Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos

[67avion]

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 collapsed. Because of a number of issues dealing with the wrecker truck, we had to release the camper as the truck was reeled up over the bank. The good news is that the truck is as good as new after a thorough rinsing, inspection of brakes, etc. The bad news is that the camper was thoroughly drowned. A lot of people had far worse trouble than we did, so we consider ourselves lucky. The floods are ongoing as I write.

Our planned trip to Montana in June is called off. heh.

However, I have now convinced my dear Jane that its time to really update the TC. After drying for several days we pulled out the interior. Amazingly the Zolatone paint that I had applied last year is good as new after a cleaning.



Without burdening the TC family overmuch, I'd like to ask some advice other than don't park too near a flood :-).

My DW was overjoyed that I had a plan for the bathroom: a composting toilet developed by Nature's Head http://www.natureshead.net/. Our holding tank was practically unusable and there was no real grey water tank on the 67 Avion. Our plan is to rip out the bathroom and install one of these and converting the blackwater to a greywater tank. Any experience with this?

Finally, the roof. I admit that I have not really done the work I should have. Now, I need to remove the various sealants on the roof and repair it. We are also setting up for a solar installation. Any advice as to this?



Here's hoping I have posted the pictures correctly. And many thanks in advance for your advice.

[cajunavion]

Howdy!
What size passthroughs do y'all have. Mine is 2ft square
open when traveling with a cushion between, I had to center it in the
back wall to match the cab. Have y'all
modified the opening. What uses is it put to?
Happy 300!

[D1trout]

Fellow Avionistas, thanks very much for your good ideas and observations about connecting Argo to the truck. Keep your ideas coming. I'm considering it from many angles. In that vein, I called Mark at Provan. They're the folks who make the Tiger line of truck-based campers. Very pricey, they occupy that middle ground between truck campers like our Avions and the Class C, van-based rigs.
Mark told me they use two styles of mounting. The first and original one, as personified by their Bengal model, is having all parts rigidly attached everywhere. The camper frame is bolted to the chassis, then the camper and cab are bolted together. Finally, the bottom of the cabover is bolted to the roof of the truck! These units have accumulated thousands and thousands of miles in all sorts of terrain, including trips from the U.S. To the southern tip of South America. He said there have been no attachment failures or other problems.

They are now also using an independently suspended camper and cab arrangement, with a flexible accordion coupling between the two units. The camper uses a proprietary three point suspension system. He characterized this system as allowing a good deal of flexibility in the camper itself, as distinct from the cab. The bottom of the cabover is some distance above the roof of the cab, rather like a conventional truck camper.

So where does this leave me? With two good options certainly, perhaps even three. I could rigidly mount the camper to the chassis and use an accordion coupling between the camper and cab.

This whole enterprise has become profoundly quixotic. It remains a very interesting design challenge and a compelling one, most of the time!

67, I seriously considered the Motorvator that was on eBay recently. I spoke at length with the salesman and with Chuck Cayo. Arguably, putting a sound Motorvator body on a new 4wd truck chassis would be simpler. However, I concluded that I'm so far down the all-aluminum Avion C11 road, that it wouldn't make sense to buy a rig with unknown issues. Plus, it's hard to imagine selling Argo in his present uncompleted condition. I'm not really after a Class C, just 4wd and reasonable access between cab and camper.

So, for all that, onward!

Dick

And D, thanks for starting this forum. It is astonishing!

[69_Avion]

Just think how well aircraft paint works.

[67avion]

I like the looks of the camper. I'd like to know the owner's experience with the painted exterior and the thinking that went into the decision.

I note we are at 300 pages according to my browser. Quite an achievement for a group dedicated to one product: the Avion truck camper. The interesting thing is that the string is self generating with who knows who deciding to post. Though I started it I sure don't have to nurse it along. But I do try to watch it.

I must admit that the conversation that most interests me is the build of Argo. Lots of thought. New ideas. Cross referencing yacht technology. But, I worry that an attempt to create a Class C from a C10 will not end well. I urge Dick to think again about hunting down a clean Motovator and going camping. Just my 2cents worth. I'm sure he'll make great decisions.

As for all of the Avionistas: Forward!

[garryk6]

Thats a really good looking C-10! I am not sure about the paint. It does give it a cleaner appearance, If I ever painted mine, I would opt for a silver near the same palette as the anodized aluminum.
Garry

[pjay9]

I work in Seattle operating charter dinner boats for Waterways. One afternoon I had finished my shift and was headed to get some refreshment when I stumbled upon this:







I sure wish I could see the inside..going to keep watching for an owner.

[69_Avion]

The pickup cab is mounted on rubber. The bed is mounted directly to the frame. There is a lot of movement between the two.
Military trucks have spring loaded mounts on the bed to allow the frames to twist. I would use a flexable rubber seal between the two in order to allow for the movement.

[ticki2]

I would have to agree with not connecting the cabover with the truck cab , too much twisting going on . Class C's are built for on the road , you're thinking 4x4 and on/off road . When I have been off road I can see the misalignment of the cabover and the top of the truck cab . Not drastic but it would wreck havoc if rigidly connected .

[garryk6]

Accordion seal

[garryk6]

Yes. I would leave 3 - 4 inches between the cab both at the back wall of the cab and between the roof and the ca over. Then fabricate a piece of thick rubber that would be bolted via a flange to the cab and bolted to the camper via a separate flange leaving enough slack such that it bulges inward to allow a large degree of misalignment without tearing or breaking. I'll try to find a pic of what I am trying to say in words....??
Garry

[D1trout]

Great observations, Garry. Very helpful. This means you'd favor leaving a space between the bottom of the cabover and the actual roof of the cab?

[garryk6]

Most class C have not only the back wall but also part of the roof cut out maximizing the connection to the van body.
Because you have a truck, your frame will want to twist the most right at the connection to the cab and camper. A
I have looked at a few early truck style class C motor homes that only had a crawl/walk through. They used a flexible rubber boot of sorts that was bolted and flanged to the cab and the camper. This provided a flexible yet airtight seal. I would avoid connecting the can and cabover, as the cab will want to move and the cab over is fairly rigid that could cause buckling at the cab over to main body of the Avion.
I hope this helps!
Garry

[D1trout]

69 Avion, how would you handle that twisting motion? Perhaps foaming or caulking the joint would allow movement and still seal out corrosive moisture. Or leave enough room so moisture drains out?
I think what you are saying is to think carefully before fastening the two parts permanently together? I was planning to fasten the front of Argo to the back of the cab in a manner that would not permit movement and insure a good seal between the two parts. Maybe not? Maybe the accordion gasket is a better approach? I wonder how the Tiger vehicles - or any Class C really - deals with the flexing.

[69_Avion]

Remember that the frame twists as you drive over bumps. A hard connection between the cab and the cabover part of the camper would impede that movement.

[D1trout]

Fellow Avionistas, I have a number of parts from my C11 which I will not be needing. Yours for the asking and the shipping costs. Here are pics. Also, I have the fiberglass and plastics moldings from the original bath. They might prove bulky and expensive to ship, but I'm willing to consider it if you are.



In this pic, from upper left, you're looking at the heater vent stack, one of the two small perforated vents(liberally slathered with silicone by the PO), the vent assembly for the range, and the fridge vent assembly without the actual vent cap, which I sent to Brandon a couple of weeks ago.

Let me know if any of this appeals to you.

As for progress on Argo, the all-aluminum camper, I'm steeling myself to removing the truck bed, moving Argo forward to contact the back of the cab, and cutting a big pass-thru... I'm only just coming to terms with the idea of radical surgery on this expensive truck. But I'm already heavily invested in Argo itself and a 4WD high clearance modified Class C vehicle really fits the bill in my family. Onward!

I'm wondering how to handle relationship between the cabover and the roof of the truck. Leave space OR have the cabover contact the roof OR actually mechanically fasten the cabover to the roof OR just place some sort of foam/rubber mat between them OR some aspects of a couple of these ideas. Your thoughts welcome.

Dick