Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Avion truck campers

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Topic: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

Posted By: 69 Avion on 09/03/12 09:34am

I'm now trying to finish the FRP in the bathroom while I'm waiting for the bathroom fiberglass to come back from having minor repairs done to it along with painting it a "Parchment" color to match the new Thetford toilet.

I'm still waiting on the LP/CO monitor to arrive along with the last LED light fixture for above the sink. The LP/CO monitor will run off of the new refrigerator circuit and will be located right under the refrigerator. It also has a battery backup. I am going to cut out that cover that is under the refrigerator and mount it in there.

I'm also waiting for the new Rego regulator to arrive so that I can mount it and repipe the tanks and regulator.

It is all the loose ends that are frustrating.

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

Posted By: ticki2 on 09/04/12 06:27pm

ticki2 wrote:

garryk6 wrote:

Has anyone else weighed their completed Avion TC to see how much their repairs and mods have affected the weight?

Maoist of the structural changes (ie floor and tub) were done when I bought my C10. But my wet, ready to camp weight is around 2500 to 2600 lbs. It seams heavy for a C10, but it is heavy duty now, and survived the Denali Highway, so I'm not complaining,just curious after 40+ years of changes, how light or heavy are the other Avions?

Thanks,
Garry in Kodiak

Garry , I have weighed mine several times at the local Sand & Gravel but the results of the empty truck have varied each time , so I am questioning it's accuracy . It came out to 3000# wet and ready to go for the camper the last time . Last week I had the truck weighed at a CAT scale and will have it weighed again with camper in 2 weeks . I will report back. Advertised dry weight for C-10 is 1850# and for C-11 is 2150# .

Final results at CAT scales

Truck , 02 GMC D/A ,GVWR 12000# , cab/chassis ,DRW , aluminum flatbed with dump hoist and subframe , 2 underbed boxes with some tools and fluids, 50gals diesel , 300# of passengers
weight = 8280#

Camper , 68 Avion C-11 , 20gal water tank full , 2 7gal water tanks full , frig full , 40# propane full , closets full , sides full of stuff ( chairs , 2000 Honda , jacks and extensions , all kinds of other STUFF ).
weight , truck and camper and stuff , ready to rock and roll=11620#.

So camper and stuff = 3340# ready to camp

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

Posted By: 69 Avion on 09/04/12 08:53pm

ticki2, what do you think your extras weigh? Or putting it another way, what do you think that your C-11 weighs, wet with no additional items? 3,340# isn't bad for a wet and full camper. Some of these new rigs are coming in at 5,000# without the camping gear in them. I can't imagine hauling that much weight into some of the places that I have gone in the past.

If the factory specs were 2,550# wet, then I think mine will be around 2,750 to 2,900# wet. I will have no way of being sure unless I weigh the trailer and then pull the camper off and weigh it again.

Posted By: ticki2 on 09/05/12 08:49am

69 Avion wrote:

Some of this will be guess work but I think close .

Non stock camper items , folding canoe , chairs , tools extra battery,hoses , chords , water containers , steps , etc. 410#

Other - food , clothes , pots & pans , water , propane , etc. 405#

camper loaded = 3340#

approx.camper dry = 2525# ( factory quotes 2150# , doesn't specify what that includes or excludes )

Posted By: ticki2 on 09/05/12 08:53am

ticki2 wrote:

69 Avion wrote:

corrected , 40 lbs propane , not 40 gals.

* This post was edited 09/06/12 07:18pm by ticki2 *

Posted By: 69 Avion on 09/05/12 10:30am

Ticki2, if yours weighs around 2,780# wet, then mine will weigh around 2,900 wet. I think that you are real close.

By the way, does your C-11 hold 20 gallons of water? I think that my 1969, C-11 originally held 30 gallons in a green colored plastic water tank.

Posted By: ticki2 on 09/05/12 01:18pm

69 Avion wrote:

By the way, does your C-11 hold 20 gallons of water? I think that my 1969, C-11 originally held 30 gallons in a green colored plastic water tank.

My water tank was replaced at some point with a SS tank , it holds 20 gals and that is what the 68 brochure states . If I remember correctly your water tank cabinet in the 69 goes straight across to the counter top wall while mine has a step back after the battery box and then to the wall , so the 69 may very well have a 30 gal tank .

The 68 configuration is probably why I have had no trouble with the wall flexing and letting the table top fall when in the bed position . I also noted that my table top is a solid 1-1/8 thick making it very rigid .
[image]

Posted By: 69 Avion on 09/05/12 02:03pm

Ticki2, that makes sense. My water area goes straight across and that is why it would have some "give" to it. It also had the battery in it, toward the rear of the camper, within the same compartment. It is the battery area where I was able to gain most of the 10 extra gallons of water. A standard size 40 gallon tank would fit right in there, but there wasn't a lot of extra room.

Posted By: garryk6 on 09/05/12 03:44pm

69 Avion wrote:

On my C-10 I was able to slide in the 40 gal tank, and still squeeze the water pump between the side wall and the tank. We traveled around alaska for 2 weeks and still had water!
Good luck, 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: 69 Avion on 09/06/12 01:28pm

Here are some pictures of the under bed battery box mount that is similar to ones I built years ago. This places the battery box under the bed and between the frame and the body. This one is on the right side, away from the fuel filler.

[image]

I like putting 2" Armaflex tape over the area that rests against the frame.

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