tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39007709917210119112024-02-07T20:01:21.013-08:00Flyte '63Restoration and Travel with a 1963 Shasta Airflyte vintage trailer and a 1965 Avion C10 Truck Camper. Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.comBlogger171125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-79094370332815636752023-07-09T16:33:00.000-07:002023-12-02T15:17:11.705-08:00Newfoundland via Truck Camper <p> </p><p><br /></p><p>In June 2023 we took the Avion truck camper on our longest trip ever from our home in the Buffalo, NY area to Newfoundland. We drove over 5,000 miles of driving in total, which is even more miles than when we towed our vintage Shasta to Utah and back in 2013. We spent a total of 24 nights in the Avion on this trip, and best of all we only stayed in paid for campsites on 4 of those nights. We also didn't plug into electricity for most of this trip, making use of our trucks alternator and DC to DC charger to charge our battery and we used propane for heat and cooking. </p><p>Being relatively small and self-contained we were able to boondock most nights within feet of the ocean. We easily found spots using various boondocking apps or just keeping our eyes open. Many of the small towns in Newfoundland welcome small C-Class RV's, Vans, and Truck Campers for overnight stays in town owned lots, but also the province is so laid back that as long as you don't cause trouble it seems that you would be welcome to park almost anywhere for the night. Many of the places we stayed would also accommodate a small trailer, but the roads are pretty rough so I wouldn't recommend a towing much in Newfoundland unless you plan to drop it in campgrounds during the day while you are out exploring with your vehicle. </p><p>On the way to "The Rock" we took a ferry from North Sydney Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques that took 7 hours. For the return trip we took a ferry from Placenta back to North Sydney that took a long 16 hours. For both passages we chose overnight trips so we wouldn't loose a day and slept in chairs in the ships lounge area instead of spending money to rent a cabin. Unfortunately you can't sleep in your camper. </p><p>Our first day on the island we were able to get tickets for the Western Brook Pond boat tour that had just started running for the season a few days before. This pond is a former fiord and is located in Gross Morne National Park. The boat was was great and a great way to solidify the fact that we really were in a special place. Besides the pond we didn't see a lot Gross Morne saw enough to know that we will return with a plan to spend more time there hiking trails and seeing more of the park. </p><p>We timed this trip to catch iceberg season and saw some amazing icebergs near St. Anthony and Twillingate. You can see a log of icebergs from shore but we also took a boat tour out of Saint Lunaire-Griquet to see some of icebergs up close- it was definitely worth it. Note that it's still pretty cold in Newfoundland in June and we found ourselves wearing winter coats and running the heater before bed and first thing in the morning almost every day. </p><p>We hiked quite of a few coastal trails, these are well maintained and have spectacular views. Most of these were 3 to 6 miles round trip and not one left us disappointed. Some of our favorites included the Skerwink Trail, Chance Cove Trail, Rockcut Spiller's Cove, and a small portion of the East Coast Trail. </p><p>Near Bonavista we boondocked at the most epic campsite we've ever encountered. Our spot for the night was at the edge cliff on the ocean with small icebergs bobbing around and larger icebergs off-shore. It was cold, wet, and super foggy (as was often the case on this trip) and there were free ranging horses roaming around, some coming right up to the camper. In addition we had bought some lobsters from a fisherman earlier in the day and enjoyed a great lobster dinner in our camper at this amazing site. </p><p>Towards the end of time in Newfoundland we stopped at Cape Spear new St. Johns. Cape Spear is the most eastern most point in North America and the day we were there it was particularly cold, windy, and rainy and it certainly felt it like the edge of the earth. </p><p>In addition to buying lobster right off the boats a few times and cooking it ourselves (be sure to take a large pot with you!) we got Fish & Chips from local restaurants several times it was always delicious. The local take on fish & chips is usually Cod which is softer and fluffier than the Haddock we typically have in western New York state. We also checked out a cople of the local breweries, Dildo (made famous by Jimmy Kimmel), and Port Rexton which was a great stop after hiking the Skerwink Trail. </p><p>Overall we had an amazing time and will definitely return for another trip sometime. It's a big place and while we are very happy with how much of it we saw, there's still a lot to check out. Newfoundland has been part of Canada since 1949, and the residents are very friendly, and are proud to be Canadians - but it's also still a bit like it's it own country. We found it pretty amazing that a place this special was someplace that we could drive to - along with a ferry ride. Originally we had been thinking about a trip to Nova Scotia and some "well travelled" vintage camper friends from the Tin Can Tourists club told us flat-out, "go to Newfoundland" you won't be disappointed. They were right, a good reminder to spend some time hanging out with other like minded travelers! </p><p>There's some photo's from this trip in my Instagram feed here <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dwsdws12/?img_index=1" target="_blank">@dwsdws12</a></p><p><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-44358253813170297782022-10-01T13:16:00.002-07:002022-12-24T06:13:19.956-08:00Maine Trip with vintage Avion truck camper<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEia2QlQ0BNsXophb1LFZKAet5wvyOTCO-Dvl3N0vH1-Kf6FZWtMU3Mx7oeXvEKp9i5JI91cegdOExDC-N74gMbvOGPXWOr27zjY0Cw1ifif7ktACg1WGudgB3SlevssfA7V7t6Du9cSYgy1AHePQQjEsOwi31Ft3EAC5IfQFvxdnvWpHSX88J8fQmg8CA" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2437" data-original-width="3995" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEia2QlQ0BNsXophb1LFZKAet5wvyOTCO-Dvl3N0vH1-Kf6FZWtMU3Mx7oeXvEKp9i5JI91cegdOExDC-N74gMbvOGPXWOr27zjY0Cw1ifif7ktACg1WGudgB3SlevssfA7V7t6Du9cSYgy1AHePQQjEsOwi31Ft3EAC5IfQFvxdnvWpHSX88J8fQmg8CA=w400-h244" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5nvZbCayKpFJsZnVm4dBm-NTm1d_czDLyXUl-0k_eF7YDNmgV7Q3Gp3JRvlCqqABhTHJFWyNRmN_X9Bi-kTdx5ycutOmYtFy92zzld9Oj3yo1oZUDis0jdoQoiak20pxMsOwytKbg35VdkWnCDwer-oz1nFLXJdGtmgIK_R-v4PMR0w5vyKMQI7GmDw" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5nvZbCayKpFJsZnVm4dBm-NTm1d_czDLyXUl-0k_eF7YDNmgV7Q3Gp3JRvlCqqABhTHJFWyNRmN_X9Bi-kTdx5ycutOmYtFy92zzld9Oj3yo1oZUDis0jdoQoiak20pxMsOwytKbg35VdkWnCDwer-oz1nFLXJdGtmgIK_R-v4PMR0w5vyKMQI7GmDw=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbZ2jACldZdne6OQjLm8s2es9GB-kDjdeN_0xLSertWC0oTqbHOu8W4J5mmdokkAU63APXtA0WCGwY09BuocoU1rArIFOvB6ueCIc7q5GR216UwtqyEOyzxR0Z7lWH5l3FU2nPYNApTB6RWOanlW-3RhAekM179kWw-6mg7YDqez2_pU2l9GhPqS1poQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbZ2jACldZdne6OQjLm8s2es9GB-kDjdeN_0xLSertWC0oTqbHOu8W4J5mmdokkAU63APXtA0WCGwY09BuocoU1rArIFOvB6ueCIc7q5GR216UwtqyEOyzxR0Z7lWH5l3FU2nPYNApTB6RWOanlW-3RhAekM179kWw-6mg7YDqez2_pU2l9GhPqS1poQ=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In the early fall we took the Avion to Maine for a few weeks to see some color and check out a bunch of places we've been wanting to see. We spent time on the coast as well as a bit of time in the woods, camping at 8 different locations that included campgrounds, boondocking, and some moochdocking. Our route took us to north to the Canadian border near Calais and we drove most of Route 1 along the coast between there and Portland. Some of the highlights included a stop at West Quoddy Head, the eastern most point in the US. Buying lobsters right off the boat a couple of times, and one time cooking them at campsite in a torrential downpour - our new awning is working great and proved it's worth that night! Checking out the giant Trolls at the Coastal Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor - definitely worth seeing! Stopping at a lot of beaches to check out the rocks, including some that sing! And camping on some public lands along a river and finding fresh moose tracks within a few hundred yards of our campsite - unfortunately no moose sighting though. Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor were much too busy for us largely due to a pair of cruise ships who's passengers were overwhelming the small town, especially after being in the woods. The first part of the trip was a little early to see much for fall color, but on our last few days the leaf peeping was great! We also had two chance encounters with other vintage rigs during this trip. At a campground near Boothbay we ended up on a site next to a 1964 Avion trailer named the Red Zeppelin, it was great to meet it's owners and very cool to see. We also ran in a nice couple with amazing looking mirror polished vintage Streamline at Jasper Beach, this trailer was similar to one we saw at Sampson a few weeks before but a shorter model. Just before the trip I installed a new system that allows us to charge the campers house battery off the alternator while driving, it worked really well for a trip like this where we drive some at least every few days. All in all this was a great tip and also proved out the reliability of some new things that we recently completed on the Avion during our longest trip so far, driving 2,200 miles. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-49280643535676373852022-09-18T03:27:00.132-07:002022-11-27T04:53:43.884-08:00TCT 2022 Northeast Regional Rally <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJ3j5lmGscnxIrHStF8WYs0ATMGz2s2s5Smj5z4rN78SXYtpIdOw2oTTqfjSpd9IYoF-JlHzjGlf7c0m0SUBN1gF10Rx6O1DT4dY-5BTmnHgW2d69D57wkguCaCzD1Z55ENbPvC_tLO2LaFIcRfqQnpnVSiXbNYcGBQCbz2vXbWYg4kAbF31hfAkT8aA" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1898" data-original-width="3883" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjJ3j5lmGscnxIrHStF8WYs0ATMGz2s2s5Smj5z4rN78SXYtpIdOw2oTTqfjSpd9IYoF-JlHzjGlf7c0m0SUBN1gF10Rx6O1DT4dY-5BTmnHgW2d69D57wkguCaCzD1Z55ENbPvC_tLO2LaFIcRfqQnpnVSiXbNYcGBQCbz2vXbWYg4kAbF31hfAkT8aA=w400-h195" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUkSbqyUfleWKWO9prsIlaQ0vHdb4EBt4zY3th0TGw1PRWyHnXbrN-sjK5TsjHD7l7Q6cCPypoNQvCq9zdSV6X61b98oOOMjfca7F_X7NLpA-AkMguCpoWRfvmnq-9r5nhdybFvV17mnQxUrU7QnCyF6X3BodpU_h1Oa049CVcLQTzlq_sIaF7ZGhvRg=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_1_BYIYTukwzZysOVQ7zm1_nZ7zFXsVhmHJk1D5He7RP22TmLENv6Q45e1cs2XPZEeeLuL3zPX7wyUgY1iBIX5vVwd4OMOU-3BuNszwGh3hZE_bTMnwtvGKf1fKBHu9vmaDBQwrTJnZnC7QiAqB6Qks0kuPhwnorx2dnUuj76G6xHv8ge24C38tadBA" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_1_BYIYTukwzZysOVQ7zm1_nZ7zFXsVhmHJk1D5He7RP22TmLENv6Q45e1cs2XPZEeeLuL3zPX7wyUgY1iBIX5vVwd4OMOU-3BuNszwGh3hZE_bTMnwtvGKf1fKBHu9vmaDBQwrTJnZnC7QiAqB6Qks0kuPhwnorx2dnUuj76G6xHv8ge24C38tadBA=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin7OpiukvBQVUbyXA-CdwbUYO2MxKYHFacRiXzYf0h_l0y1pwFpC2pUQ99LVbsgKiKj74zWC6mbjKNaMD7XBkk8vAgTAIKXXzd3qIk0zGv8FgafZTpmuOZYD5bWASUVUqtLwTScvD3R_veIo9yxUi05pDn826QUI7KZyFDIV6EJQFVP2Uf9S1N1yx66g" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin7OpiukvBQVUbyXA-CdwbUYO2MxKYHFacRiXzYf0h_l0y1pwFpC2pUQ99LVbsgKiKj74zWC6mbjKNaMD7XBkk8vAgTAIKXXzd3qIk0zGv8FgafZTpmuOZYD5bWASUVUqtLwTScvD3R_veIo9yxUi05pDn826QUI7KZyFDIV6EJQFVP2Uf9S1N1yx66g=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6oHuremTfGlYnkg9i3NR17UX0DVKhpgaRzyX-X9VicAE43-upmJZ6EgXSgDGYhr_wnZCCr70WUYYw7dEQdFGj8hUj_C28btp81EiWa91fOrWgDK9Me23Sot9NeV6-7jmauCD5CxBY8ravfJkNvYphgtvx4Pm6HbGnOKbL_UpTZfs4yacml-ySOvd9yg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2206" data-original-width="3725" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6oHuremTfGlYnkg9i3NR17UX0DVKhpgaRzyX-X9VicAE43-upmJZ6EgXSgDGYhr_wnZCCr70WUYYw7dEQdFGj8hUj_C28btp81EiWa91fOrWgDK9Me23Sot9NeV6-7jmauCD5CxBY8ravfJkNvYphgtvx4Pm6HbGnOKbL_UpTZfs4yacml-ySOvd9yg=w400-h238" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtVpGSONUtzOVbgLRrq2KM0w8KwjQu8eV78DUUEH-PGRVkyqAKUbisQZ6OqQwkHZzbt3jCXmakPWYB9Qk0NYDGUY6JHywGMUcW0o45Zc0nGivh7CjaEVlzt_3g-3VVcHwl0NxgJXwvWbm_gWAtLBpTYVT9holJlQsNV6c1om0qO8ftTNQUdN7C4hEZ1A" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtVpGSONUtzOVbgLRrq2KM0w8KwjQu8eV78DUUEH-PGRVkyqAKUbisQZ6OqQwkHZzbt3jCXmakPWYB9Qk0NYDGUY6JHywGMUcW0o45Zc0nGivh7CjaEVlzt_3g-3VVcHwl0NxgJXwvWbm_gWAtLBpTYVT9holJlQsNV6c1om0qO8ftTNQUdN7C4hEZ1A=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Somehow this year we managed to get to three Tin Can Tourists events, our 3rd being the annual Northeast Regional Rally at Sampson State Park in New York's finger lakes region. We've been attending this rally fairly consistently for about 15 years and enjoy catching up with a many vintage camper friends that we have made over the years. This years event was back to a full rally and had more attendees than ever. Some of the first-time rigs at this event included a 1967 Travel Queen truck camper, a 1940's Higgins tent trailer, a 1966 Streamline trailer, and a super nice early 60's Shasta Airflyte that was being towed by a heavily modified vintage Cadillac. One of our good friends was also there with an amazing new entirely homebuilt trailer based on a Metzendorf, but unfortunately I didn't get good photos of it. I'm sure that I'm repeating myself from other posts, but these events are amazing! </p><p><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-77241388058276142432022-08-21T15:10:00.078-07:002022-11-20T13:03:17.127-08:00TCT Toy Town Rally<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGBxhcyxje6CulVr8d1qYhArDNzkeEtNHHYGhpTCWcBXEze3QowP4P1vUqrLmOvgdhrEt4HekT2ibSXtxM0fNiaeBlBY1bckvSqI31egpPPkWgQv8ROg9sUxIIha3CqQA0i6oww2zzKM1oGJNoRV9ZIYeOYlydthynaP61_3G-jl3tlFZDiNXXNTAh8Q" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1988" data-original-width="3555" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGBxhcyxje6CulVr8d1qYhArDNzkeEtNHHYGhpTCWcBXEze3QowP4P1vUqrLmOvgdhrEt4HekT2ibSXtxM0fNiaeBlBY1bckvSqI31egpPPkWgQv8ROg9sUxIIha3CqQA0i6oww2zzKM1oGJNoRV9ZIYeOYlydthynaP61_3G-jl3tlFZDiNXXNTAh8Q=w400-h224" width="400" /></a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCLfie6aOxiaeLYAXuFn6nRNc4zTL028z0g4I8Twg8Q_9s3m3c1AxXtwNtv9gQgyc7Qj_52bg3dwd-WuDJnDYm5tTmGys6v9mtpbX5IIf8NvK5DbOohm2_r6dK7Mog1n9iWwx5HmNxUT12rION3FuV8uz32t0b8T9NgHN9L90ZnaY-U0G2sXu69l9T0Q" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1989" data-original-width="3536" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCLfie6aOxiaeLYAXuFn6nRNc4zTL028z0g4I8Twg8Q_9s3m3c1AxXtwNtv9gQgyc7Qj_52bg3dwd-WuDJnDYm5tTmGys6v9mtpbX5IIf8NvK5DbOohm2_r6dK7Mog1n9iWwx5HmNxUT12rION3FuV8uz32t0b8T9NgHN9L90ZnaY-U0G2sXu69l9T0Q=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGftOnhlhjWh6tHVBL3QyeYjlYwyVf7M456ii0A6g-CnURyftpM_huSkntYSNuXGVNXvX6WondjRqwPgEm5bWccXylvk0_BwsY8GcmuSM5VMGVtjKuPi1VLm0VE1V5bPqhFGdR9oD6yKP4ANndV-_Q-8TRMDv0xWZBa2EaWT3-inx3ZlmGSMeL_zvGRw" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2086" data-original-width="3708" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGftOnhlhjWh6tHVBL3QyeYjlYwyVf7M456ii0A6g-CnURyftpM_huSkntYSNuXGVNXvX6WondjRqwPgEm5bWccXylvk0_BwsY8GcmuSM5VMGVtjKuPi1VLm0VE1V5bPqhFGdR9oD6yKP4ANndV-_Q-8TRMDv0xWZBa2EaWT3-inx3ZlmGSMeL_zvGRw=w400-h225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifv5KPqeMq9vtKGc0DRh-YlpwSPFNxaj2PxVgZ7KZe_dN8pHOJ09GbFh14sk4hRwIqu08fWUPljYWf1P9VkvYPVlpiKQ8akr7fnRfGm1AUB7LZDTGlNM_IQhgd32whdF0B7U2_A6Y7InkypqlqYhFF2CRGyF-sMPl4-Og_44oJbUGWP1z6rAVfLgQCxA" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2504" data-original-width="3836" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifv5KPqeMq9vtKGc0DRh-YlpwSPFNxaj2PxVgZ7KZe_dN8pHOJ09GbFh14sk4hRwIqu08fWUPljYWf1P9VkvYPVlpiKQ8akr7fnRfGm1AUB7LZDTGlNM_IQhgd32whdF0B7U2_A6Y7InkypqlqYhFF2CRGyF-sMPl4-Og_44oJbUGWP1z6rAVfLgQCxA=w400-h261" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In August we helped host a small vintage camper event - the first ever TCT Toy Town Rally which was held in East Aurora, NY. This rally had 23 campers that were manufactured over a period of 101 years, ranging from 1921 to 2022. The types of campers varied greatly including a wide variety of trailers, early tent trailers, several buses, a 2020 home-built trailer, and even a 1965 International Scout with a roof-top tent. The small size of the event helped foster a lot of sharing of camping stories and vintage camper know-how which was especially great for 10 attendees who were new Tin Can Tourists members. This was our first time helping to host an event like this and we are happy to say that it went well - largely due to the efforts of two other couples that co-hosted with us. We look forward to being able to do this again and and are thankful to the TCT organization for bringing us all together. </p><p><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-54658445456209751632022-05-29T15:15:00.040-07:002022-11-16T15:36:13.744-08:00TCT 25th Annual Gathering and driving around a Great Lake! <p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj656BPdp56ezDZgXRAV227COpzcq9Jt31gG0o2mlhppJb54okankCRWRpZvCfw95xs0FXb4nE55j3cn7OuMUHK3fPrvMYVP0DIxvaOzXjn7QqfHNsVNUCr4-yoCWWFnQjujS_DbX1E37kqr5zraUBz7tdmWOAfrI_w9LamIxrIU89VqfZaDKQQYbXsWA" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1680" data-original-width="3491" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj656BPdp56ezDZgXRAV227COpzcq9Jt31gG0o2mlhppJb54okankCRWRpZvCfw95xs0FXb4nE55j3cn7OuMUHK3fPrvMYVP0DIxvaOzXjn7QqfHNsVNUCr4-yoCWWFnQjujS_DbX1E37kqr5zraUBz7tdmWOAfrI_w9LamIxrIU89VqfZaDKQQYbXsWA=w400-h193" width="400" /></a></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqLEhTpatRN4OfGsr2AtNsMbW5SPBa4FWXcyXSRMDr9nxoJySL8khDAhw7Xw9L1DrIz50ccW6ixJzzxrcOJTbso1ERG8HEeDcdcF34FNDOJl6ZLkXHvBN6WNqv7BagCK3CQv-qX88ttDZExGu0OReAL8cmDucO3mFho14HUOo2_edcG8mVjs5FpMjfuQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2413" data-original-width="4021" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqLEhTpatRN4OfGsr2AtNsMbW5SPBa4FWXcyXSRMDr9nxoJySL8khDAhw7Xw9L1DrIz50ccW6ixJzzxrcOJTbso1ERG8HEeDcdcF34FNDOJl6ZLkXHvBN6WNqv7BagCK3CQv-qX88ttDZExGu0OReAL8cmDucO3mFho14HUOo2_edcG8mVjs5FpMjfuQ=w400-h240" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEie52zATvgQrI9hl5G2s8zAN8Mb_NEyx2PRryLepy1nAfWQcLHWOvQS7anycAJkYs7dd9G43zeFPHhAxPbrPiZyy1Pnzpx-7l0GYKh-xgG9zzI6yAZKCfcMr3CNos8o8_JFvvBJ1hwZkoxlHYIWyvQAEZSusJ9VpTf3neYUME8FH0SAPjxgM4a6tXxWfw" style="clear: left; 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float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2177" data-original-width="4005" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiibM9m9m1ifyBTvooRNopMjlhkWb5pYVtoKZPfWyiyYX_YCur3qL4ek3l1Gtk8qTYFsRDJKwZPV_jEYik4ebgXO6nTe1UmvGBImNFoIWlMlNCW4H5_41zt-G50vMY89gdaOpojdsi5UETF2COdDR5imngcnp9vMD40IEAh-VCckmhPQMcnQd5gNqxzBA=w400-h217" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi12JbcIkrXlD-h0ls3JUVf0SQcclGUb4gODwUYwO7eM3omVA-d54RExuoeGVbeB9nYyQAxfFGD3kQp-zyfw5Mhb7wgU5a85BnEDiXkM8qSBN8AVJLUMgM9inhawEdxr_tW61YoGZKZ_wrTTd3ZW_Ga94A3ZrKBQKUhe993mx3EGUdawh73upI4rxyEoQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2413" data-original-width="3699" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi12JbcIkrXlD-h0ls3JUVf0SQcclGUb4gODwUYwO7eM3omVA-d54RExuoeGVbeB9nYyQAxfFGD3kQp-zyfw5Mhb7wgU5a85BnEDiXkM8qSBN8AVJLUMgM9inhawEdxr_tW61YoGZKZ_wrTTd3ZW_Ga94A3ZrKBQKUhe993mx3EGUdawh73upI4rxyEoQ=w400-h261" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>For the first trip in 2022 we took the Avion truck camper to the <a href="https://tincantourists.com/" target="_blank">Tin Can Tourists</a> 25th Annual Gathering at Camp Dearborn in Milford, MI in May. For this trip we travelled about 800 miles and circumnavigated our first great lake, Lake Erie. </p><p>For the drive out we travelled through Canada from our home near Buffalo, NY. Going through Canada can save a couple of hours of driving compared to taking a route that stays in the US, but unfortunately we ended up waiting over two hours at the border in Sarnia because the US only had one Auto/RV lane open and was dealing with a huge jam of trucks. Also unfortunate, it was raining heavily for much of the drive, so we didn't see much on the way but did make a quick stop at an IKEA and we got someTim Hortons coffee during our first time traveling to another country with our Avion. Our F350 and Avion are "paired well" functionally and it's pretty easy to drive on for a trip like this. We did have a near mishap when we noticed that our exterior access panel for the fridge was open and flapping in the breeze along the highway. We pulled over and found that the lock cylinder was completely missing. Luckily duct tape sticks fairly well to damp surfaces and we were able to get back on the road and didn't loose the original door panel. </p><p>Every year the TCT Annual Gathering is the largest vintage camper event in this part of the US with about 160 vintage campers of different types in attendance. We've participated in a bunch of TCT rallies in New York state with our 1963 Shasta, but this event had twice as many campers than other rallies that we've been at. This years event was run with paired down activities due to Covid concerns, but we still had a great time and met a lot of interesting people while checking out their amazing campers. If you are interested in vintage campers seek out a Tin Can Tourists <a href="https://tincantourists.com/events/" target="_blank">event</a> and attend the open house or better yet bring a vintage camper in any condition, you won't regret it! </p><p>For the trip home we decided to travel through the US taking it slow. We stopped for lunch at the Toledo <a href="https://metroparkstoledo.com/explore-your-parks/toledo-botanical-garden-metropark/" target="_blank">Botanical Gardens</a> and spent a night at Findley State Park in Ohio. We also drove through Presque Isle State which was cool to see, but we were really glad it was too early for their busy beach season! </p><p><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0Milford, Milford Charter Twp, MI 48381, USA42.5916684 -83.600370314.281434563821158 -118.7566203 70.901902236178842 -48.444120299999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-40241294168228912352021-11-30T04:29:00.000-08:002022-11-17T14:59:51.682-08:00Camping on Lake Ontario and a new latch for the door<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQ5UE96OJMIxt_ZJ6c-15UBvKT5UelP8evDeCswA8vJ6p8ANVa7PqHGn8fL6M-YeSXIgylDC57qXVkeG7oD_jsENU0h0Oy3A5O2ZqaxcBrAIh3J-YV0WNHhJr_HV6l_Grn2JSS96Gex8U9MAsGf6WCmoIfv3cCAq9A1byEnzm5zdeFBje8PsYz_YWWfw" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2435" data-original-width="2994" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQ5UE96OJMIxt_ZJ6c-15UBvKT5UelP8evDeCswA8vJ6p8ANVa7PqHGn8fL6M-YeSXIgylDC57qXVkeG7oD_jsENU0h0Oy3A5O2ZqaxcBrAIh3J-YV0WNHhJr_HV6l_Grn2JSS96Gex8U9MAsGf6WCmoIfv3cCAq9A1byEnzm5zdeFBje8PsYz_YWWfw" width="295" /></a></div><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVo-fTe8fISiMT5S519zuKCD7FjaP71lqcsAwPVvz_A0hl3D5_2RR-xJcmKvqw44XkigTQxxQSXWhv9RxKPUcvE7bOS28UHIgWN4dbtJMVHVwk8uHP3ABMWZORMK0Vtok8LEXb5MaXCLjF8e-h7YbucUoxm7W_TTcqFeCjQzy3I2D1CXzlg-BP0kBBYg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3559" data-original-width="2543" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVo-fTe8fISiMT5S519zuKCD7FjaP71lqcsAwPVvz_A0hl3D5_2RR-xJcmKvqw44XkigTQxxQSXWhv9RxKPUcvE7bOS28UHIgWN4dbtJMVHVwk8uHP3ABMWZORMK0Vtok8LEXb5MaXCLjF8e-h7YbucUoxm7W_TTcqFeCjQzy3I2D1CXzlg-BP0kBBYg" width="171" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWTT5IiWriy1DJrtvkaFuz62Atbm9IjKEyj9B1o8dvpXcBc0b52WIhuTB36PjkCg4a1wJVowWhIvCQ0iqExox9YXGeXPNop6YMmBTBSDgaXOfDGOid5utzgtEF2aN0ArK8Uu88V_po069GMZVhC0gPbc9Wi2PqfhqIoD74EDD0mdM3ESiHzndl_iKYVQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWTT5IiWriy1DJrtvkaFuz62Atbm9IjKEyj9B1o8dvpXcBc0b52WIhuTB36PjkCg4a1wJVowWhIvCQ0iqExox9YXGeXPNop6YMmBTBSDgaXOfDGOid5utzgtEF2aN0ArK8Uu88V_po069GMZVhC0gPbc9Wi2PqfhqIoD74EDD0mdM3ESiHzndl_iKYVQ" width="180" /></a></div><br /></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><p></p><br /><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><br /><br /><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;">We were able to sneak in one more camping weekend with our 1965 Avion C10 Truck Camper in late October. We spent a few nights at Four Mile Creek state park near Lewiston NY. This campground is right on Lake Ontario and on a clear day you see Toronto across the lake. We enjoyed hanging out by the lake and and did a couple of short hikes nearby. One day we drove over to </span><a href="https://www.oldfortniagara.org/" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">Old Fort Niagara</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"> and toured the history museum and fort that is located where the Niagara River empty’s into Lake Ontario. We also stopped at </span><a href="https://www.artpark.net/" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">Art Park in Lewiston</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px;"> to hike the trail along the Niagara Gorge and check out some some of art on the grounds there including one of their parking lots that is a huge mural. </span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;">On our last night there I noticed something funny going on with our door latch and discovered that the lock cylinder was not functioning properly, it was loose and in the locked position and would not unlock. If I closed the camper door, I would not be able to get the door open again. I decided to try taking the lock apart on the spot to see if it was a simple fix, at least to allow us to close the door without being locked out. The lock assembly came apart easily and I promptly lost a few small parts in the grass just as it was getting dark. After hunting around for 30 minutes with a flashlight and then wearable headlight I managed to find the missing parts. I then tried to see if could figure out what was wrong and if I could get the lock back together. A hour later I decided that we should just find a way to secure the door for the night and the trip home in the morning so that I could deal with it later. The the next day the trip home was uneventful using our clothes-line to keep the door from opening.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> Vintage camper travel tip, always have things like rope and duct tape and don't be surprised if you need to troubleshoot on the road! </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;">Over the winter we decided to look into options for a different door latch. The old Bargman L-100 lock had a round knob that was awkward to turn to get the door open. I ended up buying a new lock that is paddle style that from the outside you just pull towards you to open the door, and now that it's installed it's proving easier to use than the old one. After looking at a lot of options online I ended buying the lock from a company called <a href="https://www.latchit.org/" target="_blank">Latch-it</a>, it’s well made and all metal with a chrome finish. There area lot of locks of this style that look pretty similar to each other, but some are definitely better made than others. The folks at Latch-it were also super helpful in my requests for dimensions and other info. I did have to make some modifications to get it work with our our door which is a little thicker than modern campers. I had to fabricate a small extension for the interior paddle and modify the locking lever, I also have to enlarge the hole in the door a little, but it’s working well and definitely a big improvement. Besides functioning better we also like that it doesn't look out of place, looking like it may have been original to the untrained eye. </div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /><br /></div>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0Lewiston, NY 14092, USA43.1725552 -79.035878214.862321363821152 -114.1921282 71.482789036178843 -43.8796282tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-71477019441334926442021-10-16T10:22:00.000-07:002022-11-17T15:06:40.620-08:00Fall Camping in Watkin's Glen, and a Kimbo Experience<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGCg4azRA-smLeJW102tqVV_xTI1bnF_18xEKMOW8eYpNIUAnbOhuHa9oziW6c8vX5O3E7fHv0iq15h0aXxulWYP7KxkiTdUrQctNS0l3wCpMOXXh0P8cf77JbT4KV2IHPNW9qBxRSOnrBsbWiLd_dZR7rXsF8tICHs1MC9TuMDnYiBgQKrrsyjgZlRA" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img alt="Kimbo camper with Avion Camper" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGCg4azRA-smLeJW102tqVV_xTI1bnF_18xEKMOW8eYpNIUAnbOhuHa9oziW6c8vX5O3E7fHv0iq15h0aXxulWYP7KxkiTdUrQctNS0l3wCpMOXXh0P8cf77JbT4KV2IHPNW9qBxRSOnrBsbWiLd_dZR7rXsF8tICHs1MC9TuMDnYiBgQKrrsyjgZlRA=w320-h240" title="Kimbo camper with Avion camper" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEge45jzf4RLhi9lBimvJae9dkPezUJhyv__mOYxNfKI6KECbRKkmt8FMiKP287KUmhiHqaugLYoHvI255rWNgN5S5uVxtPw-Y4eTj1k8-pQvaEWZqMWaFZkVeamMznreT4EAezfUz_lIxs3wrZ5WmlyFaWQtqvSEOaRc4RYRBfjqks-N8wZWcb8jY_jSg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kimbo and Avion truck campers" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEge45jzf4RLhi9lBimvJae9dkPezUJhyv__mOYxNfKI6KECbRKkmt8FMiKP287KUmhiHqaugLYoHvI255rWNgN5S5uVxtPw-Y4eTj1k8-pQvaEWZqMWaFZkVeamMznreT4EAezfUz_lIxs3wrZ5WmlyFaWQtqvSEOaRc4RYRBfjqks-N8wZWcb8jY_jSg=w320-h240" title="Kimbo and Avion truck campers" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-PCUO_ctdqsuy06liTiwnY8uccByPGnVHnqUpUA1uaifL5IZxrE-gf1eMd_hciJTFyGF1HTBtN6ApkEertFPi9TnWQl8jpsf4Qr9wQCZLeJrHUM16fuUuiSKRDRPgoovav1Rx0Cj9b3p0v7m_J_DTm5ETvzt08c9Ov11EFIkovmNfhQN3lxgYRf6PDA" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kimbo and Avion truck campers" data-original-height="2915" data-original-width="3887" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh-PCUO_ctdqsuy06liTiwnY8uccByPGnVHnqUpUA1uaifL5IZxrE-gf1eMd_hciJTFyGF1HTBtN6ApkEertFPi9TnWQl8jpsf4Qr9wQCZLeJrHUM16fuUuiSKRDRPgoovav1Rx0Cj9b3p0v7m_J_DTm5ETvzt08c9Ov11EFIkovmNfhQN3lxgYRf6PDA=w320-h240" title="Kimbo and Avion truck campers" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; 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float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOWLHFt-XP6IRkQooUHwVDXwfKi5gX7Fftfgu5mSovivNV4FZDBKi-q4ag9GHTO0D6hKpm87eYIIjIHTa-LLyjt1AGqhM52GnxPq5p4xwtyfwIwEh4uXSEpcfkSYLHit63rF9suC2jmMGm7EK3c-y0QSCkj8JH7m1WdwtepUGSwD5Xz0TRDqevXOC8Pg" width="180" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;">Our last camping trip of the year is usually a long weekend In early October someplace in New York’s Finger Lakes area.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;">This year we were able to get out for an early October trip with the Avion to <a href="https://www.explorewatkinsglen.com/" target="_blank">Watkins Glen</a> in New York’s finger lakes region. This was a good test for how well Avion would work with little prep work, other than food and some clean clothes everything was pretty much ready to go from our previous trip. The weather was good, but we did make use of our <a href="https://www.camco.net/olympian-wave-3-3000-btu-htr-57331" target="_blank">Olympic Wave</a> propane heater which seems just right for fall camping here in northeast US. We visited a few different wineries to do tastings, and bought a few bottles of our favorites to take back home. My brother was racing in a sailboat regatta nearby, and was able to join us for part of our visit and a nice hike in the gorge. The number of people hiking the gorge has been pretty crazy the last few years, if you go choose a weekday and plan hit the trail early in the day to avoid the crowds.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;">While driving between wineries we saw a new <a href="https://www.kimboliving.com/" target="_blank">Kimbo<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>truck camper</a> and pulled into a parking next to it and met it enthusiastic owners. We had some good conversation and then did quick show & tells to compare the two rigs. From a distance the Avion and Kimbo almost look like they might be related, but up close they are quite different. The Kimbo is a lot smaller allowing its use with a smaller half-ton truck, but the interior space is also significantly smaller. Inside the Kimbo has a very contemporary feel and has simpler water and power systems, and a multi-function modular approach that is more like a modern camping van, the Avion is more classic camper. One way to think about it is that the Kimbo is like a super fancy tent and Avion is more like a tiny home. Stepping into the Avion after looking at the Kimbo our camper seemed huge inside. We liked the removable fabric panels that the Kimbo uses on it walls, and the small mud-room floor area just inside the entryway. The tiny <a href="http://dickinsonmarine.com/product/newport-p12000-heater/" target="_blank">Dickinson propane fireplace/heater</a> is super cool, so cool that we may look into to incorporate something like that in our camper someday. It was really great to have to chance to see a Kimbo in person, and meet its owners who host a website called <a href=" https://kimboexperience.com/ " target="_blank">Kimbo Experience</a>. Hopefully someday we’ll run into them on the road again and can share more stories of our travels! In addition to Kimbo there’s several new companies, including <a href="https://scoutcampers.com/" target="_blank">Scout</a>, <a href="https://www.supertrampcampers.com/" target="_blank">Supertramp</a>, and <a href="https://www.radicaproducts.com/moonlander" target="_blank">Radica Moonlander</a> that are building small contemporary truck campers, and while we love the size of our Avion and being vintage. We also think this new bread of small truck campers is also very cool and relevant today, an amazing resource for these types of rigs is <a href="https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/" target="_blank">Truck Camper Magazine</a>, check it out if you are looking for more info truck campers of all types.</div>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0Watkins Glen, NY, USA42.3806287 -76.873292114.070394863821157 -112.0295421 70.690862536178855 -41.7170421tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-86551502023055486352021-10-02T04:17:00.000-07:002022-11-17T15:07:26.006-08:001,600 Miles & 5 States: New England trip with the Avion Truck Camper<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixRaLadOVNex62PU-ms_FXoyoAd-27iQ7sos1QGGKGGdqYfAHLxMSRque2FDDT8BWDosSClwDaU2Bbern3ot-6VJbTAkg9EAVReQ3XhUaF-n8bNoaTqmxrw4cMDbFXCCf_DsEAi2zdj3_3TmYJm1uEuDdlKy_KC_YnJMNofxzT2S-8SsZ66Zvftw2BCQ" style="clear: left; 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font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;">In late September our second time out with the Avion was a good test of how it would do in different situations. We drove over 1,600 miles across 5 states and slept 12 nights in the camper. We spent the first night mooch-docking in a family members driveway near Syracuse, then spent a few days in the Adirondacks staying one night at a small state campground, and then at a free site on state land near Indian Lake. From there we drove into southern Vermont and boondocked for a night at <a href="https://www.vermontdistillers.com " target="_blank">Vermont Distillers</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>where we also did a tasting and then purchased some of their maple liqueur. The distillery is located in a building that used to be the main lodge for a small ski area, and has a great scenic view. This was our first time overnighting in a parking lot, there were 3 other rigs camping there and it was a quiet night until the road construction crew that was using the lot as a staging area. Showed up in the morning. We got some apple cider donuts and maple soft serve ice cream for breakfast from the <a href="https://www.hogbackmountaincountrystore.com" target="_blank">Hogback Mountain Country Store</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>that is right across the street before getting back on the road. We headed south into Massachusetts and drove diagonally across the state on small roads, then spent several days visiting family on Cape Cod while moochdocking in their driveway. While there we made use of a free dump station run by the town of Barnstable which which was set up for commercial pumper trucks but worked out well. After our visit we made our way north, driving through Boston then taking in the sights and spending a night near Gloucester at <a href="http://capeanncampsite.com" target="_blank">Cape Anne Campsite</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> .</span> The sites were small and tight, and it may have been the most we have ever paid for a campsite, but our one night stay was good and the location was perfect. We were making our plans on this trip as we went, so when we needed a campground we we would just try to figure out where to stay the day before for each night. We thought we would stay in a state campground but discovered that Massachusetts State Parks charges an exorbitant extra fee for out-of-state residents that made the cost ridiculous for one night stays. As someone who was born there and spent much of their life in Massachusetts this makes me a little crazy. From there we headed north to Maine, had a couple of lobsters for lunch at a roadside stand then spent the night in a parking lot in Freeport near the Outlets. We did a lot of browsing in the shops picking up a few small things for the camper at both <a href="https://www.llbean.com/" target="_blank">L. L. Bean</a> and at a few of the other stores. The lot we stayed overnight in had a dozen rigs of all types that were packed in pretty tight. Even so, it was amazingly quiet and worked out perfectly for us. The next morning we drove out on one of the nearby peninsulas to Bailey Island “lands end” to see some of the Maine coast. This is a nice area and I’m sure that we will be back again sometime to spend more time along the Maine coast. After lunch at the beach we headed over to New Hampshire to spend a night at Bear Brook State Park, and then met up with some family members that had just relocated to the area for dinner. Being pretty late in the season the campground was mostly empty, the most exciting thing was a visit from a porcupine just as we were setting up in the dark. The next morning we walked around the lake then hit the road headed west, back into Vermont. While driving we saw some signs for a National Historic Park, so we stopped to check out. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/mabi/index.htm" target="_blank">Marsh-Billings Rockefeller NHP</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>has a focus on the beginnings of the “conservation” movement and would be good stop if you are looking for some easy walks on trails in the woods. After cutting across Vermont we spent the night just across the state line into New York at Moreau State Park near Lake George. The next morning we walked around the lake there, then hit the road for the 5 hour drive home.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; text-size-adjust: auto;">Overall the Avion and truck did really well on this trip. The truck behaves well when driving, and actually rides and handles better when the camper is on it due to the camper suspension package. For gas milage we got 12.5 MPG which is pretty good compared to what we hear folks are getting when towing a trailer. One of the things that we really like about this rig is that it’s a lot easier to stop anywhere compared to towing a trailer, fitting into most parking lots without much trouble. Also both of us are comfortable driving, which makes a full day of driving more comfortable. This trip proved out a lot of “firsts” with this rig, and we are super happy that the Avion is working well for how we expect to use it, it’s perfect for the two of us, and works well with and without a firm itinerary. For this trip we only stayed at places where we had to pay for 4 nights out of the 12, and we were never uncomfortable. We also love that it keeps us in the “vintage camper” hobby, but is mounted on a reliable vehicle and ready to go at any time!</div>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-34787394049970549692021-09-14T13:26:00.003-07:002022-07-03T11:17:59.378-07:00First trip with Avion C-10 Truck Camper! <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8WhsELF1LmEHrpy7Rmw8Ip1unegIHAKfWg6AQf0LKQbwYpRL0KquHOF_Zk7LNxi6ASwECMbGQeH5rxSOq5zqwk4kb2wwz75S7F4TeHobrNbxuz2T3p25jOXucsvDyrd9NwXwdniWEFNk2/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Avion truck camper" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8WhsELF1LmEHrpy7Rmw8Ip1unegIHAKfWg6AQf0LKQbwYpRL0KquHOF_Zk7LNxi6ASwECMbGQeH5rxSOq5zqwk4kb2wwz75S7F4TeHobrNbxuz2T3p25jOXucsvDyrd9NwXwdniWEFNk2/w320-h240/Snapseed+copy+2.jpg" title="Avion truck camper" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNOaV1oiX48WEAwSUVea7xCw3LGaTjJTsVjL0i-goYN41isG32eiIP_fxocUq_288kmnl8ZzVNxkMBzfuxomw044rgCj-aS4Dxqra-W2mCfz434a9Y-PR_iNM-BgmF3Jjtol3gT-BN4GUp/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="1965 Avion truck camper" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1477" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNOaV1oiX48WEAwSUVea7xCw3LGaTjJTsVjL0i-goYN41isG32eiIP_fxocUq_288kmnl8ZzVNxkMBzfuxomw044rgCj-aS4Dxqra-W2mCfz434a9Y-PR_iNM-BgmF3Jjtol3gT-BN4GUp/" title="1965 Avion truck camper" width="173" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYaI_ZQBySTY9H7WFdP1-l5jTtw4iqCybNnUmeQaPOGtHMQarPmDj16FmWypONwUMu8I4zNy6xHkARImf4-QiaeR2ONTuU-T7H31SYYxM_BsGyYOaoS4QJlcd-dFetMhBwqG59axngEE9/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="2048" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYaI_ZQBySTY9H7WFdP1-l5jTtw4iqCybNnUmeQaPOGtHMQarPmDj16FmWypONwUMu8I4zNy6xHkARImf4-QiaeR2ONTuU-T7H31SYYxM_BsGyYOaoS4QJlcd-dFetMhBwqG59axngEE9/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW91-HYpmR4fV5RYz3p2fxiofw0WJdcOhurbdm22IIKr6jkfj03J681RGJYj74SdxXlYIlbaOCNQvr0pbqAuqRLJAZM0WOvJHvCVzteaWm2fL1Dv1VQaXmnrWo5MJPFPJZb3vnZQXn_gRr/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1231" data-original-width="2048" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW91-HYpmR4fV5RYz3p2fxiofw0WJdcOhurbdm22IIKr6jkfj03J681RGJYj74SdxXlYIlbaOCNQvr0pbqAuqRLJAZM0WOvJHvCVzteaWm2fL1Dv1VQaXmnrWo5MJPFPJZb3vnZQXn_gRr/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I'm skipping a bunch of things that would make good blog posts to announce that we now have the Avion on the truck and have been doing some camping! Our first trip out was a long weekend at what should have been the annual Tin Can Tourists Northeast Regional Rally. I say "should have been" because a bunch of things that allow a vintage camper rally to be formal TCT event couldn't happen due to the pandemic. (group dinners, educational lectures, entertainment, etc..) This was the second year that this TCT rally was more of an informal gathering of friends with vintage campers. It's always great to see these folks who share in this affliction and we have gotten to know many of them very well over the years. It's always interesting to see who shows up with what, and this is the first year that we've shown up with something different than our Shasta. </p><p>After a two-day process of getting the Avion out of our garage and onto the truck, we were finally on the road! (I'll try to post some details of that process in another post some time.) We did a short grocery store run with the Avion on the truck the night before, then after a bunch of quick last minute morning projects we headed out. We chose to drive on smaller state highways and stay off the Interstate for the initial 130 mile trip to Sampson State Park near Geneva NY. We are super pleased with how the truck drives with the camper in the bed, it's actually a more comfortable ride than the empty truck because the suspension was spec'd expecting a slide in camper to be there. (maybe another blog post about the truck will be good someday!) About halfway there we pulled over at a small farm stand and I when I went back to see how stuff inside the camper was traveling I was shocked to see sky when I opened the door. Everything inside was fine, but I we had lost one of our roof vent lids on the road somewhere and now had a 14" x 14" hole in the roof over the cab-over bed area. Amazingly there was a local store across the road that sells parts for all sorts of trailers, and 20 minutes later we were back on the road with a new cover that I could jury-rig in place once we were at the campground. </p><p>This year we arrived the earliest that we ever had at this event, but were surprised at how few sites were still available. Turns out that there was one site that was perfect for us right next to some good friends, then after we pulled in we found that it was site #65- very fitting for our 1965 Avion's first night out camping in who knows how many years! We had a great time and the trip home was uneventful returning with all the parts we left with other than that original vent lid. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-28802072193248493932021-08-21T18:31:00.000-07:002022-11-17T15:01:30.049-08:00Loading the Avion camper onto the Truck <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97ntFJ7WgsipoKoqjjP4cuUl7LMOrIUaMRH1JOLyC3Dsw9_z6C4UUboFg3TZP3pw17w14nWWiata9oFiryFYtfVDTj_5jGow3Vb2ST7xo7eBtuVcHOZFmqFynjV1nM5EBHrpSO98TxjKc/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97ntFJ7WgsipoKoqjjP4cuUl7LMOrIUaMRH1JOLyC3Dsw9_z6C4UUboFg3TZP3pw17w14nWWiata9oFiryFYtfVDTj_5jGow3Vb2ST7xo7eBtuVcHOZFmqFynjV1nM5EBHrpSO98TxjKc/" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC58fVHYwqWt343N0a_azLRljjf2QtF56eW0BUMVSjdCC2fIdoc6Aa8ZLWtCBmlGQsOGE87Mar3AMDShaxDtCYfNTupJWz56TMXedxh3wIYSgv1fdhpOSzrEyBm5YZ48Q6BJ7ElYFbZ9bC/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC58fVHYwqWt343N0a_azLRljjf2QtF56eW0BUMVSjdCC2fIdoc6Aa8ZLWtCBmlGQsOGE87Mar3AMDShaxDtCYfNTupJWz56TMXedxh3wIYSgv1fdhpOSzrEyBm5YZ48Q6BJ7ElYFbZ9bC/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJRgUupcWe-OTZQgWlR8EigPbaX8QJyfYTfjfJr0hI2U-WFjpXwm5UXF54NFN1khXCfSJLho9zQ9ySR52J5zAs8KrKD6JPUNEmSEJZYFb880m1XPHli4yTDa-Jjxn39Pqig9pAD-tsZ7vt/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJRgUupcWe-OTZQgWlR8EigPbaX8QJyfYTfjfJr0hI2U-WFjpXwm5UXF54NFN1khXCfSJLho9zQ9ySR52J5zAs8KrKD6JPUNEmSEJZYFb880m1XPHli4yTDa-Jjxn39Pqig9pAD-tsZ7vt/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ktx9qS00LuztGtYECDfuYhnK91anxR_5E-Pywm2wDMXgN3IfiXMTdIFYIlYQrvlLbp5owpCdCaW05SPaBkpbIevQILr1hSqbslhfsVlxhnZW2ZGwWzyfrop00bHlbmH5L8jKy0VZSCxU/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ktx9qS00LuztGtYECDfuYhnK91anxR_5E-Pywm2wDMXgN3IfiXMTdIFYIlYQrvlLbp5owpCdCaW05SPaBkpbIevQILr1hSqbslhfsVlxhnZW2ZGwWzyfrop00bHlbmH5L8jKy0VZSCxU/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPegSnBFFFfqpXQVXTA7z5oJJk58sV0ZaV4BTBEWbfcCg6aLCafwY0XF6lDxVXygyhQQOg_HesokmbZ6B3UlEMl-cMmyAaIvdnNcofKM2v13ez2TxEh1Og9H4WRB1sju8q9cVntSsxizh/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPegSnBFFFfqpXQVXTA7z5oJJk58sV0ZaV4BTBEWbfcCg6aLCafwY0XF6lDxVXygyhQQOg_HesokmbZ6B3UlEMl-cMmyAaIvdnNcofKM2v13ez2TxEh1Og9H4WRB1sju8q9cVntSsxizh/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Getting the camper on and off the truck is the most stressful thing we have ever done with the Avion. Even more stressful than replacing the floor. When the camper is raised up on the four tall jacks it's just very uncomfortable and something we hope that we don't need to do very often. I know for some people one of the advantages of a truck camper is that you can unload it at a campsite then use your truck without it. That was never part of our plan and based on our experiences loading and unloading it's not something we desire to do. If we ever plan a trip where we want to leave camp set-up and drive a vehicle around we will tow a second vehicle to use for that purpose. </p><p>For us loading the truck camper usually means getting it out of the garage first. When it is in our garage the Avion sits on a dolly that has castor wheels on it. It's easy for just two of us to move the camper around on the flat concrete pad of the garage floor, but much more difficult on our slightly lumpy asphalt driveway. We recently swapped the caster wheels out for some larger diameter ones which helps, but it's still pretty difficult and needing 3 or 4 people to move it around. We've also made use of an electric boat trailer winch for move the camper around when its on the dolly which works well at times when there is something to attach the winch to. Once the camper is out of the garage and on a relatively flat area of the driveway we use the tall truck camper jacks to raise the Avion up high enough to back the truck under. I find it interesting that this type of camper is sometimes called a "slide-in truck camper", when in reality its more of a "back the truck under camper while praying a lot camper". </p><p>To raise or lower the Avion two of us each work one side of the camper, alternating between the front jacks and the rear jacks. We count the crank turns out-loud to keep in sync so the camper is raised and lowered evenly so it doesn't sway to one side or the other. This helps keep the weight evenly distributed across the 4 jacks. The last inch of lowering when loading on the truck so far always seems to take some work cranking one corner or another while doing a lot of looking at clearances and such. Before we lower the camper we back the truck under then get out and look, then move the truck to get it centered the best we can, so far this has taken several tries each time but we seem to be getting better at it. </p><p>When the truck is backed under the camper except for the last foot or so we connect the 7-pin wiring harness for the running lights and also another plug for the campers house battery. Our house battery sits in a box that is secured to the side of the truck bed in-line with one of the fender wells. This saves space inside the camper, but limits access to the battery when the camper is fully loaded into to the truck. </p><p>Getting the camper out of the garage and secured to the truck is a long process for us, the fastest we've been able to load it so far has taken 3 hours. We know that we are probably more picky than a lot of folks when trying to get the best alignment between the camper and truck bed, but we feel that if it is loaded straight then it be more obvious if it moves or something starts to go wrong while traveling. For us loading and unloading the Avion once a year is enough, and hopefully at some point we wont need to do that much that if we can figure out a solution for indoor winter storage that allows the truck and camper to stay mated together. </p><p><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-57548501999892577442021-07-17T05:09:00.000-07:002022-11-17T15:09:31.670-08:00Avion Truck Camper progress! <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiXFzCeSezP5VfiV-RtAb6lop_uKZm7Y8p_LexWRSdhG_TsckXOUfaIUroiInu3Ib7ZEvbQR1da0MGDAOtDj-jHYSvhIWBrHRY-K6epmsjk6FNbOtGEYsFg9vrMTBok7zUCRRWywP91OI/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiXFzCeSezP5VfiV-RtAb6lop_uKZm7Y8p_LexWRSdhG_TsckXOUfaIUroiInu3Ib7ZEvbQR1da0MGDAOtDj-jHYSvhIWBrHRY-K6epmsjk6FNbOtGEYsFg9vrMTBok7zUCRRWywP91OI/" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijd9FPihWnNOkGadLdAWXuy5t4Xe6TPYnSwQ2CHxcJ4eDHtYtjQnuBwv3nEBbrYsS3zdw6JYcaSXDYqLkA_MvxpCNLFx16XJJAu4MJkEvA8rjqgH0HhUj59s50xOCV95MLpxCLfSNR9Xjo/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijd9FPihWnNOkGadLdAWXuy5t4Xe6TPYnSwQ2CHxcJ4eDHtYtjQnuBwv3nEBbrYsS3zdw6JYcaSXDYqLkA_MvxpCNLFx16XJJAu4MJkEvA8rjqgH0HhUj59s50xOCV95MLpxCLfSNR9Xjo/" width="180" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aD854wkWpzCqjfAAAX6CoidPPysLDo6qdszXA4nqaxn9Ao1qxD_S7to9q_nJc2lGPJysDcIQW_XILieGZwCgsXCO3JNGwQ2AWWBSegWH4OneuQITM17qMgMh7gcQfE6ruGfLhELhHGo1/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aD854wkWpzCqjfAAAX6CoidPPysLDo6qdszXA4nqaxn9Ao1qxD_S7to9q_nJc2lGPJysDcIQW_XILieGZwCgsXCO3JNGwQ2AWWBSegWH4OneuQITM17qMgMh7gcQfE6ruGfLhELhHGo1/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>We've been neglecting the blog all summer because we've been spending all our free time actually working on the '65 Avion. </p><p>I've captured a bunch of build photos along the way and hope to come back and post some more specific updates of stuff we've done over the winter. At this point we are close to getting it onto the truck and out for a first trip. Exterior is all buttoned up, interior is all back together along with new appliances. We are really pleased with how it is turning out and are super excited to start camping soon. </p><p>We have been posting some photos of the build on Instagram and expect to post some photos of our adventures there on a more regular basis as well. So if you're for more about our Avion C-10 check here dwsdws12 on Instagram! </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrY50nt71w20GNfbVL0mO-0yLj3gWDTpMEF8_LNXdojp3bhfsCzQOv-gEaF4z9LD7LCqFf8t2wHOiGglVzoJJJ6ePumN82ooe9qRoIV29clcSG3KPoVFQYqL2cGCcVn2ysv1ygktO7D59/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="565" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrY50nt71w20GNfbVL0mO-0yLj3gWDTpMEF8_LNXdojp3bhfsCzQOv-gEaF4z9LD7LCqFf8t2wHOiGglVzoJJJ6ePumN82ooe9qRoIV29clcSG3KPoVFQYqL2cGCcVn2ysv1ygktO7D59/" width="241" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-13869997302351639502021-06-26T07:36:00.000-07:002022-11-17T15:06:19.824-08:00Towing the Shasta with the F-350<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhq1FE9DTeENK2rN19lb7jiRFvGo-WER9yfKkjjkYEQnrJozEkOt2mJoxoe6aIZEZ-bTbDu8hM941bhajJ-PFE1BDv6b_l5mo6z3quWA7wZpvHo4mCUts3lAtzQmazTGcvfkoSPCc_yFrZ1ZBU-Y7LEv0nHakFhpiDemQ96VX_QW-0L-DmFBdrYNUv_hQ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2342" data-original-width="3742" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhq1FE9DTeENK2rN19lb7jiRFvGo-WER9yfKkjjkYEQnrJozEkOt2mJoxoe6aIZEZ-bTbDu8hM941bhajJ-PFE1BDv6b_l5mo6z3quWA7wZpvHo4mCUts3lAtzQmazTGcvfkoSPCc_yFrZ1ZBU-Y7LEv0nHakFhpiDemQ96VX_QW-0L-DmFBdrYNUv_hQ" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipircS92msGF87TA-bAyL5Gon-Gpmt1VG7UyafiI8rQ125jk40iNy0218nPPAMFXaFINlbwh_WaR0MEgtQjs0hy6UpQsMK65TYYSiAJew5-lcfVv5cFi1Xl8QbXJdViHFctCHxVp4oQ46njhjLPNMI4BhLT8T_4dfZCRS2N-7KyY8xJHlfU10xLcWUTg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipircS92msGF87TA-bAyL5Gon-Gpmt1VG7UyafiI8rQ125jk40iNy0218nPPAMFXaFINlbwh_WaR0MEgtQjs0hy6UpQsMK65TYYSiAJew5-lcfVv5cFi1Xl8QbXJdViHFctCHxVp4oQ46njhjLPNMI4BhLT8T_4dfZCRS2N-7KyY8xJHlfU10xLcWUTg" width="180" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Before the Avion truck camper was ready we did two weekend camping trips to the Adirondacks while our normal tow vehicle was in the shop so, we used the new F-350 to tow our 1963 Shasta Airflyte. The towing capacity of the truck is hugely overkill for such a small trailer, and as you'd expect the truck didn't mind at all that the Shasta was back there. In fact the truck got exactly the same gas milage towing the Shasta as it did without! </p><p>So, how did it tow? Not too great, our truck was built with a camper package with a suspension that expects about 3,000lbs of camper (or more) to always be sitting in the bed. Driving the truck around with and empty bed and not towing is a rough ride. Towing the approximately 2,100lb trailer with an empty bed was manageable, but far from the smooth traveling we typically have when the Shasta is paired with our Ford Flex Ecoboost. The one upside of the truck on this trip was when stopping for firewood on the way to the campground we could just stack the firewood in the empty bed! If we need tow like this again we will find something heavy to put in the bed to try to help smooth things out. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-34518892326243820752021-05-16T11:43:00.000-07:002022-11-17T15:00:31.853-08:00Ford F-350 Super Duty for the Truck Camper! <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFI3dDzf3wBPOe76kjGl-No3PCJiIwTk9alCWZRh4JNBs505cCTY2N98KBjA6dqVwHwA5vmECLAtVfncWg2byKdWntCdiS0ls77nT7pIOsCAkACwtDQSocMIdrAxNTW3-7ReAjpA1ejmGX/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFI3dDzf3wBPOe76kjGl-No3PCJiIwTk9alCWZRh4JNBs505cCTY2N98KBjA6dqVwHwA5vmECLAtVfncWg2byKdWntCdiS0ls77nT7pIOsCAkACwtDQSocMIdrAxNTW3-7ReAjpA1ejmGX/" width="320" /></a></div> <p></p><p><br /></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2GDVgQltJpUAB0CsGDYR_nN94itcF2ip9C05z-mIQAPHaz4vP81O2OII_I9rZrGHM39z5MG3ZdQ_T0GrypFjQv0aiXQ_eIyGlVaa-aU3h3ZNGS0hJuA2OpV3nqcF_fbF1oIc04UhjYPub/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2GDVgQltJpUAB0CsGDYR_nN94itcF2ip9C05z-mIQAPHaz4vP81O2OII_I9rZrGHM39z5MG3ZdQ_T0GrypFjQv0aiXQ_eIyGlVaa-aU3h3ZNGS0hJuA2OpV3nqcF_fbF1oIc04UhjYPub/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">The last new major appliance purchase for the Avion C-10 was the truck. (Warning this is a long post!)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">I refer to the truck as a “camper appliance” because we’ve never owned a truck and I’ve never really had aspirations to get one, I usually drive Subaru's and small VW's - for us the truck is just a part of the Avion Truck Camper. I liked the idea of putting the Avion on a vintage truck specially to show at rallies and some local car shows, but the whole reason we are doing the Avion as a project was to use it for real traveling and pairing it with a newer vehicle makes more sense. After looking on and off for months for a lightly used truck that ticked enough of our boxes we decided that ordering a new one spec’d the way we wanted would work best for us. We estimated that the Avion would weigh about 3000lbs when loaded, so to have enough payload capacity we needed at least a 3/4 ton truck like a F-250 or 2500 series. While half ton trucks have high tow ratings they are just not built for driving around with 3,000lbs sitting in the bed. Our slide-in camper was originally designed for a 8’ bed and while some folks do put them in the now common 6' beds we wanted a long bed so that the weight would be centered correctly and so all of the floor that was designed to be supported would be. Ideally we wanted a nicely trimmed cab for comfort when traveling long distances on the highway. We also decided decided that extended cab would be ideal so that we would have some extra storage space, and we wanted the capability to occasionally have extra passengers. The extended cab trucks are also a few sheet shorter overall than the now more common full crew cab, the combination of extended cab with long bed results in a truck that is the same length as crew/short bed trucks that are everywhere these days. The Avion has almost no outside storage compartments, so we plan to use the trucks rear seat sort of like our “basement” area. </div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">In a looking for lightly used 3/4 and 1 ton trucks with 8’ beds we found that very few had nicely appointed cabs because most of the these trucks are built as work trucks, the ones that do have higher trim levels seemed too fancy for what we wanted and sell for as much used as a new one built the way we’d like it. We also preferred a gas engine, based on my research the gas engine would be quieter and less expensive in the long run for fuel and maintenance, and most of higher trim level used trucks that we found were diesels.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">So we looked at options for what we get new from Ram, GMC, and Ford. Initially I thought a Toyota Tundra would be in the running but the payload is below 2,000lbs and the fit of the camper didn’t seem like a good match. We ended up deciding on a <a href="https://www.ford.com/trucks/super-duty/?gnav=header-trucks-vhp" target="_blank">Ford Super Duty</a>, a couple of the key reasons were that the fit of the camper on paper looked like it would better than the others and familiarity of controls and things to our Ford Flex which we we hoped would help ease the transition to driving a giant truck. Initially we thought we would get an F-250, but in double checking payload capacity we decided to go with an F-350. By going with an F-350 the the payload is little over half its payload capacity with the loaded Avion compared to an F-250 which would always be close to it’s maximum payload. Our thought is that half payload is probably the engineered sweet-spot for best driving experience. The way we spec’d the truck the difference in cost between the 250 and 350 was less than $1000 and the physical dimensions are identical so going with a 350 became an easy choice.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">So here’s what we got, it’s a 2021 Ford F-350 Super Duty, 4X4, with Super Cab and an 8’ long bed. It’s Lariat trim level which has leather seats, a fair amount of creature comforts, and a nice grill and rims. We also went with the new 7.3L gas engine, codenamed Godzilla by Ford it is a classic pushrod design with fewer moving parts than many modern engines and was designed to be used in Super Duty trucks, RV’s and Motorhomes, and other commercial vehicles where low cost maintenance and reliability are important. It's expected to be very common over the next decade which could help a lot if we need a mechanic while on the road someday. It claims to have about the same gas milage as the recent 6.2L gas engines that have been typically used in the Super Duty trucks over the last bunch of years but has noticeably more horsepower. We also got the somewhat new 10 speed automatic transmission which has been used on a bunch of Ford vehicles in the last few years. We went with 4x4 and an electronic locking rear axle as "insurance" to help us get out of any situations we might find ourselves in. Another reason we got the locking rear axle is that I've seen discussions on online camper forums praising its use when backing onto a pair of blocks to level your rig. Because we ordered the truck as a custom build we were able to get the Camper Package which uses front and rear springs that are selected assuming that there will be a slide-in camper in the bed. This package also includes a rear sway bar, we might upgrade to a Hellwig Big Wig sway bar but are going to spend some time using the OEM set-up before we decide. There is a really cool video about Fords development work and testing for <a href="https://youtu.be/I305I9ezViA" target="_blank">Super Duty’s with slide-in truck campers here</a>..<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">We are using <a href="https://www.torklift.com/" target="_blank">Torklift</a> frame mounted tie-downs that I installed myself, they seem very well designed and installation was pretty easy. We found that we needed Torklift Fastgun Turnbuckles on front because the turnbuckle needs to be removed to open the fuel filler door every time we pump gas. I went with the also well made Torklift Springloaded XL turnbuckles in rear. Ford does not include a 7-pin wiring socket in the bed of the truck with the camper package, so I installed one made by Curtis myself, this was also pretty easy and let me locate it where it would be best for us.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">The fit of the Avion C-10 to the truck bed worked out quite well. We bought a OEM Bed Mat and I found that I only needed to add three 3/4” thick cedar boards to dial-in the fit with what we think is just enough clearance over the cab and at the tops of the truck bed sides. Also to note that when we replaced the floor of the Avion I used cedar 2x4’s as the three ribs on the bottom which probably added an extra 1 1/4” of height over the original ribs, compared to a stock 1965 Avion I think we are at about +2” of height to get the perfect fit. We are using a pair of stacked 4x4 blocks between the front wall of the camper and the front wall of the truck bed. This gets us gap between the rear window of the truck and the front of the camper that also seems just right. We had to work hard to down to just the 4” blocks, the rear bumper of the truck has raised areas on its ends near the taillights that collided with the lower grey fiberglass fairings of the camper. I knew ahead of time that this area might be a problem, but until the camper was the truck couldn’t predict to what extent. I ended up modifying a localized area of the campers fiberglass parts to create a recess to fit the raised bumper detail. I just used duct tape to seal this up for our first season but will fiberglass the area and clean it up when I get around to it. Another option would be to remove the trucks rear bumper or to look for an aftermarket bumper that would work better, but for us modifying the camper slightly was easy and no cost. Note that I had planned for this possibility and left empty space inside the fiberglass part where our grey water tank is now located and ran the plumbing, propane line, and wiring to stay clear also.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">Actually getting the truck was not without some drama. We decided that it would be good to order the truck so it would arrive in the early spring 2021, that timing seemed do-able to have the camper back together enough to go camping. Typical lead time for a custom order was 10 weeks, so in January 2021 we tried to o put our order in, but were told by the dealer that just a few days before Ford had surprised them by closing the Order Window unexpectedly on Super Duty’s, the earliest by far that they had ever done that and we would have to wait several months until they opened ordering up for the 2022 models. Over the next few days I saw a lot of banter online in discussion forums that many others were caught off guard because Ford stopped taking orders, but I also saw a few folks still claimed to have successfully put in orders at their dealers after the closed date. I decided to try calling a different Ford dealer who is the largest commercial truck seller in our area, they said they could still order us a truck. So we put our order in, then watched as delivery times for vehicles stretched out due to the pandemic and computer chip shortages. I’d call the dealer couple of few months to see if they could give us an update on timing and was told there was no build date listed in the system yet. Then one day in April out of the blue we got a call that our truck had arrived! Just about our original ideal timing. We think we got lucky, because it was a custom order we were able to spec it without a lot of the fancy electronics options and this may have helped it not be delayed as much. It’s also possible that we got lucky with the factories build schedule for producing vehicles with the extended cab/long bed configuration.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">The paint color was another thing that caused some drama, we had originally chosen a blue color that ended up being discontinued on the 2021 models and had a hard time deciding on what color to get from those available. We decided to take a chance on a new color called Antimatter Blue, when we put the order in we were able to see a chip of the color, but no vehicles had been produced with this color yet so we could not see it in person. In the end we are very happy with the paint on this truck, most of the time and from a distance the truck appears to be just black, but when the light hits it just right it’s an amazing metallic blue. However when it’s parked next to a black truck it’s obvious that it’s not the same, and the blue tone looks great the anodized aluminum if the camper. I like the Antimatter name but also think they could have called this color “Henry Ford Blue” - you can have blue as long as it’s black.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">Overall we are very pleased with our F-350, it is proving to be very drivable and comfortable on the road. The size of the rig is taking some getting used to but beats trailering for ability to stop wherever you want and travel on roads that we might shy away from with a vintage trailer. We’ve even made good use of the truck as a truck without the camper, who knew trucks were so useful!</div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /><br /></div>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-51053975177321241882021-05-14T05:00:00.023-07:002021-06-04T05:16:59.926-07:00Allegany State Park<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0Cn_L4yGDvNosaY0Xm6NIaSm6nZzBVjBBizT2LPdtSfkFeD1bIULQ_MMuWgfjgdNVByjz58SbHxQIB5ohP5Da99jT4_LVEpMPhJXECjsQJtr7XfrvFk1-fcK95NZIry2lspSxiR_GY3g/s2048/springcampingprep2.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0Cn_L4yGDvNosaY0Xm6NIaSm6nZzBVjBBizT2LPdtSfkFeD1bIULQ_MMuWgfjgdNVByjz58SbHxQIB5ohP5Da99jT4_LVEpMPhJXECjsQJtr7XfrvFk1-fcK95NZIry2lspSxiR_GY3g/s320/springcampingprep2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58410PmPr77-PNEUUzRdXnlSMkEeW7_bWQFOuMKJs2B5sAor8yaJX_GJJjus1YJUIYVavxga2g9RSFgexsbVQefUY3-pV9UUdb8Bc3UVuO9sfOprJRCpFzO8WpOwTtemAxKL6hQlwHVjQ/s2048/Snapseed+11.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58410PmPr77-PNEUUzRdXnlSMkEeW7_bWQFOuMKJs2B5sAor8yaJX_GJJjus1YJUIYVavxga2g9RSFgexsbVQefUY3-pV9UUdb8Bc3UVuO9sfOprJRCpFzO8WpOwTtemAxKL6hQlwHVjQ/s320/Snapseed+11.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEico_2TtrHqZLHroXeKvn39GSOxr3qwAbnDKEuxBJdBpg7f0uds1DAoFvZ2BmzZGOT81c9qLMWXaE_DDuIKz4l6A-wYMmC0d3MpDJ4GZ8XPLRNVCfk6NXYgXKswuNwcxd6ydGYiVYnRIJzR/s2048/IMG_9108.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEico_2TtrHqZLHroXeKvn39GSOxr3qwAbnDKEuxBJdBpg7f0uds1DAoFvZ2BmzZGOT81c9qLMWXaE_DDuIKz4l6A-wYMmC0d3MpDJ4GZ8XPLRNVCfk6NXYgXKswuNwcxd6ydGYiVYnRIJzR/s320/IMG_9108.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvf7O7BuSyxFVplngTdkoH98DbN3QZ1eiLQP4Ig5B2stLuUjj9XKW-A5oaNRSiVUctVKYhh1rUROB9Kc88hOGuNDdqTOUDiantRkHpyCB7H6GHJgeKAv56YvENc2DSseQCUIUuD7qh-vBn/s2048/IMG_9156.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvf7O7BuSyxFVplngTdkoH98DbN3QZ1eiLQP4Ig5B2stLuUjj9XKW-A5oaNRSiVUctVKYhh1rUROB9Kc88hOGuNDdqTOUDiantRkHpyCB7H6GHJgeKAv56YvENc2DSseQCUIUuD7qh-vBn/s320/IMG_9156.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDDxQaNZAsu88LjcnniZKsM0rgX9BcV-Zj8_0OxdH2DMeZD39-vICoCvW-kmC2c89uoAFkQGp0nUhyVzpL4Rd4DqBtgI99390BQxMYpe4XkrROr1KWjtdTXHgpm3NLX_iR3BXaieutbRy/s2048/IMG_9103.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirDDxQaNZAsu88LjcnniZKsM0rgX9BcV-Zj8_0OxdH2DMeZD39-vICoCvW-kmC2c89uoAFkQGp0nUhyVzpL4Rd4DqBtgI99390BQxMYpe4XkrROr1KWjtdTXHgpm3NLX_iR3BXaieutbRy/s320/IMG_9103.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;">We did something different for us this year, we went camping in the spring! In past years this has been too busy a time for camping due to so much happening with our kids in school. With both kids both kids now in college we have more flexibility for timing for this type of thing. I got the Shasta out of the garage in mid April to get it ready fo rather season and to get a NY safety inspection sticker so that we’d be legal on the road. I know a lot of people in NY don’t keep these stickers up-to-date every year, but with a trailer that gets noticed as much as ours I try to always make sure everything is valid.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">It had been unseasonably warm, but then a week before our trip we were treated to a blanket of snow in the last week of April. We’ve done some fall camping when there were flurries in the air, but I think this is the first time in the 15 years since we restored the Shasta that it’s actually been out in the snow like this. Luckily things cleared up fast and the roads didn’t get salted our area, road salt was my biggest concern as it can make an impact on a vehicle with only one trip.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">Another fist for us was camping at NY’s Allegheny State Park. It’s only a few hours drive from home, but for whatever reason we had never camped there with the Shasta before. We camped mid-week and even though the reservation system showed about 50% of the sites as booked, we found that only 10% or less were actually occupied which was fantastic. We camped with some friends who rented a modern trailer that was a just a bit longer than ours. They are thinking about getting a camper and are torn between the luxuries of a new rig and the lure of vintage. They had a great time, but we’ll have to see what they end up with!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">It was a great trip that reminded us to visit places that are closer to home, we did a lot of hiking as well as driving around to check out the area. Besides the NY state park, there are several places to camp in nearby Pennsylvania. We checked a few places out and found several good camping spots in the Allegheny National Forest and Kinzua Dam area to keep in mind for quick trips once the Avion is on the road.</div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></div><p></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-27183100178352856302021-04-26T15:49:00.000-07:002021-04-26T15:49:09.425-07:00Propane lines and Heater! <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9hotilipM7uvrlKFlqY7sdibN61m2y0fom4AFWqu0Yuf4Gn32Y6AecZe8w9J-ygNSoYRqF5QkXI8Vda05pw9slQ7qDuWasUEO9p6LgeTsckdgZb6jzDjEoOzh-QAmoaMTYPgZ_BtslLS/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1498" data-original-width="2048" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9hotilipM7uvrlKFlqY7sdibN61m2y0fom4AFWqu0Yuf4Gn32Y6AecZe8w9J-ygNSoYRqF5QkXI8Vda05pw9slQ7qDuWasUEO9p6LgeTsckdgZb6jzDjEoOzh-QAmoaMTYPgZ_BtslLS/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5i1VIlaxq7rG2G6SP33E8p5TSOpBS6oTqOONbqgP8fw-yTkSlz0l6cHfEq0_QtAnNp-LWhfxftzrWN2IIBO2iOC_QIEaFURjPmAX-qH-ULC-XQ6pXkUVMu8Zko2GGobHegHxOsJVKTc8_/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5i1VIlaxq7rG2G6SP33E8p5TSOpBS6oTqOONbqgP8fw-yTkSlz0l6cHfEq0_QtAnNp-LWhfxftzrWN2IIBO2iOC_QIEaFURjPmAX-qH-ULC-XQ6pXkUVMu8Zko2GGobHegHxOsJVKTc8_/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_ezQDevfcIqp6rK5luHKeoj08JJ1icNfHbqH64rgnLzNCd1DXZ5CNTh0Ark5PwON1XzHEsUOrCxPZ8brNzvaNKj_pwZFOO5DeMua03_PYXB7gU_7xz2V1EWg0h1Jk8vj3L6jZspeJCr_/" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_ezQDevfcIqp6rK5luHKeoj08JJ1icNfHbqH64rgnLzNCd1DXZ5CNTh0Ark5PwON1XzHEsUOrCxPZ8brNzvaNKj_pwZFOO5DeMua03_PYXB7gU_7xz2V1EWg0h1Jk8vj3L6jZspeJCr_/" width="180" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgkLS-71UvozANDMTMg2fJDBZ-1hcp-XpQRMPNVWr4i60btx5wkgAEDpTbxCmCXvd5tbJyLDFoqiLlJr1sdQ6YuWk9TCLuBTUqDrvAz-ITxutabkwqfBsSPNVSNEbisoFhGwcFbv7FWrS/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgkLS-71UvozANDMTMg2fJDBZ-1hcp-XpQRMPNVWr4i60btx5wkgAEDpTbxCmCXvd5tbJyLDFoqiLlJr1sdQ6YuWk9TCLuBTUqDrvAz-ITxutabkwqfBsSPNVSNEbisoFhGwcFbv7FWrS/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LAwhnicjVdNCE5ZvgXf4GsitPuuMXC9GrLYIx2_SwwX2YjpQq90NRxTDf0mkMNw8GxMBDcr252v4Vce00tCbLCj6zMVwr3bmZGFwQgF_Ma0iP4voQXawHYk7Tpecug0ZjR5Sd6kgApZb/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LAwhnicjVdNCE5ZvgXf4GsitPuuMXC9GrLYIx2_SwwX2YjpQq90NRxTDf0mkMNw8GxMBDcr252v4Vce00tCbLCj6zMVwr3bmZGFwQgF_Ma0iP4voQXawHYk7Tpecug0ZjR5Sd6kgApZb/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">I recently Installed new propane lines and a Camco Olympic Wave Heater in the Avion C-10 truck camper. For this work I used 3/8” copper refrigeration tubing with flare connectors. With a little practice I found that making the flares using a hand-held flare tool was pretty easy. It’s an interesting process compared to running the PEX water lines, I tried to use as few connections as possible and used a very simple spring style tubing bender to keep the copper from collapsing when going around corners. It’s takes some tubing wrangling and pre-planning to get the propane line to go where you want, but it’s very satisfying when a segment is done. I used soapy water to test for leaks and found that only one connection needed to be tightened a bit more. I also included two gas shut-off valves one for the left side line and one for the right, these are both accessible from the outside of the camper just inside the fridge rear access door. Our Avion C-10 was built with a propane cabinet that is sized to hold one common 20lb propane tank, and I also installed a new dual-stage propane regulator which I mounted to the wall in the cabinet. I'm glad that it uses a standard tank because when we are on a longer road trips we could easily make use of Blue Rhino or other tank exchanges if needed instead of looking for a place to refill. After looking at a few different options for heaters we decided to use an Olympic Wave 3 propane heater. The Wave 3 is a small catalectic heater similar to the popular Mr. Buddy heaters but made for use in an RV, for us it seems like a good choice to extend the camping season into the fall which is our favorite time of the year to camp here in the northeastern US. Inspired by another Avion C-10 owner I mounted the Wave 3 to the inside of a cabinet door where it stores when not in use. The cabinet I’m using for this is the one that is mostly taken up by the hot water heater, the Wave 3 fits perfectly into the shallow space that is left over. To use the Wave we simply open the cabinet door and will secure it in the open position with a hook. When the door is open it is out-of-the-way being flat against the bathroom wall and the heater faces the dinette and sleeping area. We also made a cover for the heater to keep dust out of the elements when not in use during most of our camping season, from what I've read a cover can help then maintain their performance. Having the propane system and heater up and running has been great over the last couple of months as I’ve been able to use it to keep the Avion warm while continuing to work on the camper during the winter months.</span></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-58075319517684730062020-12-31T15:52:00.000-08:002021-02-05T15:54:47.039-08:00Avion: Custom Black & Grey Tanks<div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJazrv5m7gIabWXXT-VoKhncyJ8wW-lJbhQK3wWEWdb6Rpk4SZbietf7Rl26drdPZ8XwxbBJPTewq49-gE2CEWjSQszzIXEmIZbZCflocmz_5DwltqHakntyuYyXwkiNavG0bIyHClI0XB/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJazrv5m7gIabWXXT-VoKhncyJ8wW-lJbhQK3wWEWdb6Rpk4SZbietf7Rl26drdPZ8XwxbBJPTewq49-gE2CEWjSQszzIXEmIZbZCflocmz_5DwltqHakntyuYyXwkiNavG0bIyHClI0XB/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); 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text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0j963PBUqP7R3bLSSGhe0fOv2ulD7MWt9ClWwxMMIW1DtyXykiRC-l8u6EluxntmAHpKlxoEmeIT8T50eE6FilJ-ctZ7jjX_R4mQFPS9KbJHymsZgiWvdK602fuPEqmRAuCCYktpdB5w/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0j963PBUqP7R3bLSSGhe0fOv2ulD7MWt9ClWwxMMIW1DtyXykiRC-l8u6EluxntmAHpKlxoEmeIT8T50eE6FilJ-ctZ7jjX_R4mQFPS9KbJHymsZgiWvdK602fuPEqmRAuCCYktpdB5w/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;">Finally got the new Black Tank and Grey Tank for our Avion C-10! </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;">These have been a long time coming, I started designing them over a year ago and explored a lot of options on paper and with 3D mock-ups built from foamcore board. I ended up having my drawings quoted at several custom fabricators, the quotes I got back varied greatly. I ended up having them built at <a href="http://triplemplastics.us/#&panel1-1" target="_blank">Triple M Plastics</a> in Maine, they not only had one the best quotes but also gave me the most confidence that they would be built the way I wanted. The build quality of the tanks I received was amazing and they were spot on to my drawings. The Black Tank is similar to the original, but about 2” taller which is good because it’s pretty small being at about 7 gallons. I didn’t realize it until it was too late, but I think if you were to use a "short" Dometic toilet the black tank could be another 4” taller which would increase the capacity by another 3 or 4 gallons, </span>if had already bought a “tall” toilet but maybe an opportunity here for someone reading this.</div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Our Avion did not originally have a Grey Tank, the sink drain lines were connected to the main dump valve below the gate so grey water would just run onto the ground, into a bucket, or to campsites waste connection if you were attached at a site with a full-hook ups. I designed a Grey Tank that hangs from the floor inside the grey fiberglass fairing under the bathroom. This tank is small even by truck camper standards also at about 7 gallons, but it allows us to use the sinks when traveling and easily dump the grey water separately from the black tank. The tricky part of a grey tank in this location is that it needs to be below the trap for the shower drain. I used a <a href="https://hepvo.com/" target="_blank">Hep<span style="font-size: x-small;">v</span>O trap</a></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> to </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">save height over a conventional trap, and because it uses a rubber valve it also keeps odors from coming up through the shower drain. I cut-out the bottom two layers of flooring in the area just above the trap to gain an additional inch of height in the capacity of the grey tank. We are rebuilding bathroom to allow it to still function as wet bath which will be a nice feature to have when boondocking, but if you want a larger grey tank eliminating the wet bath might be something to consider. </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-align: left; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-4122743998121198522020-11-15T15:26:00.000-08:002021-02-05T15:54:13.457-08:00in Hot Water! <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5h9euFMBBvKTu2_PZgtWgt-T7CvGCBLA1jTYZFNHm8Fqv7pUPL5pW4IHkgDLoiFFl1hA2oZr7wHO4qy0Dpxpe2W8mcMKugVjaQj_RxVzxLLJFpZi_gv3b_NyDz6ac_ubw503JmlMHrS1C/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5h9euFMBBvKTu2_PZgtWgt-T7CvGCBLA1jTYZFNHm8Fqv7pUPL5pW4IHkgDLoiFFl1hA2oZr7wHO4qy0Dpxpe2W8mcMKugVjaQj_RxVzxLLJFpZi_gv3b_NyDz6ac_ubw503JmlMHrS1C/" width="180" /></a></div> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiddSoC108nsMvL2BGZf75mDY2j2Tpkdv27E9hUQmOCW77hYuYhY8Lesctb5oLffP7mDoM9sZX6qfNmISai_fF3gYPqMj7ZuX9iMnMBeAGPKID25sbn1e1WEfBdy3QNgR04kgJuN4cSC1uX/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiddSoC108nsMvL2BGZf75mDY2j2Tpkdv27E9hUQmOCW77hYuYhY8Lesctb5oLffP7mDoM9sZX6qfNmISai_fF3gYPqMj7ZuX9iMnMBeAGPKID25sbn1e1WEfBdy3QNgR04kgJuN4cSC1uX/" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcjZHD5j802U59HVTgsvzlms4zM7V0mVtGqnYUn9d_tTfgMJpPJQTe6dWzysKlq4_x4tPQ3XTImh-2zt2uKqIt1tBdK9qSXKGoIUcdRYepjQWJbbsrXUYnO0QlxNi-UIkq7T7qOKflmxn/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPcjZHD5j802U59HVTgsvzlms4zM7V0mVtGqnYUn9d_tTfgMJpPJQTe6dWzysKlq4_x4tPQ3XTImh-2zt2uKqIt1tBdK9qSXKGoIUcdRYepjQWJbbsrXUYnO0QlxNi-UIkq7T7qOKflmxn/" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuZNJB6VCQgWOlbhP_nt-GW5FSd0jDehhNuYv7zUhNnZUXuqoiute3XGvh970jozjyMLQlPx_85iFJUPRHjDAJWFxgYigpBXj9hblSd7uJjxaBwaER1kKvDlRjywqdvuHsiUuPChOz7d5/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuZNJB6VCQgWOlbhP_nt-GW5FSd0jDehhNuYv7zUhNnZUXuqoiute3XGvh970jozjyMLQlPx_85iFJUPRHjDAJWFxgYigpBXj9hblSd7uJjxaBwaER1kKvDlRjywqdvuHsiUuPChOz7d5/" width="180" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">The new water heater is now installed securely, plumbed to the new PEX water lines, and connected to both 12v and 120v power. Some of the propane propane lines are only roughed in at this point, but theoretically we have hot water when plugged into shore power now. The new Dometic/Atwood heater fit very well into the old hole, I only needed to make a custom shaped sill piece for the bottom edge for a clean installation. I'm really glad to have that ugly patch gone and the giant hole left behind finally closed up! I had planned on getting a propane only model, but they are no longer in production and I could not find an old stock one for a price that made sense. Taping into the 120v AC line was pretty easy because there was an existing 120v outlet in the wall just above the heaters location. At some point I'll spray paint new door silver so it looks more like it belongs. </span></p><br /><p></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-42800751659182899422020-11-07T05:00:00.000-08:002021-02-05T15:53:51.857-08:00Avion Fridge Vent Cap & Cabinet prep<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrquyQJEiGp9WUs28YmegjN_drgRSeKk8L-gkCUdIOvSdH6KVveSY6SSn4tdsBjsuXvMqpT6a4POb9l0jiB1i_BNb-NpmPrgozPVlOetj2ftfWfMZfzR5u4bViooABUqBMQ_ey543eYoU/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrquyQJEiGp9WUs28YmegjN_drgRSeKk8L-gkCUdIOvSdH6KVveSY6SSn4tdsBjsuXvMqpT6a4POb9l0jiB1i_BNb-NpmPrgozPVlOetj2ftfWfMZfzR5u4bViooABUqBMQ_ey543eYoU/" width="180" /></a></div><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrgXOzrHQ1s4L77hcYPO4EdVy1ZR7sVEQyjx0YL9f8aFRdeDc_1QZUxVqSmvUdpMHySKzGCVczAKmr1f5m1xw3EMQwGhqhD9DcjP97LPf-Wdvz5WKiCM2kVAYnEIX6-OWplVx0HNr1JcM/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzrgXOzrHQ1s4L77hcYPO4EdVy1ZR7sVEQyjx0YL9f8aFRdeDc_1QZUxVqSmvUdpMHySKzGCVczAKmr1f5m1xw3EMQwGhqhD9DcjP97LPf-Wdvz5WKiCM2kVAYnEIX6-OWplVx0HNr1JcM/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQs4BVkcCx9iGfnGx785trGbX4HtIJsyNXRwlSV1JVJdjqPMDT8viXBzM9X82uVF7Xou2TMfyuBWvJiwhLVzDgti1Ha67wntmcAWSSmqHs0RKH5lt04SKEe7GtUzEx9IlskiYJOcsH36D/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQs4BVkcCx9iGfnGx785trGbX4HtIJsyNXRwlSV1JVJdjqPMDT8viXBzM9X82uVF7Xou2TMfyuBWvJiwhLVzDgti1Ha67wntmcAWSSmqHs0RKH5lt04SKEe7GtUzEx9IlskiYJOcsH36D/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivUYOGPm9tUJyFzBn9xQSl7111C6_LVBHfhx8OOaWy3Fmk5RJLWsxZF11QmNYShAEfNpq3KzNjarpQWiXrlZeW9aARwNPgjAGe1hr0QHLYamSH-k5XE3zerDB19-P0ZtgikfnYuin2nxy0/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivUYOGPm9tUJyFzBn9xQSl7111C6_LVBHfhx8OOaWy3Fmk5RJLWsxZF11QmNYShAEfNpq3KzNjarpQWiXrlZeW9aARwNPgjAGe1hr0QHLYamSH-k5XE3zerDB19-P0ZtgikfnYuin2nxy0/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxE63ILNk1sy8QHxXtjJ_L8JZiqxLVzRKtFcpZ8MU_zUsjHMIUVhyX_aSQwHmkpFz1w4K_gKffH29r90ntwUCrkekkpsJ2D9MCBWcdeTd_jA_bvGxZ7OFhjRaziZVKjek5x84eMNfGowBK/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxE63ILNk1sy8QHxXtjJ_L8JZiqxLVzRKtFcpZ8MU_zUsjHMIUVhyX_aSQwHmkpFz1w4K_gKffH29r90ntwUCrkekkpsJ2D9MCBWcdeTd_jA_bvGxZ7OFhjRaziZVKjek5x84eMNfGowBK/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">We purchased a new Dometic 3-way refrigerator and I did a bunch of work to prep the cabinet and repair the roof vent. I rebuilt the back-side of the interior cabinet that’s above the fridge to have a proper ventilation shaft that matches the specs for the new Dometic fridge, this will help the fridge performance as the old shaft was quite a bit oversize per the new specs. As a bonus the cabinet over the fridge is now almost 4” deeper giving us more storage space, it can even fit a box a cereal. For the roof-top vent I decided to use an Airstream part instead of the boxy style that was standard on Avions. Our original vent cap had a major impact with something long ago and had an old repair to make it functional, but it was looking very rough and not tight to the weather. I’ve notice in photos of other Avion truck campers that a lot of the vent caps seem to have had this issue, something to keep in mind when we are on the road. The vintage Airstream style cap is more rounded on the ends and looks like it will tend to deflect things that it runs into instead of grabbing and tearing. As part of the repair I ended up also rebuilding part the collar that extends up between the roof and cap and added a bug screen before installing the cap.</span></div><div><br /></div>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-69400380762761808412020-10-24T15:11:00.007-07:002021-06-05T04:28:47.480-07:00Camping with different vibes during the pandemic.... <p> </p><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XZH3GGYguQTopl1RCHKIq5wI5rj1CMJ9mj3WQpBjCHtaTOLicnUUnvaJNitvhOWMs1ygZ2DQ68JgY-Nv9qYxKGSSp83UkNf4pw_Ve9W_XLfqI4KcE8ZyMhG-N-wnuklrSVpwIG2ipE8_/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XZH3GGYguQTopl1RCHKIq5wI5rj1CMJ9mj3WQpBjCHtaTOLicnUUnvaJNitvhOWMs1ygZ2DQ68JgY-Nv9qYxKGSSp83UkNf4pw_Ve9W_XLfqI4KcE8ZyMhG-N-wnuklrSVpwIG2ipE8_/w240-h320/IMG_5655.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); 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float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1504" data-original-width="2048" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLJx5b9fdYkftiUY9T-daz-Vz-omUPJIwgorqpnLESb_AtilkEU2E2HSrfD37OdQpGtOlwmWZ8mrpq6_0IPdjj9xLvDfDOuw3Ght16B_oygeFediNxJy464d3vt8MlO8kXrWpCWyBcNwB/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAhSwLGdRV7jt5ZUgHQV90o32Mof8CL1xAC6pMY3ZyITEkagbOoAJHuZiu81N3VkGFHOjfvuxGQV0p7LLrhthC73AC0Qu25V44qdoGjqyKh27lsuj4spTjrNXxlloSTxDpt0EUjpQp9br/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAhSwLGdRV7jt5ZUgHQV90o32Mof8CL1xAC6pMY3ZyITEkagbOoAJHuZiu81N3VkGFHOjfvuxGQV0p7LLrhthC73AC0Qu25V44qdoGjqyKh27lsuj4spTjrNXxlloSTxDpt0EUjpQp9br/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); 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font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5BsH9YjjUOG1xkpeDthtDpZUQyo4rkn4cOdD_6XuI6IuT2Wh4DwpNQBn8twRk6C3louk00x-f8Y9YySwrwuMDlYEVvHK2NGMtv4AULzd1srv0Bwlxkvr4QsNjH3TIiw0JeSEFfPFvsPbP/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5BsH9YjjUOG1xkpeDthtDpZUQyo4rkn4cOdD_6XuI6IuT2Wh4DwpNQBn8twRk6C3louk00x-f8Y9YySwrwuMDlYEVvHK2NGMtv4AULzd1srv0Bwlxkvr4QsNjH3TIiw0JeSEFfPFvsPbP/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">Over the years the we’ve found that different campgrounds have very different vibes. This year we didn’t do any summer camping other than the "Not a Rally" due to the COVID pandemic, but by the time Fall came around we decided to take the Shasta out for another quick trip within New York state. First we headed to Watkins Glen, one of our favorite places and an area that we used to live in so it’s sort of like camping and going back home. We like this state park because many of the sites have some space between them and when you are there it is a bit like hiding in the woods. Being mid-week and early October we found the campground very sparsely populated despite the reservation system showing that it all the sites we booked. I wondered if the campground had artificially booked sites to keep population down, but after a few days folks showed up to claim pretty much every site. Overall we were impressed with how people respected the pandemic guidelines and generally kept to themselves. We hiked from our campsite to the gorge rim trail and found it fairly busy because the park was routing foot traffic to follow a one-way loop returning via the rim. Seeing this we decided to further upstream where it’s always less populated and we’re rewarded with a great hike into some areas of the park that we had not explored before including a small lake above the falls past the railroad trestle. We also spent some time hiking a few other less known trails near the village of Watkins Glen and Montour Falls and made quick stops on a couple favorite wineries. A highlight of our time in here was visiting a vintage camper friend who had just completed a full restoration a a Spartan Manor, it was great to see him and check out his amazing work before it headed out to its new owners.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; text-size-adjust: auto;">Before heading home we decided to keep camping for a few extra days and to visit family in the Syracuse area. We booked a campsite at Green Lakes State Park and headed north. When I made the reservation it was slim pickings with just two sites available, after we were there for about 2 minutes I realized that I should have probably chosen the other site. We had not been to Green Lakes before but knew that it was a popular place with a generally more “social open space” vibe than the “camping in the woods” vibe we typically enjoy. Our site was conveniently located a few feet from a large kids playground and also pretty close the bathroom house. When we first pulled up it almost didn’t look like a campsite but after checking it out we were indeed in the right place. When times are normal this is the type of site we would typically avoid but during the pandemic it was shocking, especially after having been in the woods for a week. Once we were acclimated we enjoyed visits from one of our daughters and our sister in-law and did some hiking in the park and along the old Erie Canal. The park has a couple of amazing lakes with unusual mineral deposits that make it look really green, it’s super super cool and unexpected in this area. So tend while this campground was definitely not our “vibe” we had a good time and it was great to see family and see something new.</div>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-20594851188076220732020-10-11T04:37:00.000-07:002021-02-05T15:53:30.727-08:00Avion Tie-Down Points & Pigtail<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCL8VABr10bDqastyeXfprk7dFfEyBfLwJyawfOS7M16bEgCpGIunuPqAyVNuD98IujpiTytRN3j5pgXB1E4JmRffAY-ZVNEsgVnjPfS_lwJNouz28PCbLymb0W_6dyfghe2JX-K1GVDA/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCL8VABr10bDqastyeXfprk7dFfEyBfLwJyawfOS7M16bEgCpGIunuPqAyVNuD98IujpiTytRN3j5pgXB1E4JmRffAY-ZVNEsgVnjPfS_lwJNouz28PCbLymb0W_6dyfghe2JX-K1GVDA/" width="180" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_E0KGXfD2BFiNIYlLeor5vjkPADUIOduDNsX9_SoedsJnVshRMc8qJvPyn3M1yTk7-Jv22nwSCWB_r1-EFwfjXvMni_SCA9y-jnVNTzo8X6mNbmDo7eCPrlsQlZiAX-ny6NByfqzLhBC/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_E0KGXfD2BFiNIYlLeor5vjkPADUIOduDNsX9_SoedsJnVshRMc8qJvPyn3M1yTk7-Jv22nwSCWB_r1-EFwfjXvMni_SCA9y-jnVNTzo8X6mNbmDo7eCPrlsQlZiAX-ny6NByfqzLhBC/" width="180" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk30m4m2GZCy0qn4zxFBj3ZOkRhB0q8HMqNAf-vHUwhmVStldpA0nMZmFtvkDAad-x1eKO8Oxh_HIubHOrGGNTkCYLERJGstP8yBZxLmGwuM6jmTvvgjMXB_Za_saJc-Bw1odx3TTBn0Lm/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1419" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk30m4m2GZCy0qn4zxFBj3ZOkRhB0q8HMqNAf-vHUwhmVStldpA0nMZmFtvkDAad-x1eKO8Oxh_HIubHOrGGNTkCYLERJGstP8yBZxLmGwuM6jmTvvgjMXB_Za_saJc-Bw1odx3TTBn0Lm/" width="166" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjTfO5sjsSxr6uSqPIOh427fiiI5B1oQN-klCJtXzkTbqWcsl9f63ESckNi9OznOBGk8sTMazUAJyThBHMGpkFcvj6MlP07v1DNvo4aBdR6YE7Mpv_8VIj_jFxnd8i7e95fP3KelIvSW_/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtjTfO5sjsSxr6uSqPIOh427fiiI5B1oQN-klCJtXzkTbqWcsl9f63ESckNi9OznOBGk8sTMazUAJyThBHMGpkFcvj6MlP07v1DNvo4aBdR6YE7Mpv_8VIj_jFxnd8i7e95fP3KelIvSW_/" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Once again the blog is lagging far behind our progress on the Avion truck camper. I'll try to get a few updates posted, the mild winter and pandemic have been good for getting stuff done. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">I finally got around finishing the installation of the Tie Down points where the camper gets attached to the truck. I ended up using stainless steel U-bolts that are used on the bows of boats, they went in pretty easily except for one where I didn’t leave myself much access to back side by the water heater, it was a pain but eventually I was able to get the backing plate and nuts on. It feels good to have this and the jack brackets both finally complete. </span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;">I also installed a new pigtail wire connection to the truck along with inline fuses. I bought a long pigtail because on many trucks the 7-pin socket in the bed is on the drivers side, but on the Avion the pigtail is on the passenger side front corner. Once we get a truck we will install socket in the same corner as the camper but I wanted flexibility to be able to use a different truck if ever needed. I also added a bunch of inline fuses for pigtail leads that power the running lights, brake lights, turn signals, and reverse lights. Early on with our Shasta we had an electrical short in one of the running light wires that resulted in the tow vehicle needing a new control module only a year after it was installed, putting inline fuses on these lines is simple protection for the electronics in the truck. I put the connections for the pigtail and the fuses and in a new electrical box inside the wall that I can now access by removing a switch plate in case I ever need to get at them to troubleshoot. </div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 24px;"><br /></div>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-14741564417410677422020-09-29T16:36:00.002-07:002021-06-05T04:26:40.027-07:00Not a Rally<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMsgnYPMmSaHWZxs1Q2yskuNnChs2_Rj2kxRaE2n868TPpQKB_ELCNtPW-x60I1-k-ZCctZu60mT_4GBffl4TO12J_WioHegEM8m7QCccUZCjZlWlQot8PPBSmiAI-lzV8JjnK7zyLm3z/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMsgnYPMmSaHWZxs1Q2yskuNnChs2_Rj2kxRaE2n868TPpQKB_ELCNtPW-x60I1-k-ZCctZu60mT_4GBffl4TO12J_WioHegEM8m7QCccUZCjZlWlQot8PPBSmiAI-lzV8JjnK7zyLm3z/" width="240" /></a><br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewcfKJ_tQYFT_Z7jvyd-qjhisG5b9aU0lCrLqXrVhCXeooKDBpOsh6zNZn4eY_Ve5v4qrX6_beM5mVPD3a1UHt1N3U3U2WDZVxQCnADntSiCeWla0a2y2LcxKkVyqs5QzKR4tda6dIwdS/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1413" data-original-width="2048" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewcfKJ_tQYFT_Z7jvyd-qjhisG5b9aU0lCrLqXrVhCXeooKDBpOsh6zNZn4eY_Ve5v4qrX6_beM5mVPD3a1UHt1N3U3U2WDZVxQCnADntSiCeWla0a2y2LcxKkVyqs5QzKR4tda6dIwdS/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9nsXboePf2-FsypdcXMXU4lrVGVQ_p11iWYhjtkfawUTOIwU0oDhV35IeJPFHiEetcDZAdHo9J20WggrOIZdx-2LFzg_9V4Jksv8zE_LDvh4N5IzZfgMNPYVkuTfZ4fbM_lWXzddea9g/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9nsXboePf2-FsypdcXMXU4lrVGVQ_p11iWYhjtkfawUTOIwU0oDhV35IeJPFHiEetcDZAdHo9J20WggrOIZdx-2LFzg_9V4Jksv8zE_LDvh4N5IzZfgMNPYVkuTfZ4fbM_lWXzddea9g/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yciGQPGcJrNY60WcGIaE6ImiaNGzYvc3ORSM-LZHc1S5_-DkDKWngwUN9QbDXjUkIrOCQ9kl43ZHMIL_UZqi4CKyGatHos5hm9VHjId7eLj_W9ocsXPxcDiXbGvZi26bgo3VKNZ4sL9m/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1411" data-original-width="2048" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yciGQPGcJrNY60WcGIaE6ImiaNGzYvc3ORSM-LZHc1S5_-DkDKWngwUN9QbDXjUkIrOCQ9kl43ZHMIL_UZqi4CKyGatHos5hm9VHjId7eLj_W9ocsXPxcDiXbGvZi26bgo3VKNZ4sL9m/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0a4mXeP1HhDTCgxj2VuYHHMVWUC5KGprryocsp2RD7nPFyR-zmKWW7Ofq1t3oOs4EY4zyB14svHn1B5-lbcSJmUfZkFfY7kaxEd_0pFfiu9zdzPYIruCa-yc42qrob3S2wwWt8xy4dgf6/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1434" data-original-width="2048" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0a4mXeP1HhDTCgxj2VuYHHMVWUC5KGprryocsp2RD7nPFyR-zmKWW7Ofq1t3oOs4EY4zyB14svHn1B5-lbcSJmUfZkFfY7kaxEd_0pFfiu9zdzPYIruCa-yc42qrob3S2wwWt8xy4dgf6/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was supposed to be a mid-September TCT rally, but all rally activities were cancelled so it became the "Not a Rally". Sampson State Park had recently opened to limited camping, and those that were registered for the rally were given the option of keeping their site registration - after being cooped up for months we decided to go! Camping by nature is outdoors and the distance between sites helps with distancing. We are really glad that we went, we got to spend time sitting around a few campfires with our vintage camper friends and used the time differently than we would typically when camping in part of New York's Finger Lakes region. We did some hiking along Seneca lake, made a quick visit to a winery, and did a tasting at <a href="https://www.murandacheese.com/" target="_blank">Muranda cheese company</a>. The cheese tasting was a very cool experience, and their cheese is amazing! Back at the campground there was no open house or viewing of interiors of most the vintage trailers, but it was good to just walk the campground loop and check out the campers from a distance. There were a couple of rigs there that we had not seen before, including a great looking Avion trailer that was painted light yellow with a automotive quality finish, and a recently painted Shasta Airflyte that was very similar to our trailer. Also, some friends from home who are into vintage cars rented a cabin in the park for a few days and are now starting to catch vintage camper bug as well. We are hoping that things get back to normal next year, but this was a welcome break for us during the pandemic. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-54157146581279199752020-09-15T19:39:00.001-07:002020-09-15T19:39:17.366-07:00Avion water and power upgrades<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ybGkv7uG0SPwQm8-qwxbvzgD4LZutrBmH0qfyzCJOxnw5Nil5cdP0Jt2T27RTjo2lqRleMAC_NtuRMRJGeMpd9qls5AELdJ375sisMLsl2yBAOwy4-VF5KiCFG-016Sg6MArbdHE9hbQ/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ybGkv7uG0SPwQm8-qwxbvzgD4LZutrBmH0qfyzCJOxnw5Nil5cdP0Jt2T27RTjo2lqRleMAC_NtuRMRJGeMpd9qls5AELdJ375sisMLsl2yBAOwy4-VF5KiCFG-016Sg6MArbdHE9hbQ/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDz8rJBGg8q3vVO0Cjb5PP7q32ueyzwN4a-SfNZfO6ngD-nM23r9W7hP33vB45Q2gVJ05FqJbhID1yeIlNGSLkDi3OU2O4q6w7aXcg_nhkcl0-vsc7lE7KWVsS_7NEJ0QVgmwl6dF-hXf/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDz8rJBGg8q3vVO0Cjb5PP7q32ueyzwN4a-SfNZfO6ngD-nM23r9W7hP33vB45Q2gVJ05FqJbhID1yeIlNGSLkDi3OU2O4q6w7aXcg_nhkcl0-vsc7lE7KWVsS_7NEJ0QVgmwl6dF-hXf/" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPwX_1-fuPmTDijzezbjXT7Sng6-j6kWU9z3sjMf17WDVTyEFX8ZAK7-uGSOidebYAMJDE9UWoxweudW-SNDRN3QbRgS6oJMIdTCiv-rHrJ3qpmDKQb86L0aoQoSNyw3ir18XU8bfPolX/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPwX_1-fuPmTDijzezbjXT7Sng6-j6kWU9z3sjMf17WDVTyEFX8ZAK7-uGSOidebYAMJDE9UWoxweudW-SNDRN3QbRgS6oJMIdTCiv-rHrJ3qpmDKQb86L0aoQoSNyw3ir18XU8bfPolX/" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8fo1PspSWbF5-yc-RxD6bLXz-kPGRSt-QaLPTlyNpBsDKvKdjJppM9oZ4Bi1An6CkvpsPHUlM_WEN4sJLnp6Hv_A7Ks_yDq9wbWz4dRMUA18ryMm8H3rI_R0ADPL3rNeG9FwghNVelhsJ/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8fo1PspSWbF5-yc-RxD6bLXz-kPGRSt-QaLPTlyNpBsDKvKdjJppM9oZ4Bi1An6CkvpsPHUlM_WEN4sJLnp6Hv_A7Ks_yDq9wbWz4dRMUA18ryMm8H3rI_R0ADPL3rNeG9FwghNVelhsJ/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cYRnyU60DiWdaBQBAzV-Viya3U4MOrrjR64mk7aPWTcqW-BQhYmokKc65CTzy1XW3EpaQRRpDbCjOzZNa4y2jYlEUgk3IeHvh79vyX9VACDUNUfevC9EKpKqX7cvh-HA-uCVKc2Uro2X/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cYRnyU60DiWdaBQBAzV-Viya3U4MOrrjR64mk7aPWTcqW-BQhYmokKc65CTzy1XW3EpaQRRpDbCjOzZNa4y2jYlEUgk3IeHvh79vyX9VACDUNUfevC9EKpKqX7cvh-HA-uCVKc2Uro2X/" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMvK_YANnD1rXhwtMU_ff0FNBTlnsq-s2lpGPe01iAUSoqyL59Zr0EN_PGEcO1MxqWm_fENWrhXlXn5hSXRqOLWu2Ome9tRDGq2Q9NXrmeZVpjRml1pFl33AgkETlZkOGJwozQ-wyIuJ8/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFMvK_YANnD1rXhwtMU_ff0FNBTlnsq-s2lpGPe01iAUSoqyL59Zr0EN_PGEcO1MxqWm_fENWrhXlXn5hSXRqOLWu2Ome9tRDGq2Q9NXrmeZVpjRml1pFl33AgkETlZkOGJwozQ-wyIuJ8/" width="180" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I've been spending a lot of time on power and water utilities... We decided to go with a new plastic fresh water tank instead of repairing the old aluminum one (even though it is super cool), the new tank is a perfect fit and off-the-shelf from VTS. A new water pump and about half of the new PEX water lines are now roughed in. I bought a new Atwood water heater, not plumbed in yet but a perfect fit sitting in the hole that’s been in the side of the camper since we bought it. I replaced the 30Amp 120v electrical inlet with a up-to-date one made by Furrion. I found that the old 120v inlet was an odd configuration made by Hubbell that looks like a common one but has one tab that is reversed, you can buy an adaptor (HBL3333C) but it costs as much as a new standard 30Amp inlet and I wanted to run new wire to the box anyway. I replaced 120v wiring to 3 outlets that I could do without removing any interior skin. I added a 2nd circuit breaker to to the box as we learned by surprise one day that only half the outlets were on the one breaker that was there, the other half were just hot all the time. I added an access panel on the inside wall where the truck umbilical comes in, crazy that you had to remove rivets to get the wire connections in there. I replaced the old glass screw-in 12 volt use box with a modern 12v one and installed a new Progressive Dynamics Converter/Charger to replace the old-school battery charger. I also ran lots of new 12v wiring for the appliance locations and some for lighting. I installed a small 12v to 120v Inverter so that we can run a laptop and other small 120v appliances off the 12v batteries if needed when boondocking. The fuse box, new electrical components, and water pump are all located in the cabinet under the front edge of one of the dinette seats, I spent a lot of time working out an arrangement so they would to be fairly compact so the 12v utilities only take up half of that cabinet.</p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-37541093014216972342020-09-15T19:22:00.003-07:002021-02-05T14:51:47.714-08:00refinished woodwork and interior wall paint<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUR6SqrwbmMeKPDH6DUklad7oci5ou7JtcCyMc4ayuL3Aa-XN-Ke7vYCNuetwtaDN1UYEmth-yiff_wiKinOGkE9qQfp6i5lELWe3imOqCjOta9w0qA3mwPxaH11fn8QWtyOgXJQNBMDvH/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUR6SqrwbmMeKPDH6DUklad7oci5ou7JtcCyMc4ayuL3Aa-XN-Ke7vYCNuetwtaDN1UYEmth-yiff_wiKinOGkE9qQfp6i5lELWe3imOqCjOta9w0qA3mwPxaH11fn8QWtyOgXJQNBMDvH/" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgviACRb84b_Hiw3ipfPukL5YOYQcFf1DlSNJ4mGBNQ4Lys1D8nqBByMl9V3l3Y9nFrxraNj4F0GZMQRL1Mv-8qlRuQYHduuuxaSivag0eTd_wLb-qv519qWYbJHu48z1dnkQXnydZkOSUN/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgviACRb84b_Hiw3ipfPukL5YOYQcFf1DlSNJ4mGBNQ4Lys1D8nqBByMl9V3l3Y9nFrxraNj4F0GZMQRL1Mv-8qlRuQYHduuuxaSivag0eTd_wLb-qv519qWYbJHu48z1dnkQXnydZkOSUN/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngivFdhsRLszipMyNTyShLSf0FtWnyB76JmJm40-doX7O939gyYsXq8mI_-I-uqveaEnx3frukEyGjQGvR23yedq_YbdP7TaBXoSRzpo_9Lx8k2qVLmS07UaDUAS6UDGQcS2iSf-MWsax/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngivFdhsRLszipMyNTyShLSf0FtWnyB76JmJm40-doX7O939gyYsXq8mI_-I-uqveaEnx3frukEyGjQGvR23yedq_YbdP7TaBXoSRzpo_9Lx8k2qVLmS07UaDUAS6UDGQcS2iSf-MWsax/" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Here's some photos of the refinished cabinet frames and some paint on the interior walls. In the first photo above you can see the original finish on that was under the laminate next to the stove compared to the new darker stain and stripped wood on the fridge cabinet. The original finish was very opaque, and while in good condition in some areas there were other places that needed a lot of attention. We decided to go with a darker but more transparent stain after looking at a lot of vintage interiors at a vintage camper rally last year. Our Shasta has amber shellac interior and while I like that, I also like that the Avion will feel different yet it still has a lot of wood inside. The light wall color has a great warm tone to it that really works well with the dark wood. </p><p><br /></p>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-86364463952978060282020-09-15T19:11:00.001-07:002020-09-15T19:11:41.560-07:00Avion interior stripped<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaXua_OeSEiXctqTUbeuTNm07vIxpea8tpgZ0AROg0q7DIhyTTaSTkRdYNM3r-NBJxxUn0rw4Ah3yFK7OnjpxaRZDe5XACC79W9WADe6DGI5JhJkbhuawMnRVHrvli9sX0lmLBRoeDcqR/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWaXua_OeSEiXctqTUbeuTNm07vIxpea8tpgZ0AROg0q7DIhyTTaSTkRdYNM3r-NBJxxUn0rw4Ah3yFK7OnjpxaRZDe5XACC79W9WADe6DGI5JhJkbhuawMnRVHrvli9sX0lmLBRoeDcqR/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNJVn4LgIDIAeompAeJpH9zqHuxO4mMbd_Pl2eshmayD5s1wpGjpbqd5KnrxWud-a99Zdv0AgUsyD6IHk0uE3PWNmxFOufJ2ksH0hseZjCH4DH1DGUW7K1X83xbjOjciANHn2NUQ1OCh8/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNJVn4LgIDIAeompAeJpH9zqHuxO4mMbd_Pl2eshmayD5s1wpGjpbqd5KnrxWud-a99Zdv0AgUsyD6IHk0uE3PWNmxFOufJ2ksH0hseZjCH4DH1DGUW7K1X83xbjOjciANHn2NUQ1OCh8/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKzp22p7GIJd1jHOT-xQA6_8_YRo2VP8K9KAHDyHYHWR8QQe4vwVSF2ycKS3uz5qypKZlm_QjQIrc69pxf7g2T9hTHTkA13VsDqu12N5nxfng6qC9xnu_T_GYTyBUcE32ysdLunKM6re7/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKzp22p7GIJd1jHOT-xQA6_8_YRo2VP8K9KAHDyHYHWR8QQe4vwVSF2ycKS3uz5qypKZlm_QjQIrc69pxf7g2T9hTHTkA13VsDqu12N5nxfng6qC9xnu_T_GYTyBUcE32ysdLunKM6re7/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSeXVXtnNSukC8O_4sknGVI3r0amJlYu70_H2YiPolCmeY7ySetNFJZ5Fbhv92CkYJ3FW-EKsFK8I1Nw0KtNyASv0Lc0lrWvF1XjUjguoGJZM88nufPSIYlRRNtQGFOynbsLfaa4w5yMKJ/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSeXVXtnNSukC8O_4sknGVI3r0amJlYu70_H2YiPolCmeY7ySetNFJZ5Fbhv92CkYJ3FW-EKsFK8I1Nw0KtNyASv0Lc0lrWvF1XjUjguoGJZM88nufPSIYlRRNtQGFOynbsLfaa4w5yMKJ/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We've made a lot of progress on them Avion over the last few months with my wife and I continuously working on various tasks. I'll try do a few posts with different stages of progress. Here's some photos of the interior with the original finishes stripped off the woodwork, everything cleaned up, and the walls in primer.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3900770991721011911.post-41733835796001483522020-07-06T05:55:00.003-07:002020-07-06T05:55:40.941-07:00New Floor is In! <br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;">Over the last 4 weeks we did a major project to replace the floor in the Avion. The area in the corner under the propane cabinet & heater as well as just inside the door had severe rot issues. From looking at photos of other Avion truck camper restorations it looks like these are typically the worst areas for rot. I’m not sure if it’s related to condensation from the Propane canister, or a combination of that and the old Hydro Flame heater being so close to it, or perhaps it’s just an area of these campers that leaks consistently when it rains. Originally I thought that I would just piece-in a new area for that back corner, but once I had the water tank removed up front it became obvious that an entire new floor was the right thing to do. There were also some bad soft spots in the middle that we didn't like as well. Also once I pulled up the floor tiles I found that I could see light through a gap all along the edge at the base of the right wing. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;">I built the new floor using 2 layers of 1/2” marine plywood and a middle layer of 1/2” polyiso foam core in the middle. The original floor was 2 layers of 1/4” plywood with 1” styrofoam core, so while new floor is about 70 lb’s heavier than the old one it’s significantly more solid and given the payload capacity of the trucks that we are considering this shouldn’t be an issue. For the runners on the bottom of the floor I used cedar 2x4’s. I used exterior wood glue and stainless screws to assemble the plywood parts and also coated the entire bottom, the outer edge, and some of the top edge with epoxy. Lastly we coated all areas of the bottom that will exposed to the elements with Herculiner pickup truck bed liner. We used Herculiner as an undercoating on our Shasta trailer ten years ago and it’s held up extremely well. We also put down some vinyl sheet flooring in the front area that will be inside a storage compartment and under the water tank, as well as some in the back corner by the propane cabinet in the old heater area that will become our shoe cabinet.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">I built the new floor completely before tearing out the old one to minimize how long the camper sat without a floor in it. I initially screwed some temporary boards in to hold wings together before the tear-out, but later found that a ratchet strap pulling on the inside walls of the wings was better because the walls naturally pulled out, away from the floor, and with the strap I could adjust it. I found that a jigsaw with a long metal cutting blade used from the outside of the camper was the best way to cut the nails and screws that held the floor on the sides and front. I initially tried to pull them out but it proved impossible without destroying the outer aluminum edge. The rear bathroom corner proved to be the most difficult area to get out, with the floor coming out in small pieces using a Sawsall and hand tools. Once out most of the bottom edge was in good shape but I made some new aluminum pieces to tie the aluminum walls to the floor in both back corners and also epoxied the wood in a few areas that needed repair.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large;">With the camper standing on its 4 jack stands I used our trailer-frame dolly to wheel the new floor underneath. We then carefully lowered the jacks while adjusting the position of the floor to get everything the line up correctly. I used PL Premium construction adhesive and stainless screws to permanently attach the new floor. Also with the camper in the air and no floor in it we took advantage of this unique time to work on some the interior wood-work while it as at a more comfortable working height. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">With the new floor in the difference is amazing, no more soft spots as we walk around inside and we are now confident that structurally the camper is ready to go full speed on the rest of the project!</span></span><br />
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Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983172531562292855noreply@blogger.com0