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
Welcome, Pacific Rim. You have come to the right place to begin your search for an Avion TC. If you have, in fact, gotten thru most of the 300+ pages here, then you will have seen the problems and the many imaginative solutions we have collectively come up with. This site and this community are an extraordinary resource. As you muse on the basic questions to ask, let me preempt that process a bit with a couple of observations.
First, take as much time as possible finding your rig. Try to look at a few before you decide, to establish a sort of baseline. Searchtempest, the nationwide Craigslist search engine, seems to me to be the best way to find what's available in the country. Avions turn up with fair regularity, Cayos less so. Of course, having said this, if you find one that's spent it's life in a barn in eastern Washington state, you might want to go for it.
Secondly, buy nothing sight unseen. Inspect candidates carefully. They all have some plywood rot. The question comes down to how much and where. The front of the campers seems most prone to rot, followed by the rear entry area. Dents and dings in the skin can be problems in themselves, as well as having allowed water in over time.
The most you can find out about the provenance of a rig, the better. A southwestern camper is a far better candidate than an Oregon camper.
Third, learn to distinguish between cosmetic repairs and upgrades and truly structural work. The first can be straightforward and fun, the second can turn out to be less so... Rewarding, to be sure, but be honest with yourself about your skills and your time and money. It's easy to get into this project and it's easy to get discouraged as problems accumulate. Be realistic.
If you suspect as you read this that you're getting a pretty biased opinion, you are 100% right. My six month restoration is going on three years and the end remains elusive. A canny old Scottish boat builder once told me, about restoring boats, "Double the time and treble the money!" You may safely apply that principle to Avions!
Whatever path you take, we're all here to lend you practical and moral support.
Onward!
First, take as much time as possible finding your rig. Try to look at a few before you decide, to establish a sort of baseline. Searchtempest, the nationwide Craigslist search engine, seems to me to be the best way to find what's available in the country. Avions turn up with fair regularity, Cayos less so. Of course, having said this, if you find one that's spent it's life in a barn in eastern Washington state, you might want to go for it.
Secondly, buy nothing sight unseen. Inspect candidates carefully. They all have some plywood rot. The question comes down to how much and where. The front of the campers seems most prone to rot, followed by the rear entry area. Dents and dings in the skin can be problems in themselves, as well as having allowed water in over time.
The most you can find out about the provenance of a rig, the better. A southwestern camper is a far better candidate than an Oregon camper.
Third, learn to distinguish between cosmetic repairs and upgrades and truly structural work. The first can be straightforward and fun, the second can turn out to be less so... Rewarding, to be sure, but be honest with yourself about your skills and your time and money. It's easy to get into this project and it's easy to get discouraged as problems accumulate. Be realistic.
If you suspect as you read this that you're getting a pretty biased opinion, you are 100% right. My six month restoration is going on three years and the end remains elusive. A canny old Scottish boat builder once told me, about restoring boats, "Double the time and treble the money!" You may safely apply that principle to Avions!
Whatever path you take, we're all here to lend you practical and moral support.
Onward!
