The camper has been sitting there for 20 years, ever since he stopped using it for his traveling construction work.
In more talking I gather he purchased it from another that used it as a hunting camp where it had sat for 10 years before he bought it.
Turns out its an Avalair in very sad shape full of old tires, hardened cement bags and what not. The floor is mostly rotted out as his grandson had put a golf ball through the front window years ago and a sky vent is broken. Weather and critters have had a field day with it. But, he would sell it, and at not too bad a price. I told him I would take it if it was still tow able, I would be back within a week to pull it out of the woods and we'd see.
This is what it looked like as found:
A few days later I am able to "check it out". With the help of a saw to cut out trees now surrounding it, a jack to raise the hitch as the crank is "frozen" I am hitched.
It pulls out of the bush without too much trouble. One tire flat and one as firm as the day it was parked 20 years ago.
This is what comes out:
Now I can take a better look at my treasure, an Avalair, at this point I have no idea what that means. Anyway, the frame is not broken, the hubs spin quite freely, I think I can get this home. A little bargaining and it is MINE! My deal also includes leaving it on site for a bit. With receipt in hand, the tire rims in the truck, I head back home into Maine, remember this is in New Brunswick.
Because of its age I can register it without title, get myself a set of heavy duty tires, and a few days later back into NB. I've also brought along a set of temporary signal lights as the wiring harness is mostly not even there.
All hitched, I've got 90 miles of wilderness, no exaggeration, to get home. I stop and check the wheels within the first mile, all seems ok. About 5 miles later and having hit speeds in the high 30's, I check again. The right hub seems a bit warm. A few more miles in the low 30's and that hub now seems ok, but the other side might be a bit warmer, maybe my paranoia. Anyway, keeping the speed down, many checks, I make it to US customs, 5 miles from home!
Anything to declare? I point to what's hitched up behind me. He sees the broken window and a real dirty mess. What landfill are you hauling that to, I am asked. I'm told to wait inside after I caution the officers to use extreme caution as the floor has holes and I don't know if they may crash through other spots at any time.
A few minutes later they come in and head directly to wash their hands, I do the same thing after going "in there". I'm now on home turf! A few minutes later I pull into my drive. I'm excited, no real understanding of the challenge I anxiously await.
Now I can survey what I really have, or should I say what I'll be doing for the next year.
And after a clean up sort of...
Anyway, gives you some idea of what I got. It is now painfully obvious that the restore will require a complete gutting. The process....
A bunch of interior skin, I think I lablelled it???
You would expect to find SOME vermin debris...
But buckets and buckets of it....
And then under the floor, in the walls, ceiling, filled two barrels of it!
Somehow a few photos just doesn't due the time justice!
View of some of the old, not too bad in places....
Some areas need new steel....
Found some frame damage, oops, I don't weld, but with the help of a certified boiler welder and a first rate fabricator: 13 hours of labor, steel, welder for $600, more than I wanted, but really a good deal.This was welded up in fall of 2010.
Some new outriggers, cross members and reinforced main rails, we are stronger than new.
This view shows how the walls are braced up without having to remove the shell
The new floor and insulation under it.
New vintage style gray water tank, very new to this Avalair as there were not any tanks before.
Not as large as preferred, 18 gallons, but way more than none.
.On the left side of this picture note the lower level, the area where the new gray water tank will sit in.
This may be a better view of how the new floor was laid in:
One of the side projects was to remove all the old house type roofing tar. Now this is a mess. Only took 4 full days.
Fumes? Anyone willing to do this already has brain problems. Weird picture, the lumber in background looks like its on the ground. This is the roof, the lumber is in the upper level of what used to be hay storage.
Pic of new rubberized roof coming.
Another side project: reinforce the roof longitudinals (is that a word?) supports.
Note the extra corner braces I have riveted in. These units have flat roofs and I hope this helps stiffen things up a bit to keep it sealed and will also give it extra strength
Front inside end cap removed
Front insulated, also see beginning of new wiring.
Some items sent out to be chromed, door handles and hubcaps are obvious and the outside porch light, all original to this unit. The hubcaps go onto a 14 1/2 rims, which I like, as this is a popular size on heavy duty construction trailers so a very good tire is available for high weight limits.
Sent these items out for chroming, my work isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but these wouldn't help, so......
After Chroming
We also removed the rear end cap. Now another mess to clean up, wire up and insulate. Things coming together, can't help getting excited.
The wiring you see will be coming in up through the floor to the battery box and provide vehicle 12V power. The wiring will be over the tank.
As well built as this unit was built in the 60's, you had to be hooked up as there were not any waste storage or fresh water tanks at all. Hopefully, I can bring this up to current standards
The new gray water tank in place, shown below.
Back to the front, insulated, wired (miles of it) and ready for interior end cap.
Front end cap put in place on 11-28-11. Made of fiberglass and in remarkably good condition. It does need to be cleaned up but this will be easier to do mounted.
You can see wiring hanging down from the ceiling, over the dinette will be a 110 AC light and just towards the back a 12V DC, some of the wires you see are run to the vent in case of wanting to put in a power fan at a later date, power will be there.
Rear end cap off. Insulated, wired and vent (black tubing for vent on right, no space for regular PVC)
Rear end cap back in place on 12-26-11, but all outside DC running lights retested first as these are between the skin and interior insulation and over the end cap on the roof.
Started building my own battery box outside cover today, can't find one for sale other than custom made and gold plated wouldn't look good on aluminum. I'm using the framework from the trunk off an old Mallard camper.
Inside the box, all seams sealed to keep battery gases from entering the camper.
There are so many openings in a camper that don't get insulated that I am eliminating as much as possible, the box is insulated.
12-14-11 Finished wiring in the outside running lights and installed the trailer connector. All new lamps. This camper had not seen lights on in at least 20 years! Now I can finish insulating.
12-21-11 Finished all the interior AC/DC wiring...I think, better be right here, not much chance after the interior skin is on..let's see thermostat wire for new heater, speaker wires, AC outlets, DC power supplies to frig, water pump, heater, TV, radio, DC lights, oh yeah, 50 amp entrance cable, not forgotten just not quite ready for it.
12-27-11 Sorted out the interior panels, not much else today, too beat, maybe the holidays and first day back at work catching up to me.
Rear end cap back on:
First interior panel in!!
And the second...
Looking towards the front.....
Looking towards the rear......
Excuse the gaudy red duct tape, one place I could save money without cutting quality or appearance. Won't show after it's skun over of course.
These pictures show the completed insulation, wiring and flooring.
Front view of inside skin back on:
Rear view of inside skin:
2-5-12. Now to get this all cleaned up for painting including patching some original factory boo boos, but this was under the counter against the wall, still I can do better.
I have been working on this unit all winter when it wasn't -80F, the wife did say our power bill is now $20 less per month, wow! heat and I suppose the spotlights took as much power as the small electric heater.
Some accomplishments, gray water tank built into the floor and the the bath drainage fitted, but not glued in yet, the black water tank purchased, fitted in and the corresponding exterior waste valves and pipes all fitted, not glued, need warmer weather and I want to also paint the complete interior prior to setting in any tanks or fixtures.
The axle removed, drums and brakes taken off, all bolts and clamps checked out, everything cleaned, primed and painted.
New brake pads, axle reinstalled, two new mounting bolts, others were in very good condition. The drums will be turned down and reinstalled with all new bearings and wheel seals. Axle put back into place after undercoating the wheel wells.
The fiberglass end caps have been glazed over to fill in any scratches and dings. The windows taped over to be ready for painting.
A new combination city and manual water fill lockable water supply installed. Also, purchased and received the new potable water tank, will install after unit painted as mentioned earlier.
The tail light lenses screwed back on.
Some underbelly body work for looks and sealing, not new, but not bad for who done it.
Brake away switch installed which completed the DC wiring and the new 7 way trailer plug on, towing electrical system ready for the road!! (after I connect the electrical brakes, always one more thing to do). Plugged it into the tow vehicle and all worked!
Finally, some carpentry, built the wheel well interior covers, cut out the bathroom divider walls.
April 2012
Cleaned and primed.
Painted silver, new brakes.
Interior wall windows all taped up and ready for paint.
And now all painted up...been looking forward to this milestone for a while. Spent last years winter dismantling and this last winter assembling.
I have the fresh water tank mounted under the front window.
The black water tank is in place, plumbed up with the drainage and vent. Bathtub is in.The wall separating the bath from the rest of the camper is back in place.
Sept.2012 Great strides forward this month, now that I've completed the Argosy. The overhead compartments are back in place after being refinished.
On the roadside across from the kitchen, what used to be a slide out bunk will now be storage areas. The floor level of this side is as original, just added a closet (had none before) and a drawer, bin area.
9-28-12The bath lav cabinet has been rebuilt and in place. Started building the new utility closet right of bath lav and left of flush. Seems like things are going at warp speed compared to the "dark days" of dismantling and just rebuilding components. Sure is fun when the parts start to fit back together. A good thing I saved all the old parts even in deplorable condition they do make a decent template most of the time. Some of the compound arches and curves are beyond my ability to figure out, good thing nothing is thrown away until rebuilt.
Some of the upper cabinets used again are original after refurbishing/refinishing.
10-8-12 Great strides again this last weekend, got the new AC power supply/DC converter wired in. The power converter and fuse panel fit in very nicely in the bath closet, after some extra wiring to make the wires reach as the original place was to place it under the kitchen sink, the original position. But with the battery box there just wasn't room. For the first time in over 20 years, there are lights on in the Avalair. AC that is, still have many DC fixtures to put in. The new hot water heater is also in, and have started the basic plumbing as my new water pump, filter and fittings came in this week end also.
More cabinet work was also accomplished and have started the layout of the new/old kitchen counter and lower draws.
10-20-12 Rebuilt the front end storage under the front window and started the bunks-dinette area. I think I have come up with a unique bed solution. The normal layout of the dinette bunks, you sleep across the width of the camper, but to get up you have to go over the end of the bed. I will be building two bunks, one on each side that lengthens when in use, but a center aisle is maintained to be able to get up out of bed.
10-8-12 Another milestone today, tested the plumbing with RV anti freeze. All working up to the shut off valves for the kitchen and bath sinks and through the water heater bypass kit. The water heater will have to wait til spring with the water tank for testing, but all valving working so no problem either way. One important change over commercial units, all areas that have utilities have access!
1-13-13 Big ticket items needed such as frig and furnace will have to wait until warmer weather but working on "details" such as removing tire rack on back frame to make room for a trunk box which will fit between the bumper and rear wall. This will make a great place for drain hoses and such and the tire rack can go back on. Also installed another ceiling LED in kitchen area, trim and a bunch of other small stuff but takes time. My counters with the new laminate have not come back yet.
This picture shows how busy with utilities it will be under the kitchen sink. Future hint: if work needs to be done under there in the future, simply remove the sink for great access.
The wire going through the wall on the left is the water pump swith which will be on the bath room wall but just around the corner of the kitchen sink for easy access. Lower right in aluminum wrap is the battery box accessible from outside. This may as well be insulated to otherwise its a big "hole in the wall" for temperature leaking. Lower center is the hot water heater. Copper lines are propane for the heater and stove. Note a number of valves, can never have too many.
2-8-13 Picked up my counters! Now much to do, fasten counters, set faucets (bath and kitchen) plumb in drainage, cabinet doors under counter and stove.
Getting quite excited, not only that the end is in sight, but all the previous work like wiring, plumbing, etc, etc is now tying in together, THAT'S WHAT'S FUN!!!
3-20-13 Lots of progress the last few weeks:
Kitchen area counters nearly done
Bath lav area
Hallway storage area coming along
Electrical AC/DC, power converter..
This panel is in the bath, right of lav and next to flush, this door closes and the flush will be under the open door.
Last week end of March 2013.
Finished the wall for the frig cabinet, installed the door on the closet, various trims and finish. On Sunday, installed the 12 v radio, all works, even the old original antenna, that friend Bill saved for me. I was also glad my power supply and speaker wires all as supposed to be!!
Started to run propane lines from the new regulator to the appliances. Found and tightened up a few leaks, still one under the coach, will have to wait another day for that one, getting tired and it's time for supper. Not that many copper lines, but with fitting and flaring it's a big job, you wouldn't think so looking at it but I have a lot more appreciation for those that do it.
May 28,2013 It is out of the shop! Since my last post the finished inlaid has been installed, and all the other loose ends. All AC, DC, propane, and plumbing up to 100%.
Here are some pics of my "invention" dinette seats that pull out lengthwise to provide two beds that are 31" wide by 72" long. This will provide sleeping so that one can get up during the night without climbing over anyone.
Pic of bed "closed" the next two photos are looking forward.
And with the bed extended
Forgot to take pics of same with the cushions, tomorrow...
Looking rear
This one shouldn't need any explanation
Looking forward
Curbside frig and closet
The best laid plans of mice and men: First test run to a local set of scales to be weighed and test run.
All seems ok on the way over, 6 miles. On the way back get 'er up to 55mph, get home, left drum getting quiet hot. Now what? Jack it up pull the wheel, check the bearings, all "seems OK", back together a couple days later, another test run. Same thing at higher speeds left side heating up. Jack it up again, another close look, finally see that the drum and back plate are not quite square. Enough of this, don't need an axle failing back of beyond. Especially since these new old style bearings are special order only. Time to count my losses, play it safe, get a new axle.
Middle July: By time I research and figure this out, order a complete axle with new bearings, breaks, drums, wheels and tires all will be new but more weeks go by. I head out on a 2 week vacation, get back, no axle yet. Finally arrives middle of August, alright! No, not quite, an error in measurement, I'll say mostly my fault, but I'll say the salesman was not as helpful as the first one I talked too. Another week of figuring this out and ordering a second. Two more weeks now gone. It finally arrives, at least I can use the same tires and wheels.
Last week of August, its in place and fits but need to have the axle mounts welded on. I get a commitment but get stood up 2 more weeks. Find a second welder, stood up for a week and then tells me he can't do it.
The third welder commits and is only 1 day late. Finally on and tested. September 10 tested and now road worthy. Finally! The rest of the story, had the original hub caps re- chromed for $200 now don't fit my new wheels, had about $100 dollars in parts in rebuilding the old axle which is now at the scrap dealer, and I spent $320 on new 14 1/2 tires I am trying to sell. And on yeah, cost me $88 dollars to ship back the axle that did not fit. So it has cost me about $600 of old axle and another $550 to get set up with the new. Yup, refurbishing and old camper is so much cheaper than buying new. All told the new running gear has cost me about $1200.
But I am on the road!!!
But not quite the end to the axle story, not happy with the clearance for the rear drain valves, YUP!! I once again replace the axle, the original was a 4"drop down, so I replaced it with same, but finally figured I would gain 4" clearance with a straight axle which would fit in nicely.
I can now say THE END!!!
