ticki2 wrote:
Avion C-11
Nice job on the dents . Curious as to why you chose to rebuild the floor and wings with solid plywood instead of the original configuration of ply-foam-ply ?
Avion C-11
Nice job on the dents . Curious as to why you chose to rebuild the floor and wings with solid plywood instead of the original configuration of ply-foam-ply ?
Thanks!
Well, after seeing what the jacks and jack mounts did to the camper in terms of bending, tearing and breaking of wood and aluminum structure and then having seen what water has done to the original wood structure, I felt that giving up a little weight for waterproofness and strength would be worth it.
The original floor was mostly solid in the place where I replaced the wood in the back of the camper. The foam core part was in the closet and bathroom. It was just easier to make it in one piece and I'm happy to have the extra strength back there for the step and to anchor the back of the wings.
With all that structure done now the camper is so stiff that I found my stand was no longer square from settling in the ground and the camper would rock on the high points. No more twisting and bending when jacking either. It is a very rigid structure.
Happy Camping!
Avioncamper.wordpress.com
garryk6 wrote:
Thanks Dennis,
I was wondering if that little curved area had any insulation in it or not. Do you think there is a way for me to just drill a few holes and use spray foam to fill those voids? Otherwise I was thinking uf using some blueboard , and gluing it to the walls in those areas, then using either 1/4" plywood or fabric to cover the blueboard... Thoughts or ideas????
Garry
69cayo wrote:
Gary, some of that could be caused by the uninsulated void where the wood from the wings and bed area fit into the curved al. peace along the exterior.
Might want to check the caulking in that area if for nothing else to stop air infiltration,when it warms up![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/wink.gif "wink")
.
Dennis
Gary, some of that could be caused by the uninsulated void where the wood from the wings and bed area fit into the curved al. peace along the exterior.
Might want to check the caulking in that area if for nothing else to stop air infiltration,when it warms up
.Dennis
Thanks Dennis,
I was wondering if that little curved area had any insulation in it or not. Do you think there is a way for me to just drill a few holes and use spray foam to fill those voids? Otherwise I was thinking uf using some blueboard , and gluing it to the walls in those areas, then using either 1/4" plywood or fabric to cover the blueboard... Thoughts or ideas????
Garry
Gary, I was thinking abt. you drilling holes but the hard part will be figuring where that void is.
If the po cut an angle on the ply the void should be the lower part of the radius.
If he put them in as far as they'll go (square edge) the void would be 3/4-1" down from the rivet line between the sheets of 3/4 ply.
Does that make sense ?
This view might help...................
![[image]](http://i488.photobucket.com/albums/rr249/denlou4525/rot.jpg)
Dennis
On edit , it must have or the screw coming down from the top would not be going into anything .
'68 Avion C-11
'02 GMC DRW D/A flatbed
As for the rear door, There's not much I can do about the conduction of the aluminum door frame, so I may just be stuck with that area. I'll try to go take some pics of the window coverings that we did to keep the heat in. I will look to use velcro or ??? later instead of the aluminum ducting tape we used this trip, though I really like that tape, it sticks and seals when others let loose!
Garry in Kodiak
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
Started by putting a support under it so that we would have something holding it up as we tore the wood out. We came up with lots of solutions for making the support using jacks and other things but in the end went with the basic wood structure using cheap 3/4 plywood and 2x4 supports.
![[image]](http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0854.jpg?w=700&h=)
![[image]](http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0855.jpg?w=1200&h=)
The wood in the bunk was in the best condition of any of the structural wood in the camper. However it was still very rotten in the corners. Being in fairly good shape though it is taking longer to get out than the floor or the wings.
The other difficult thing is that it is nailed from the outside using the rivet looking semi-threaded nails that we have found in most places totally rotten away. But here they are all in good shape and very sharp! Ouch!
Drilling out all the rivets in such a small space over your head and in weird positions was a pain!
![[image]](http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0859.jpg?w=1200&h=)
![[image]](http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0860.jpg?w=1200&h=)
![[image]](http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0861.jpg?w=1200&h=)
![[image]](http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0862.jpg?w=1200&h=)
![[image]](http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0863.jpg?w=1200&h=)
![[image]](http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0864.jpg?w=1200&h=)
All of the aluminum in the corners under the bunk is pulling away from itself and in no way was secured in place from the factory. That was the main contributor to leaks and most likely created all the leaks that rotted out the wings and the corners of the bunk. The rotted corners of the bunk let the channel that the wood sits in collapse with weight in the bunk leading to the opening of the corners.
![[image]](http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0856.jpg?w=1200&h=)
I am probably going to add some additional structure in the walls to support the bunk and thinking about making up some brackets to go on the outside of the camper for additional support.
I officially ran out of space to put all the stuff that has come out of the camper so far. It is crazy how much stuff came out of that little camper. The good news is there isn't much left come out!
Does anyone have any ideas where to get the cream colored aluminum rivets for the interior walls and the vinyl piping that covers the edges of the aluminum sheets on the interior?
For possible leaks check the rubber insert flashing on top of the front windows , they tend to shrink over time and don't cover the ends of the window . Check the vent caulking . The other nasty spot is where the curved shin of the overhang meets the curved skin of the main body , they would be directly in line with the front of the plywood bunk .
The leaks are under the bunk in the "shins" as you call them. There might be one in the front window too.
The bunk is flexing in two ways.
One is at the corners above the shins where there is only the 1/4" top layer of the bunk going under the walls. Any time you put weight on the bunk the whole channel compresses, the windows bulge out and that 1/4" layer flexes down.
Two is across the width of the bunk it sagged quite a bit. With a straight edge across the bunk it would sag over an inch. It may not have been totally rotten but it was not great.
I could probably have gotten by without tearing out the wood but I really think I can do a better job of fixing the shins with the bunk out of the way.
I understand that the bunk is supported from above by the walls and ribs but with fexing in the channel and sagging in the bunk it is pulling the walls and ribs out of shape. I plan to hold parties on that bunk. I want it strong!
Chuck & Ruth with 4-legged Molly
2007 Tiffin Allegro 30DA
2011 Ford Ranger
1987 HD FLHTP
Avion C-11 wrote:
I hear you Ticki and I appreciate your input.
The leaks are under the bunk in the "shins" as you call them. There might be one in the front window too.
The bunk is flexing in two ways.
One is at the corners above the shins where there is only the 1/4" top layer of the bunk going under the walls. Any time you put weight on the bunk the whole channel compresses, the windows bulge out and that 1/4" layer flexes down.
Two is across the width of the bunk it sagged quite a bit. With a straight edge across the bunk it would sag over an inch. It may not have been totally rotten but it was not great.
I could probably have gotten by without tearing out the wood but I really think I can do a better job of fixing the shins with the bunk out of the way.
I understand that the bunk is supported from above by the walls and ribs but with fexing in the channel and sagging in the bunk it is pulling the walls and ribs out of shape. I plan to hold parties on that bunk. I want it strong!
I hear you Ticki and I appreciate your input.
The leaks are under the bunk in the "shins" as you call them. There might be one in the front window too.
The bunk is flexing in two ways.
One is at the corners above the shins where there is only the 1/4" top layer of the bunk going under the walls. Any time you put weight on the bunk the whole channel compresses, the windows bulge out and that 1/4" layer flexes down.
Two is across the width of the bunk it sagged quite a bit. With a straight edge across the bunk it would sag over an inch. It may not have been totally rotten but it was not great.
I could probably have gotten by without tearing out the wood but I really think I can do a better job of fixing the shins with the bunk out of the way.
I understand that the bunk is supported from above by the walls and ribs but with fexing in the channel and sagging in the bunk it is pulling the walls and ribs out of shape. I plan to hold parties on that bunk. I want it strong!
Shins was a misprint , ment to say skins . The joint where the skin of the cabover at the bottom meets the main body . I don't think it overlaps very much and there are no rivets at that point. I was getting a black streak when driving in the rain at that location . That indicates to me that there was water intrusion . I have re-caulked it and seems to be better.