Our Plan B is being refined daily. I'm now leaning towards the Bimobil approach, which 69 posted about in the spring. In that German design, the truck has a short flatbed and the camper is a separate unit with a solid floor and four jacks. It is jacked up, the truck placed under it, and the camper lowered onto the truck bed and bolted down with four bolts. In some models, there is a passage between the truck and camper. I've sent them an email for more details about that feature. Here's the link: www.bimobil.com
I like this strategy because I can build the camper as an independent unit on the aluminum-framed floor, with straight sides rather than with the wings required for a slide-in. That really opens things up inside! At the same time, I'll build an 8' aluminum platform on the truck, as wide as the Avion and curved at the front like the Avion. One can lift the camper off the truck to use it for other purposes or for short jaunts while on a road trip, say, in Yellowstone.
Below the level of the bed, storage can be built in. The one design challenge I haven't resolved yet is that the original Avion locker doors for the propane, refrigerator and water heater are 20+" above the new floor level of the camper. I could just seal up those openings and relocate the lockers to new, lower locations. I'm planning on painting the Avion at the end of the rebuild so I can get away with using bright new aluminum sheet.
Whoever first observed on this forum that one needs courage to restore and rebuild an Avion was right...
Dick
1969 AVION
3/4 12 VALVE
Freightliner/24' Flatbed 50,000 miles/ Titan 4000 receiver Hitch, no Mods needed.
Feels like it has been a bit since I last checked in. My tail lights finally went kaput, so I ordered the Maxxima 7" LED lights. As I went to install them, one of the tail light wires was broken and I wasn't about to start cutting holes/ripping out the interior panels quite yet to trace the wiring. I bought a new four pin trailer plug, some wire, and spent a little time getting it temporarily wired up. At least until it comes time to really tear everything apart.
I have a few pics of the process, but didn't do my final wiring until night, so I'll grab some pics during the daylight and get them posted up. The only issue with how I wired everything up is that my clearance lights don't work now, which doesn't really bother me. I may look into running a wire to get them power again, but we'll see.
Hope everyone's Avion projects are going well!
Tim
D1trout wrote:
Whoever first observed on this forum that one needs courage to restore and rebuild an Avion was right...
Whoever first observed on this forum that one needs courage to restore and rebuild an Avion was right...
Actually I think I said "courage AND patience". But who knows after all these posts. Maybe Garry - who was one of my first, if not first, correspondents on this thread. Thats been quite a few posts ago.
I, too, was very taken by the ingenuity of the Bimobil system. It seems that it is beautifully engineered with a custom lift for the truck bed and strong supports for the camper. I'm making tentative plans to test drive one of their campers in Germany for TCM next Spring. I'm thinking in the Bavarian Alps. I also hope to work with the Dutch Tonke which has more than a passing similarity to the Avion TC. It slips off of the chassis as well. Though, it is also the world's most expensive Truck Camper fitted onto a Mercedes Sprint Chassis.
D1, its the perfect land yacht. just buy the Tonke and be done with it ;-) click
![[image]](http://s739.photobucket.com/user/dgorton/media/F2_martland_10_zpscbb1d6fc.jpg.html)
I'm thinking we should launch an Avionista Expedition for Europe next Spring. Onward! Over there, over there....
* This post was last edited 08/24/14 08:56am by 67avion *
67 Europe!?! Does your Avion have pontoons?
How 'bout a junt across the TransCanada Highway.
I hear the Yukon is beautiful in the spring. Seriously,
we could all do old school Wally (Airstream) style, a big
caravan of Avion TC's.
And I live in mine on jacks no platform
all the time, I might have had six adults in it at
once and it is completely ROCK SOLID.
Are you going to be at Abenteuer Allrad then next year (not that we have any plans to visit this time, but Joerg68 and Flaxi may be there)?
It will be very interesting to hear your views of these vehicles if you get to test them, especially coming from a US perspective - the small turbo diesel engines in these vehicles are good, but they are a world apart from the large diesels available in US trucks.
Steve.
'07 Ford Ranger XLT Supercab diesel + '91 Shadow Cruiser - Sky Cruiser 1
'98 Jeep TJ 4.0
'15 Ford Fiesta ST
'09 Fiat Panda 1.2
cajunavion wrote:
Seriously,
we could all do old school Wally (Airstream) style, a big
caravan of Avion TC's.
And I live in mine on jacks no platform
all the time, I might have had six adults in it at
once and it is completely ROCK SOLID.
Seriously,
we could all do old school Wally (Airstream) style, a big
caravan of Avion TC's.
And I live in mine on jacks no platform
all the time, I might have had six adults in it at
once and it is completely ROCK SOLID.
I have long wanted to put together an Old School Avion Rally. Back in the day the Alaskan Campers ("It Raises -It Lowers") gathered into caravans. I've seen pictures of them with the guys all dressed in western costumes, boots, bolo ties and cowboy hats...the ladies with full skirts...all lined up in front of the chuckwagon. Those were the days of Westerns on TV like Gun Smoke and Have Gun Will Travel. And don't forget Ozzie and Harriet had an Alaskan:
![[image]](http://s739.photobucket.com/user/dgorton/media/ozzie-and-the-boys_zpsaaa21986.jpg.html)
Desertboy wrote:
I think Ill just stick with the USA lol, The half west of Oklahoma to be precise.
I think Ill just stick with the USA lol, The half west of Oklahoma to be precise.
I get it. I feel the same way ....much of the time. This past year I spent a lot of time on the American road with Avion.
sabconsulting wrote:
Are you going to be at Abenteuer Allrad then next year (not that we have any plans to visit this time, but Joerg68 and Flaxi may be there)?
Are you going to be at Abenteuer Allrad then next year (not that we have any plans to visit this time, but Joerg68 and Flaxi may be there)?
Steve, I want to visit my daughter who lives in Copenhagen with her husband. I thought Jane and I might take a look at the Euro truck camper scene since I've long been entranced with your travels. However, I plan to be over there in May not June, so the Abenteuer Allrad is not a part of the plan, though Flaxi and Joerg68 may be ...depending on where we go..and if we go.
* This post was edited 08/24/14 02:55pm by 67avion *
if/when you make it to South-Western Germany near the French/Luxembourg border, be sure to stop by! But be warned - we have only an american truck and camper to show... ;-) But there are usually a number of local TC gatherings in May and June. Typically there is a big one at Mendig (near Koblenz) on the Pentecost weekend.
Regards,
Joerg
2014 Ford F350 XLT 6.2 SCLB + 2017 Northstar Arrow
67 where did you get that nice fan in the
bunk?