75 Avion La Grande restoration

[Sakurama]

So this is just a test post. I was on the Avion Yahoo group and just hated the format so I never really posted much there. I keep a very extensive post on Garage Journal (https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/sho ... hp?t=18510) and as part of that I've documented a lot of the restoration work I've done on my fathers Avion trailer since I inherited it three or so years ago. So let's see if I can copy and paste this whole post and if it works I'll have plenty more to contribute.

Hmm, seems like it works. I'll try to contribute some more as I find the time. I like sharing information and I've learned a lot about these trailers over the years so hopefully I can add some value here...



So one of the great things about the trailer is that my father got all the manuals from the previous owner. One of the not great things is that these are manuals written in the 70's and it's striking how little is explained. The whole concept of this "house-on-wheels" business was foreign to me and I had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the whole thing can be powered by 120v "shore" current (that's the word they use for power from a house or campground) or the 12v battery or propane. Pretty much everything runs on two of them depending...

I will preface this by saying that I didn't intend to do any more than clean and figure out the way the things works. I swear.

The first thing I did was plug it into an extension cord. Lights came on! Yeah! The next thing I did was screw in a hose and turn on the water. Water came out! Of everything! Yikes!

After flooding the bathroom I found the broken pipe behind the toilet. It was copper and had most likely burst in the winter after not being flushed. The copper was held in with compression fittings. I have a flange tool I never get to use so I figured I'd just replace the broken pipe and move on.

I replaced it and turned on the hose to hear water rushing, somewhere else. I tracked that down and replaced that pipe. I did this about four times until I ran out of copper pipe and each repair only put pressure somewhere new and more leaks kept showing up.



I threw in the towel, actually I through many towels in because water was everywhere. This had the added bonus of giving me a reason to rip out all the carpet which revealed some very dirty but original linoleum.

Simultaneous to this I decided to rip out the table which had broken at the hinge. It was made of particle board and had gotten wet and just came apart. Once the table was out it seemed silly to leave the benches in as the hinges on them were broken as well. Sure, cushions covered them and a few screws would have at least repaired it but what fun is that? Why not make new benches? How long could it take?

Out came the benches. :lol_hitti



Turns out it takes exactly three times as long as you think to make new benches - about three days. Since you can see there's a giant collection of plywood all around I figured this would be a good way to use up some of the shop grade birch I had. It was also a good way to convince myself that I will never, ever, buy shop grade birch again. The scraps become worthless whereas baltic birch is like gold - every little piece is useful.



Simultaneous to this I was replacing the plumbing with Pex.



If you ever have to do plumbing please do Pex. I'm mostly talking to my friend Sean here but it goes for the rest of you too. There's nothing so easy, so watertight, so fast and so clean. I actually enjoy running Pex. In fact I liked it so much it helped me move forward on a garage project but that's for later.

Around the time of doing the plumbing I discovered the bathroom counter (also particle) was starting to come apart so I pulled that out and bought more baltic birch to make a new one.



I went with a retro boomerang formica pattern because I love that pattern and remember it from my childhood.

After pulling apart the sink I found that the stainless band around the enameled steel sink was actually separate. Since I wasn't sure what the heck was the deal with it, but had seen this many times, I did some research. Turns out it's called a "Hudee Ring" or sometimes, incorrectly, a Hootie ring and it was designed as a way to help mount a sink into formica covered particle board which was becoming common in the 60's.



The ring is essentially the interface between the counter and the sink and helps to prevent water leaking through - theoretically. If you have one of these or find one be careful of the clips - they're pretty proprietary and not made anymore so lose them and you're stuck. I was lucky as mine were in decent shape and I didn't chuck them in a fit of anger as they were pretty rusted like pretty much every piece of steel I'd found.



You put silicon on both sides of the stainless lip - one side goes on the counter and the other the sink.



Then the clips go in and compress the two together. I used baltic birch for the counter and sealed both sides so I'm hoping I won't see more damage down the road.



At this point I was running out of time. I'd been working dawn to dusk every day for a week and one of the reasons there's not too many photos of the process is that I didn't expect to do so much. I swore I only wanted to clean the thing.



I finally got the plumbing in with new faucets, tub fixtures, I even replaced the toilet which was also leaking. I got a new battery and decided to test the thing on battery power and then discovered the water pump hoses all leaked and I replaced them and finally there was the sound of silence - no leaks!

We were going to leave the day before the 4th and camp on the way to meet Ben in the Six Rivers National Forest but the 4th came and went and I was still fixing things. Finally on the night of the 5th I finished and Nadia had her dinner in the camper and loved it. Note: that table leg is temporary until I come up with better hardware.



The morning of the 6th we finally left only to discover that the refrigerator doesn't stay closed and that a dozen eggs make a huge mess when they fall on the floor and are chased by a watermelon. Back to the house where I make an emergency door lock and finally, finally we get on the road and pull into Panther Flats campground that evening for dinner with the King family.


Yeah, I blew the focus but I'm trying to figure out a new camera and it's a bit complicated. I get all my camera advice from Ben now but I really love the new Sony A7r II despite it's fussiness as you'll see in the next few shots. If you ever meet Ben know that he is a fantastic friend who will convince you to buy things that are amazing and expensive. It probably works both ways now that I think about it.





The kids LOVE the trailer. Judiaann and I love it too despite the work involved and that still needs to be done. We figure it's basically about the size of our first NYC apartments but with better views.



The only bummer of the trip was that it rained after a few days. The up side was that we had the trailer so everyone joined us for dinner inside. The downside was that the trailer had as many leaks on the outside as it did on the inside but I didn't know this until we were getting rained on.

I managed some sloppy repairs, patches and tarps and by the last night it was actually dry inside... only to have the water pump blow a seal and flood the previously dry floor. I think this trailer wants to be a swimming pool.



This is my favorite shot because of what we learned about Oregon. Its sort of a loophole but it's legal to park in any roadside pull out for a 12 hour stay which means that you can simply pull off at a place like this, park the rig and make dinner as you watch the sun set. Or in our case the rain fall. Nonetheless the dawn was beautiful and the trip, despite the teething problems, was a ton of fun. We eventually got all the various systems running (how does a refrigerator keep things cold with propane?!?) and with a bit more work we should have it dialed in. The next update on the trailer will be the process of sealing it up on the outside.

Gregor

[Razorback]

We are in the road with our Avion, heading home from west of OKC, stopped for lunch in Shawnee, OK.
A quick glimpse through your post is VERY interesting. Later this evening I hope to read it all. Thank you for posting and for being here!

[Sakurama]

Thanks for bringing vintage Avions to the modern web.

G

[KYAvion]

Great first “test” post! Thanks for coming over, and I hope more will follow. I really like what you’ve done with your trailer. Nice job!

Great pics too. That last one is amazing.

[pbsled]

Looks great, and I really like the countertop work and the retro formica!