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.

[SilverPompadour]

That all makes sense. I remember living in a small fifth wheel trailer in SW Utah. The floor of the overhang where I slept was always cold and damp despite being in the desert.
At first I thought the pegboard was used to provide airflow into the mattress for some reason(or perhaps double as an air hockey table). Perhaps they used it as a lighter weight alternative to the solid masonite? If it was not factory then it was a somewhat common mod. Either way, it sounds like it would be a good idea to make a replacement. Thanks for the input.

[67avion]

Dave, you're definitely a "Point" cadet.

I appreciate the discussion about the spacer beneath the cabover mattress. I've not noticed an issue in the past, but I will check. BTW we should be hitting the road next week and are planning to meet up with a Florida Avionista. I'm hoping to outrun the Polar Vortex, but I may not get far enough away in time. But, it will be warmer than Illinois.

Meanwhile I ordered a G4 Giraffe which was just delivered. It determines the height of obstacles. I'm puzzling over a mounting technique. It is bolted, usually, to the vertical exterior mirrors of big rigs. You also have to run the line into the truck....

[Dave_Pete]

Thanks guys. This is a fairly timely issue for my rebuild. I think I may take a hint from what appears to be an Avion design for an issue we all must consider, and if I used such an assistance in Lil Queeny, she could have a little spec of Avion in her - thus making me a little stronger honorary Avionista than I once was!

[D1trout]

Silver, I think ticki2 is right about the pegboard creating an airspace under the mattress to address condensation issues. When I first thought about the design, because there was a large amount of moisture beneath the plywood on my C11, I thought perhaps the pegboard had been added by the PO to provide an air barrier between the damp plywood and the mattress...
The air space/condensation reliever is much more plausible. I'm putting a thin sheet of fiberglass as the outer layer of my cabover bed. Then the foam mattress with some as yet unidentified material beneath it to allow ventilation.
If it ain't one thing, it's another...
Onward!

[ticki2]

Mine is similar only it is made of sold 1/4"masonite , not pegboard . It is made in 2 pieces , left and right halves , so it can be removed . The bottom side has 1-1/2" x 1/4" slats stapled to it about 12" oc . I believe it is original but can not confirm . It creates an air space under the mattress which I think is a good feature to prevent condensation being trapped under the mattress .

[SilverPompadour]

Yes, the 'pegboard setup' I'm inquiring about was located on the floor of my cab overhang when I bought it. It was very rotted but it appeared to be a bunch of 1x wood slats with a sheet of pegboard on top. If I remember correctly the slats ran North-South. D1 mentioned it briefly on pg.197.

[ticki2]

SilverPompadour wrote:


I apologize for not being able to find it, Im better with a saw than a search engine but can anyone point me to a discussion on the cabover pegboard. I found one post where it is mentioned as a mod by the previous owner but mine had the same setup as did a friend with a 70 C11 Ultra. Im really just wondering if it was for weight distribution or insulation or ? Really necessary?

Winter finally arrived here in PA, hope it doesn't stay, Muley Point awaits.

Can you explain the pegboard a little further , is it on the cabover floor ?

[SilverPompadour]

67 Thanks for the access door pics, I have to say I get a kick out of the trap door setup. The new fridge looks pretty cool.
In my experience, many cameras like yours revert to black and white once it gets dark enough. Also it appears that your camera might have built in infrared LEDs for a kind of 'night vision'. You usually cannot see the infrared light when looking at the camera at night but the image on the monitor will appear as if illuminated by a dim flashlight, especially at close range. Due to the low power of these LEDs, they have minimal effect until it gets very dark out.
In general, small cameras(small image sensor) and small monitors do not work well in low light conditions.
A larger view screen might help. Does your current monitor have a contrast adjustment?

I apologize for not being able to find it, Im better with a saw than a search engine but can anyone point me to a discussion on the cabover pegboard. I found one post where it is mentioned as a mod by the previous owner but mine had the same setup as did a friend with a 70 C11 Ultra. Im really just wondering if it was for weight distribution or insulation or ? Really necessary?

Winter finally arrived here in PA, hope it doesn't stay, Muley Point awaits.

[69_Avion]

It looks like there has been some really good work being done on several Avions in the last month or so. I want to wish everyone a great 2016 and I look forward to seeing the progress continue.

Long live the Avion Campers.

[67avion]

Hi there Silver and a happy New Years day to my felllow Avionistas. I'm in between black eyed peas and football so I thought I'd post some photos that would be helpful to Silver, and catch up everyone on the 67.

Lets start with a photo from way back in the beginning.



Here you can see the layout before we removed the built in table and reduced the width of the steps.



We put in a trap door inside the cabinet that is accessed with a small latch.



Which opens to another trapdoor with a hinge.



Which opens to yet another trap door. Of course the bottom door gives us access to the water lines, but its also a relatively secure spot to stow things that you don't want in the open.

Directly in front of the rebuilt cabinet is the opening to the passenger side wheelwell. You have to slide out the couch to access it.



On the drivers side, at the bottom of the cabinet, is the opening to the wheel well.



Here is the installation of the new Nova Cool 3.8 CF refrigerator. It protrudes from the case, which is unfortunate, but it appears to lightly sip electricity and handily cool our goods. We'll give it a good test soon.



And finally here is my backup light installation. It hasn't worked out well. Unless its really dark it functions very poorly. I don't know if its the camera or the viewer that doubles as my rear view mirror. Any ideas on this would be appreciated.




I ordered the Giraffe 4 distance finder. It measures up from the front of your vehicle. Since I have crashed this Avion 3 times, it behooves me to try and not do it again. I think I may lose Sweet Jane's support which was hard won after the last crash. The refrigerator went a long way to making things OK.....

http://giraffeg4.com/

And finally, finally. We have a resource with Chuck Cayo that is without parallel. I could not find anyone locally who would take on the task of repairing the roof. I didn't think I could do it because of (a) skill levels and (b) a warm dry place to work. My insurance company was going to total the coach. Enter Chuck Cayo.

Not only did he repair the top in record time, he came in way below what I had estimated. The insurance company paid off 100% on the repairs. But, get this: while he was at it he fixed a broken vent, my sliding bed, installed a new charge controller to the replaced solar panel. I can't remember what all. And he didn't charge me for the significant extra work. He loves these machines and he loves keeping them on the road.

I am convinced that he is one of the best electrical sleuths I have ever seen, which matters since my wiring was fried from the damage to the solar panel.

He also did an expert installation of my new Nova Kool.

So, if you have an issue or three or four and you want it dealt with quickly and reasonably, give some thought to traveling up to Watervliet and Cayo.


So, Happy New Years to my Avionistas. I'm heading back for some football.

[SilverPompadour]

Happy New Year!

67, Hope the relief efforts are going well. The situation sounds very dire in many areas there.

Monkey see, monkey do. Im going to have to install access doors also, just too much addt'l storage to pass up.

I've had a bit of indoor time lately and needed some hard drive space back. Got some more video edited(poorly) and posted.
C11 Before Rebuild
Overhang Rebuild

[67avion]

Let me PM on that

[rastaman33609]

67avion....let me know if a place to stop over at near Lake City in north Florida would come in handy for you.

[67avion]

Rasta, I have an opening on the driver's side to the wheel well. It's in the base of the cabinet. We store water and other supplies in that space. We also have an opening into the passenger side wheel well. It is accesed from the top under the couch. We store the black water hoses and levelers in that space. It was set up that way when I got the Avion.

I think it is safe to develop that space on the drivers side. We have not had any issues whatsoever with water or anything else. However it did pop open during the windy passage from Michigan. But so did the Fantastik fan....

Yes, we plan on being in Florida starting on the 13th traveling from the Okefenokee to Tampa.

[rastaman33609]

67avion...glad to hear Cayo did a great job.
I know you have an access door on the left side to the area in front of the wheel well. I am thinking of doing the same, as that is the area where I plan to place my 2 6 volt batteries.
Did you cut that access door out? If so are there any tips you have to offer...I am just real tentative about cutting a hole in the skin on the side. Because of having 4 jacks I did not think a hole through the top boards of the wing was a good idea as it may weaken that area...is that correct (anyone else please free to chime in).

Anyway safe travels....are you still planning on coming to Florida?

Happy New Year Avionistas