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Old 11-09-2015, 05:46 PM   #41
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You will not regret your decision. I'd be more than happy to keep my eyes open for an Avion. How far would you be willing to travel to look at one?

If you haven't already, I like to use SearchTempest: Search all of Craigslist nationwide & more to browse the Avion ads, usually nationwide.


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We saw our first Avion this past weekend, and it made up our mind: that will most likely be our next trailer. We're officially looking for an '86-'89 Avion in the 25-30' range. A 28A or 30 R would be ideal. We'll keep a close eye on the classifieds, but if anyone could pass some leads our way, it'd be greatly appreciated.
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Old 11-09-2015, 05:53 PM   #42
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For some reason I had not kept up with this thread until tonight.

What an AWESOME van!!! We are kindred spirits!! You are gonna LOVE that PowerStroke! Then to hear you are now looking for an Avion! Awesome X 2!!!

Congratulations!

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Thanks so much for all the great info everyone.

We ended up picking up a 7.3L E350 EB from Denver yesterday. We're putting together a highlight video of the rig. Here's a pic in the mean-time:





We'll be selling the roof rack and modifying the suspension a bit, it's got a little bump-steer at high speeds, so we'll have to sort that out. I realize an EB won't be as ideal for towing, but it'll be nice to have the extra room inside.
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Old 11-09-2015, 08:14 PM   #43
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Wondered how you were doing. You will find your Avion and others here will likely help you. Enjoy the process.
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Old 11-10-2015, 08:09 AM   #44
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Thanks everyone. We're ready to buy today, but we'll be patient 'till we find the right one.
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Old 11-10-2015, 11:27 AM   #45
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How far would you be willing to travel to look at one?
We're located in Salt Lake City, UT. We realize we're probably going to have to travel to get what we want. We'd be willing to travel anywhere west of Missouri. We'd be wiling to travel farther east as well, provided it was EXACTLY what we wanted. I worry about driving all the way out there to be disappointed in condition, etc. then having to drive all the way back empty-handed. Or even worse, making the trek out there only to have someone else snatch it up before us. These Avions are getting tougher to find (at least this time of year). So we're willing to travel for the right one.

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If you haven't already, I like to use SearchTempest: Search all of Craigslist nationwide & more to browse the Avion ads, usually nationwide.
Thanks for the tip. We love searchtempest; that's how we found the van.

We don't want the rear bathroom models, so we're holding out for a 28 A or 30R.
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Old 11-10-2015, 05:35 PM   #46
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If it's any encouragement, I made a fantastic CL deal for our Avion 34W 2 years ago. Drove 1,000 miles almost straight north of us to Hancock, MI. Trailer was just as described, the guy was very nice (sized him up pretty well over the phone as we were dealing), and I don't regret the deal at all. Paid him $4K for it (should have had it listed for $8K-$10K, but he was in a rush for some cash), brought it home with our trusty PowerStroke F250, and I have done "some" work to it, but mostly detail work other than tires, brakes, and shocks.

Now, we have an AWESOME Avion and a tremendous tow vehicle for relatively little cash, compared to most. We LOVE it!
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Old 11-10-2015, 06:01 PM   #47
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I like the floor plan of the Avion 28A much better than the current Airstream 28. Love the huge wardrobe and the drop leaf kitchen table. Wasn't Avion purchase by Fleetwood in the late 70s? Do the Fleetwood Avions have a good reputation? I remember Fleetwood back in the mid 80s. Every trailer sold seemed to be Fleetwood. Nowadays they are a smaller player.

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Old 11-10-2015, 07:41 PM   #48
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Yes, Avion was purchased by Fleetwood, and the 80's models have a very good reputation.


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I like the floor plan of the Avion 28A much better than the current Airstream 28. Love the huge wardrobe and the drop leaf kitchen table. Wasn't Avion purchase by Fleetwood in the late 70s? Do the Fleetwood Avions have a good reputation? I remember Fleetwood back in the mid 80s. Every trailer sold seemed to be Fleetwood. Nowadays they are a smaller player.

Kelvin
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Old 02-01-2016, 11:17 AM   #49
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We finally picked up a trailer. We decided on a 2010 Flying Cloud 30, and we couldn't be happier. Videos coming soon, but here's a pic of us towing it back home:



Thanks for the help everyone, we're really happy with our decision.
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Old 02-01-2016, 06:01 PM   #50
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Looks great guys! Hope to bump into you some time.
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Old 02-04-2016, 09:03 PM   #51
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Congrats, I subscribe to your you tube channel. I always knew you would purchase one. Also, when you first visited in utah, you ,mentioned, "everything else would be compared to an airstream". That is exactly how we felt. Congratulations
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Old 02-13-2016, 12:27 PM   #52
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Thanks everyone. Here's our video picking it up. We were beyond impressed with our Airstream Sales Associate. He was fantastic.

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Old 02-13-2016, 12:27 PM   #53
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Hope to bump into you some time.
Likewise. I need to find a good app that tracks the locations of all our friends, so we can know when we're close to someone.
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Old 02-13-2016, 12:42 PM   #54
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Very nice indeed. Congratulations on a successful first adventure with your Airstream.
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Old 02-13-2016, 01:53 PM   #55
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Congratulations.

Does it have dual air/heatpump?

The desk that was put in place of the dinette, does it have a leaf that folds up on the end? I noticed there is no side table adjacent to the couch so maybe the PO took it out when removing the dinette. Looks like you can do a lot with the desk to spruce it up and personalize it for yourselves.

Did you get the brake controller figured out?

How'd it tow?

Take it slow and easy.

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Old 02-13-2016, 02:03 PM   #56
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That was an awesome video. Best of luck to you both.


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Old 02-13-2016, 08:09 PM   #57
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Congratulations!!!

Fred has a friend! What's the trailer's name?

Have fun and best of luck to you, I am sure you will do well with your work endeavors on the road and make your dreams come true.

I know there are many young full timers on Instagram, many friends to be made!
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Old 02-13-2016, 08:34 PM   #58
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Congratulations!!!

Fred has a friend! What's the trailer's name?

Have fun and best of luck to you, I am sure you will do well with your work endeavors on the road and make your dreams come true.

I know there are many young full timers on Instagram, many friends to be made!

Thanks Ted. We still need to find the right name for the trailer. Friends have dubbed it the silver twinkie, but that's not going to stick long-term. Thanks for the encouragement Ted, we really appreciate it.
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Old 02-13-2016, 08:42 PM   #59
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Congratulations.

Does it have dual air/heatpump?

The desk that was put in place of the dinette, does it have a leaf that folds up on the end? I noticed there is no side table adjacent to the couch so maybe the PO took it out when removing the dinette. Looks like you can do a lot with the desk to spruce it up and personalize it for yourselves.

Did you get the brake controller figured out?

How'd it tow?

Take it slow and easy.

Kelvin
The factory air conditioner (in the kitchen) has a heat pump on it. The PO installed a second air conditioner (on a second 30A circuit) with no heat pump.

Yup, the desk has a leaf that flips up to make a table. I prefer the original flip-out tables that AS put in them, but this will do.

The brake controller is a piece of junk. It's a Draw Tite Activator 2. It's a time-based delay. In other words, there are two adjustments. 1) how hard it brakes and 2) how long it delays before applying the brake 100%. It had an exponential braking, where the brakes got stronger and stronger over time, even if you're not pushing the pedal any stronger. So long, 20 second slow-downs at a light ended up pulsing because it would reach it's 5 second interval, almost lock up the tires, then I'd have to pump the brakes again. If I braked by hand, with the manual trigger thing, it was a dream.

Since then, I've purchased a Tekonsha P3 (still have to install it). With the internal gyroscope, I'm confident it'll be MUCH better.

The van towed fantastic. Apart from the suspension, tires, and regar (4.10s to put the ratio back to stock power), the van is stock. No chip, no fancy intake or exhaust, and it did well. I'm in no hurry. We never dipped below 45 mph, and we took it easy. The dealer set up our blue ox (I think that's what it's called) weight distribution hitch really well. We hit a really bad wind storm and had to take a break in Vegas, but apart from that it was great.

The trailer (or maybe it's the weight distribution hitch?) dragged on every single gas station, and the tanks hang down extremely low. We'll most likely be dropping the axle another 3" to give it some more clearance under there, and we may consider 16" wheels (though I still have to research why 15" wheels won't work with a bigger tire).

We've got a video coming soon of our white-knuckle trip driving it back to Utah through a snowstorm. We stayed safe, but our 11 hour return trip turned into a 22 hour return trip at 30 mph. NOT FUN.
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Old 02-14-2016, 12:20 AM   #60
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Congrats left message on your channel
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