Jammer's 1970 Cayo C-11

[Avion C-11]

Good looking C-11!

If you haven't already, I would ask for lots of pics of the jack mount areas. That will give you a good idea of how much rot is in the wings.

Reminds me of what my interior looked like before I started the resto.

[Jammer]

A couple of minor setbacks. The battery isolator shown in post #12 doesn't actually work. It was used and when I tested it, it went "klunk." Perhaps a more comprehensive test was warranted. Anyway, they stock them at the NAPA.

The bad news is that in response to Steve's (crispyboy) comment on sway bars I took a look at the rear suspension of my truck. Good thing I did, too, because the main leaf is broken in both of the rear spring packs. $$$$

I made a visit to the local $pring $hop on the way to work and $$$ later have all new springs, u-bolts, and shackles in a pile in the bed of my truck.

Time for me to get out the floor jack and light up the cutting torch for a little quality time I guess.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by dznf0g

Jammer, That's about the NICEST Cayo I've seen since I was a teen!

Originally Posted by Avion C-11

Good looking C-11!

Thank you. I've been shopping for a while and have passed on a number of basket cases and a few that were way too far away.

If you haven't already, I would ask for lots of pics of the jack mount areas. That will give you a good idea of how much rot is in the wings.

I've pretty much decided to go ahead with the deal at this point with the presumption that any floor rot is manageable. It's been stored inside its whole life so I don't think that will be a problem. The mother ship apparently reinforced the jack points and tiedowns around 10 years ago at the same time the clearcoat was reapplied.

[slowmover]

Wow, what a find!! 500-miles is nothing. I've sort of given up reading about T-C's as I've no real use for one, just always thought them cool. That one is as nice as I've seen.

The electrical modifications to my truck have proven to be more expensive and time consuming than I anticipated

But you're sure doing it the right way! (Yeah, it's always expensive, but done right we never think of it again. I'm a long time user of ANCOR exclusively.

As to anti-roll bars: The standard HELWIG pieces may not (will not) "do" what a T-C needs, IMO. ROADMASTER wants a lot, and HELWIG has a larger series now. I'm probably preaching to the choir that the FA OEM piece should also be upsized and both installed with poly bushings. ENERGY SUSPENSION has greaseable pieces that work well. I'd rather go all out, as with HOTCHKIS. NEO is the grease brand to spec (flow and stick-um). The "weak link" are the links themselves. Sometimes the aftermarket has some really stout replacement pieces.

I'd also take a long (very long) look at all body to frame bushings. That T-C will do a number on what's left of them. Down here they might last 7-8 years (maybe newer trucks have better rubber formulations), maybe longer up there.

What are you thinking for shock absorbers? Cab-adjustable RANCHO 9000's?

Sure looking forward to what you find (condition) and am crossing fingers for luck.

.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by REDNAX

The electrical modifications to my truck have proven to be more expensive and time consuming than I anticipated

But you're sure doing it the right way! (Yeah, it's always expensive, but done right we never think of it again. I'm a long time user of ANCOR exclusively.

Thanks, I'm relying on them since I don't intend to use shore power. Part of that's use case, and part of that is the way the C-11 is designed.

I don't have a photo of the converter and electrical distribution components but will try to post one later as it will help. Briefly, though, the C-11 has an AC-to-AC converter, similar to the early univolts, except that it has automatic switching of the light and fan circuits. So the lights run on 13.8 VAC and the fans on 18 VAC, when the converter is on. The converter does not charge the battery.

The PO added a 1 amp battery maintainer in the converter compartment that charges the battery, sort of. I don't trust it and have disconnected it.

As to anti-roll bars: The standard HELWIG pieces may not (will not) "do" what a T-C needs, IMO. ROADMASTER wants a lot, and HELWIG has a larger series now. I'm probably preaching to the choir that the FA OEM piece should also be upsized and both installed with poly bushings. ENERGY SUSPENSION has greaseable pieces that work well. I'd rather go all out, as with HOTCHKIS. NEO is the grease brand to spec (flow and stick-um). The "weak link" are the links themselves. Sometimes the aftermarket has some really stout replacement pieces.

Thank you very much for the pointers. On the drive home, the truck handled OK at speeds up to 70 mph with no wind. With crosswinds it was unsteady and I backed off to 60 or 65 mph depending on overall conditions.

I anticipate using this camper primarily for weekend trips in nearby locations, so handling on the highway isn't a huge consideration. I don't think I'll upgrade suspension this year, but if/when I do I'll want to do it right.

I'd also take a long (very long) look at all body to frame bushings. That T-C will do a number on what's left of them. Down here they might last 7-8 years (maybe newer trucks have better rubber formulations), maybe longer up there.

They looked OK when I left but I'm sure they are original (14 years). Thanks for the reminder. They may be shredded now after 800 miles with the camper.

What are you thinking for shock absorbers? Cab-adjustable RANCHO 9000's?

I have Rancho 5000s front and rear now and a steering stabilizer. They work OK.

[Jammer]

The trip is complete and the C-11 is in my driveway. I logged 1627 miles in 3 days, driving from my home in the Minneapolis area to Columbus, Ohio, and back.

I'd like to thank Todd and his family for courtesy parking at their home in the Chicago area. Todd posts here as "Till" and has a 1960s era Overlander project he's working on. Many campgrounds and parks are closed this time of year making Todd's help especially welcome.

I averaged 14 MPG on the outbound and 11 MPG on the return.

The seller, a fellow named Tom, had the C-11 for sale on the Columbus area craigslist since last October. I'd had an eye on it but had too much going on in my personal life to go get it until now. Tom was firm on his price and I think was trying to find a buyer who was familiar with the C-10 and C-11 campers and willing to treat it well, so it didn't sell until now.

It took us two hours to load the camper. As the photo shows, there isn't enough clearance to load it with the rear bumper still in place on the truck. Since a bumper is required by state law in all the states I was traveling through, I couldn't leave the bumper at home, so we had to remove it at Tom's. I had removed, lubricated, and replaced the mounting bolts at home, which were badly rusted. Two required the cutting torch. Even so, the bumper was heavy and was stuck a little due to some collision damage on the PO's watch, and we had a time of it getting it off.

The trailer wiring connector and the license plate lights were attached to the bumper so all that had to be disconnected and fastened in place on the frame.

I wasn't sure quite how the rear tiedowns were going to work out so I didn't want to drill for them until I could see the camper in person, so that was part of the effort.

The clearances work out about right. Based on some reports of clearance problems, I'd brought some 2x4 blocking, but didn't need to use it. I suppose I would have needed it if I tried to haul the camper with the bumper in place.

But that wouldn't be wise. The camper CG is slightly to the rear of the rear axle, even with the bumper removed, as the scale tickets show -- the front axle is 80 pounds lighter with the camper on. Moving the camper back would make that worse.

The scales show the empty camper weighing 2360 pounds. That's with 50% propane and water and holding tanks empty, and does include the three jacks. With the truck, me, the bumper, and 100 pounds or so of tools the total comes to 8280 pounds, leaving 320 pounds before I hit the GVWR. Loaded for a trip we'll be flirting with max GVW.

Usually these are described as weighing 2200 pounds. I attribute the discrepancy to the air conditioner and the jacks.

[Jammer]

I stopped at a U-haul dealer to purchase propane. The attendant there was clearly knowledgeable and acted like he filled ASME tanks every day. No hassle over the lack of an OPD or the 12 year DOT cylinder recertification limit, and he used the spitter valve to determine when to stop. I hope it's like this everywhere.

I leak checked the propane system during my trip home and didn't find any problems. Here's a better shot of the original regulator. It works fine and I'm using it for the time being. I've posted before about how these really ought to be replaced after 20 years because the propane reacts with the elastomers used to construct the diaphragm, and I'm going to live up to that myself and replace it sometime soon.

I lit pilot lights and everything works except the furnace, which appears to need a thermocouple. The oven works and the temperature control is accurate.

The water heater is an unusual one (see photos) bearing a "Mobil Temp" brand. It is smaller than typical Atwood and Suburban water heaters and I hope it holds up so I don't have to adapt.

I was going to bake brownies for Mrs. Jammer as soon as I got home to, um, build support for the project. She came home before I could get them in the oven, but she still said nice things and seems to like the camper.

[Jammer]

It took some driving around but I found a place that would let me load water. The camper has the old-style Bargmann water inlet on the right side front, facing right towards the cab of the truck.

The PO said he almost always camped with hookups. The water tank was installed two years ago by a local RV dealer and I don't think the PO ever used it. One of the bulkhead connectors was capped with a dust plug, probably installed by the tank manufacturer. It wasn't water tight, and not realizing what it was, I collapsed it with a wrench. I got a proper plug at a local home center and got everything patched up. There were some loose hose clamps, too, and the city water valve leaked, nothing that couldn't be fixed quickly and easily.

I'm going to have to get that rechromed at some point.

[Jammer]

Here are a couple of interior shots. I'm trying to show the layout, since that was something that it took me a while to piece together from the photos I'd found.

The photos are from the front of the cabover looking back. You can see how there are five roof lockers on the curb side, above the galley. There's one roof vent over the cabover, and one all the way to the rear, over the furnace. Both are visible in this photo. That's in addition to the air conditioner, which is more or less over the dinette. The front roof vent has a fan. The rear roof vent is wired for one but no fan is installed. I may install a fantastic fan there at some point.

The roof mount antenna was added by a PO. There are remnants of the original two antennas, a radio antenna at the front, and a large TV antenna on the rear. I'm going to redo the patches where the original antennas were mounted and will leave the new antenna in place. I don't use a TV much, especially while camping.

There are four interior lights. They appear to be original. The ceiling light is visible in the center, and you can just see one of the lights below the roof lockers, to the rear of the range hood. There is also a light in the cabover and one in bathroom.

The lights are incandescent and are power hogs. I don't especially want to change them -- lighting is an important part of the historical fabric of any interior space. But I may have to do something because of the power consumption. I may try adding fluorescent lights under the roof lockers and leaving the existing lighting alone.

[Avion C-11]

Looks great!

Mine had the same water heater. There's a manual for it I think on the Avion site.

[slowmover]

Great report! I almost went into overdrive on the weight scale tickets to make praise in a momentary memory lapse of who is posting this. I will assume that the better (cab adjustable) air bag "helpers" will get the FA back to spec.

Thanks for the pics. That is by appearance one great looking unit. Hope the floor wood is as good (no serious surprises).

Probably some retro-fit LED lamps out there for original incandescent fixtures. Some awfully good stuff of late around here in re LED strips (flat rope lights), etc.

And, it may never come up, but, there are some interesting DIY bits on "sealing" the cab/camper interface over the cab roof for better aero (small, but significant) on both RV.net and ECOMODDER. (Remember the "cushions" sold for that years ago?). Nice to see a mpg drop of only 20%. That was a pleasant surprise.

The fellow redoing a 1970 Silver Streak in Oklahoma (Sandridge Airpark) had the .pdf file (and more besides):

MOBIL TEMP Owners Manual

Shell Off 1970 Silver Streak Sabre

1970 Silver Streak Sabre - Model 20

.

[Jammer]

A question. Does anyone know what the proper color scheme is for this faded Cayo emblem?

[Jammer]

Today I was able to complete a little bit of painting. The inside duct box for the air conditioner was badly yellowed, so I took it apart, masked it, and sprayed some Krylon Fusion on it.

I think faded and yellowed pieces like this contribute excessively to an overall dingy appearance, and it's easy enough to solve.

[Jammer]

I also disassembled the furnace, inspected, performed a minor repair, and painted the sheet metal diffuser and trim.

The sheet metal all comes off and apart with four screws.

The furnace is a gravity wall furnace with 18,000 BTU/h input. It requires no electricity, as its controls are powered by a millivolt generator heated by the pilot light. The valve was somewhat sticky from non-use but I was able to get it to free up some and get the pilot lit. The pilot is lit through a small access hole behind the bottom heater panel. The main burner would not light and after some troubleshooting I was able to determine that the wall thermostat had failed. I've ordered a replacement from VTS. I was able to test operation by shorting the wires with a test clip.

The burner is enclosed in a metal box with a 3" flue exiting the top and an air inlet, and openings for the gas lines, at the bottom. I inspected for any signs of rust holes, and also watched the CO detector with a critical eye during a test burn. I had a large CO2 fire extinguisher on hand in case of any mishap.

One of the photos shows the gas controls and the small squirrel cage blower. The blower provides a little extra air circulation and was optional. There's a manual switch for it behind the access panel, and it is powered through a button thermostat so it only runs when the heat exchanger is hot. I haven't measured current use but would guess it is very modest, 1 or 2 amps. Of course, it can be shut off for boondocking.

Except for the thermostat, everything worked fine. I ran it for a while to try to drive off the volatile components of the new paint.

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by Jammer

A question. Does anyone know what the proper color scheme is for this faded Cayo emblem?

Cayo was spun off of Avion in 1970 and the truck units were then badged as CAYO The book by Robert J. Muncy shows the pre 70 badges as Avion with the chrome/red badge.

They show the same one you have on a 71 Motovator which was their MoHo line. That picture is in black & white so I can't determine the colors. There are other photos that show the Cayo badges with what appears to be blue letters on a white/cream background which looks to be what your was.

The folks over at www.silveravion.com will probably be able to shed some light on this for you.

[slowmover]

I looked around a little on Dr. Gradeless site but with no luck on badge. The Yahoo group might also be of help.

[Avion C-11]

Here's a pic of the logo on their building. You can call them and ask too. http://www.silveravion.com/images/ar...ayo_repair.jpg

[ticki2]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I also disassembled the furnace, inspected, performed a minor repair, and painted the sheet metal diffuser and trim.

The sheet metal all comes off and apart with four screws.

The furnace is a gravity wall furnace with 18,000 BTU/h input. It requires no electricity, as its controls are powered by a millivolt generator heated by the pilot light. The valve was somewhat sticky from non-use but I was able to get it to free up some and get the pilot lit. The pilot is lit through a small access hole behind the bottom heater panel. The main burner would not light and after some troubleshooting I was able to determine that the wall thermostat had failed. I've ordered a replacement from VTS. I was able to test operation by shorting the wires with a test clip.

The burner is enclosed in a metal box with a 3" flue exiting the top and an air inlet, and openings for the gas lines, at the bottom. I inspected for any signs of rust holes, and also watched the CO detector with a critical eye during a test burn. I had a large CO2 fire extinguisher on hand in case of any mishap.

One of the photos shows the gas controls and the small squirrel cage blower. The blower provides a little extra air circulation and was optional. There's a manual switch for it behind the access panel, and it is powered through a button thermostat so it only runs when the heat exchanger is hot. I haven't measured current use but would guess it is very modest, 1 or 2 amps. Of course, it can be shut off for boondocking.

Except for the thermostat, everything worked fine. I ran it for a while to try to drive off the volatile components of the new paint.

Jammer , I have the same furnace in my 68 C-11 , love it . It does use some 12v to run , 0.01 amps for the thermostat and 0.90 amps for the fan , total of 1 amp , not bad at all . Looks like you found a good one , will be interesting once you get into it . Best of luck and welcome to the club .

[clicknathan]

Those C-11s are really cool. I'd love to be the solo type (or at least not +3 kids) who could still rock a small(ish) vehicle. We just finally came to terms with the fact that with baby #3 on the way, the VW Bus is no longer going to work for our full time traveling needs...and so just as I begin setting my sights on an Airstream you get me thinking I want one of these instead.

There's just something about being sardined...

[Jammer]

I'll try to get some more photos up but over the last few months have been camping in the Airstream and dealing with Truck/Burb problems so not a huge amount of progress to report. I've been caulking, fixing a number of plumbing leaks, and doing the planning for a greywater tank. I did manage to find a new L-100 lockset, which I've installed.

Weatherstripping for the Hehr windows is on order from all-rite.com. We'll see if it fits.