LoneWolfSS454
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Re: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos
67avion wrote: Yes, indeed! I walked past the Avion a few years b ack when we were visiting in Tontitown, Arkansas. I noticed there was smoke coming from the water heater vent. I grabbed a fire extinguisher and quickly stopped the fire - an electrical connection. Of course, the hinge was broken in the process. When I put in the new water heater - which fit like a glove - I had to get the non OEM cover and vent.. This camper has a lot of history. If you look on the center of the roof you can see the new roof patch that Chuck fixed. Yes indeed, these now "ancient" Campers become very unique to each of us as we repaired things and/or added things to them over the many years we often have or had them. I so badly wish I still had mine...894Views0likes0CommentsRe: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos
67avion, congratulations on getting the old girl back! Although I (had) to sell my C11 (& truck) decades ago (due to financial reasons), I see I'm not the only one with a non-factory, white hot water heater cover (although mine was on the other side, near the rear). Did yours mysteriously loosen up and disappear too? I always thought I had mine reinstalled tight enough after each use, but apparently that wasn't the case, at least on the day it flew away. I suppose it badly wanted a new home, off in the weeds/bush on the side of a road somewhere?894Views0likes0CommentsRe: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos
67 Avion, I wish I could help with your question and I don't mean to be a smart-azz, but you really should figure out where and/or how the water is getting inside or whatever work you do replacing wood is for not, it'll just get wet and rot/mold/smell again. I do have a somewhat related suggestion for anyone with their camper tore apart inside. Find some micro-switches and mount them somewhere in or near the openings of the roof vents (mounted such to "close" the switch if the vent is left open, tied to a vehicle ignition-on circuit), do the windows too if possible. Wire them up (using low voltage, fused of course) to a small "light board" in the cab, with small warning lights. With this done, if you try to take off with any roof vents open (or windows) you'll get light(s) lit up telling you so. Besides preventing rain from being blown inside the camper, it'll also prevent you from blowing the somewhat fragile roof vents completely off. Edit: I just remembered something, leaving the water heater cover loose at an overnight stop, driving off and loosing it. It, along with other compartment doors, can also be wired up with various micro-switches. Water hook-up & electrical cord compartment door, propane tank door, etc.377Views0likes0CommentsRe: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos
ticki2, Thank You! BTW, I've just been looking and reading about your C-11 adventures and rebuilding, all I can say is Wow! I wish I was younger, healthier, and sill had my 1970 Chevy C-30 truck and Avion C-11 so I could "finish it" the way I use to dream of (but never had the funds for). I don't think the camper was in very bad shape, at least no rot that I was aware of. It did need some things, toilet (flushing related) seals, a new "city-water" regulator, the oven wouldn't wouldn't stay lit. Stuff like that, but nothing major that I knew of. Well, the outside finish was pretty rough & the interior upholstery could have used updating although it wasn't tore up. The truck wasn't too bad for it's age either, but it did have a few annoying but minor oil leaks, the seat-bottom cover was trashed, and it needed all 6 tires badly. Of course there was more cosmetic and other minor mechanical stuff that likely needed attention, but other than the tires I had no fear of it breaking down on me, which is saying a lot about a truck that old, even in 1997 when I last drove it.412Views0likes0CommentsRe: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos
roamlab wrote: LoneWolfSS454 wrote: Do you still have those measurements you took and would you mind posting them when you have time? If forgotten, I needed the overall length of the cab-over (upper-bed) section, the total length of the rear section (both from the lower-front "mid" window/wall area, forward of the factory water tank compartment). The overall height from the truck bed (or camper floor) to top, the overall width, and the rough depth of the rear overhang (below the truck bed surface). With those, I should be able to "guesstimate" all the rest. Thank you! Not sure if you got these numbers. But, presuming that they are the same as mine (1970 C-11) then it would be overall length of the cab-over: 52" total length of the rear section: 133" height from the truck bed to top: 80" overall width: 92" rough depth of the rear overhang: 32" (I'm measuring from the where the wheel wells opening to the far rear) roamlab, Thank You very much for those measurements! It's not a big deal, but that last measurement, the "depth of the rear overhang", was to be from the truck bed floor to the bottom of the fiberglass cover at the very bottom rear of the camper, under the bathroom (under the bathroom floor, black-water-tank, closet, etc). Looking at my old C-11 photos, I'm guessing it's roughly 8 to 10 inches deep?411Views0likes0CommentsRe: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos
LoneWolfSS454 wrote: 79 Bruiser wrote: I tried posting these measurements last night, but for some reason it wouldn't let me. I don't have them with me now. I will try again when I get home today. Thank you so much! No worries, whenever you can get to it, I know "normal life" always comes first. All is good. 79 Bruiser Sir, I've got the exact truck kit I needed & wanted, along with the assorted other parts needed (interior, appliances, & more) and am ready to make a wooden buck to begin building the 1/25th scale replica of my old C-11. Do you still have those measurements you took and would you mind posting them when you have time? If forgotten, I needed the overall length of the cab-over (upper-bed) section, the total length of the rear section (both from the lower-front "mid" window/wall area, forward of the factory water tank compartment). The overall height from the truck bed (or camper floor) to top, the overall width, and the rough depth of the rear overhang (below the truck bed surface). With those, I should be able to "guesstimate" all the rest. Thank you!191Views0likes0CommentsRe: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos
Rastaman, The L brackets sound like a good idea. I'd (multi-) bolt (or multi - lag bolt) them solidly to the sides of the platform (which is hopefully 2 X thickness minimum around the perimeter, x whatever height you need), and bolt the tops at the front - to the camper it self (also I feel a minimum) in case of starting out from a stop, going up a steep hill, especially if your have a manual transmission, "pulling gears" in the rear end, or a powerful engine, to eliminate any chances of the camper sliding off of the rear of the trailer. It could be your other tie downs can do this and those steps may not be needed? It sounds as if you have a solid plan so far. Good luck!327Views0likes0CommentsRe: Avion truck campers - Hundreds of photos
Rastaman, My advise, 2-cents is, if you do build the platform, which seems unavoidable given the shape of the camper along it's lower parts (the "bustle" area especially), I'd find ways ("creative ways" if need be) to secure the platform at all four corners (or in at least 2 places along each side) to the trailer surface ("bed,floor"), as well as secure the camper floor (the 2nd lowest area that usually sits on the truck bed floor) to the top of the platform. In my case, having my former C-11 sitting on & bolted to wood strips (the factory flat bed leveling strips plus a flat 2X4 on top of each of those) sitting on the frame of an old Chevy C-30 (former flat bed) truck, I ran only a total of 4, long wood - lag bolts (with large flat washers under the heads) thru the floor of the camper into the wood leveling strips (which had U-bolts holding them to the truck frame). The only other things holding the camper down to the truck (besides it's own weight) were 4-each, 3/8" chains, roughly 3' or 4' long each, hanging down from near the jack mounts (I believe, I can't remember if there were factory "tie-down mounts" along the camper sides, or if I made some?) and (the chains were>)bolted to the sides of the truck frame. I drove the rig like a (young) maniac at times and it never moved. Although the lag bolts I used would of never held the camper in place in a bad wreck, they did prevent any side to side or front to rear movement, with a fairly wild young version of myself at the wheel. Carpet on the floor of mine hid the passenger side bolts, I think the other side (at least 1 was anyway) were hidden inside the floor storage compartments.326Views0likes0Comments
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