Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: rastaman33609 on 12/13/15 11:40am

Next will be redoing the plumbing....I have installed a new 20 gal plastic tank, However I do not have a fresh water fill port on my C10

Does anyone know where I can get one of those metal fill ports with the lid that flips up? (Like the one silver has on his.)
I also am not to excited about cutting a big hole in the side so the smaller cut out needed the better :-)

I have found the white plastic ones but no metal ones.

Posted By: 67avion on 12/13/15 02:05pm

Rastaman wrote:

So.....I have a question...My wings are complete, before I go any further. What are you guys using for tie-down points. Are the jack stand brackets being used or do I need to install separate tie-down hooks?

Could I used an 'eye bolt' for one of the jack mount bolts. My stands are going to be bolted through 2 sheets of 3/4 ply with a piece of 1/8th aluminium plate between jack and the body on the outside.
Inside the bolts go through alum plate also.

We tackled these issues a while back, so I think I'm recalling the key ideas.

My tie down points were in very bad condition with the wood having decayed all around.

What is important to think about is that the tie downs have dynamic forces while the jack stands experience (for the most part) stable loads. If you use the Torklift Fastguns, for instance, they are spring loaded tie downs that ease the sudden strains caused by bumps or other shifts in the road.

So, its wise to keep the structure for the tie down point quite strong - but not to the extent that the whole bottom of the camper can be torn out by an extreme force. At least that was my thinking.

The jack stand supports were built with a very wide piece of metal, after the wings were repaired, to spread the pressure over a larger surface.

On the inside you can see the tie down plate on the left and the jack stand plate on the right.

I think in retrospect I should have given more space to the tie down points. However, I have had no problems with the construction as illustrated by my crash at Muley Point that tore up a Fastgun, but left the camper intact.

By the way, D1, the meet-up at Muley Point is in May......

Posted By: D1trout on 12/13/15 02:08pm

67, you're really turning up the heat here! I was thinking mid summer...
Well, I'll just have to bear down!

Posted By: cajunavion on 12/13/15 02:21pm

Howdy!

I found these elevator bolts worked beautifully. I did not want any protrusion of
the bolt head since I left the wings naked. I also wanted maximum strenghth
without a steel plate(which stablelift suggested). They worked prefectly.
Silver, voids I am refering to are inside your fabricated panels.
Expoxy them together is the way to go.
Does anyone have advice on airlift bags? I am looking to gain
a couple of inches to go offroad. Any suggestions. My jacks clear
the road by maybe 8in. I need more height.
Just pulled the trigger on a MT60 combi Engel, it looks to fit
perfectly, and will add lots of space to my little portable Engel.
Eating is the ultimate luxury!

Posted By: 67avion on 12/13/15 02:30pm

I've got airbags installed. They seem to help though I'm not sure of their utility specifically offroad. They will lift your camper several inches in the rear, and to that extent they may be helpful. Actually I got a lot more control of my truck with Torklift stableloads...but that is in the highway driving and not off road.

Also, we're putting in an Engel while the camper is in the shop in Michigan.

Posted By: D1trout on 12/13/15 02:59pm

Cajun, I'm going to put Airlift 1000 in the front and Airlift Load Lifter 5000 in the rear, with a dual path compressor system. This will allow adjusting the rear airbags individually to compensate for uneven weight distribution in the rig. As far as getting higher off the ground, your axle height is the limiting factor. Bigger tires are the only way to deal with that. I've got 17" wheels now and plan to investigate 18" wheels to see what I might gain. But bigger tires can mean raising the body to get better clearance of the tires... the cascading symptoms effect.

Posted By: SilverPompadour on 12/14/15 11:12am

Had to take a break from sawdust and Trempro for a day. I had read in an earlier post about someone casting a new rear grab handle because the original was to pitted to re-chrome. Couldn't find the post but figured I'd fire up the foundry.
[image]

Figured it would be easier to just make a new handle pattern from maple.
[image]

Petrobond sand mold
[image]

The nameplates were kind of rough also.
[image]

My furnace 'Ferrous Bueller'

1968 Avion C-11
1993 Dodge D250 LE Cummins

Posted By: SilverPompadour on 12/14/15 11:19am

The molds are filled with molten aluminium.
[image]

As cast

Cleaned up
[image]

Painted

Finished nameplate.

I haven't decided weather to reshape the grab handle or finish it as is but either way its not done yet.

Rastaman, that makes sense. I was afraid I would have creased the skin by bending too far(or just loosing my temper).

Thanks for the visual D1

Posted By: 67avion on 12/14/15 12:27pm

Whoa. That's awesome. CAYO should know about this.

Posted By: rastaman33609 on 12/14/15 01:11pm

Silver ...you are a true craftsman....

Once again...does anyone know a source for a 'metal gravity fill' fresh water fill spout...the one with the lid that flips up. :-)

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