom of the existing floor also.

Posted By: 67avion on 05/10/14 01:08pm

The bustle and overhang are supported by the upper part of the coach. I have seen a number of Avions where the overhang has dented the side of the camper by sagging. So, its quite possible to overload the structural support of the upper ribs and skin. The engineers did not take account of a gray water tank and its weight.

So, I'd stay as close as possible to the original weight...especially live weight.

Posted By: garryk6 on 05/10/14 03:26pm

67avion wrote:

The bustle and overhang are supported by the upper part of the coach. I have seen a number of Avions where the overhang has dented the side of the camper by sagging. So, its quite possible to overload the structural support of the upper ribs and skin. The engineers did not take account of a gray water tank and its weight.

High tech wifi, radio and cell phone boosters, etc.

.

The reason why I placed my grey water tank as far forward was for his very reason. Move the weight forward.

I am very curious as to options for signal boosters.... Our cell phones and iPad services are very hampered by the anodized aluminum shell of the Avion... Would love a chance to improve signal in the camper!

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: Desertboy on 05/10/14 07:51pm

Im having trouble finding it now, but somewhere in this thread somebody was talking about replacing the fridge with some new kind or type of fridge. Seemed like a new technology type or something. It seemed like it was Garry who mentioned it. Does anyone remember that? Seemed like they said they were really pleased with it.

1969 AVION
3/4 12 VALVE

Freightliner/24' Flatbed 50,000 miles/ Titan 4000 receiver Hitch, no Mods needed.

Posted By: rfuerst911sc on 05/11/14 04:30am

Desertboy wrote:

There are basically two types of RV fridges. The tried and true 2/3 way which run on LP/110/12V these have been around forever. The advantage of these is you can run them on LP when you are camping where there is no 110 volt to hook to. They are fairly miserly on LP. When working well they are fairly efficient and most shops know how to work on them. Recently ( past 10 years ? ) the 12 volt compressor fridge has hit the scene. The major players Dometic/Norcold make them along with many other brands. The advantage to these is they cool much quicker and generally run like the fridge in your home. If you are the type to camp away from traditional campgrounds with a compressor fridge you will need a healthy battery bank and a way to charge them ( solar, generator ). Plenty of info on the net on both types.

Posted By: garryk6 on 05/11/14 09:12am

Here is my Engle. Works great on and off road, cools fast, can be a freezer with a turn of the knob. Worksa t up to a 45 degree angle. We have left it on, with the TC unplugged, and was still running 5 days later, and the battery was not bellow 50%. And I only have one group 24 battery!

Garry

Posted By: 67avion on 05/11/14 09:54am

Several thoughts. First, to revisit the issue that D1trout is grappling with: exterior finish. I have considered a number of different approaches to the issue: Paint, a wrap skin, refinish by deanodizing, or be happy with an OEM look. That last choice is the one I hear as the overwhelming favorite. But, I think the others have some real possibilities. Especially the use of "wraps" or skins.

Consider the "snow camo" skin wrap on a Ferrari or a mossy oak camo on a McLaren. How would an idea like this look on an Avion? And remember...its removable.

Garry has talked about the Engel 12v compressor fridge for some time. Recently at the Mid Atlantic Truck Camper Rally I had a long talk with a fellow who uses a 45 quart ARB freezer/fridge. Both the Engel and the ARB use a Danfoss compressor that has a very low current draw, somewhere around 3 amps, even though it will take things down to zero in a very short time. I have three series 31 AGM batteries and the solar panel of 200+ watts keeps them topped off...My wife wants a regular fridge mounted in the wall, and so we'll get an Engel for that application. I want a freezer, so we'll get that and mount it in the back of the truck. Naturally this may take some time to achieve since the fridge/freezers cost as much as the Ukraine's annual budget. But, when Sweet Jane is happy, everbody is happy.

Also, GarryK, we use a Wilson cell phone booster 2G/3G. It has an antenna on the roof and a cradle that we have in the coach. I place my iPhone in the cradle to use as a wifi hotspot and we work from our iPads or laptops. I placed my antennas for the wifi and the radio atop the old fridge vent on the roof. I also use the chase from the vent to route the solar cables along with the antenna cables. Its a temporary solution waiting for a better idea.

Have to start loading the Avion for the trip to Flagstaff. Truck Camper Magazine has asked Jane and me to be the magazine's correspondants at the Overland Expo this year.

Posted By: Desertboy on 05/11/14 02:12pm

garryk6 wrote:

That's it Garry, Thanks everyone for the help. I have a fridge in both campers but I wanted a backup plan in case I have problems. I like to keep things simple and this fridge looks like the way to go.

Posted By: Desertboy on 05/11/14 02:14pm

Not sure if Im going to make to Flag in May this year, but congratulations man. That's great.

Posted By: rfuerst911sc on 05/11/14 04:01pm

67avion wrote:

I get that the rear overhang/bustle are supported from above. However if I extend boards and/or aluminum channel under the bottom floor ( truck bed side ) from the front all the way to the back in one piece that has to ad some strength. I agree placing the grey water tank as far forward is a good idea, however the factory placed the black tank as far back as it could go so go figure ? I picked up the two tanks today, as I stated they were too cheap to pass up at $50.00 for the pair ! Rough dimension place them at 20-22 gallons each. I might even try to use the fuel gauge sending units to measure how full the tank/s are.

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