Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos
Without going into too much painful detail, we had a mishap several week-ends ago. While working with sand bag crews on the Mississippi River, the truck and camper fell into the flood waters as a road...
Forum Discussion
Rastaman, I'll try to give you some detailed answers about repairs. How you chose to proceed will depend upon how obsessed you become with rebuilding and waterproofing and what your budget is... It is possible to go way over the top on this sort of project. I'm an excellent example of that phenomenon!
Regarding epoxy, West System is the standard and available from West Marine(the two companies are unrelated) and other vendors. It is a powerful adhesive and can also be used to coat and waterproof wood. It's pretty thick but can easily be rolled on with a foam roller. For coating wood, it helps to warm the wood first - put it out in the sun or in a warm room. That will give you a little more viscosity. Don't roll the epoxy on in the direct sunlight if you can avoid it. And use the slow hardener, not the fast. Longer working time is better.
If you just wish to waterproof the plywood first, consider using a CPES - a clear penetrating epoxy sealant. Smith's is the standard here. It's thin and penetrates the wood very well, better than West epoxy, yet still hardens and protects when it sets up. It can be used to stabilize and strengthen damaged wood. A couple of coats will be all you need. That's the way I'd go. Use Smith's, then if you penetrate the outer aluminum skin or just the layers of ply with screws or rivets, caulk each hole with Trempro, the standard polyurethane caulk of Avion/Airstream restorations or a Sika product. Some of these are just caulks and some combine caulking with powerful adhesives. You could use Sikaflex to bond the two plys together without mechanical fasteners. I'd be more concerned with any penetration through the outer aluminum skin than with interior screws in ply. Try to minimize those. Use existing holes, with lots of caulk.
Aluminum roofing screws might be just the thing. No electrolysis issues. The little rubber washers could be a worthwhile feature. Drill, caulk, screw in the screw and then clean up the excess caulk before it sets up. Acetone works well.
Re fiberglass, the only place it is used in the factory rig is in the 'bustle', that molding that attaches at the bottom and rear of the camper and contains the holding tank. There's no place on the outside where I'd use glass. Inside, I think you could just as well use epoxy-sealed plywood. Easier to work with than glass.
You have read about Vintage Trailer Supply by now. A great source for almost everything you need to proceed. And I have found Chuck Cayo at Cayo RV Repair in Michigan to be helpful with advise on issues I've been unable to resolve in any other way. He also has a varied and surprising collection of parts, moldings, etc for old Avions and Cayos. 269-463-5068.
Above all, don't get discouraged. It can be daunting to get these rigs repaired and operating in an efficient fashion. You need courage and persistence. The road to Muley Point is long and winding and rugged in some places, but I've been told that the view when you get there is spectacular.
Onward!
Dick
Regarding epoxy, West System is the standard and available from West Marine(the two companies are unrelated) and other vendors. It is a powerful adhesive and can also be used to coat and waterproof wood. It's pretty thick but can easily be rolled on with a foam roller. For coating wood, it helps to warm the wood first - put it out in the sun or in a warm room. That will give you a little more viscosity. Don't roll the epoxy on in the direct sunlight if you can avoid it. And use the slow hardener, not the fast. Longer working time is better.
If you just wish to waterproof the plywood first, consider using a CPES - a clear penetrating epoxy sealant. Smith's is the standard here. It's thin and penetrates the wood very well, better than West epoxy, yet still hardens and protects when it sets up. It can be used to stabilize and strengthen damaged wood. A couple of coats will be all you need. That's the way I'd go. Use Smith's, then if you penetrate the outer aluminum skin or just the layers of ply with screws or rivets, caulk each hole with Trempro, the standard polyurethane caulk of Avion/Airstream restorations or a Sika product. Some of these are just caulks and some combine caulking with powerful adhesives. You could use Sikaflex to bond the two plys together without mechanical fasteners. I'd be more concerned with any penetration through the outer aluminum skin than with interior screws in ply. Try to minimize those. Use existing holes, with lots of caulk.
Aluminum roofing screws might be just the thing. No electrolysis issues. The little rubber washers could be a worthwhile feature. Drill, caulk, screw in the screw and then clean up the excess caulk before it sets up. Acetone works well.
Re fiberglass, the only place it is used in the factory rig is in the 'bustle', that molding that attaches at the bottom and rear of the camper and contains the holding tank. There's no place on the outside where I'd use glass. Inside, I think you could just as well use epoxy-sealed plywood. Easier to work with than glass.
You have read about Vintage Trailer Supply by now. A great source for almost everything you need to proceed. And I have found Chuck Cayo at Cayo RV Repair in Michigan to be helpful with advise on issues I've been unable to resolve in any other way. He also has a varied and surprising collection of parts, moldings, etc for old Avions and Cayos. 269-463-5068.
Above all, don't get discouraged. It can be daunting to get these rigs repaired and operating in an efficient fashion. You need courage and persistence. The road to Muley Point is long and winding and rugged in some places, but I've been told that the view when you get there is spectacular.
Onward!
Dick
