1989 “whale” Total restoration

[micah.foti]

Hey everyone, new to the forum, new to Avion campers as well. I’m a carpenter and mechanic (both professionally) so the skillset is there, I just need some information before I learn the hard way haha. I want to add, I’m no stranger to camper restorations, I’ve done 3 of my own and helped with a couple others, however I’ve never touched an airstream or avion in my life.

I have a 1989 “whale” with underbody storage, forgive me for not knowing the proper designation for this model. It is in need on 100% remodel, I’m not going to restore it because I lack the time and the desire to make it “authentic”, I intend to use it mostly as an air bnb “cabin” on my property…. I was going back and forth with the idea for a while, but have decided to make it more of a ‘park model’ than a self contained camper trailer. To start, it needs extensive floor repair, to the point that I feel (from past experience) it will save time and headache to remove the upper shell, place an entire new floor under it, then put the shell back in place. After looking around a little bit, I realize however that I may be assuming one crucial aspect, so that leads me to a couple preliminary questions.

1. Can anyone tell me with absolute knowledge that the wooden floor does or does not go all the way under the walls? Every camper I’ve dealt with in the past, the floor goes onto the frame, “shell” then sits on the floor, however I saw a couple posts on google that referenced that this may not be the case with avions and that the shell may sit on the frame, then the floor is purely INTERIOR of the camper and does not reach under the walls…. Again, can someone confirm with absolute knowledge that this is the case with the 1989 “whale” model?

2. If the flooring DOES go under the walls, I’ve seen reference to people building gantries to lift the shell off of the frame through the various access ports in the roof. Is this a proper method, or does someone have a better way? In previous “normal” camper restorations, I just remove a few of the exterior screws to attach a lifting point to the studs, easy peasy to then raise it with regular house or automotive floor jacks.

Thanks ahead to all responding, I’ll try to check back often

[KYAvion]

I’m not sure how I missed this post, and it’s been months now so I imagine you’ve done quite a bit to your whale. I’d love to see pics of what you’ve done. Those are a rare breed.