Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: rastaman33609 on 09/26/15 11:16am

ticki2 wrote:

One other thought on the 3/4 and 1/4 ply . The bunk floor is more than 4 ft. wide so it will need a splice unless you special order 5 ft wide plywood , expensive . That means you will have a 1/4" gusset by offsetting the seams . I would sooner go 1/2" and 1/2".

not sure I follow...are you saying to use 1/2'ply?

Posted By: ticki2 on 09/26/15 01:45pm

rastaman33609 wrote:

ticki2 wrote:

not sure I follow...are you saying to use 1/2'ply?

What I'm saying is if you decide to go sold wood as Cayo suggests , 3/4" + 1/4" =1" , I would use 1/2" + 1/2" = 1" to make the splice stronger . BTW , I'm pretty sure the original was 3/8" ply + 1" styrofoam + 3/8" ply , same as the floor , which would make total of 1-1/4" thick . Perhaps someone who has taken one out can confirm .

edit . I took the 1/4 + 3/4 from your post about Cayo . I see now that Cajun in his post stated Cayo said 1/2" + 3/4" , which would be 1-1/4" as stated above . That is where the confusion is coming from .

* This post was edited 09/26/15 01:54pm by ticki2 *

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

Posted By: rastaman33609 on 09/26/15 02:01pm

ticki2 wrote:

rastaman33609 wrote:

ticki2 wrote:

not sure I follow...are you saying to use 1/2'ply?

ok got it..would it be necessary to glue them together or do you think screws would be sufficient? when I removed my original the top ply was cut in half and just laid on top of the 1"x and foam which made getting out easy. I am thinking of the bottom layer of ply(actually 2 pieces cut to fit the area) screwed from the outside under the overhang. Then the top layer of ply again 2 pieces with the joint offset screwed down to the bottom ply from inside. if for some reason it has to come out it could be unscrewed. I plan on using treated ply, with a coat of some kind of sealer?....any thoughts on this?

Posted By: D1trout on 09/26/15 02:49pm

Rastaman, ticki2 is right. Avion used 3/8 ply pretty much everywhere, doubling up where greater thickness/strength was required. 1/2 + 1/2 would be a good choice. Offset the joints. Don't use treated ply. Use marine grade ply. It has waterproof glue and no voids. Fir is probably the most economical. Make the joints with West Systems epoxy. If you want to waterproof the plywood, either paint with a marine grade paint or use Smith's Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealant. It rolls on easily and will protect the wood for your lifetime. Fastening with screws is fine; just remember that every penetration of the skin is a potential leak.
Onward!

Posted By: ticki2 on 09/26/15 03:19pm

As D1trout said , use marine ply , not treated , unless you want to breath arsenic all night . I would screw and glue everything together , that is where the stiffness will come from , even the styrofoam , if you go that route ,which needs a special adhesive .

You also need to determine what caused the damage in the first place and fix that .

Posted By: D1trout on 09/26/15 03:23pm

I have recently installed a rigid foam board on the inside of Argo. It is polyisocyanurate, which has the highest R value per inch. HD carries some of the thinner thicknesses.

Posted By: rastaman33609 on 09/26/15 05:37pm

Thanks D1trout and ticki2.....I feel comfortable proceeding as recommended. I intend to seal up everything where water can enter from. I have already identified a leak from the vent, the stains on the bed cover confirmed that, I am also sure the front window leaks also I will also look closely at the seams etc.
Will report back when mission is complete...

Posted By: D1trout on 09/26/15 08:54pm

Fellow Avionistas, just before I went off to sail my little boat around the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound, Gary and I finished the "hole" in the back of the big bad truck. I clamped Argo onto the frame and to the back of the "hole" and brought the whole rig home. Here are a couple of pics of the current status of Argo, the all-aluminum Avion...

And here's looking from the cab back into the camper...

Here's a detail of the edge of the cab and the edge of the camper. Gary welded a panel in each side of the back window opening to square it up, with a tab to bolt thru onto the square tubing of Argo's front frame. He also bent back 1.5" of the sides of the cab at a 90 degree angle to allow me to bolt thru into the aluminum frame. The gray primered panel is at the top, the white bent back tabs on the lower part...

Here's an outside view of the panel he welded in to square up the window opening and give me something to bolt to, as well as sealing the sides of the opening...

Incidentally, you can see the reflection of the truck cab roof in the shiny aluminum bottom of the cabover compartment...

And finally, here's a view of the roof thru the opening. It's a fairly straightforward task to bend a piece of aluminum sheet to fit the curves and corners and then caulk and rivet it into place. I'll have to lift Argo off the truck to prepare for the attachment all the way around, so I still have the jacks and jackstands attached. The whole camper weighs less then 800 pounds at the moment.

I'm working to get things securely attached and the rig completely waterproofed before the heralded "Godzilla El Nino" arrives...

Onward! Muley Point beckons...

Dick

Posted By: cajunavion on 09/27/15 04:41am

Howdy!
Rastaman,, I am crazy about these campers, but I know y'all
all know the ugly truth, they all LEAK. Even if you could stop those pesky seam leaks, damp air will infiltrate and condensation will occur. Soo, you best make sure your stucture can take it. I like following boaters strategy. Encapsulate your wood in epoxy and avoid water trapping voids. The original wood insulation wood does not do either. Hence, read all the posts about rotten floors.
Take note of all the work D1 has gone to not to suffer this.
D1 has your camper become a class c rv? Beautiful work by the way!

Posted By: D1trout on 09/27/15 09:55am

Cajunavion, you are right about the leaks. All those seams and rivet holes and bumpy roads - there are just too many places for water to get in. I don't think we can keep the water out. That's what got me going down the all-aluminum road. I'm considering putting some little drain holes in the bottom of the cabover and in the floor. Airstream had/has drains in the bottoms of some of their trailers.
No structural wood in Argo, just decorative trim. And even that wood will be coated with CPES before varnishing.
Yep, I've moved into the Class C category. Annie and the dogs are very happy!
Dick

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