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oh2bcarefree · 08-14-2011, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ventport

I have a 64 T21 Avion. Mine has 2 vents on the rear roof also. The one on the curb side is for the shower and is visible from the inside. The one on the road side is also visible from the inside and comes from the top of the black water tank. There is also a larger vent in the center of the bathroom ceiling that has a fan in it. The kitchen sink also has a vent through the roof which is visible inside the closet. The shower and kitchen sink are plumbed together and connect to the main drain line just below the slide valve for the black water tank. There is no grey water tank on these early trailers. Brian

Brian,
Thanks for the details on your vents. We are working on a custom black tank to replace what the previous owner had patched together in the bathroom. We may have to create a new black tank vent location because if we use the current vent we'd have to run a pipe up the streetside wall and over 1/2 way to the center the bath ceiling. It's weird where they are both located. Of course it probably means they were for a fan and the shower since it originally didn't have tanks.

We found a deal this weekend on craigslist for a tote-tank and accessories, (only used once for gray water,) which is what we are going to use for too. I had high hopes of putting in a gray tank, but that's not going to be easy or quick, so this will work for now.

Tina

oh2bcarefree · 08-14-2011, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blakradish

Hi Oh2B,
My name is Blake and I"m from STL too. I'm currently in the Beautiful NW and own a '63 Avion H-24. My Bargman L-66 is broken just like the one in the pic. Vintage trailer supply does not have them as they have discontinued the model. I believe they have a couple up for sale on Ebay, but expect to pay at least $150 for one in working condition.
Your Avion is in beautiful condition, Thank your stars that your trailer isn't Anodized Aluminum. The 2 vents above my bathroom are for a ceiling vent fan and for the plumbing vents.

Good Luck,
Blake
'63 Avion H-24

Hi Blake,
If you get back to STL, we'll have to do a visit of each other's trailers. Yes, you are correct about VTS, they don't have the handle and yes, if one is lucky, a L-66 can be had on eBay for about $150 or so, sometimes Vintage Campers has them also for $150. I've seen the auctions recently on ebay and some have gone for over $300 recently. I did get one of the less expensive one's last week.

Have you installed a black tank in your trailer? I've seen some of your posts on the yahoo avion group, sometimes I hop on there to read what's up. I didn't do a search, but wondered if you have a plumbing vent, does that mean it's for a black tank or the plumbing line? Do you have a picture of it? Thanks so much!

I'm not sure if I'm glad ours isn't anondized, this just means we HAVE to polish, with no excuse not too

.

Tina

oh2bcarefree · 08-14-2011, 06:54 PM

I'm still working at cleaning out the old sealer from the seams. I'm about 90% done - it's just amazing, it takes quite some time to get that old stuff cleaned off, and Mike comes behind me and zip - the new sealer goes on quick as a whistle! We're using ParBond so far the seams are very tight/small.

Mike has also been making it shine when it's not too hot. This is a cut with gray bar, the aluminum wash, and another cut. Just about ready for the final polish... but, we'll cut the rest of the trailer first and polish all at once. Not sure it will get polished before out trip to Turkey Run in Indiana in September, but it will get at least be "cut".

Blakradish · 08-14-2011, 07:07 PM

Hi Tina,
I do have a black water tank (no grey). My tank valve sits above and at the end of the the other plumbing drains (kind of gross) so when the valve is pulled it uses the same vent as the grey water. Even though it doesn't come up the drains, after I dump the black tank I run some bleach water through everything just to be sure.

oh2bcarefree · 08-14-2011, 07:08 PM

Since it's been so terribly hot, we've been working on the black tank which is an above the floor tank. We decided to make this ourselves... As a side note, next time, we're buying the tank!

Our gray water lines are currently plumbed entirely separate from the black. We will have a hose tied into a line to run to the commode, so at least this tank will drain entirely separate.

We used a large sheet of pvc and cut it to the shape of our area in the bathroom. We ordered a low profile Sealand commode from VTS and sized it all up. The tank is under 6" tall and will have 3/4 plywood on top. We ordered all new fittings and should be able to do the final assemble later this week. We used pvc cement and a marine sealer. It withstood the 24 hour water test. We decided to put the little "pillars" in there for strength... we'll just have to be really good at rinsing/cleaning after emptying the tank. There is a little bit of a slope in there, so hopefully that will help too!! There's a bit of fear in trying something like this, so if it doesn't work, I'll be sure to report in! lol

streamquest · 08-14-2011, 08:13 PM

Hi Tina,

Just so you know, I'm always following your progress.

Glad to see that you and Mike are making such great headway with the Avion. The polishing looks great. I've barely touched the Curtis Wright since getting home. Presently I'm in the middle of a full scale polishing effort on the moho. The thing is so big it's like polishing a house!

That tank is a pretty nice piece of work. Mike's skill as a craftsman really shines through. It'll be a shame to get it dirty.

Can't wait to hear about your first trip.

Best regards, and say Hi to Mike,

Charly.

Hueytownalss · 08-14-2011, 09:12 PM

Where did you find the pvc sheet?

oh2bcarefree · 08-15-2011, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hueytownalss

Where did you find the pvc sheet?

We got it at 84 Lumber. It was a 4x8 sheet.

Good Luck!

oh2bcarefree · 08-15-2011, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by streamquest

Hi Tina,

Just so you know, I'm always following your progress.

Glad to see that you and Mike are making such great headway with the Avion. The polishing looks great. I've barely touched the Curtis Wright since getting home. Presently I'm in the middle of a full scale polishing effort on the moho. The thing is so big it's like polishing a house!

That tank is a pretty nice piece of work. Mike's skill as a craftsman really shines through. It'll be a shame to get it dirty.

Can't wait to hear about your first trip.

Best regards, and say Hi to Mike,

Charly.

Hey Charly,
We're always watching your info too. You know the Moho is as big as a house - so no wonder it feels that way!

Thanks for the kind words about Mike, the tank looks good and I hope it works like we think it will... There's always a learning curve the first time you do something so, Mike says next time, we will be able to do it much quicker and with less swearing

.

We'll be sure to post a few photos of the first journey - we'd like to take a quick jaunt overnight just to make sure all is working, but not sure we'll squeeze it in. It will all be fun, so we'll just look at it as an adventure.

Take care!! Tina

oh2bcarefree · 08-15-2011, 07:30 PM

Today's mail delivery brought our custom louver panel from Fergie's Kustom Louvers aka www.hotrodlouvers.com. We needed a vent panel for the updated norcold fridge and just couldn't put a white vented louver panel on the trailer. We tried several sources, vintage parts places and I even tried a few local hot rod shops and air conditioner places, but couldn't find the size or product wanted (well one place said they would do it for $200.) I knew Fergie had made some for others on the forums, so I sent him a note and he was great to communicate with. He had our panel to our door in just one week! Highly recommend him for any louver needs you may have. Our panel is 25" x 8" with 4" louvers and with shipping, materials and his time the grand total was... $60. Quite a deal!

oh2bcarefree · 08-21-2011, 07:01 PM

Well, we have installed what should have been on the trailer - the Bargman L-66. PO had taken it off due to the broken outside handle and rigged up (terribly) a cheap ugly black door handle that didn't even reach the strike plate. Oh, how he horribly hacked up the door! Now if you're replacing the broken one with one that still doesn't work right, does it make sense???

Here are a few photos of the new look, we put a complete panel across the door instead of a patch to fill the old hole. We're quite pleased. Now, I need to shave those rivets. It was my first rivet job, it's pretty fun if you're only doing a couple of dozen, more, probably would become a JOB!

streamquest · 08-22-2011, 07:53 AM

Another item off the list!!!
Pretty soon you'll have nothing left to do but travel. YIKES!

.... On the east coast, the endless polishing continues.

Charly

oh2bcarefree · 09-11-2011, 06:21 PM

So… we’ve been checking items off the list and this weekend is going to be the first excursion. Yay! Have been remiss in taking photos, so I’ve taken a few tonight.

First – installed the vent from Fergie for the fridge. Kept the rain out yesterday and the fridge is working – so it’s all good.

oh2bcarefree · 09-11-2011, 06:34 PM

Here is the install of the black water tank. We surrounded it in birch and it’s mounted to the wall, we wanted to avoid drilling into the floor tiles. New sealand toilet and we’re very happy. We redid the pex lines, p.o. had them in really poorly, so we’ve ran silver hoses just in the bath here. Now… something to fix up that poor p.o. paint job on the wall. Looks like it will be put on the winter “to do” list.

oh2bcarefree · 09-11-2011, 06:40 PM

The back of the trailer is spiffed up. Luckily we had the license plate light – have you seen how much they are going for on eBay?! Enough to make us go hmmm… that could be a money maker J. We’ve also got a window on the way, won’t be here before the first trip and it will need some modification, but it looks like it’s going to work. We stripped/sanded the black paint off the bumper, primered and painted with a silver shiny rustoleum.

The trailer is almost all shiny… not the final polish, or close, we hope to have the trailer all with the first “cut” prior to departure on Friday. We’re probably 65-75% there. Just a bit more to go on the street side and the front. Mike says it is an art, but he isn’t an artist yet. He’s still trying to figure it out. (Charly, we may be contacting you for some tips and method-ology!)

oh2bcarefree · 09-11-2011, 06:57 PM

And the last thing for tonight... we found an original Humphrey gas light. There is a book by Bob Muncy "Silver Avions and Cayos" about the family who made them (prior to being bought out by Fleetwood.) Nice personal account by Mr. Muncy of his admiration of Avion trailers, the Cayo family and his experiences traveling. In the photos, there is a Humphrey light that looks exactly the same from a 1957 year model. I didn't even notice it until after we had put our light up, same screw holes and everything. Very fun!

volvophile · 09-25-2011, 05:54 PM

That is some beautiful work, and a very nice recovery on the door. I though mine was hacked up…..
Its really cool to see an Avion that old. Ive become familiar with the 60’s vintage ones from working on mine and looking though the brochures and photos, but good photos from the 50’s are scarce and it’s neat to see what carried over to the next decade.
For what its worth, the black tank setup on my ’63 has a fiberglass tank sitting above the floor, in a birch box. There’s a Y fitting under the tank valve for the grey water line. From the 1960’s brochures, all of the trailers where set up that way, regardless of length, until sometime in the 70’s.
My tank has a 1" vent tube that runs up the back wall of the trailer for about 12" then gets reduced to a ¾" copper tube that runs inside the wall and terminates at the shower vent. The shower and sink vents would have been stock to the trailer since they are there to keep the P-Trap from siphoning out when water is draining through them, but they have the added benefit of letting air into the tank when it drains. The other big vent in the middle of the bathroom would have had a fan in it and is there to vent the –ahem- "moist air" from the bathroom.

oh2bcarefree · 09-25-2011, 06:05 PM

Our first trip last weekend was a big success. We had a great time at Turkey Run, the rally was fun and we were almost problem free

. We did have a bit of a panic with the black tank, even though it was fine when we left home and had tested it, at the campground the valterra fittings had a bit of a leak. We hit a bump on a grade coming out of a parking lot on our way and not sure if that wacked something loose, but a bit of plumbing glue on site did the trick. YAY!!! Mike's creative job of making a custom PVC tank worked.

We did wake to light rain on Sunday and thankfully we were all dry. Our resealing job really was good.

oh2bcarefree · 09-25-2011, 06:19 PM

One challenge with this trailer when we bought it was the back window was a replacement the p.o. had made one out of wood and plexiglass. It's functional, but not pretty. (The curtains show evidence of leaking, but since we resealed the drip cap, we haven't had any more water.) We've been looking for a few months for a replacement Hehr 1009 window with no luck. We recently bought a similar Hehr window frame that seems like it's going to work. It's a bit larger and it will need to be cut widthwise, but the operators and locks are the same. The one big change is that this window will not sit in the window frame as the old one did, it will have a bit of overlap on the frame. It should be workable though. VTS does sell the seal and glazing for this window too. Now, I just need to check in at the local glass shop to see if they can cut us glass to size.

Here's a few photos.