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.
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.
Howdy!
I often have people ask me why I have gone to so much trouble to renovate a decades old truck camper instead of just buying a new rig. "Why in the long run, it would be much cheaper!"
I have tried to justifiy all the time and expense logically. I must say I never even convince myself as I am still talking. Then in a contemplative moment I think "I" understood. It may not be y'all's story, but it's mine. I grew up in the sixties. The space race was on. I was never so proud, nor have I been than when the first American set foot on the Moon. It was magical. Those shiny Airstream trailers were a part of the space program. Who could forget the quarantine campers to save us from "space bugs"! Then Avion came to town with the new truck camper. It was a tiny Airstream in a pickup. This was the spaceage in a compact package. Even those magnet doors that popped to the ceiling seemed other worldly. The write ups in Popular Mechanics showed how you go anywhere and see anything with the latest comforts at your fingertips. Oh! how I wanted one. I begged, plotted and dreamed. But it was not to be. Time marched on and other concerns took frontburner. Hell, I even forgot as years past.
Somehow though, I retained this strange attraction to those shiny aluminum campers. I was looking for the ultimate rig to take my kids to see the world. I did my homework, and nothing new had everything I wanted. I wanted something that would last. I had been around the revolving RV mill
and wanted off for good. Googling truck campers, I came across this blog. There were those shiny aluminum campers again. I read it all. Gary, Tiki, D, and the rest, made look easy (too easy, but that's another story). Get an old camper for cheap, and in a couple of weekends I'd have something that would last generations. One problem, I could not find an Avion truck camper anywhere that I could reasonably or even unreasonably get to. I scoured SearchTempest daily for 2 years, until, there it was. It could be had for a song if only I drove 14 hours and could haul it back. I jumped on it. Glad I did, the owner had phone calls begging to pay more. Trees had grown up around her, and it and it took a Herculean effort to extact her. 14 hours and 2 years later, our maiden voyage, "Where no man had gone before!". Then amazingly my elderly mother reminded me of the Avion truck camper I had longed for so long ago and the memories all came flooding back. Oh! the joys of satisfying the inner child!
I often have people ask me why I have gone to so much trouble to renovate a decades old truck camper instead of just buying a new rig. "Why in the long run, it would be much cheaper!"
I have tried to justifiy all the time and expense logically. I must say I never even convince myself as I am still talking. Then in a contemplative moment I think "I" understood. It may not be y'all's story, but it's mine. I grew up in the sixties. The space race was on. I was never so proud, nor have I been than when the first American set foot on the Moon. It was magical. Those shiny Airstream trailers were a part of the space program. Who could forget the quarantine campers to save us from "space bugs"! Then Avion came to town with the new truck camper. It was a tiny Airstream in a pickup. This was the spaceage in a compact package. Even those magnet doors that popped to the ceiling seemed other worldly. The write ups in Popular Mechanics showed how you go anywhere and see anything with the latest comforts at your fingertips. Oh! how I wanted one. I begged, plotted and dreamed. But it was not to be. Time marched on and other concerns took frontburner. Hell, I even forgot as years past.
Somehow though, I retained this strange attraction to those shiny aluminum campers. I was looking for the ultimate rig to take my kids to see the world. I did my homework, and nothing new had everything I wanted. I wanted something that would last. I had been around the revolving RV mill
and wanted off for good. Googling truck campers, I came across this blog. There were those shiny aluminum campers again. I read it all. Gary, Tiki, D, and the rest, made look easy (too easy, but that's another story). Get an old camper for cheap, and in a couple of weekends I'd have something that would last generations. One problem, I could not find an Avion truck camper anywhere that I could reasonably or even unreasonably get to. I scoured SearchTempest daily for 2 years, until, there it was. It could be had for a song if only I drove 14 hours and could haul it back. I jumped on it. Glad I did, the owner had phone calls begging to pay more. Trees had grown up around her, and it and it took a Herculean effort to extact her. 14 hours and 2 years later, our maiden voyage, "Where no man had gone before!". Then amazingly my elderly mother reminded me of the Avion truck camper I had longed for so long ago and the memories all came flooding back. Oh! the joys of satisfying the inner child!
significant milestone today,,,got the Avion 's painted
Now the project at hand is mounting some kind of grey water 'tank'
under the truck. The plan of strapping a 6 gallon water jug beneath the spare tire seems to be more 'gallons for the buck',
The 13' of 2" hose feeding into a 7'x 4" PVC strapped below the floor boards of the cab, was well hidden,and workable, but came up short on capacity, for the effort required.
I know others have routed piping in the basement area, however I am not about to remove that covering at this point.(anxious to quit fixing and start using).
Any creative ideas for beneath truck grey storage? (dodge dually)
Now the project at hand is mounting some kind of grey water 'tank'
under the truck. The plan of strapping a 6 gallon water jug beneath the spare tire seems to be more 'gallons for the buck',
The 13' of 2" hose feeding into a 7'x 4" PVC strapped below the floor boards of the cab, was well hidden,and workable, but came up short on capacity, for the effort required.
I know others have routed piping in the basement area, however I am not about to remove that covering at this point.(anxious to quit fixing and start using).
Any creative ideas for beneath truck grey storage? (dodge dually)
