Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: ticki2 on 02/03/15 02:45pm

Garry , I think you're the first Avion out this season , and from Alaska to boot . [emoticon]

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

Posted By: Dave Pete on 02/03/15 05:35pm

Yeah the same thing happened to me. But it ain't an Avion and I don't have it built yet! <---- That's about as close as I can get to a joke using the old man comment in the liquor store as what's his name tried to buy liquor without ID on American Graffiti. [emoticon]

I'll try to follow along so I can get a "kinda feel" for who you Navion guys are!

Posted By: Dave Pete on 02/03/15 05:43pm

Garry that was an awesome report. DW and I did Fairbanks for three years and what a great time. Fun to hear some details from up that way. Good on you and the scouts!

Posted By: 67avion on 02/03/15 05:55pm

Well, we got politics and construction going on. First the politics: Sweet Jane is running for mayor so there is a lot of energy going into that. If she wins she's going to declare Avion day in Southern Illinois with Whazoo as Master of Ceremonies. Actually I made that up:-)

We repaired the holes in the roof except for the central panel. Weather got too bad to finish the job, but I think it's doable in maybe two days with all the details. We also have to repair the couch that broke. I can't get to this stuff since my crew has been involved in another of my house restorations. I hope that finishes at roughly the same time as the election. I told Sweet Jane that I was ok however it went. If she loses we're on the road again.

Finally I was contacted by Torklift to work with them in appraising their equipment. I use Torklift for my tie downs and have had great dealings with their customer service. I'll keep everyone apprised as to what happens.

Posted By: D1trout on 02/04/15 08:41pm

Fellow Avionistas, here's a progress report on Argo, the all-aluminum Avion C-11. Northern CA's drought has created perfect working conditions but we are so dry dry dry...

I removed the inner skin and stripped out all the old foamed-in urethane. I made a long scraper out of semi-flexible plastic sheet and, using that and a 3" cup brush on a grinder slowed down with a rheostat, got the foam out pretty easily. Messy with the cup brush, but it's the right tool for the job.

I have begun reinsulating with 1/2" double foil-faced polyisocyanurate foam board. The 1/2" board comforms to the curves well and adheres well with contact cement. I'm using the heavy duty 3M spray-on contact cement as the ease of use makes the price worthwhile. I find that the cut and cobble approach works best, using 3 to 4" strips placed horizontally on the curved interior sections rather than trying to glue large pieces. I will end up with 3 layers in most areas for 1 1/2" thickness with an R value in excess of 7. I'll fill the gaps with spray-in foam.

I'm spec'ing wiring now. The wiring will get taped to the outer surface of the second layer of foam board, then will have the last 1/2" of foam fitted over it. BestBoatWire.com seems to have great prices. 69cayo has great pics of this part of the process. He has been my guide in much of this step.

I have taken out all the windows and replaced all the old acrylic with 1/8" clear tempered glass. I found I could easily order it from my local glass shop. Annie and I like the light and the clear view. We'll cover windows with shades or blinds as necessary. I've ordered, but not yet installed, a 20"x20" low profile aluminum marine hatch with an clear acrylic insert. I will install it over the dinette table, just aft of the AC hole, which I'm covering over with a big aluminum patch. The hatch will allow lots of light onto the dinette area and will open and lay flat on the roof to allow access to the roof.

It's proving a bit of a scramble to find the appropriate window seals and moldings but between Pelland Enterprises, Interstate Metals & RV, and Vintage, I think I've solved the puzzle of what goes where. I intend to query the guy who runs VTS directly about getting the right seals for our old Hehr windows. I'm told he has all that info in his head...! If I'm successful, I'll post that info here.

I have painted the black anodized frames on the operating windows with "metallic aluminum" paint in a spray can from Rustoleum. It looks great and blends those windows in nicely. Anodizing makes a great base for painting. A vigorous scrub with a green 3M scratchy pad and they're good to go.

I replaced all the old vinyl-coated aluminum inner window trims on the sides and tops of the window openings with trim pieces made from the scrap exterior anodized skin. I bent them to shape with a 3" sheet metal seamer pliers and a $60 Harbor Freight 30" sheet metal break. They look very clean and match the rest of the window frames nicely.

I installed the new LED marker lights and will add the STT lights when I figure out which ones to use... I've drawn lots of wiring diagrams on the inside of the camper to locate lights, fans, outlets, and other fixtures. An interesting process. The inside of the shell looked like a not-very-talented graffiti artist got loose in it!

I am keen to get this rig on the road. My goal us to have the wiring completed and the new inner skin installed by early April.

More to come, with pics, as time allows.

Onward!
Dick

Posted By: ticki2 on 02/05/15 11:30am

D1trout wrote:

I have taken out all the windows and replaced all the old acrylic with 1/8" clear tempered glass. I found I could easily order it from my local glass shop.

Onward!
Dick

How did you get the tempered glass to curve in the large upper fixed panes ?

Posted By: garryk6 on 02/05/15 12:51pm

D1trout wrote:

I installed the new LED marker lights and will add the STT lights when I figure out which ones to use...
I am keen to get this rig on the road. My goal us to have the wiring completed and the new inner skin installed by early April.

More to come, with pics, as time allows.

Onward!
Dick

Hey Dick,
It sounds like great progress!! Please send picks as you are able. I have really liked my LED STT lights and they are surface mount like OEM.
Lights in action
[image]

Side Profile
[image]

Back Profile (PS this pic came from way back on Page 8!!)
[image]

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: 67avion on 02/05/15 04:12pm

Hey Garry, we're the oldest Avion posters on this string. Your first post was within an hour of my putting up the Avion string. And we're still here.

D1 you have to step down from the head of the class until you get your pix posted :-(

Posted By: D1trout on 02/05/15 04:58pm

67, I'll get some pics up soon, I promise. First I have to take them. Then get them off my iPhone onto my Mac. Then into Photobucket. Then posted...I know, whine, whine, whine. Frankly, at that time of the day, I'm more wine, wine, wine...

Ticki2, the tempered glass flexes about the same as the acrylic in bench tests in my shop. It remains to be seen if it will flex when reinstalled in the frames. I am waiting on the seals and gaskets from VTS before I can take this step. I noticed when I was removing the windows from the shell that the smaller fixed panes, on the right side in my C11, had a bit of curve in them, while the larger panes on the left side did not. I also noticed that, once removed from their frames, none of the fixed panes had any memory curve to them. I have calculated the curve to be about 1/4" in 13". Basically, I'm not worrying about it - if they curve a bit, great. If not, they're short enough to have little effect on the overall appearance.

Garry, thanks for the LED pics! I'm with you as far as being seen and minimizing power consumption!

Onward!
Dick

Posted By: Dave Pete on 02/05/15 08:30pm

Guys I'd love a source or two and manufamanufacturer name/part numbers for both those clearance lights and tail lights on Garry's rig.

* This post was edited 02/05/15 08:57pm by Dave Pete *

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