Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: 67avion on 08/05/15 07:52pm

D1 and 69avion,

I understand that it's always 70 degrees and a pleasant breeze at Muley Point.

However, this trip is to Dodge City and an old eccentric friend who is fading.

I'd like to trace all of the trails - the Oregon, Santa Fe and Cimmaron. They're all still visable, a reminder of our still present raw history. I envision a caravan of Avions probing the deep history of the West and winding up at Muley Point.

I can't describe how beautiful this evening in Kansas has become with pink clouds at sunset and me and Sweet Jane enjoying the breeze from the lake.

Posted By: D1trout on 08/06/15 01:05pm

Here's the Argo update for August 6th. Gary, the master fabricator and I dry fit the aluminum frame on the truck and then set Argo down on that frame to determine that the measurements were accurate. They were - wonders never cease!
The first pic shows the universal body mount bumpers I got from Energy Suspension. They are about the same size and flexibility as the bumpers that support the truck cab.

Here's the frame itself:

Here's Argo actually resting on the frame. My particular concern was the clearance between the bottom of the cabover and the top of the truck cab. It's as I projected. Now I'm sourcing a rubber mat to seal the union of the two surfaces, which get bolted together. The wooden board clamped horizontally along the base of the camper is just a stop so we could get Argo centered on the frame. You can see that Argo ios quite snug up against the back of the cab.

The pink(sagging)strings represent the various levels which the body side panels may come down to. Still to be decided.
And finally, here's what gets taken out over the weekend. Still scratching my head about how to seal the cab/camper connecting surfaces.

But the camper sits quite tight against the cab so I'm optimistic that with lots of caulking and bolts, it can be made tight and waterproof.
The triangular ends of the window will be filled with welded-in metal sheet, Bondo-ed, and painted white.
Pushin' the rock up the hill...
Onward!
Dick

Posted By: 69 Avion on 08/06/15 02:34pm

I would think that you should have some "flex" between the cab and the camper. There is no doubt that the truck frame flexes and the cab is on rubber, just like the frame you are building. If the cab and the camper are connected rigid, what happens when the frame flexes?
A Ford frame flexes more than a GM frame because the Ford uses "C" channel and the GM has a boxed frame. This is just something to consider.

Ford F-350 4x4 Diesel
1988 Avion Triple Axle Trailer
1969 Avion C-11 Camper

Posted By: D1trout on 08/06/15 04:51pm

69, you always raise such good considerations and I appreciate it.
I am currently thinking to have a 3/4" neoprene pad between the cabover and the truck's roof, and then thrubolt in some fashion to compress the neoprene for a snug fit but not so much as to eliminate a wee bit of wiggle.
The joint between the front of Argo and the back of the truck cab will be rigid - a flange with bolts and caulking. I'm expecting that the camper and cab will behave as a single unit and that that unit will tolerate a bit of movement in the truck chassis, to be addressed by the 12 rubber body mounts I am installing.
I mentioned in a recent post that the Tiger motorhome folks bolt everything together quite solidly and have reported no failures in hundreds of thousands of miles on 4WD chassis.
We shall see whether my engineering and their's produce the same outcome.

Posted By: 69 Avion on 08/06/15 05:03pm

I found it interesting when you mentioned earlier that they had a rigid connection.
If you used the neoprene with a "boot" like what they used in campers decades ago, it would give you a tight seal, and flex between the two structures.
I like your idea of a rigid mount, but I'm just concerned that something will get twisted if you go off road and the truck frame twists excessively.

Posted By: D1trout on 08/06/15 05:08pm

Well, we shall see. The road to Muley Point has a lot of twists and turns and rough spots along the
way.

Posted By: garryk6 on 08/06/15 05:40pm

D1trout wrote:

Does anyone know if any of the Tigers were ever mounted on Ford's? I have seen many mounted on Chevy's. If the twisting is an issue, and Chevy uses boxed frames while Ford uses C-Channel frame, maybe that is why Tiger can bolt directly thru, because they are using Chevy vice Ford...

I am a Ford man, so I am not trying to create a debate. Just wanted to know if Tiger ever used Ford, that would tell you if you are comparing Apples and Apples, or if you are comparing Apples to Oranges...

Just my two cents.....

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: Ocean Avion TC on 08/08/15 08:00pm

As promised here are some pictures of the awning. Not as easy to set up as one of the new style ones but this is in better shape than the one that is on a 2005 travel trailer I have.

In this picture you can see the awning enclosure above the kitchen side windows.

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A “Quality Product from A&E Systems”.

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First you can see the two clips along the topside of the enclosure which has protected the awning for so long.

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Opened up you have the lower arm folded attached to the awning drum and the upper arms that are clipped in above the awning

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The awning partially out, upper arms not connected.

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The mounting clip on the side of the camper for the lower arms. They could also be placed directly on the ground and staked in.

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Detail of the upper arm clipped in to the awning drum

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Awning out in position. Unfortunately the front lower arm is missing the proper stop and thus was not holding.

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Overall it took me about 10 minutes to set up the awning by myself. The biggest issue with the awning was that I needed a 6 foot ladder to set it up, which is not something I'm likely to carry when camping. Which is probably why this one is in such good condition (it was used very little). As cool as it is to have an original awning I do like the way and ease of your set up 67avion, and will probably do something similar off the back of the camper.

70 Avion C11 Ultra
08 GMC 3500 Sierra

Posted By: cajunavion on 08/13/15 09:32pm

Howdy!
This one is rich! We ran in to grab a bite. Not a soul in sight. When
we returned, we were surrounded. Right smack dab
the middle of a parking lot car show. Everyone was
captivated. (I think we might have even won something!)

Posted By: 67avion on 08/14/15 09:20am

Cajun, you're absolutely right. Last week I was in the parking lot of the Little Apple Brewing Company in Manhattan, Kansas, when several cars began circling old '67. On one pass I saw them turning a thumbs up and grinning.

Later while enjoying a stunning local lamb kibbe sausage with bulgur wheat, spices, mint and pine nuts along with a Prairie Pale Ale (the memory!) the same guys came up and introduced themselves as engineering students at Kansas State. They had never seen an Avion before, but it was the coolest RV they could imagine. I bought a round of ale, of course.

Every gas station a press conference.

And yes, D1, the road to Muley Point has many twists and turns. Even when you get there.

Onward!

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