Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: cajunavion on 11/04/14 11:42am

Howdy!
Heres the next installment. The little
radiator heater came in. It will be attached
to the heat exchanger on the water heater.
I am using premium silcone heater hose since
it will give off minimal heat, that will become
more important when the eventual run is
made to the truck engine. It is good as well
inside the camper so as not to burn fingers
when moving the heater around. I am hoping
I can get by with a thermosiphon alone, but
a march pump maybe in order. Thoughts?

Posted By: garryk6 on 11/04/14 11:55am

cajunavion wrote:

Who is the maker of the heater, and what is the BTU rating? This is getting interesting! I wish I would have had something like this in the Winter of 2011 to keep the TC warmer while driving around Anchorage area in sub-zero temps...

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: ticki2 on 11/04/14 05:35pm

Yes Cajun , more info please . I have been wanting to do this also .

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

Posted By: cajunavion on 11/05/14 05:57pm

Howdy!
Here's the third and final piece of the puzzle.
Its the heat exchanger for the truck engine.
There are plenty of ways to pumb this whole
setup. Even though most of the sailors seem
to run engine coolent straight through the hot
water heater, and the heaters heat exchanger
is double jacketed for safety; I would rather play
it safe for the truck engine and use a nontoxic
coolent for the now separated heater loop.
Again there is an expected temperature drop
with this second heat exchanger but with truck
engine temperature at 213, it needs to drop
to a reasonable 140.
The plumbing still stumps me as to valves
needed and even finding the coolent connectors
to the trucks heater core.
Ideas on plumbing this all is
appreciated.
Garry the radiator heater is an aquahot 200 rsted at 6000 btu.
They have lots of different sizes, the compact size of this one
seems a good fit. They also make diesel water boilers for a similar
design. Too much and too pricey though.

Posted By: garryk6 on 11/05/14 06:09pm

cajunavion wrote:

Thanks Cajun!

I would recommend that since you are going with a separated loop, that you use a circulating pump, and expansion tank, some way to charge additional water/antifreeze into this heating loop, and a couple valves with quick-disconnects for when the TC is off the truck. Additionally do you intend on having this hot water all the time circulating to the TC? If not, then a thermostatically controlled circ pump might be the right call to provide the heat to the TC only when you want it.
Good Luck, and keep the info rolling!
Garry

Posted By: 67avion on 11/07/14 12:32pm

Don't mean to blow my own horn.....but we made the TCM calendar for the year. Probably the first Avion C-10 on a calendar in many a moon!

http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/campe........announcing-the-2015-tcm-calendar-winners

Posted By: ticki2 on 11/07/14 01:02pm

Congratulations ! [emoticon]

Posted By: 69cayo on 11/07/14 01:12pm

That is a great picture, Congratulations !

Dennis

Posted By: garryk6 on 11/07/14 02:51pm

67avion wrote:

Congratulations!!! Now we all have to work that much harder for next year! It sure is nice seeing a C-10 in the mix with all those new-fangled TC's ;-)

Garry

Posted By: ticki2 on 11/07/14 03:17pm

Thought I'd add an addendum to my recent repair . In the process of the front end repair I also rebuilt the two large side windows . This info is mostly for the 68 and newer Avion/Cayo with plexiglass . The two large side windows have been foggy since purchase and a thorn in my side . Since it was in the shop for other repairs it seemed like the logical time to address the issue . Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of photos of this phase .

Removal is pretty straight forward , remove the curtain and track , remove the interior trim and handles , drill out the exterior rivets and remove the window with frame .

Once the widow is out you can separate the lower movable window from the upper fixed pane . By taking the lower frame apart and removing the hinge screws you can remove the lower operating window . Note : once the window is out it is obvious how the frame comes apart by removing the corner screws .

I discovered this in the process . At the top of the hinge the top channel for the plexiglass extends about 1/32 past the vertical channel on both side . This little extension prevents removal of the lower operating sash without removing the entire window ( rivets ). By removing this extension the sash can be removed with the window frame in place by simply removing the hinge screws .

[image]

In searching for plexiglass at the local glass shops I found out a few things . First the color is bronze 2412 , which is medium . Most places only dealt with light or dark . Second what is referred to as 1/8" is no longer .125 but rather .118 . This actually worked in my favor as the rubber glazing channel I found was thicker than original .

I used a block of wood to gently tap on the channel to remove the plexiglass . Be gentle , it's easy to bend the extrusion . When everything was apart I did a thorough cleaning . Important , mark and number all the parts as you disassemble as to location and orientation it's easy to get confused .

I used a circular saw with a fine tooth carbide blade to cut the plxiglass which worked great , then touched up the edges with some sandpaper .

The rubber seals and channels were difficult to find in the correct size . I never did find the correct size that would fit the original .125 plexiglass . I sent for samples from All-Rite Manufacturing , Vintage Trailer Supply and Pelland Enterprises . The only ones that fit were from Pelland . Interestingly , the numbers on their site didn't match the numbers on the invoice , but the actual parts were the same.
Here is a list:

Upper fixed window channel H110-613 ( web )=H009-502-19 inv

Lower oper window channel H210-437 ( web ) = H109-326-19 inv

Vent closing seal H210-390-2 ( web )= H009-289-19 inv

Assembling I used liberal amounts of soapy water on the extrusion and rubber channel and my trusty wood block , it's a tight fit .

After the windows were assembled I used the tempro 635 caulking and Olympic rivets to install .

[image]

Hope this makes some sense .

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