Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

Print | Close

Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: rfuerst911sc on 09/28/14 05:30am

I would love to be able to use mine but I'm so far along it basically needs everything replaced before I could so I might as well have the goal to finish it. My first goal is to make it structurally sound. I have replaced the wood on both sides that make up the kitchen and goucho. Now I'm moving onto the rear section by the door, yesterday I determined I'm going to cut the floor back 30 " from the door which gets me to the back of the wings. That's a good place to tie in structurally. After that I'll move to the overhead sleep area. All of these area's were obviously affected by water intrusion so I not only have to fix the wood but eliminate the leak paths. There are lots of ideas in my head, am I going to add solar ? How many batteries ? 6 volt or 12 ? What am I going to use for a toilet/black tank as the OEM is shot. I want to add a grey water tank. I am going to refinish all of the original wood cabinets. What will I use for a floor finish ? All LP lines will be new. I'm going to add Corian counter top in the kitchen . What color will I paint the interior ? You guys have all gone down this road so I'm preaching to the choir. But I'm a one man army so the pace is slow/steady. I've rebuilt cars,boats,motorcycles etc. so I am not intimidated by long builds. I do see a light at the end of the tunnel !

Posted By: ticki2 on 09/28/14 06:36am

rfuerst911sc ,

Yes you certainly have to address all the structural needs before venturing out , and any water leaks . What Garry and I were referring to was down the road , before it is 100% finished , give it a try and go camping . It's a good test to see if all your pre-planning works in actual practice .

Almost all of the things you are planning to do have been done by someone on this thread . I am sure you will have your own take on it but it gives you a pretty good idea of what is involved in each of those phases .When I started I was pretty much running blind , no one was out there yet . I still can't get over the number of creative and talented folks on this thread . With your experience restoring other things I'm sure you will do a great job on the Avion .

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

Posted By: garryk6 on 09/28/14 10:02am

rfuerst911sc wrote:

There are lots of ideas in my head, am I going to add solar ? How many batteries ? 6 volt or 12 ? What am I going to use for a toilet/black tank as the OEM is shot. I want to add a grey water tank. I am going to refinish all of the original wood cabinets. What will I use for a floor finish ? All LP lines will be new. I'm going to add Corian counter top in the kitchen . What color will I paint the interior ? You guys have all gone down this road so I'm preaching to the choir. But I'm a one man army so the pace is slow/steady. I've rebuilt cars,boats,motorcycles etc. so I am not intimidated by long builds. I do see a light at the end of the tunnel !

These are similar questions I had, and when I bought my Avion, it was at a similar state to where you almost are. Mine had the structural fixed, and the. Leaks fixed. But the only original pieces that came with it were th upper cabinets, the sink a nd a few other bits and pieces.... So you might have a few more original bits, but you can choose what you reuse, and what you replace. Like the bathroom, you can go original, and build a replacement tank, you could go the inexpensive route, and go with a porta-potti, you could go with a composting toilet, you could go with a recirculating toilet or a cassette toilet. So many ideas, so many options. As you replace the floor at the wings you may want to make a decision at least which direction you might be going. A flat floor will work for most of the options, but the raised floor will be needed for the OEM. Good luck how ever you proceed, but if you have any questions about what each option offers, let us know!
Good luck!
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: rfuerst911sc on 09/28/14 12:07pm

Had a decent amount of progress this morning. I drilled out all the rivets of the lower bathroom interior skin and that is now removed. Removed the aluminum angle trim on either side of the door and the interior bathroom window frame. Started on the drivers side rear but was not energized enough to start removing all the wires in the breaker box so I quit. Have to watch some football ! One thing that surprised me was how rotted the plywood backer for the exterior handle to the right of the door was ! I'm wondering if that was the leak path that killed the floor ? It literally falls apart when you touch it. So that will be replaced I'm surprised they used plywood why not a piece of pine or hardwood ? Varnish the snot out of it should live a 100 years. My goal it to have the rear section of floor cut out and replaced by the end of October.

Posted By: 66C10 on 09/30/14 08:44pm

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to stop in and let you all know that I'm still around and the Avion is doing well! After the issue with school enrollment, the project has went to the back burner. I just started a new job (possible career) this week, and I'll be gone for 14 weeks soon for training.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Tim

Posted By: ticki2 on 10/18/14 07:32pm

About a year ago last fall I had a mishap with my Avion that still makes me feel ill remembering it so I am not going into detail about it . I am the second owner of what was a very original C-11 . I was hoping to do the repair last winter but due to other obligations it didn't happen till this summer . This will be a long post with lots of pics so I will probably do it in stages but hope to do them close together so they can be found in the future in this looong thread .

I first tried to find , and get costs , from the very few repair shops I thought might be capable , and willing , to do the work . After receiving two partial quotes it became apparent that I was going to have to do it myself or junk it .

These are some pictures of the damage

[image]

Decision time , dive in or give up , I dove . Started drilling out rivets and cutting . I used a rivet removal drill tool from Aircraft Supply , it worked very well . To cut the panels an Auto Body mechanic friend suggested using a 4" grinder with a thin metal cutting disc run through a wax candle . That work slick . This is the result of my initial attack .

[image]

Note the section of rib cut out that was damaged . Also note the thickness of foam insulation on the curved front panel , it's only about a 1/4" . The side wall foam is a full inch .

The damaged panels in and out .

[image]

After cutting out the bent section of rib I still had to bend and straighten the last foot to get it aligned . I opted to splice the rib instead of replacing it completely because it would have meant removing all the rivets from the undamaged side but mainly because it would leave me nothing to guide measurements for the repair . This the rib splice . I used an extra piece of rib section , about 6" , with one leg of the U channel cut off for the slice gusset .

[image]

to be continued

* This post was last edited 10/18/14 08:04pm by ticki2 *

Posted By: ticki2 on 10/19/14 04:24pm

Replacement panels are still available from Cayo RV Repair , the family that originally created the Avion campers . That in itself is a small miracle since it is more than 40 years old .Unfortunately they have a new finish , not anodized , that doesn't quite match the original . This is the dry fitting of the new panels .

[image]

There was not a lot of wiggle room on the width . In order to match the location of the panels with the undamaged side they barely cover the crimps of the adjoining panel , there was extra length . The new panels also came pre-drilled on the bead side . Next step was to mark their positions on top and bottom before removal . Then starting at the bottom place one panel ,holding it with clamps , drill through the pre-drilled holes and hold in place with clecos .

[image]

At this point the DW called it the porcupine .

[image]

The panels are now all fitted and rivet hole drilled , time to permanently install the panel . The original sealant was a thin foam double sided tape . I elected to use Tempro 625 , I have had good results in the past and it is compatible with aluminum . I taped along the caulk line to make cleanup easier , and it did . I also elected to use Olympic rivets instead of original Buck rivets . The main reason for this decision was that I was working alone and some places would require them anyway . I realize some would poo poo this choice , but again I have had good experience with them in the past .

Prepped for the first panel

[image]

This is the side patch that I harvested from the damaged front panel

[image]

These are some of the rivets after using the shaving tool , hard to tell they are not bucked .

[image]

The picture isn't very clear but the caulk oozed out of all the seams as I had hoped .

[image]

After all the exterior panels were caulked , riveted , clipped and shaved the next task was to figure out what to do with the interior. The plastic end panel was toast and no longer available . I decided to try and panelize it similar to the exterior . Here is a trial run with some old flashing to make some patterns .

[image]

I put some of the interior panels that were cut out back in with clecos to help align things

[image]

Before going forward with the interior panels replacing the insulation had to be addressed . I used a product called Foam-it-Green that came in a two part kit . The kits came in various sizes , from 12sf @ 1" to several hundred sf . I figured I needed about 15sf so ordered two 12sf kits . I ran out and had to order another 12sf kit . If I were to do it again I would order 100sf . The reasons are several . The first being my inexperience . The second is their coverage estimates are for ideal condition on a nice flat surface . The third is you waste a lot doing touch up in tedious areas . Here is the foaming operation . Note that the original foam was in perfect condition , I was impressed .

[image]

I extended the wire for the bunk light further down the wall for a better reading light location .

[image]

Foaming is compete , next step is interior finish , to be continued

Posted By: ticki2 on 10/19/14 05:37pm

The next stage was the interior panels . Since the left side panels were damaged and partially cut out I decided to make the break point at the bunk line , just in back of the curtain track . Years ago my FIL and I purchased a bunch of 4x8 aluminum sheets with a wood grain vinyl on one side at auction . I still have a few left so this is what I used. Still undecided whether to paint them or not , no matter what they will not match so it might be better to leave an obvious difference than something almost . I used the old panels that were cut out to use as a pattern for the rivet hole and surprise surprise it worked out well .

[image]

After the three wall and ceiling panels were in place I started on the front segments . I started at the bottom and worked up each side simultaneously and used one as the pattern for the other so no matter what it would be symmetrical .

[image]

The interior is now finished except for reading lights . I am looking for something that would at least look period correct and then use some LED bulbs . I know quirky but that's just me . The white rivets around the bottom are because I was running out of brown and they won't be seen once the mattress is back in . The bad news is it is now too late for this camping season as the truck has to be readied for plow season which can happen any time now .

In the process of the repair I also rebuilt two of the windows and will report on that in another post .

After reading these posts it sure seems simple , why the heck did it take me so long . One thing that isn't obvious is I know I spend at least twice as much time thinking as I did doing . And then there were those over 600 rivets . [emoticon]

* This post was edited 10/19/14 09:28pm by ticki2 *

Posted By: joerg68 on 10/20/14 04:57am

Wow! Just... wow! That looks fantastic! Thanks for the story!

2014 Ford F350 XLT 6.2 SCLB + 2017 Northstar Arrow

Posted By: Victory402 on 10/20/14 07:03am

Unbelievable! You sir, are a true craftsman!

Print | Close