| In 1998 we purchased a 1964 Airstream Overlander. The following year, while travelling an Interstate through Ohio, I saw an Avion Truck Camper, and the search began. We purchased this 1965 Avion Truck Camper on Ebay in the fall of 2006. At the time we didn’t have a truck, so I picked up the camper and brought it home from Virginia on a flatbed car-hauler behind our Suburban.
A couple of years after we bought the camper a tree fell on it damaging the roof over the cabover, but fortunately leaving the front curved segments undamaged.
Now we are finally at a point where we can take on this project. The goal is to renovate the camper mostly with modern appliances and materials to make it comfortable and practical to use, not to restore it to original condition.
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Shower Pan
With the plan to switch from a toilet and black tank to a Thetford cassette toilet, I knew that I would need a different shower pan. And having sold the original shower to an Avion trailer owner, I was committed! It would be impossible to find something pre-made, so I decided to try my hand at fibreglass.
Continue reading “Shower Pan”Cabover setback
I was disappointed last spring to find that the cabover was leaking and the new plywood was delaminating. I went over all the suspected leak points and I think I got them all, but decided to tear it out and replace with aluminum so I wouldn’t have to worry about future leaks. Continue reading “Cabover setback”
If you have to add a patch…
it might as well make a statement! This one covers the old stove vent. The ‘white’ part of the flag is original anodized aluminum.
Plumbing Vent
Every tank needs to be vented to allow air to exit and enter when the fluid level changes. Our Avion will has two grey tanks connected end to end placed under the floor, but no black tank. The black tank is replaced by the cassette toilet. The fresh-water tank also needs to be vented, but that is a separate system.
Continue reading “Plumbing Vent”
Jalousie Windows
I’ve always liked the look of jalousie windows on a vintage camper, but the ones on either side of the ’65 Avion truck camper have a flaw that can cause them to leak. They are high enough on the wall that they slant inwards at the top, and since the sill is designed to be horizontal when the window is installed, it actually slants inward Continue reading “Jalousie Windows”
Running Lights
I’m still in the middle of many jobs, but the running lights are now installed. I put in the three across the front and decided I didn’t care for the look of the white plastic bases. The lights are Continue reading “Running Lights”
Polishing
I hadn’t originally planned to polish the camper, but decided to for a few reasons. The main one was that polishing would give a more uniform look without having to search out anodized panels to match the old panels. Also there were spots on the original panels where the anodizing had weathered a lot and looked somewhat patchy, and there were the parts that were downright ugly, Continue reading “Polishing”
Adding a Window
The side windows in the Avion are well below my eye level, and since I’m building a face-to-face dinette that will be above the wings, they’ll be below eye level when seated at the dinette as well. For this reason I’ve added an additional window. In an Airstream these are called Vista View windows. They are on the curve where the wall transitions into the roof.
Taillights and Winter Work
There hasn’t been a lot of progress to share on the Avion lately due to the snow and cold temperatures, but I attended an RV show to look for ideas and have spent a lot of time in planning the project and buying things I’ll need when the weather warms up.
One of items I purchased was a set of LED taillights to replace the old ones. I wanted something bright that included reverse lights. On Amazon they are called Continue reading “Taillights and Winter Work”
1965 Avion C-10 Truck Camper 