Hello Avion Family! 1st Day of My New Life-1986 Avion 34V

[triplebeam]

Hello Avion Family! Greetings!!

My name is Joel and I'm the proud new owner of a (pic attached)1986 Avion 34V. I'm very excited to be an Avion owner and a part of this community - so glad that I have found my lost tribe!! I have not even begun to scratch the surface on the sheer amount of Avion knowledge that can be found here in this forum. I have enjoyed reading a few of the posts in the "introductions" sections, and I have decided to join in!! Thanks in advance for the forum to share my story... and also for the imminent borage of annoying "newbie" questions that I will likely be asking in the near future.

Not only is this my first (and last) travel trailer - it is my first experience with Avion ever. I'm familiar with Airstreams... but, honestly never had been inside one... and have never even heard of the Avion's until recently.

Over the last couple of years... I started to see the writing on the wall with the Covid situation. I began entertaining the idea of selling my house, all possessions and living off grid in the middle of nowhere with my two German Shepherd Dogs. That being said... I purchased 10 acres in the Arizona high desert.. and I started searching Offer Up, Facebook Market Place, Craigs List, RV Dealerships for a RV/ trailer... I basically scoured the internet for the last year or so. Yes, there were many, many options (most too expensive and completely out of reach) but, also there just wasn't much out there that caught my eye...

Then late one evening/ morning - I saw an add for an 1986 Avion Fleetwood 34v Triple Axle from a private seller on Offer Up... the ad had only been up for a few hours. There was only a couple of low quality photos and very little detailed information - but a very reasonable asking price. I said to myself "what is this beautiful piece of art?". I started googling for pics and information about this model... and I knew right then and there that an Avion Trailer was the one for me - the ruby in the dust I'd been searching for.

I immediately messaged the seller - It was just after 2am... I've learned that you can not snooze on these types of opportunities. In the message I said "this is the one I've been looking for" and "I live about 30 minutes away" and "can come pick up anytime" and "serious buyer/ cash in hand" and I left my phone number and asked him to call me at earliest convenience. I went to sleep and dreamed about the Avion for a total of about 4hrs before the phone rang. I was in my car and on the road to see the trailer within the hour!

By the time I reached the destination - the seller had informed me that in an hours time he had received several cash offers sight unseen. His cell phone was beeping off the hook - one inquiry after another. It was starting to turn into a bidding war/ desperate buyers were trying to do wire transfers/ paypal etc. etc!! Observing this only confirmed that I was making a sound decision... and I took a deep breath, closed my eyes... and pulled the trigger. The rest is history!!

I've decided to post a photo of the Avion in it's current state. I thought it might be cool to document the progress and current/ future state. Also, so that I can get some input from the Avion community about where to start... information what/how/ where to find the parts. I need all the help I can get - As you can see in the photos - it's straight and about 99% all there - just needs some love and TLC.

I'm very ambitious/ motivated to get started on cleaning and bringing her back to life. It's been sitting for a few years here in Washington State. 1st thing 1st, I'll clean the exterior to a high aluminum shine. Sadly, The front bra anti-rock chip gaurd is toast and will be removed. Not sure if I'll attempt to replace or not. It looks like I'll need to track down and purchase a few things like some new rubber bumper, side marker and tail lense/ antenna/ some of the clips that hold battery cover down... the one thing missing that is a total bummer is the large Hi Dee patio awning material. The brackets and rollers are still there. This will likely be the hardest and most expensive item to track down? I'm guessing... anyone got an extra? Point me in the right direction?

After a deep clean of the exterior - main focus will shift to the interior. We just had a category 4 atmospheric river event - it rained for days!! I suspect there must be a water leak some where - I don't see any substantial water damage - but, it smells musty and like mildew. I have cranked all the windows open and put a fan to let it air out. I ordered some of the tape to seal up the roof seems and rivets - I need to inspect the windows and all seals etc.

All of the wood cabinetry appears to be in decent shape - it's mostly all there - definitely missing some of the factory items - like the couch/ or seats. Some of the cushions for the dinette are not there... the fridge is gone. I'm wondering if I should gut it and redo the inside? - or try to be a purist and piece it all back together? I'd be interested to hear others thoughts on this... I'm sure there is a wealth of experience on this endeavor in this community. Does anyone out here have a lead on where to find some of the interior pieces? Like some Avion junkyard or parts hoarder? lol!

Thanks for letting me share my new Avion with ya'll. Feel free to comment - let me know if you can point me in the right direction. I have more questions right now than answers. The important thing is she's found a new loving home... and my dogs and I have found a classy, stylish new home as well. We will take good care of her... and I expect that she'll take very good care of us in return.

Thanks,

Joel aka "triplebeam"

[Razorback]

Triplebeam, please forgive the much-delayed response.... I have no idea where everyone is. I know I have been up to my eyeballs with work and life... have not logged on for quite some time.

Welcome to the forum, and thank you for such a great story of how you acquired your Avion! The Avion market sure appears to continue heating up. We have had our 1987 34W since 2013. I am sure glad we found it when we did!

I would suggest addressing the sealing of the roof and around every thing that penetrates the roof. Also pay attention to the foam seal between the roof A/C and the roof. The front rock guard hinge is a very common place for leaks. You will find lots of information in this forum about sealing.

Please keep us posted on the progress, and don't hesitate to ask questions. Guess how we learned things?

[KYAvion]

Congrats and welcome! As Razorback said, sorry for the delayed response. Things have been rather chaotic lately!