Reinforcing the Truck Camper Roof
After concluding our most recent round of travels, our first order of business is to reinforce the roof.
Category Exterior Truck Camper Renovation
While our 1970 Avion C11 truck camper is in fantastic shape, we still have a lot of exterior work to seal up leaks and upgrade windows and other appliances. We learn a lot about riveting, sealing, and the structural design of the Avion as we rework this half-century-old vintage camper to make it through another 50 years.
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Read MoreReinforcing the Truck Camper Roof
Installing an Arctic Tern Roof Hatch
We bought at roof hatch for our camper. That is how it started. The reasons were many: we wanted ventilation over the bed, a second point of exit for safety, and easy roof access. Now we just have to install it.
Extending the Cabover
This has been a long time in the making. When we bought our Avion C11 truck camper, we knew that the full bed aligned east-west would not work for our full time intent. Initially, we struggled to conceive of a method to form a queen sized bed simply by altering the interior arrangement of the camper. While we could introduce sliding or folding out bed extensions, we could not agree on a solution that wouldn't require us to regularly make and break down a bed or block the interior windows. And so, we reluctantly agreed, we would be extending the cabover.
Best Practices For Rivet Removal
Today, we will be removing a panel from the exterior of the camper. To do this, we will have to remove a lot of rivets: buck rivets. After a year of experience, we have a favorite method of tackling rows of rivets which we will share with you today!
Refurbishing The Avion Truck Camper Fiberglass Pan
Most of the Avion's exterior is aluminum. But, the very base of the camper, hanging off the truck bed, is made of fiberglass. It wedges in between the interior flooring and the exterior aluminum pan and holds the back water tank. In replacing the floor, we also had to remove this pan to remount it to the new floor.
Replacing Rotten Truck Camper Floor
Ladies and gentlemen, the floor of the truck camper is not pretty. After years of patches and general neglect, it is literally falling apart. Try jumping on it. The experience is not unlike that of a trampoline. The concern is for the day that it does not bounce.
Replacing Rotten Truck Camper Wings
No, when I say "wings" there aren't any feathers involved. The wings of a truck camper form the portion of the camper that fits around the walls of the truck bed. These are the points by which the truck is lifted and lowered and the anchor points for tying down the camper. They are incredibly important for the day-to-day use of a truck camper and ours were terribly rotted out. Before we can confidently raise, lower, and move the camper again, it is time to replace the wings.
Galvanic Corrosion In Vintage Campers
Do you have a vintage Airstream, Avion, Spartan, or another aluminum-bodied camper? Ever noticed screw heads covered in rust or pitting in aluminum around a steel screw? You, my friend, are the victim of galvanic corrosion. And if you don't want to make it worse, you'll want to know a thing or two about how this happens and how to avoid it.