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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
I rebuilt the oven vent as well, but I was careful to make it as close to OEM as possible. Not because of restoration standards, but because the vent will not swing open properly if the CFM of the fan is inadequate. I wonder about the weight of the piano hinge. Did you have a way of testing the vent?
The piano hinge is very light aluminum and the whole thing runs silky smooth. A slight breeze will blow it open. I think it'll work ok. I will test it with the oven fan though just to be sure. Thanks for the good idea..
C
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Avion C-11
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03/10/13 08:15pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Avion C11 - Will look great when finished.
Any mileage in running a few extra wires as spares in case you want to add stuff later, maybe wires for back-up camera, TV antenna etc. just in case?
By the way, will you need to coat that nice shiny exterior in anything to protect it from oxidizing (like they coat alloy wheels with lacquer)? Or will you be able to get away with a light polish every so often?
Steve.
Hi Steve,
There is probably good mileage in running some extra wires. The question is what extras to run. Ive got some extra 12v running to the bathroom and cabinets just in case. Hadn't thought about a backup camera.
With polished aluminum you can leave it bare or wax it. If you keep it clean it stays nice for about a year without any maintenance. Most people do a touch up polish once a year.
Wax can prolong the time between polishing but you then have to remove the wax before you polish it again.
C
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Avion C-11
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03/10/13 08:12pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Wow, great work on the interior walls! I am right behind you. Looking forward to that stage.
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Since my last post I have been working on getting the camper ready to receive the interior walls.
My main project has been getting all the electrical wiring installed and all the systems figured out. Once I put in spray foam insulation and then put the walls in there will be no going back to add wires later.
This also the last time I will be able to buck any solid rivets to the exterior skin. So, I have been finishing up little patches and repairs. Basically, everything on the outside of the camper needs to be finished in order to put the walls back in.
Finally figured out the oven fan vent and how it works. Rebuilt that with a piano hinge. Not sure what material they used on the original. Looks like it might have been a fiver tape.
Next is water heater and then foam time!
Wiring complete:
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/img_1720.jpg?w=640&h=853 width=640
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/img_1775.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/img_1779.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
12v systems finished and checked.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/img_1777.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Oven vent rebuilt
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/img_1787.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Trial fitting the moldings to make sure there is not other interior backing needed.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/img_1788.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
One bullet hole to fix. Man this thing has had a hard life!
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/img_1789.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Porch light installed and wired.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/img_1771.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Door handle installed and backed.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/img_1696.jpg width=640
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Avion C-11
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03/10/13 02:59pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Dennis,
I think as long as you are going to paint it that it will be fine without the bead. It would probably look kind of funny with the bead painted IMO..
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Avion C-11
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02/11/13 05:16pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Awesome work guys! It is so cool that a lot of our projects are coming along so close together. I am so close to putting my inner walls back in that it is inspiring to see the progress Dennis!
I finished up the 12V wiring over the weekend and am ordering the parts to do the 110v right now.
Keep up the great work!
Chris
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Avion C-11
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02/11/13 05:11pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
If I were replacing the bottom I would buy an aluminum spool gun for my Miller welder and use that to build the bottom, including the wings with aluminum square tubing. I like the idea of a floor that in insulated which is very important, but I also like the idea of nothing to rot. I think that Avion had a great idea when they used an insulated sandwich floor, but I would use a composite material on the outside instead of wood. The aluminum frame would help support the tanks in the back and would make the camper an outstanding piece of equipment.
I like this idea. If I had to do it over again, this is how I would do it.
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Avion C-11
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02/08/13 07:41pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
My wood wasn't rotted on my C-11 so I didn't need to replace it, but I added a gray water tank (19-20 gallon)and put an angle iron reinforcement behind the closet on the left side. On the right side, I put another reinforcement attached to the right wing, and then I bolted it through the floor and I used a 3/4" angle iron to attach the flange of the tank to. It is in this thread around page 54.(?)
Hi Ken,
The original structure lasted a long time and if you could build it back the same way or better it will last a long time again.
When I did the wood in mine I used thinner wood but reinforced it with fiberglass. My main reasoning at the time was that it would be stronger and more waterproof. It's probably a bit heavier too. I'm rough on equipment so I wanted to go a little further to the strong side.
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Avion C-11
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02/08/13 07:38pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Good info! Thanks for the help.
C
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Avion C-11
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01/27/13 07:00pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
That VW fender welt looks a lot like the cabinet welts in the Avion.
Still not sure I understand why to do the electrical that way. I can understand not wanting the microwave or hair dryer to overload the main circuit and kill power to essential gear.
So, what you are doing is eliminating the possibility of tripping the main breaker from an overload by "accessory" equipment by eliminating access to the outlets when on inverter power? Unless of course you turn on the #2 so that you could use the outlets.
My question is why wouldn't you have one panel where you can just turn off the breakers for each outlet or accessory? So, when running on inverter you just turn off the breakers to the outlets and microwave or whatever accessories you are worried someone might sneak in an use.
I'm just trying to understand because I am going to order all my gear for the 12Vand 120V interior wiring this week and need to make sure I have a solid plan.
Thank you!
Chris
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Avion C-11
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01/27/13 01:04pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
A quick update on mine, I should be picking up the aluminum sheets for the interior skin this week.
So before I close up the walls can any of you think of any additional wiring I should add ?
What I have now;
2 switches over the back door for porch light and one ceiling light.
ceiling light by door.
closet light
120v for fridge
AC wiring
bath fan
bath light
under cabinet lights in dinette area and kitchen
2 120v outlets kitchen and 1 120v outlet dinette
2 12v outlets kitchen & dinette
2 reading lights in bunk
radio/stereo wiring
tv antenna rough wiring
I'm going to rough in another 12v circuit in case I decide to get a 12v compressor fridge.
I'm going to use 2 120v panels to isolate the circuits to run off the inverter.
Converter charger for bats & 12v circuits.
Any need for exterior outlets ?
Thanks
Dennis
69,
Can you explain a little more about which circuits you are going to isolate for the inverter and which aren't? I'm working on a plan for mine right now and hadn't thought about splitting up the 120.
Chris
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Avion C-11
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01/27/13 08:23am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
I wouldn't worry too much about heat. Polishing gets pretty hot and I've seen panels expand but they shrink right back and never cause any trouble. I've sldo used heat to expand the metal so I could pop out little dings using a 400 degree heat gun.
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Avion C-11
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01/25/13 03:30pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Hey all, I'd be interested in your thoughts about 110v setups. I'm going to start that project in the coming weekend.
My old converter works. Should I keep it or do something different?
Should I charge battery from truck?
If you had the opportunity to rewire your whole camper what would you add or do differently.
Any feedback appreciated.
Chris
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Avion C-11
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01/22/13 09:08pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Gfemling, welcome aboard! This forum is the single best resource for these campers without question. There are some very knowledgeable people here.
I am happy that my posts have been helpful to you. I'm just a regular guy learning this stuff as I go and have made lots of mistakes along the way. I think the best thing is just to get started on your renovation and work out the details and snags as you go along. Don't let not knowing how to do it slow you down. There is nothing that you can't un-fix on these things!
Speaking of un-fixing things, the areas where I used spray can insulation in the walls early in my project will have to be dug out and resprayed with closed cell insulation foam. I have looked at that exact product and others like it and I have found that there is no other real solution to replacing the foam in the camper. You are absolutely correct about the open versus closed cell. Even the outdoor use foam in a can is open cell and will collect water like a sponge.
Darkspeed is the screen name of a guy on airforums that I have been watching since I started my renovation. He is completely rebuilding an airstream but foamed in the insulation just like we are talking about. Very smart guy and I would suggest searching that forum for him and reading about his resto.
My feeling is that the insulation in these avions is critical for structure, sound and insulation. I would never just chip it all out and insulate with matting or reflectix. The aluminum is so soft that it would be majorly dent prone and I feel that the foam in the joints of all the panels really makes a stiffer unit.
Careful when chipping out foam, it is easy to put dents in the metal from the inside.
So, after I have mine all wired and ready to go back together I will find some closed cell spray in foam similar to your link and install it myself. I will post on what I decide on when I get there.
If anyone else had a lead on a good product let us know.
Chris
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Avion C-11
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01/22/13 04:15pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Yep, I reworked the whole thing from the plug all thevway back with standard color brand new wires. The old lights all were self grounding from the rivet holes but my new LEDs needed ground wires ran to them. So, I just redid everything.
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Avion C-11
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01/21/13 06:58pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Well, camper work is under way once again! I have had lots of headwinds to the project since my last post. I had a deck project that needed addressing ASAP and my business has been slammed! However, with the deck project done and a slight lull between end of year activity and tax season starting up the camper got some attention in the last couple weeks.
I accomplished three basic things in the last two weeks: 1. Finished the first rough polish. 2. Figured out how I was going to do the inner walls and started gathering material to do them. 3. Finished mounting and wiring the LED lights on the exterior.
Finishing the first rough polish was really just polishing out the patches in the rear and touching up a couple areas on the right side. Before I call it finished I will have to polish it once completely with a medium compound and then again with a fine. There's no use getting that far down the road with polishing right now because I have so much more work to do on the interior and I haven't built a covered place to put it yet. I will finish the interior and all the accessories before going back to polish it again.
Figuring out how I was going to finish the inner walls were starting to drive me nuts. I was never able to find the right white vinyl edging for for the aluminum panels and the old stuff was trashed. I was also not sure that the condition of the old wall panels was good enough to reinstall because I was a little rough on them getting them out. I had planned on doing wood wall interior but after looking at this thing long enough I feel that structurally it needs the inner aluminum walls. Anyway, we pulled out all the skins and cleaned them up to realize they are just fine and will go back in with no issue. I also, finally!!!!, found some white vinyl edging that will work at Lowes of all places.
So, with those two hurdles crossed I wanted to finish up the wiring so that I could put the walls back in and start building cabinets. Today, I ripped out all the old light wiring and ran new wires to all my new LED lights. That project went fast as heck. It is so much easier building new stuff than it is restoring old stuff!! I feel like we are turning a corner where the renovation of old stuff is mostly done and what is ahead is all new construction and installation.
Next time I hope to post about finishing the 120V wiring and foaming it all back in and maybe even putting in some walls.
Chris
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Getting the skins cleaned up. The top panel is the only one I have the Vinyl in good enough shape to reuse.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1492.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Sink backsplash panel.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1493.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Rear quarters.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1495.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Rear patches all polished out.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1566.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Put in a new trailer plug.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1567.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Installed the rest of the marker lights.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1569.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Wired up!
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1573.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Front marker lights lit up.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_15742.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Rear marker lights and tail lights lit up.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1578.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Break lights and turn signals work! (they never did before restorations!)
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1580.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Oh yeah! We got reverse lights baby!
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1581.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Rear markers.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/img_1583.jpg?w=640&h=480 width=640
Have a great week guys!
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Avion C-11
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01/21/13 05:25pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
WOW! very nice job! that shade of blue goes great with the wood shade.
ive thought about doing a light upgrade to my old camper project but have not decided yet. in your pictures they look just fine being the new style. maybe something ill do too.
again, great job!
Wow!! That thing looks great! Thank you for sharing!
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Avion C-11
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12/12/12 04:27pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Seeing all these Avion TCs out in their natural environment is making me envious.
I've been following this thread for a long time. I am amazed at the quality of work and innovation of the owners. I've been an airframe guy for many years and this certainly piques my interest to have one of these when I get home. In one of the pictures, it shows three patches on each side on the rear of the unit. Was there damage or dents there? Looking at the interior shots it doesn't appear to have been bent. Just curious why you installed these. I will admit to having been out of the loop for a bit so if I missed the reason earlier, my apologies.
Stay safe out there..
Ken
Ken,
There were little dents on the rear/upper left side and a big one on the right. I had punched them out at one point and while the camper was anodized it looked great. However, after I deanodized and polished them you could see a bit of waviness and dents from where I dinged it out. So, I made the patches big enough to cover all that up and be symmetrical at the same time. I hope to have them all polished out soon and will post pics of the final work. Here are the before and after shots to date:
Right Side
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/img_0767.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
Right side popped out
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0842.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
Left Side popped out. You can still see it a little on the 3rd panel from the bottom
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/img_0841.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
With patches. Right side not polished yet
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_1219.jpg?w=1200&h= width=640
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Avion C-11
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10/29/12 04:23pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
Very cool!
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Avion C-11
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10/24/12 01:53pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
69,
Thanks! I really like the work you have done on yours. You have done some nice quality work to yours. So fast too! I'm envious of all the space your setup allows for storage.
I like the outside stove idea. Would love to see pics. I've thought about having a pull out grill on mine coming out of one of the side panels. I don't think I would ever use the internal stove.
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Avion C-11
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10/22/12 02:01pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Avion camper rebuilds - dozens of photos
In the last few weeks we continued finishing the exterior of the camper. In addition to putting a polish on a few areas that needed a little more work we finished making and riveting in the patches on the rear lapstrake panels and polished one side up to see how it looked.
The lapstrake patches turned out pretty good. I’m only 95ish% happy with it but I think I am just going to roll with it and call it done. Once they are polished they kind of disappear and don’t really stand out. If I had to do it again I would have spent a little more time working on the spacing between the rivet lines where all the panels line up. With three rows of rivets that close together it’s a little busy.
The Chimney cap polished up like a nice piece of chrome!
We got a couple more marker lights installed and made a couple various panels and patches for other parts of the camper.
I also, started to rework the Avion badges but before hand I clecoed them in place for a good visual of how they will look on the camper. It’s neat how a little thing like a name plate can start to bring it all together and make it look finished!
Another really neat thing was that Gordon and Angela White from Truck Camper Magazine stopped by to check out the Avion! My father and I really enjoyed the four of us sitting in the Avion and talking truck campers for a few hours.
I kind of had forgotten about all the work we put into this thing but showing Angela and Gordon around the camper and all the work we have done reminded me of how far we have come. I think Gordon might have caught the Avion bug in the process. Lets hope they join the club. Great people!
Chris
Made the rest of the marker light bezels
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_0871.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
The Chimney Cap all polished up
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_0872.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
The badges really make it look finished
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_0874.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_0876.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
Chimney Cap Installed. Still need to polish the rest of the chimney.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_0877.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
Marker light installed
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_0880.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
This is what the inside of the lapstrake patches look like
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_1208.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
Left side riveted.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_1209.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
Right side riveted.
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_1210.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
Left side polished
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_1214.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_1216.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
http://avioncamper.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/img_1219.jpg?w=700&h= width=640
Back to work!
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Avion C-11
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10/21/12 04:35pm |
Truck Campers
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