Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: 69 Avion on 07/06/12 11:52am

BlackFlagForge wrote:

OK! I need the secret for getting the fiberglass guard off the back of my 69.. I wanted to get to work on the plumbing but I cant seem to remove this thing! All visible screws and rivets are out, what am I missing?

So, you really want to know the secret. I wish I had known before I tried taking mine off.
Avion put nails into the sides of the fiberglass, into the plywood floor before they put the aluminum on. The nails need to be removed, but the heads are covered by the aluminum. Some of them I could get out by pulling the aluminum out slightly. The others had to be sawed in half with a hack saw blade. My FiL did this for me. There were 6 to 8 nails on each side. What irritated me is that all it took was two nails on each side to hold it in place until the screws were put in. Whoever did it should be tarred and feathered.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

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

Posted By: BlackFlagForge on 07/06/12 12:24pm

Well thanks a ton, I didnt want to heavy hand it and end up with more than one piece lol

Posted By: 69 Avion on 07/06/12 12:52pm

Getting the fiberglass cover off the back is the hardest part of the job back there. It really isn't that bad, it is just irritating having to do remove the nails in the first place. Once we had the cover off and the excess plumbing removed, I sanded and painted the underside of the camper with a premium exterior (25 year guaranteed) stain. I then put 5 new 1 x 6 plastic runners under the camper. It turned out real nice. My wood was like new in most places.

Posted By: garryk6 on 07/06/12 01:33pm

For those of us that do not have the factory fiberglass cover... How far does it extend past the aluminum skin? Does it get in the way with the bumper/etc. Would anyone recommend, if they were to build one, to have it drop lower for more tank/storage room for light items (hoses etc)? Thanks in advance,
Garry in Kodiak

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 07/06/12 01:47pm

I recall Avion C11 talking about the fiberglass cover on this string: 11/26/11. Might take a look at that. Too bad there is no way of indexing this information since the string has gotten so large and difficult to access.

We rebuilt the cover last year, patching up the various cut outs and "repairs" that had been made over time. We tried to be creative in rebuilding the black water drains/holding tubes/tanks as well as to create a grey water holding area. I think that it could be configured differently if one were to build it from scratch like Garry is planning. My only caveat would be that the area is a cantilever and unless you have made a real effort to increase the support from the coach like 69Avion has done, you may cause some issues. Any up and down motion on the highway, would be magnified depending on the amount of weight inside of the holding tanks and pipes.

Of all the construction of the Avion TC that I have observed, I think that the rear overhang was the least well made. So, caution is in order.

Posted By: BlackFlagForge on 07/06/12 01:48pm

I need to remove my bumper for it to fit properly, I can take some measurements but with it attached I had to leave the unit hanging out about 6 inches to haul it home.

Sadly this is the area with the most wood damage of my unit so far and the area with the least support if replaced. I would rather not take off more than I need to as only about a foot deep and on the passenger side under the bathroom is damaged. thinking maybe Ill do some light gauge wide c-channel that will also server as a runner under the unit that way the load is supported all the way along the belly. I've not adding anything as far as weight goes to the unit thus far so I'm thinking 25lb or so of steel wont hurt at this point.

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* This post was last edited 07/08/12 11:02am by an administrator/moderator *

Posted By: 67avion on 07/06/12 02:17pm

Blackflag, you're doing great.

I was trying to go back through my own posts to jiggle my memory on the issue of supports for the overhang. I remember trying to come up with a way to extend supports from under the tub to under the overhang. I recall that we couldn't do it because it would interfere with the plumbing. Instead we found ways to beef up the supports on the corners of the rear wings and the overhang.

The other issue that I found is that the OEM steps that were installed in the rear were major transmitters of pressure in that cantilevered area...literally bending the floor out of wack. So one of the things that everyone should consider is the question of access to the coach. I know that Ticki has a beautiful ladder like stair. But, I am not sure of other's solutions.

Posted By: ticki2 on 07/06/12 02:21pm

garryk6 wrote:

The factory fiber glass cover extends down approx 8" . I thought seriously about extending it a bit more to have more room for tanks . As has been mentioned it CAN interfere with bumper , depends on the truck . The disadvantage would be a loss of some ground clearance if that is a concern . The other concern is how much weight is on the overhang with larger tanks . I think this could be overcome with some reinforcing . In your case with a 2x subfloor it should not be a concern . The advantage is more room for tanks and plumbing . A grey tank could then be dropped so there would be less chance of backing up into the shower when full . The last version by Cayo had a larger ( lower) fiberglass cover . I think it was called an Ultra .

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

Posted By: BlackFlagForge on 07/06/12 03:23pm

This is the idea I'm going for, it looks like the only thing that will need to move is the gas line to the fridge, and that would ony need to extend down about 1.5 inches into the holding area instead of being screwed right to the floor itself. The braces will skirt the outside of the unit and come back to join to two runners of the same channel that will extend like the old wooden ones did.
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* This post was edited 07/08/12 11:04am by an administrator/moderator *

Posted By: BlackFlagForge on 07/06/12 03:35pm

What is even more tempting is if I can get some help from family that does fiberglass.. I might remove the void in the guard that was used for the old stairs, this should give some much needed room for the greywater and with the steel framework added I can build a small set of stairs that will mount to it, when not in use I can just set it inside the door and its good to go.

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