Tag Archives: avion travel trailer

Adjusting to Life on the Road…some slight changes to the way we connect to you!

May 9, 2023 pewterpalace87 1 Comment

Well, we have logged just over 1800 miles getting from our “former” home near Lake George, NY to our “new start of residency” in Box Elder, SD. Our 2023 adventure of over 14,000 miles to Alaska and back down the west coast has barely begun!

We are feeling happy, adventurous, and yes, a little Interstate I-90 jet lagged!

Dispersed camping at Nomad View in the Badlands NP

Many of you have said you love traveling vicariously through our social media posts, etc.—and we love that!!! Sharing with you keeps us feeling connected to relationships we have built over years and decades— you are our virtual neighborhood now-– (since we no longer have a sticks n bricks home!)

PLEASE READ BELOW TO SEE HOW SOME THINGS ARE CHANGING!

To be honest, it has been a struggle jumping from one social media site to another especially when traveling in remote areas with little to no cell signal let alone WIFI and from the passenger seat no less!

When we left NY — we began a new full time RV wanderlust life— and with that found a new and easier way to stay connected via a dedicated travel site on Patreon.

If you are not familiar with Patreon- it is a software site designed for travelers, hobbyists, artists, and all sorts of creatives to share their work, travel, their expertise and their life experiences. In some ways it is similar to the traditional WordPress I have been using for 6 years now for our ThePewterPalace.com site but the Patreon platform is far more intuitive, flexible, and easy to do as we travel!

I am finding it much easier to create on the fly and in a more timely manner. I have started posting articles, campsite reviews, tourism info as well as collections of travel picture albums and our weekly adventures very easily and quickly-especially right from my cell phone (unlike our wordpress .com site).

We are asking you to please visit our new page and please consider subscribing! Towards the top of the page you will see the various supporter/subscriber level options if you wish to say thanks (but it is totally optional) for our time and effort doing posts, photography, etc. Supporters/Patrons do get directly notified of all posts and have access to other features as you will see in the description at each of the three levels. Level one, a Pewter Palace Patron starts at $3.

BUT WAIT—–SCROLL DOWN!!!! If you simply want to see our “public” articles as we publish them, continue to scroll down just a little…and there they will be! I will continue to post periodic travel updates, photo collections and more here as our main online space.

WHAT ABOUT THEPEWTERPALACE.COM BLOG?? That is not going anywhere-but it will transition to more of a “help desk” and focus just on vintage trailer and Avion resources, how to topics and ideas for maintenance and upgrades to our beloved vintage silver beauties. We have so many followers there and so many folks who have reached out to us to thank us for helping them renovate or maintain things on their Avions– and we are happy to continue to host that site and post relative content. The format and software of the .com blog lends itself far better to this type of content publishing.

WHAT ABOUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGES?? These will continue but the overall content will not be quite as robust as what will be on our Patreon site because of the options the Patreon format allows.

Once again, we greatly appreciate everyone’s comments, congratulations and well wishes as we have embarked on our long awaited full time RV life of travel and adventure. Also thanks to those Avion owners who have personally reached out to thank us for help we have provided to them through our blog or on a one-to-one.

We sincerely hope you will continue to follow along with us. We want to, and love to continue to bring you great information, photos of places you may want to put on your bucket list and for you to be an armchair traveler on the Pewter Palace! Through your support we will do just that!

Thank you for being a big part of our virtual neighborhood! Please visit our new website for more!

Wishing you all well, safe travels and amazing adventures! On to Alaska!!

Avion Windows, Awnings, Zipdee Awnings

Zip Dee Window Awning Lock Latches-Why Do I Need Awnings??

February 22, 2023 pewterpalace87 Leave a comment

Awnings on your RV are a big investment, but in our opinion they are worth every penny you spend, and the time spent to maintain and secure them properly for years and decades of use.

BENEFITS OF WINDOW AND PATIO AWNINGS:

Besides the obvious that a patio awning provides some great additional covered outdoor space… here are some other benefits of having both the large patio awning and window awnings all the way around your RV!

Patio awnings provide shade for outdoor living space even in light rain
Window awnings provide shade coverage of your RV refrigerator thereby allowing the refrigerator to run more efficiently and help to avoid overheating/ or freeze up.
Awnings allow you to keep windows open for great cross ventilation– even in light to moderate rain. (we recommend only window awnings be left out during light/moderate rain, roll up your patio awning or at minimum slant it down at least 1-2 notches on one side arm to allow sufficient run off for draining-otherwise you can bend the main roller bar or rip the awning material from weight of water pooling)
Awnings will help prevent unnecessary fading of interior cabinetry, upholstery and other interior decorative items
In some cases, awnings will provide some additional privacy for you when inside your RV
Awnings, when deployed, will lower the inside temperature of your RV thereby allowing your AC to run more efficiently and effectively or at minimum keep the inside of your RV cooler by avoiding direct sunlight and heat on your windows (we can typically see an 8-10 degree cooler difference within 20 minutes!)
Selecting your awning material adds to the overall “personal touch” that makes your RV special to you. You can decide solid colors or stripes in a myriad of color choices to suit your overall color theme and RV’s personality. We highly suggest avoiding all vinyl awnings and instead opt for breathable Sunbrella fabric-which is what was traditionally used on Avions anyway! We had a vinyl awning on our first Avion (1973) put on by a prior owner, it was hot, dark, heavy, and often smelled musty.

and lastly, awnings are quintessential especially for vintage RVs and just look awesome while also adding real investment $$ value to your RV!

MAINTAINING AWNINGS AND KEEPING THEM SAFE FROM DAMAGE IS VERY IMPORTANT!

Here is our first in a series of blog posts and videos about window and patio awnings.

This article focuses on the use of Window Awning Travel Locks/Latches.

We purchased our awning travel locks from Zip Dee. They sell one type of travel lock for window awnings and another style just for the large patio awnings.

*NOTE-Zip Dee does not sell anything via their website. You must call their company and speak to a sales rep to place and pay for an order. I will put their contact information at the bottom of this blog post.

The awning travel latches/locks are NOT listed under their “accessories” webpage. They can be found instead on the PDF “AWNING PARTS” list. But honestly, just tell the sale rep when you call -what you are looking for and they will have it for you. The awning latch kits come with everything you will need including very good instructions— you will need to supply your own power drill, #8 drill bit, pen for marking location to drill and rivet gun.

Zip Dee is an old fashioned-run business, but that’s a good thing for those of us with vintage RVs since this means they also have not changed out their parts or styles for over 50 or so years–so you can still get even the smallest part from them to repair your 35 year old Zip Dee awnings!! Yeah–who still has a Blackberry that works???!!

Below is a photo of one of our Window Awning Travel Locks/Latches after it was installed. It basically functions like a “hook & eye”.

Here is a video that we did to show how this lock works and how effective it is in preventing an accidental “unrolling” if you happen to be in high winds, especially while tooling down the highway! (yes, unfortunately it HAS happened to others, especially patio awnings!)

We have 3 window awnings on both sides of our 1987 , 32 foot Avion. We did have one on the rear wrap around window but since have removed it when we opted to install a traditional Avion rock guard also on the rear window. So now we have window awning on our curbside rear bed side window and two larger awnings on our streetside. One covers the streetside rear side bedroom window and bathroom and the forward one covers the living room area and kitchen (including going over the refrigerator area in between the LR and Kitchen).

We have put 2 awning locks on the two long streetside awnings and one on the curbside bedroom single awning. It probably is not necessary to use two on the longer window awnings but we tend to always over engineer things anyway for our peace of mind.

Streetside showing two long window awnings. Note the refrigerator vent to see location of our refrigerator. In this photo you will also see we have tire shades in matching Sunbrella fabric (Motive Denim is the pattern). We had **Zip Dee** make these up for us and we installed the track to slide them in.

Before beginning the travel lock/latch install be sure you have a #8 drill bit. We purchased ours at our local ACE hardware store. Kevin applied a bit of green painters tape to the same length as the rivet that came with the latch packet. This ensures you are not going to drill too deep into the exterior of your RV!

First step was to mark where we wanted to install the latch. Zip Dee recommends installing at the REAR end of each awning. Their instructions that come in the packet are very good and clear on where to place and how to install.

This photo shows the “receiver” end has been riveted in place. Looking closely you can see that we now have also placed the “hook” into the receiver to mark where the hook hardware needs to be installed. Be sure it is a snug fit with some tension but still able to easily rotate the hook out of the receiver when desired. The hook is mounted onto the aluminum roll up cover of the awning. Again, they give very good instructions on how and where to place. The hook will be screwed in place using the provided screw and washer(s).

Here is the finished product. To open the latch you use the long awning rod tool’s short, stubby hook end (not the rounded hook) placed into the hole in the hook hardware and with your wrist twist, rotating the hook out of the receiver. It takes a little getting used to but you will get the hang of it.

Be sure to watch this quick video to see how the lock/latch opens using your awning rod tool. We also include some other tips in the video!

Awnings By Zip Dee
96 Crossen Ave
Elk Grove Village IL 60007

Telephone: (847) 437-0980
Toll-Free: (800) 338-2378
FAX: 847-437-7064
E-mail: info@zipdeeinc.com

Be sure to subscribe to our blog AND our YouTube Channel so you get first notification of future posts about patio awning and awning hardware maintenance, and keeping your big patio awning safe during travels, etc.

If you have found this short article helpful please let us know by leaving a comment and/or giving it a “thumbs up“!

Safe travels!

First Time Avion Owners-ALERT!, Refurbishment Projects, Rub Rails, Uncategorized

Replacing the “Rub Rail” Exterior Vinyl Strips-Sources, Options, & Tips

February 7, 2023 pewterpalace87 Leave a comment

This is our 1987 32S Avion, existing black rub rail

Perhaps one of the first projects often taken on (or at least put on the “to do” list) when purchasing an Avion is replacing the vinyl rub rail around the midline of the outside of the trailer. We have written the following article mostly specific to 70-80s years of Avion’s. Some models and earlier versions of Avion’s have different rub rail needs or no rub rails at all. We encourage you, if you have this scenario to reach out to similar model year owners on one of the several Avion Facebook groups or forums for answers/information/resources. Our experience has only been with our ’73 and now our ’87 Avion’s.

Often the original (many were black, some years were an orangy/red) has shrunk, become faded or in some cases- especially near both sides of the door, it is missing. This is very common. That can be due to mere shrinkage of the vinyl over time due to sun and weather conditions as well as not being maintained. (Yes, it does need to be maintained for optimal life expectancy!)

Below is a slide show of typical 70’s-80’s Avion’s. These are samples from existing or replaced rub rails from other Avion’s to give you an idea of various states of condition. (In full disclosure…we have had to priority projects and while we have our vinyl replacement strapping simply have not had the time to do the project yet! Ours is missing about 14 inches from each side of the doorway due to shrinkage over its 34+ yrs)

NOTE: the closeup photos of the black rub rail is of our Pewter Palace 1987. The ones that show a few small strips with green, blue and navy is ours too where we are missing vinyl due to age shrinkage. What you are seeing is actual sample strips we ordered from the two resources we list below. We drove around with them in place in 2022 to decide what color we liked the best- we have decided to go with the navy to match a stripe in our awnings.

A heavy duty commercial grade Yale lock bought at Grainger Supply, posted by Jeff Carroll, June 2018

WHERE TO PURCHASE REPLACEMENT STRAPPING FOR RUB RAILS?

https://www.sunnilandpatio.com/collections/replacement-vinyl-strapping-by-the-roll

Sunniland sells 16” lengths so it is advised if you are not sure which color you want order the colors in 16inch to see before ordering a whole roll.

https://www.patiofurnituresupplies.com/vinyl-strap-rivets.html

PatioFurniture sells sample pieces of color choices. The samples are only about 2 inches long. if you want a better idea how it will look then you would need to actually order a specified length you wanted, we did 12″.

****Both companies sell the identical product. Even the color swatch numbers are the same as of this blog posting. It boils down to pricing at the time and shipping costs to your destination.

WHAT COLOR SHOULD I CHOOSE?

Both companies offer a literal rainbow of colors to choose from since this product is actually manufactured for vinyl strapped pool and patio furniture. Color choice is really entirely up to you. If you want to go traditional to what was originally used then the choice is really a black or an orangy/red, or red. Just remember that any color you get will fade from sun exposure over time, so factor that in. We went with a navy color to match one of the stripes in our awnings. The original on our ’87 was black since we believe the rig was sold with the traditional black and white stripped awnings. Earlier 60s and 70s models may have had the red or orange/red inserts.

Towards the end of this post we have a slide show of a unique project undertaken by Christie Ann and her husband on their 70s era Avion. She decided to SPRAY PAINT her existing rub rail because it was all in great condition. This certainly is an option as well! Check it out!

TIPS ON INSTALLING THE REPLACEMENT RUB RAIL VINYL

Install in warm weather so that material is flexible but do not stretch the material at all when installing! Over time the vinyl material will shrink due to sun and weather, so you want to actually push back on the ends a bit to leave it as tight butted up to your beginning and ending points as possible. Two people is best, one to feed into the track and the other to pull it through. OR even better some have found they can insert it by pinching the warmed strap edges together and using a tool, perhaps a small hard plastic putty knife to help push it into the track as you move along- thereby omitting the need to “pull it thru”. The latter may be the optimal way to insert.
Using dawn or similar dish soap in the track or rubbed against edges of strapping may help it to slide into the tracks easier
Start at one side of the door and work your way around in one continuous strap. Avoid seaming the product if at all possible (no seams in the original installs). Some have used a set screw to anchor the ends of each strap if your original triangular metal tabs have been removed or broken off.
To maintain the suppleness of the vinyl it is suggested you go over it with a protectant like Armorall or T-9 Boeshield (which is also a great at least annual lubricant for your Awning hardware). Avail on Amazon.
We have had to use a heat gun to warm our vinyl strapping and used a pair of pliers on one end that is used to help pull it thru the track. It should be a tight fit so that the vinyl stays in place though. See diagram of the correct profile below which is achieved with the 1.5” width of strapping. This matches the original install best.

WHAT SHOULD IT LOOK LIKE WHEN INSTALLED?

Here is an illustration we have made to show a side profile of what the rub rail insert should look like when installed properly. Notice it does have a “bulge” to it. This is correct—it is truly supposed to act as a “rub rail” and prevent things from bumping up and scratching the side of your Avion. Sadly, it does not really work that well- so be careful when driving near tree limbs/branches, or when carrying your ladder or equipment near the outside! Thankfully those of us with anodized exteriors have the benefit of a much harder surface so we don’t scratch from tree or bushes quite as easily as Airstreams do!

OPTION!! SPRAY PAINT YOUR RUB RAIL INSTEAD OF REPLACING!

Our friend, fellow Avioner Christie Ann and her husband own this 70s era Avion and chose to do just that since the vinyl rub rail was in good shape. We met them and saw the finished project in person at the Silver Avion Fellowship Rally in Elkhart, IN in 2020 and it looked great! They did a great job! Christie Ann can be found on the Avion Facebook groups if you want to reach out to her directly.

MAINTAINING YOUR RUB RAIL

Just like all other parts of your Avion (inside and out) there is maintenance that should be done. The rub rail is no exception. It is plastic, vinyl and therefore subject to climates, sun, temperature variations, wind and weather. To keep it in top shape, obviously if you can keep your Avion under cover or in a garage that will no doubt prolong its life. But many of us don’t have that option.

Regardless of how pampered your Avion may be, putting a protective coating on your rub rail is something that should be done at least 1 time per year, perhaps in the spring as part of your annual spring prep.

There are a number of products that can be carefully applied to the vinyl rub rail by hand and a soft cloth. Here are some suggestions

303 Aerospace Protectant https://www.303products.com.au/product-range/universal/303-outdoor-protectant (this is what we use!)

Armorall original protectant https://www.armorall.com/ca/product/original-protectant/

Armorall Plastic Restorer https://www.armorall.com/ca/product/outlast-trim-plastic-restorer/

Boeshield T-9 https://boeshield.com/rv-trailer/

IN CONCLUSION

We sincerely hope this blog post has been helpful to you. Please let us know with a thumbs up or a comment! Please subscribe to our blog so you do not miss future articles and travel updates. 2023 is going to be a very busy year for the Pewter Palace and us!

If you would like – EMAIL US for a PDF that you can print with a summary of items discussed in this blog post. pewterpalace87@gmail.com

Thanks for your support, and as always, travel safe, travel often and travel healthy!

buying an avion, First Time Avion Owners-ALERT!, Interior refurbs-flooring and more, Uncategorized

Looking to Buy an Avion? Tips for your walk thru inspections!

January 19, 2023 pewterpalace87 2 Comments

Avion’s are HOT! The prices of them continue to go up, especially since the RV industry boom during COVID where new RVs simply could not be produced fast enough to meet demand. This blog post gives you information to help you in your search for your Avion.

Pricing (2023) can range from $FREE for a total wreck in a field to $40K for a pristine rig with upgraded systems like new plumbing, roof fans, new appliances, subfloor, furnace, on demand hot water heater and solar and more. Given their excellent construction over other all aluminum trailers they are normally worth the investment IF you are wiling to do some or most of the work yourself to maintain and do any further improvements needed. If you cannot do the work yourself- be prepared to have deep pockets and patience as there are very, very few professionals who can work on Avion’s correctly and they are in high demand-making a long wait for appointments. Please do not take your Avion to modern shops whose mechanics are not used to or trained to deal with vintage trailers. Oh sure, the simple refrigerator or toilet repair or replacement is fine, but not internal systems, frame, body or flooring please! Check out our “Resources & Links” page for list of where to get materials and tips/resources on where to get repairs done.

What does that mean for vintage trailers – and specifically Avion’s?

More and more people are scoping out abandoned woodlands, prairies and meadows and finding “hidden gems”- Avion’s long abandoned by once well meaning owners.
Many have found them in so-so shape and brought them back to life (sometimes to the good, sometimes to the not so good- but as they say “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”)
Some have been purchased by “flippers” and a word of caution here, that new interior paint job, new vinyl or wood flooring and a new staged look may be hiding shortcuts or missed necessary repairs just to make a buck on unsuspecting buyers. Do your homework! Use our list below to help!
Other’s have purchased a well cared for near original rig but perhaps continued to personalize it, or making some more modern upgrades but maintaining the classic Avion look.

ARE YOU MAKING APPOINTMENTS TO SEE AVION’S FOR SALE? Take along our handy reference sheet complete with helpful tools to bring, a check list of exterior and interior places to check, questions to ask. Click this link below!

avion-rv-inspection-checklist-suggestions-thepewterpalace

It does not matter what, year, length or model. Many of the components and things to inspect and look for are all the same. The items on this list are purely suggestions and should not be construed as advice or a complete list. They are merely suggestions compiled from us and fellow Avion owners on various online forums and groups who have “been there, done that” and have responded many times over to this question. No one has all the answers but hopefully our check list will help you to find YOUR perfect Avion!

**Hiring a professional certified RV inspector is always a good investment and can save you huge $$ in the long run. You may wish to give them our check list sheet since many inspectors may only be used to newer, more modern RVs and may not be familiar with the Avion construction or the known “weak points” they develop over the decades. Then, let them do their job!

You can find Certified RV Inspectors here-https://nrvia.org/locate/

We wish you every success in finding your Avion. The hardest part is being objective when looking at trailers for sale. The right one, at the right time, is out there for you. Just be patient.

All the best,

sign off image with PP and bitmo

Black & Grey Tank Projects, Exterior Storage & Service Compartments, Our 1987 32S Model Avion, Refurbishment Projects, Uncategorized

AVION Trailer- New Black Tank Installation, 2022-Tips, Sources and more!

November 26, 2022 pewterpalace87 2 Comments

OLD on the left….NEW from Pelland Enterprises on the right

A little background to this story.…..In the summer of 2021 our original black tank had a major failure- sadly solely by human error. We had inadvertently threw “on” the tank warmer fuse during our MORryde install. The PO had not installed a heat override- so if you install tank warmers please also install that auto sensor override. The tank was empty and ended up frying itself and tearing substantial cracks in several areas of the bottom. Hard lesson learned. We thought we had solved the problem when we found a highly rated RV repair shop about an hour from us who specialized in plastic welding, repairing all sorts of “plastic issues” with RVs. He looked at the tank and felt sure he could repair it. We had been told by many that it was near impossible to find tank replacements, some had tried their own repairs to no avail and we even contemplated going with a composting toilet instead (in the end…nope not for us!) So…. 3-weeks and $600+ later, the multi-layer repair looked and worked awesomely. We were all set!! Needless to say removing a black tank and replacing a black tank is not for the fainthearted. We are eternally grateful we have a nice concrete floored garage to work in and higher ground clearance thanks to our MORryde Independent Suspension system install. We did successful camping trips in August and September- all systems were GO! The black tank was working just fine! For more about our original project click here.

FAST FORWARD TO JULY 2022

At the very last official stop on our 5-week RV trip through 7 states in June/July of 2022 we were at our last campground, Campfire Lodgings outside of Ashville, NC and atop a huge mountain! Lo and behold, we saw a slow leak coming out onto the beautiful concrete slab RV pad. We had a 3 day stay here so we quickly hooked up our sewer hose and kept the bayonet valve open (we normally never do this!) so that any liquids would go out to the sewer rather than drip. That did a pretty good job but we also used the campground bathrooms during the day and as much as possible (we were in bear country so I was not going to go out to walk to the bath house for my nature call at 2 AM!). We allowed the tank to dry out and the leaking stopped. TIP: In a pinch we turned off the water feed to our toilet and lined our toilet with boondocking camp toilet liner bags and improvised for the 2 day drive home when needed. These are easy enough to dispose of at rest area dumpsters.

The good, the bad…and the downright ugly!

Once back to our home RV storage barn garage we took to task removing the old (repaired) tank. These tanks come out a lot easier than they go in. We have found the toughest part is getting the discharge piping lined up and the bayonet valves in place. Those valves are actually the toughest to do- you need five pairs of hands and only have room for 1 pair in that outside compartment.

Steps to remove your black tank:

In our 1987, 32S we have a mid-bath. This means that our black tank is also under the area where our REAR Stabilizers are. These must be removed first.

PREP: Before beginning this project, if your tank has been used somewhat recently and may not be completely dried out we recommend using a Camco toilet and tank washing wand (we actually do this routinely at least 2-3 times per year when RVing part time. We will do it more frequently once we go full time). by hooking up a garden hose (not your fresh water hose) and using this pressure washing system through your toilet by holding the foot pedal down. They also make some that have a sink attachment end on a short hose. Extend the wand end down right into the tank and rotate it around all sides of the tank as much as possible. Hook up your sewer hose to drain out tank. We did this multiple times ensuring we had removed as much as we could.

Remove the belly pans underneath your black tank area. *TIP: be sure to label each of them on the underside first so you can easily see how they go back in. Sometimes you feel like you are working with a jigsaw puzzle.
Remove any insulation (ours has sheets of foam insulation bats all over the length of the trailer put in by a PO.)
Disconnect sewerage discharge pipe at the black tank opening. Keep rest of discharge piping from the elbow and as it goes through to the bayonet valve in the wet bay area.
Disconnect the vent stack connection (our 32S it is in the corner of the cabinet near the furnace)
Disconnect toilet and remove bolts and flange (should screw off with some force used)
once all pipes have been disconnected….
Unbolt the steel “L” channel that runs along the rear side of the black tank and holds it snugly to the front brace.
Remove tank slowly maneuvering it out of its location pulling down.

SOURCE FOR NEW BLACK TANKS: We were very fortunate that we were given a great tip from Chuck Cayo (recognized as a national guru on all things Avion. His family started the Avion Corp back in the day). Chuck suggested we call Pelland Enterprises. Their website is quite extensive and we were able to find the perfect replacement for our needs. The new tank is slightly smaller (shorter in length) than our original so holds perhaps a couple gallons less but the other dimensions were perfect including the location of the main discharge hole and width and height that would fit into our original location. If you have a 32S feel free to contact us for our exact model we ordered. Different trailer models and lengths will have different size needs.

https://www.pellandent.com/RV-Holding-Tanks

Here is a diagram we made to show Pelland Enterprises exactly where we needed them to spin weld in (best way to do) the opening for our vent stack and for our toilet opening. They will do this step but be sure your measurements are clear and exact because all tanks are not returnable! We uploaded tons of photos and these drawings to them via email. Also note, it takes approximately a minimum of 6-8 weeks for delivery.

These are the waste level sensors on our old tank. If you want, Pelland will also spin weld in new connections on a new tank too. Again, make sure your diagrams are precise with measurements. BTW…we never trust the sensors! In the black tank, since it can be seen when opening/flushing the toilet we monitor the black tank levels by eye.

Once we received our new black tank, it was time for installation. Basically we reinstalled going in the reverse of our above steps. Thankfully we were able to do the pipe hook ups relatively easy this time. Once the pipes were reinstalled, we tested the tank and the connections by filling the tank with water thru the toilet pipe opening in the bathroom floor. Kevin opened the bayonet valve to discharge the black tank and we watched for any signs of leaks. All went super well. Ditto for the grey tank with similar testing to ensure no leaks in the reconnected pipes and the bayonet valves.

At the instruction from Chuck Cayo we went ahead and once again installed a marine plywood board (coated several times with a marine epoxy resin “West System*” on all sides and edges) and positioned it in place covering the entire tank bottom, and extending about a 1 inch on the rear edge. This board we strapped in with metal L brackets held in place to the frame pieces with self riveting screws. We have the some of these products we used listed on our Amazon Favorites list on our Resources & Links page on our website. TIP: Per Mr. Cayo and our own experience, it is VERY IMPORTANT to put a large board under all of your tanks to support them. Only metal strapping is not enough-even if you never travel with stuff in your tanks.

Once the pipes were all reinstalled we purchased 2″ R-10 Styrofoam insulation boards (pink) at Home Depot and cut them precisely to fit around the tank and rest of underbelly area. See photos below.

BUTTONING UP THE BELLY PAN: Once all of the layers of insulation were put in place, Kevin re-screwed in (stainless self taping screws and in some places, rivets) the belly pan sections. We have actually created a drawing showing how ours goes together including which panel goes under a neighboring one when installing. The copper gas line was installed back in place outside the belly pan area with some rubber lined clamps screwed into the aluminum pan sheets. Reminder, the gas line, by law must always be on the outside!

WET BAY FINISHING UP TIPS: Then we applied a spray in sealant foam (pest retardant type) around the openings where the grey and discharge black tank pipes come through the wet bay wall aluminum. This helps to keep rodents from accessing into the belly pan area. TIP: Be sure NOT to get this anywhere near the bayonet valve areas themselves. Also, while in this area, Kevin applied lubricant to the steal rods in the bayonet valves themselves. The best lubricant to use here is dry silicone spray and prime the rod pushing the handle in and out several times.

TOILET REINSTALL: once all the underbelly work was done we reinstalled the toilet. This was also a great time to do a deep clean of the toilet’s main discharge shoot from the bottom up to the under side of the ball valve (the thing that opens and shuts during flushing). Not a fun job but good to do when the toilet is uninstalled and then applying dry silicone gel around the toilet ball valve and replace all gaskets and seals. We also took many photos of the manufacturers labels and ordered back up parts while they are still available and we will have them on the road should a failure of some part happen. All were found on Amazon. Our toilet is Thetford Aqua Magic Plus II, porcelain bowl. The “plastic skirt” that wraps around the base is not shown in this photo

WHILE WE WERE AT IT WE ADDED A NEW FEATURE!: Since the toilet was off we also took advantage and ordered the spray hose with handle accessory and installed that before reinstalling the toilet itself. TIP– on our previous post and videos about our replumbing with PE piping we showed how we installed a shut off valve on the toilet water intake hose just to the left of the toilet base. This made removal of the toilet or any work needing to be done to it far easier than having to turn off all your water in the rig.

We hope this article may help you with some tips, or if you ever need to replace YOUR black tank. We sincerely hope that day will never come though!

If you found this article helpful please drop us a comment!

Be well and safe journeys! Kevin & Luise

First Time Avion Owners-ALERT!, Gadgets We Love!, RV Storage, The Full Time Life...., Uncategorized

5 “Living Small”- Organization Tips & Products

August 26, 2022 pewterpalace87 Leave a comment

Whether you are living full time in your RV or doing just vacation travels at this point, one thing remains a constant. How to keep organized, how to fit “what you need” into a small space, how to maintain the organization you do set up.

Notice I said “what you need” NOT what you “want”. It is a hard pill to swallow- especially for those of us who have surrounded ourselves with tons of mementoes, family heirlooms, and “things” that seem to make us feel whole, cozy and satisfied in our sticks n’ bricks abodes.

My mind has been slowly but surely turning itself into preparing for that “full time mode” earnestly for at least the last 2 years. I think my grown children are still in shock that I could go from a 3000 sq ft home ( + huge storage barn) chocked with antiques, clutter and an overabundance of stuff collected for over 40 yrs of my adult life- to having all our stuff currently in a 1 bedroom 725 sq. ft. apartment!

I can credit the Marie Kondo and her KonMari method of dealing with tidying for increasing my mindfulness of living simply and with what you need rather than what you think you need/want. It becomes easier and easier to get rid of our “stuff” so it can bring pleasure, usefulness and joy to a new owner and move us ever closer to our ultimate goal of only owning what we can carry on our 8 wheels (trailer + truck) .

Am I there yet? Oh no, to be sure–when I just look around our tiny downsized apartment. We still have too much but at least right now, most of it is organized and up for sale online, or in totes marked “donate”. I try to donate a bag of clothes and/or a carton of items each week.

SO LET’S GET INTO SOME BASICS!

Some key basics of downsizing and living small that I have gathered over the past few years from fellow RVers, research and just plain living are these:

(1) Everything has a place to be stored and MUST be returned to that place immediately after use. Translation-—No more piles to be put away later– and everyone in the household must buy into this behavior!

TIP! Below is what I have done to ensure that each of us put back items used back to where they “live” for future use. Labels have especially helped remind us both what goes where! I use easy to remove green painters tape on these fabric bins (with metal frames to with hold their shape well-from Bed Bath & Beyond) this way if contents or uses change, I can easily replace with new tape labels and the painters tape does not leave any residual stickiness (at least not yet!).

(2) When at all possible items- especially in the kitchen and closet should have at LEAST 2 purposes/uses. Translation—- be creative, learn to do without to find ways to repurpose what you have rather than be lulled into marketing ploys to buy the next new gadget for your kitchen. You do not need half of the kitchen gadgets that Camping World tries to tell you that you do!

Some examples:

Rubbermaid waffle style shelf liner 6″ squares make great pads between dishes to prevent rattling BUT they also make great jar opening grips!
Our foldable, lidded storage ottoman’s are perfect shoes while the other holds my patio solar lights, picnic table cloth and string lights that we use each time we set camp. They are right by the door for easy access but also double as extra seating inside or outside (can hold up to 250# each) and pulled over to the sofa make great footrests or to hold a tray of snacks during happy hours indoors! Hey, great– that is at least 3 uses! Amazon link to see the ones we have. We have the charcoal grey.

A roll up dish draining rack makes a perfect extra countertop space during meal prep or plate set up. This is truly one of the best pieces of equipment we have bought in the past 8 years of RVing. I use it at least 2-3 times per DAY!

(3) Size Matters! Be aware of the sheer size of some items. Will they fit into your RV cabinets or drawers? Things might fit fine into a sticks n’ bricks kitchen cabinet or closets- but RV cabinets and closets are much smaller, often have curved back walls (like our Avions!) Translation—-Look for things that collapse, things that can nest into each other, smaller versions of household items, things are that a lower height on one end so they conform to the curve of your roof- magazine storage bins are a great example of these-just flip them around so the short side is towards your outside roof wall in those upper cabinets!

TIP: Here is a link to a great set of collapsible food storage containers that I use. I use them also as bowls per say to whip up things like tunafish, egg salad, etc. too! IMPORTANT NOTE: Square and rectangular storage containers fit far better ( than round bowls) and efficiently in refrigerator shelfs and storage cupboards!

(4) A Great Storage Idea for your Bathroom! Perhaps one of the hardest area of our Avion to store stuff in has been our bathroom. It is a side bath and therefore narrow and without the storage closet and cabinets we had in our rear-bath ’73 Avion. Our undersink cabinet has a lot of plumbing challenges, the shelve heights cannot handle normal sied bottles of shampoo, mouthwash, etc. and the vanity to the right where the hamper once had been also presents its challenges and certainly does not make items easy to get to (I store reserves of T-paper, paper towels and shopping bags when lifting up the hamper lid on the counter)

Recently, I happened upon a collapsible mesh toy storage hanging system at my local dollar store. It seemed the perfect thing to hang from our clothing rod in our shower to keep everyday toiletries, shampoos, etc. handy and in easy reach. After using it now on a 2 week trip–it has been great! Here is an amazon link to similar to what I purchased (for $3 at my dollar store!) Mine has all three openings on the same side so check out your own local dollar stores first!

Lastly…..

(5) Become more mindful of what you use every time you go camping….AND even more importantly what you don’t! Translation—-start a bag or box of items you find you are not using—and during each camping trip put at least a few things in there to put out at your site with a FREE marked on the carton, or donate them to a local charity. Obviously the same goes for clothing- layering is the name of the game!

Hope this little article has given you some helpful tips and inspiration! Below–I have put many of our regularly used items into a helpful shared list I created on Amazon several years ago. The link is below to find that list! (note, this is not a sponsored store, we do not get any residual from any purchases you make- its there to purely be helpful!)

CLICK THIS LINK TO OUR RESOURCES PAGE, THEN SCROLL DOWN JUST A LITTLE TO FIND OUR Amazon LIST LINK!

Happy and Safe Travels!

Luise

Gadgets We Love!, Our 2011 GMC 2500HD Denali Truck, Rockstar Mud Flap System, Tires, Rims and accessories, Uncategorized

Trick’in our Truck – for Safety, Comfort & Towing our Avion Travel Trailer

August 25, 2022 pewterpalace87 Leave a comment

Lets face it, you can have a great route planned, your RV all geared up, food stocked, LP topped off, campground reservations made BUT

BUT!!!! if your ride is uncomfortable, unsafe or not helping you with towing along the way—the TRIP CAN BE UNCOMFORTABLE, UNSAFE AND COULD END IN DISASTER for you, your truck and your beloved RV!

We purchased our 2011 GMC 2500 HD Denali Crew Cap truck in 2018. It had just under 28K miles and in super condition. It is a 4×4, 6 Liter gas engine with a 6-speed transmission and a 4.10 rear axle. Here is a promo video of it when it was being sold by the dealership we bought it from. It was a search on CARFAX that finally landed us our “Merlin”– so nicknamed because it was magical how our “must have list” of truck features was finally found….albeit in New Jersey! So after calling them and putting down a small refundable “on hold” deposit with a CC, we made an overnight trip to NJ from our home in upstate NY traveling 5.5 hours to arrive as soon as the dealership had opened that morning.

OVERVIEW OF UPGRADES & SYSTEMS WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED SINCE PURCHASE:(Below this list we go into each upgrade in more detail with photos, etc.)

Installed Sumo Springs Front & Rear Bump Stops, Bilstien Shocks and SuperSprings Low Leveling Metal Springs on the rear to assist with suspension and overall handling.
Installed ROCKSTAR Rear Mud Flap System to prevent rock chipping of trailer
Installed DECKED Storage System in Truck Bed to increase storage capacity
Installed Front Grill Guard to prevent excessive damage to grill and engine in case of accident or wildlife damage (affectionately called our “Moose Guard”- we live in the Adirondacks!)
Installed Class 2 Hitch Receiver to hold spare tire or front storage flat rack on the front
Installed WEATHERTECH Interior Mats to maintain carpet
Installed Window Film in Cap to provide privacy and security of stored items or if using for overnight sleeping
Purchased and use the TST brand, 507 model TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System)
Purchased and use the GARMIN RV specific GPS system
Removed our back seat, covered back panel still utilizing the seat hooks and use bungy straps to secure items we use at every camp set up (other than boondock 1 nighters at Walmart, etc.)

Still to be done before we go full time in Spring/Summer 2023: Installing a Meckman 400 AMP Alternator (to recharge our Lithium Ion Battleborn Battery system as we are driving)

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LET’S GET INTO THE “WEEDS” OF THE DETAILS! we have included “where to buy” links where possible. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions you have on any of the information we have in this post!

SUMO SPRINGS, BILSTIEN SHOCKS & SUPERSPRINGS INSTALL TO SUSPENSION:

Why? We improved the ride and alleviated any “squatting” of our truck by adding additional suspension aids.

What? The old/original bump stops were old and very rough. Sumu springs have a dampening cushioning effect which takes the rough ride out of the vehicle because they are open foam and they engage softly and become firmer with weight- hence a better ride when your truck is heavy and towing a heavy trailer. We installed them front and rear. We then added the SuperSprings to the rear. They mount to the leaf springs on the back of the truck. These add support and weight carrying capacity to the leaf springs. This helps alleviate the “squat” to the truck when hooking up our Avion travel trailer. Use the link above to view the product and see a company video about these Supersprings and their application and purpose.

2. ROCKSTAR MUD FLAP INSTALLATION:

Why? After taking a long trip from our home in eastern upstate NY to MI we found a plethora of super small rock chips in the front of the 73 Avion we owned then. They happened literally the last 15 minutes of the trip. We had to go through a road construction zone where the crew was milling up the road- we were going less than 15 mph when it happened! Now with these mud flaps we get far less mud, grime, and rock chips on our precious Avion (we now own an ’87 and use a Hensley hitch which is different than the GenY hitch in photos shown)

What? We got lucky that our local auto detailer (who had rehabbed our Avion rock guard and spare tire cover) had this ROCKSTAR mud flap system for sale in his shop- so no shipping fees! He was ready to retire it from the showroom since it was a few years old. We got it for less than half the going price for the same guard system. This is the full bumper type that is installed, not just flaps screwed on. The system CAN be completely slid off and removed if desired but it is very heavy and awkward for one person to do. We have it installed by sliding it over our 2.5″ hitch receiver which a 2″ hitch insert in it-the guard is fastened to that insert and locks in place. Besides…we think it looks pretty jazzy!

Considering installing mud flaps? Please read our more in depth article that covers installation tips, etc. Read more….

Link to Amazon listing– very similar to ours

3. DECKED TRUCK BED STORAGE SYSTEM WITH DRAWERS:

We cannot say enough about this system. Yes, it is pricey, and we also paid to have it installed professionally by our local auto detailer. But we have found over and over again it is a lifesaver. It has actually increased our bed storage capacity since it covers over the wheel wells making a flat surface area to allow for more large storage totes. It’s flat surface can now even fit a double sized air mattress easily to do overnight sleeping in the truck bed very easily and comfortably- + added bonus, you are not laying on metal truck bed. The 2 full slide out drawers serve as awesome, double LARGE tool boxes-easy to pull out and access everything easily and within sight. Kevin recently purchased some of the DECKED tool boxes that are made to fit inside, this is an option but not necessary. Previously, he used other canvas tool bags, tool cases, etc. before this just fine. These drawers negates the need to have multiple tool kits packed in the truck cab or loosely flying around the storage with other RV gear. Your tools are all in one place and always quickly available-which for us is key!

Another plus of this system for security purposes, is that anyone looking into your truck bed through the windows will only see a floor. They will not see any tools (which tend to be eye candy for many). You really cannot tell that there is a DECKED system installed since the tailgate covers the drawers completely. There are also two small, easy access storage compartments on either side end of the floor top. We keep bungies, flares and other safety equipment in them for easy access.

Hey…it even has a built in bottle cap opener in the center!

Here is a Link to their site

4. & 5. INSTALLED FRONT GRILL “MOOSE” GUARD & HITCH RECEIVER FOR OUR SPARE TIRE:

Why? We have seen way too many front grills demolished by deer & moose hits and vehicle accidents. We live in the NY Adirondacks afterall! We also know that our full time RV life will include many areas where there are very large moose, caribou, deer, bison, etc. as well as crazy drivers.

What? In order to better protect our truck’s major asset—its engine and grill–we installed this beefy grill guard 3 years ago. We did have to remove the factory tow hooks off the front to do the install, but the grill guard has built in hooks on its beefy frame. Because the guard was heavy enough steel, we had a local welder install a hitch receiver on the front so we can now put our spare tire mount on the front. We will carry our bikes on back of the Avion. We actually have found the weight added by the grill guard and the spare tire has helped to equalize our our truck’s weight distribution especially when hooked up to the Avion and its tongue weight.

Bonus! This front grill guard also makes a dandy beach towel drying rack!

Here is a link to one we found that is very similar to ours on Amazon

6. Installed WEATHERTECH interior mats

Why? Let’s face it, as RVers we spend a lot of time in our vehicles in all sorts of weather, juggling all sorts of drinks, snacks and foodstuffs while plying the highways and byways of our country.

What? Our local auto detailer loves us! We purchased these from them as well after carefully reviewing a whole lot of online sources and reviews. These mats are molded and custom fitted to this model year-they fit perfect, do not slide around and are so easy to remove to hose off. They protect our carpet from dirt, grime, stains, mud, snow, ice, etc. Once we go full time in Spring 2023 this truck will be our home, this will be our everyday, only vehicle. We want to do the best we can to maintain its condition and cleanliness.

Here is link to WeatherTech

7. INSTALLED WINDOW FILM ON SOME BED CAP WINDOWS:

We installed this film early on after purchasing our truck. We used household window privacy film purchased at Lowes. It was very easy to use and install. We have found that since the side slide windows have built in screens- we have not been able to install it there as the screening is unable to be removed easily. We thought this was going to be an issue however, now that we have put in our big black totes (with yellow tops from Lowes/Home Depot) they essentially block any views in from these side windows. What you see is black tote side- so hence not really an issue anymore. To date we have only covered the two odd sized large side windows in film for privacy when/if we sleep in the bed overnight or to provide some security of goods we have in the back. We have NOT covered the back window yet because we still keep some totes out of the bed and can use the rear view mirror in cab to view rear when not hitched up. Once we go full time and the back truck bed is fully loaded we may also install a limo film over all the windows.

Link to Lowes- the actual film we used. There are many other great design options available. Just be aware some are more transparent than others which may not give you the privacy you may want.

Note- even though this is sold as household window film we have had excellent results using it in our truck bed cap. It has held up well, no fading, peeling or failure due to swings in weather temperatures, etc.

8. TST Brand, Model 507- TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM

Another key safety factor (has saved our butts twice in just the last 2 yrs) is getting a Tire Pressure Monitoring System. We have installed the monitors on BOTH our Truck AND our Avion Travel Trailer. Some only install on their trailer. In our opinion that is insufficient, as evidence by, on a trip out to Indiana from upstate NY we got a signal our rear passenger side truck tire was losing air. As it turns out, the valve stem had gone bad. It was 9 PM at night and luckily we were on an interstate highway that had a large truck stop and the shop is open essentially 24/7 to assist truckers. We limped in before our tire became too flat to travel-thanks to the TPMS warning! It was fixed in less than 15 minutes and we were on our way.

Here is a great vendor (TechnoRV) that we have purchased other equipment from. The link below is a current model, similar to what we have but with some improved features:

LINK to TST Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Note- When we purchase new tires (we do at least every 5 yrs regardless of miles or condition) we will then order a new, current model TPMS system and we will be purchasing the type of sensors that are “internal sensors” that are mounted inside the rims, then the new tires are mounted and balanced-making the sensors less susceptible to weather conditions, with more longevity and less maintenance.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: If you purchase the type of sensors that mount on the tire valve stems–Due to the extra weight that the actual screw on monitors make onto valve stems it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you switch out stock valve stems(rubber/plastic which even over time crack and degrade due to weather, sun, salt, etc.) with metal valve stems. It is not a big deal but will greatly enhance the longevity of the system all around.

Presently, we remove our sensors after every camping season and store in our house since we store our trailer over the winter months. We replace with new batteries in each sensor at least every other year to ensure they are fresh and sufficiently charged. The monitor sensors come with a little locking clip that is used when they are put on and removed- this prevents theft for the most part. Our system is about 4 years old now and we may replace with a newer bluetooth wireless type before going full time- but ours is working fine. We have run the wire cable in the cab of our truck and Kevin prefers to keep it on his side of the dash when driving- I am responsible for the GPS and monitoring road grades, etc. on my side of the dash.

*You can also opt to have the sensors actually installed inside your tires if preferred. Currently, we like having the option to take them off in winter months when trailer is not in use for right now but may do the internal application once we go full time. Afterall, you should be replacing your tires every 5 years anyway.

9. GARMIN GPS SYSTEM ( OR OTHER GPS SYSTEMS)

We happen to have a Garmin GPS RV System- there are multiple screen sizes available now . It is about 4 years old and hopefully newer models have better voice command and display features. For our needs it works for now. We will tell you we do not always rely solely on this system and Luise will often be running her Google Map directions on her cell phone simultaneously especially when in more urban areas where it is easier to use the search feature quickly. Please do NOT rely solely on Google Maps when towing your RV! An RV GPS is programable to your trailer’s height, length, weight and width and the routing will steer you onto roads you can do. We live in the northeast where there are lots of old bridges and tunnels with weight limits and low heights from RR overpasses, etc. Google will send you down a virtual rabbit hole!

We have found our model of Garmin is very POOR in the audio command module. “She” rarely understands our most basic commands by voice and it is extremely frustrating (hence using Google on cell phone instead to ask quick search functions). This model Garmin also really in our opinion requires a passenger to use while on a trip. There are many times where Luise will need to scroll through settings to find things we are looking for and also to toggle between showing map and the split screen of Map/Road Grade features if we are on exceptionally hilly/mountainous terrain. Our model is one that handles truck/RV settings. This is very important! You must preset the parameters for your trailers height, weight, width, and length in order to have the system run best and safely for your towing needs.

*The grade feature really came in handy on our trip on the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkways through the Shenandoah Mountains in 2021. Using the grade setting showing gives you some very good advance notice of when there will be significant climbing or downward grades allowing some preparation. Plus its really fun to see just how high in elevation you are at any given point on your trip!

On the second photo above you will see where we are using the setting that shows a photo image of an exit ramp driving view which we really like especially when coming up on multiple lane intersections or ramps. It gives the driver a clear vision of which lane you should plan to be in. It is nice when this works, but not all exits have been photographed to show this feature in our experience. When a photo is not available, a closeup of the exit ramp or intersection in graphic form will show up on that right side of screen.

Below is a good photo showing the road grade & elevation visual on the right side of the screen. You have the ability to spread out this graph based on how far in advance you want to see it by miles. We have it condensed so what you are seeing is probably the next 10-15 miles (yes, we went from over 5K elevation with a peak grade of 21% grade to a low of 1700′ elevation of 3% grade with a few mountain peaks in between on the Blue Ridge Parkway!)

10. RECAPTURING SOME STORAGE IN TRUCK CAB- REMOVING REAR SEATS

Removing our back crew cab split bench seats are a bit of a consternation for us. On one hand we would like them to transport grandkids when/if they camp with us or taking guests with us into town, etc. on a day trip. In truth, those occasions are very rare and we suspect that once we go full time, it may only happen a couple times a year. In reality, gaining some amazing storage back there that is super easily accessible on a daily basis has won out- at least for now. We removed the split seats (may put one back in since we typically will only have one grandchild at a time camping with us). Along the back wall of the truck cab, Kevin installed a 1/4″ sheet of luan type board sheet to encase the back but allowed the U shaped bench seat hooks (that hold the seats in place) and these are what we use to hook bungy cords to. Stored in this space we can put items that we use a nearly every 2+ night camp. This includes; our 2 folding recliners, 2 everyday chairs, a folding table, our large cooler and a small cooler for drinks, a first aid and emergency roadside kit and bag of snacks for the roadtrip. We have found it very handy to have this space available- especially if we have set up camp and/or plan to be away from camp for the day, or it starts to pour rain and we want to get our chairs and small Weber gas grill inside and under cover quickly! (Has happened many times!) Once camp is set up and this above equipment is set outside, this space in the truck also provides a great place for us to store our Ebikes folded up safe and sound.

Campground Reviews, Military FAM Travel Camps, Uncategorized

OHIO-Youngtown Air Reserve Base FAM Camp- Campground Review

August 3, 2022 pewterpalace87 Leave a comment

View as you approach the base from RT 11

Campground Review: We traveled to this FAM camp enroute to the annual Silver Avion Fellowship Rally in Elkhart, Indiana from our home state of NY in July 2022. We had never been to the site before, reviews were full of pro’s and con’s but we had decided we wanted to experience as many FAM camps as possible on our travels.

Why FAM CAMPS? FAM camps provide added security (you must go through gate checks and have specific military clearances to get onto the bases), and they often have gas stations, commissaries and exchanges where groceries and other goods can be purchased easily and sometimes less expensively too. Cost wise, they are typically on par or a little less than area private campgrounds- but sadly they often offer far less amenities along with that lower price.

Access and the Area: We did have to venture slightly out of our normal interstate highway route to reach this campground. RT 11 was a beautifully maintained and constructed highway and a true pleasure to drive compared to I-90! As far as what is in the area…not much. We did do a day trip ride to the nearest Amish community of Mesopotamia which boasts a cute historic general store, vintage gas station still in operation, town green and huge handmade horse and buggy sculpture- but nothing else. That was about a 50 minute ride through farm country. We also went south through Youngstown to visit the Magic Tree Pub which was a great restaurant featuring an amazing on site baked huge pretzel and a variety of hearty dips. It was worth the trip!

The Base Itself: The base itself is an Air Reserve Base, quite small and by far the smallest one we have seen. There are NO services to speak of on base as one would expect. No Commissary, No Exchange, NO onsite gas stations. Just a very small quick mart of sorts that was even very limited compared to off base ones. They did not even sell bagged ice. There were no barber shops on base, we had to go to a local mall about 20 minutes away.

Reservation Staff: The gentleman running the FAM camp was certainly personable enough and did well with pre arrival communications, etc.. He was friendly and efficient.

Base Gate: Using main gate, there is a visitor check in building to the direct right. Our recommendation is to pull forward into the right hand lane of the gate as if you were going through. But stop! The visitor check in building has a very small parking lot and not good for RVs to turn around in to get back out to the gate entrance. Our guard allowed us to park our rig there so we were not blocking the other entrance lane. We walked through the fence gate to the right to the check in building to get our ID check and credentials printed. Kevin’s is easy as he has his military credentials, I have to get special paper pass which must be on my person at all times and shown each time with his military pass if you come and go off the base. All good and off we went to the campground itself AFTER checking in with the FAM Camp staff office. They will give you the base pass to be kept in your vehicle windshield as well. Parking to get into the FAM camp office is BAD! Thankfully we arrived when the parking lot opposite his office building was pretty empty and we were able to navigate around in it and park and get back out. There is no shoulder to park on the road and no where by the FAM camp office building near the main gate to park either. Read the instructions sent to you in an email about checking into the FAMcamp office.

The CAMPGROUND PRO’s:

Rate: Our Stay was at a rate of $15 per night for FHU asphalt paved site, pull through. Super cheap for FHU. All services worked fine, decent water pressure, no issues with power or sewer.

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Onsite Bath House: at the end of the FAM camp as you approach the sites so not super close but easy quick walk. Super clean, air conditioned, newer building for sure. Showers were clean, private and well maintained. There is a small library shelf as you enter the building- what is there is what folks have left and it was very minimal. There is a dumpster at the rear end of the campground near the metal storage building.

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Quiet & Friendly: with the exception of one plane leaving at about 8:30 AM our last morning we heard nothing from the base airplanes, etc. As soon as we arrived we did have two different folks come up who where walking their dogs. They were chatty and friendly and welcomed us. Others waved from their rigs over the course of our stay. This camp is used by DOD civilian contractors as well as military. Some clearly are there for long stays, one camper had a cover on it.

The CON’s:

The campsite area itself:

No Useable Patio: The site itself where the RV is was paved but the “patio” is nothing more than chunked up road debris rubble full of asphalt chunks (sharp), gravel and sand. It was horrible and even with our small patio rug down I could feel the chunks of asphalt through my sandals-even after I had (by hand) thrown a lot of the larger chunks to the side. There were some areas of grass along the site but that was not the designated patio areas.

No picnic tables, no grills or fire pits (do not think the latter are allowed anyway)

Camp host?? It appeared the first pull through site MAY have been a camp host as evidenced by permanent looking structures, on ground large heavy blow up pool, a 28+ foot boat (covered up) on their pull through drive and lots of stuff all over the grassy area and asphalt pull through. We did not see or was greeted by a host. We did see one fellow on a golf cart drive around 1 time during our stay but he did not stop, wave or anything. Interestingly the rules of the campground specifically call out NOTHING is to be placed on the grass at the campsites. Ha ha.

Lack of Privacy: The pull through sites are close together. The back in sites have a little more room and grass around them. There are no trees, no bushes, no landscaping. You are essentially camping in an open parking lot.

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No base services/amenities: As previously mentioned above, there are no other services on the base, no commissary, no exchange, no barber, no gas, not even bagged ice. No pool, movie theater, etc. like larger bases may have.

Would we stay again? Quite frankly, no we would not unless there was some very compelling reason we had to be directly in this area. There are way more FAM camps that offer more-even if you pay a higher premium to camp.

Happy travels!

Kevin and Luise & The Pewter Palace

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Campground Reviews, Travels with the Pewter Palace, Uncategorized

Our 4 Week June 2022 NY to TN Trip

July 12, 2022 pewterpalace87 1 Comment

We are members of the national RV club called “Escapee’s”. This year, their national rally was held at the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, TN. We have been members of the club for 4 years and had yet to get to attend one of these rallies since they have been out west and with Luise working up until Jan 2020 we could not get the needed time off to attend.

This time, on the east coast albeit 994 miles away we made the decision to go despite crazy gas prices ranging from $4.40 to 5.00 per gallon! Were we nuts? Probably, but now that we have the time to travel for 4 weeks at a clip—the event would be fun and we built in a return to our beloved Smoky Mountain National Park and a swing through PA, Amish Country OH, Mammoth Cave, KY and WV which we had stops we wanted to see. * We will be publishing specific reviews on each of the campgrounds we stayed at in the future so be on the look out for these and subscribe to our blog so you get notifications of all new articles and reviews! Thanks!

Here is a breakdown of our total trip costs, miles driven, gas consumption and all those other costs of the trip if you wish to see it. TRIP COST SUMMARY

OUR TRIP ITINERARY:

JUNE 1, 2022– leave mid afternoon, pit stop at the Seneca-Iroquois Museum in Salamanca, NY for a visit then late evening Boondock Kanona Rest Area on RT 86 Westbound in Bath, NY. Wilkins RV center is just across the highway. Good overnight stop. Link to info on rest area.

JUNE 2-4: 2 nights @ Shenago Recreation Area-Army COE Campground, Transfer, PA. Perfect spot on beautiful waterfront site. Dry camping. Campground link.

JUNE 5-6: 3 nights @ Timbercrest Campground, Walnut Creek, OH (OH Amish Country) Fun Shopping, Ft. Laurens Historic Site, zoar historic village. Not much to campground for price. We loved the Amish food grocery shop at Walnut Creek and the Sugar Valley Meat Market was awesome! Location of campground was good, but would stay elsewhere in future as there are more options in the area with better facilities/shade/walkable to shops, etc. More to see on a future trip for sure! Campground Link.

JUNE 7-8: 2 nights@ Wright-Patterson Air Force Base FAM Camp, OH *Visited the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, OH (free…and amazing!) Site #14 was great FHU pull thru. Campground link

JUNE 9-11: 3 nights@ Wilmington Thousand Trails (TT) Campground, Wilmington, OH. We are TT members so stay for FHU was free. Great pool and hot tub! Visited the Airstream Museum and Factory TOUR and Store, nice! Originally planned to visit Cincinnati but concerns over parking our large truck and over 1 hr drive changed our minds. Huge flea market down the road on Sat/Sun. was great with indoor and outdoor stalls, 100’s of them! Great campground, site # 24 was perfection! (PS- if you can stay at Wright-Patterson FAM camp, the Airstream museum is also easy day trip from there too-we just ran out of time!) Campground Link and the Airstream Museum Link. The Factory tour is worth the time, about 2 hours and well done. Research the schedules though as some days its only one time per day so you want to time your visit appropriately.

JUNE 12-18: 6 nights@ Mammoth Cave NPS Campground, Mammoth Cave, KY. Amazing and perfect site #93 with FHU (91 & 93 are only FHUs) , concrete pad and patio, convenient to all. Day tripped to Nolin State Park Reservoir for swimming. Did Extended Historic Cave Tour which is a must do! Love the little town of Horse Cave. Visited National Cave Museum and the Hidden River Cave in Horse Cave, both worth the visit. Beautiful area!! Campground link

JUNE 19-24: 5 nights@ ESCAPADE RALLY hosted by national Escapee’s RV club, Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, TN. Very close to Nashville but not our gig, so we kept primarily busy with attending seminars, meeting fellow members, social activities, live music and many sponsored happy hours by RV manufacturers, trade show and more. Never heard of the Escapee’s RV club? Check out these benefits and join our new specialty “Birds of a Feather” group (BoF) of Escapee members just for Vintage & Classic RVs (RVs 25 yrs or older). Kevin and I just started it after the rally and it has been sanctioned by the national board of directors of the club! You must be an Escapee member to join the VC-BoF.

JUNE 24-25: 2 nights @ Ripplin’ Waters RV Campground, Sevierville, TN Right on the main access road to all that is Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville. We really enjoyed our ride through the famous Cade’s cove, had a Black Bear Encounter in the Cove and did a mountaintop drive for about 11 miles on a one way mountain ridge route-never saw another vehicle. Near the campground is a Flea market just down the road on weekends, the Veteran’s Store in Pigeon Forge on the strip is a must do for any Vets, dined out at Tony Gore’s BBQ (probably walkable from campground) and rested from rally. Enjoyed their pool. Probably would not stay there again though since there are many other options in the area. We were at site 43. Campground Link

JUNE 26-29: 3 nights@ Campfire Lodgings, Ashville, NC. Beautiful mountain top edge site #2. Site #4 or 5 are best for sunset views but they also have a wonderful social gathering area with benches and chairs so all can get best view of sunsets each night. We enjoyed ooohing and ahhhing with fellow campers! FHU with concrete pad and patio. Pricey but worth it. Convenient to Biltmore and downtown Ashville is about 15 minutes away-which is very artsy, great restaurants, shops, galleries. No other campground amenities but nice very private bath facilities with showers, and nice laundry. Will stay again for sure! Steep one way access road to get to mountain top location- no early entry! Campground link.

JUNE 30: Boondock, Walmart along RT 81 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Yeah we could finally put WV on our state travel map as having overnighted in the state. PS the 1 state rest area in WV on RT 81 is very small, busy and noisy. Go another few more miles and find this Walmart right off the highway and park broadside near the tree buffer at far end of the parking lot. Tons of walkable restaurants in adjacent parking lots. We have bookmarked this Walmart for future stays if passing through.

JULY 1: Long day, 9 hours of driving home (see our note about being flexible with travel plans below) with a pit stop at Cabela’s in Hamburg, PA our usual stop (and sometimes boondock stop). Not nearly as good as it used to be, since they were bought out by Bass Pro Shop they have reduced their footprint with no in house restaurant, the discount “cave” is gone that had great finds sometimes and their inventory is reduced, no more little cabins outside, kayaks galore, etc. its too bad really. But we still like the stop AND they still do have a dump station and rinse out if you need it. There is also a Camping World just across the street a bit for any needed supplies in their store. We chugged it home and were pulling in by the evening hours.

Total miles driven (by Kevin- bless him! I do drive on interstates when the traffic is lighter- this trip the traffic was horrible!) 3287 Miles

Total Gallons of Gas: 368 Fuel Cost: $1636.38 Average of $4.44 per gallon (southern states definitely cheaper- KY being the cheapest)

Reminder…..For more details on our overall cost categories including food, activities, dine out, camping fees, see the link to document summary above.

Map of our Trip: (we use RV Trip Wizard for our planning and love it.)

NOTE: We ended up cancelling our reservations for US Space & Rocket Museum Campground in Huntsville AL due to gas costs. So essentially we went from the RED “E” to the Red “B” directly instead.

What did we learn along the way?

The highways are super busy despite super high gas prices! We cannot wait till full retirement and hitting the roads west of the Mississippi River!
We definitely like to stay 3 nights at any one campground if there is any thing remotely interesting to do in the area. It gives you the chance to unwind from driving, at least one solid day of exploring and then a day to putter, clean and prep for new adventure.
If a campground has a pool AND hot tub it is definitely worth the extra miles or cost to enjoy especially if you have been doing a lot of long driving days. Serves as a great sub for a shower too!
The use of a rear view camera to see what is going on behind you is really important, especially on the east coast where traffic is so nuts.
Truckers in the south head into rest areas early in the day and do not leave till late morning. Get to a rest area early if you want a spot but try to find something other than truck stops- there are a lot of trucks these days that need those spots more than you do!
We will be purchasing a plug in cooler before too long. What we had to spend on bagged ice was ridiculous, about $150 for the month…..melted into water!
When camping in 98 degree heat and 90% humidity, in an open field (our rally) be sure you have put Reflectics on the windows, run a dehumidifier and keep your AC running on low all the time and kick it up to high when you are in the rig.
Be flexible with your travel plans. Originally we planned to head to Huntsville, AL and the US Space & Rocket Museum/Campground but this would have been a one way down and back between our Rally and NC campgrounds and so due to gas expense we cancelled it and booked into Sevierville a day earlier instead. Ditto, due to some maintenance issues on our RV that were needed before our trip in mid July to IN we cancelled stays over at Natural Bridge KOA in VA, Caledonia SP and Hershey TT in PA on the way home. Kevin drove a 9 hr day but with breaks to stretch was not that bad. Our original plans were not to be home until July 3. You need to be flexible with travel!

If you haven’t already subscribed to this blog—please do! This way you will get an email notification when a new article, review or “how to/tips” are published by us.

We always appreciate your feedback too so please leave a comment, or perhaps you have other info for any of these stops or locations we visited that would help future travelers!

Be well, travel safe and spread happiness!

Kevin & Luise Sherman……The Pewter Palace!

First Time Avion Owners-ALERT!, Uncategorized

You Just Bought an Avion….Now What?

February 24, 2022 pewterpalace87 Leave a comment

A useful quick guide to getting support from fellow Avion Owners !

In this article:

Tips for finding and using online Facebook and other Avion Owner Forums,
6 Basic Tips for New-to-You Avion Owners,
Links to Avion Rally Event Sites,
Resource lists including a printable “check list” for setting up to camp and preparing to tow your Avion.

At the end of this article we have a great downloadable/PDF document we are happy to share with you- “Our Avion TAKE OFF & LANDING Camp list”. We have also includes links to Avion Facebook and Rally Event groups and also links to several of our other blog posts and videos to help you out on your new journey as an Avion owner!

The great news is, you have taken the first step to buy what we all concur is one of the most iconic designs and best made campers ever–AN AVION!

Of course, owners of other vintage campers will tell you theirs is the best- we have to politely disagree! LOL.

We know it can feel pretty overwhelming!
Where to start?
What questions to ask and to who?

It’s not like you can call up an Avion Dealership anymore right? (click here to see what we feel is one of the best and most up to date articles on the Avion History. The article is published by the non profit national vintage trailer/RV club called The Tin Can Tourists (TCT)- which by the way you should join, its very cheap ($25 p/yr/2022) and the club hosts rallies around the USA and has great resource info, newsletters, etc.) There were 18 Avion’s at the TCT Michigan Rally in 2019!

MORE QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE…..

Where do you get parts? Who can fix these things if you cannot? Check out our RESOURCES & LINKS page!
What tools are “must have’s”?
How to determine just what needs fixing and what does not?
Are there ways to connect to other Avion owners with experience?

What is super important is that you have purchased an Avion and there is a huge Avion Family out there rooting for you and there to help! If you are also brand new to the world of RVing and camping- we definitely have your back! There…do you feel better already? Hope so!

DID YOU KNOW?

We AVION OWNERS rock!!

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE: oh yeah!!!! We are SOCIAL! 🙂

There are no less than 5 online Facebook Pages solely dedicated to Avion travel tips, repairs, buy/sell forum and general owner share pages? Hey there is even a FB Avion owners group to exchange Christmas & Holiday Cards with each other! There are Avion Rally groups too!

YES! and each of them has some overlap but each has its own purpose too—so we suggest you ask to join ALL of them. I have posted the links to each of them at the end of this article. (sneaky huh…I want you to read on first!)

AVION INSIDER TIP: while each of the Facebook group pages do have their own generalized specific purpose- sometimes you may have a post that is worth sharing/posting on all the FB pages- that’s OK, but my personal recommendation is to use that “broadcasted ” share sparingly. WHY? well most of us Avion owners do belong to all of the FB groups so if we start seeing every one of your posts like 4 times in our feed we may start to tune you out a bit. So, in my opinion, be selective.

If you have something to sell, put it on the sell page group first.
If you have a repair question, post on the repair/restoration page first- wait for answers, if none after a week- then go ahead and post on the two Avion owners group pages to cast a bigger net.
if you have some great travel tips, campgrounds or general info to share- post it on one of the “owners” themed pages
An exception to all this is if a piece of info you have is “time sensitive” for example a new rally announcement, or rally registration reminders or God forbid you are traveling and stuck with a breakdown–you should definitely should be broadcasted on all pages!

Here is a great example of the above:

TRUE STORY! In 2018 Kevin and I were doing just a nice Sunday drive just over the border into western VT from where we live. We decided to check out some campgrounds for future stays. Lo and behold one had a wrecked Avion in its back storage yard. It had an intact rock guard and we wanted a spare!! I posted out on all four FB pages from the campground parking lot in VT asking fellow Avion owners if a rock guard from an 84 would fit our 73? Within 3 minutes I had folks responding that it would! We borrowed tools from the campground owner and drove away with our spare rock guard treasure!

Again, just my opinion to be selective on what you post where. I think it better supports each of the group pages in their own right to exist if you post questions etc. on the Facebook page that best suits your question or information-however, some Avion owners do choose to put 90% of their general posts on all the page groups-and that works for them so its ok by me too! We’re all easy to get along with!

REMEMBER—WE ALL HAVE BEEN NEW, FIRST TIME AVION OWNERS AT SOME POINT!

Based on a plethora of posts made by fellow Avion owners who have all been in your shoes (a brand new owner) at one time or another here is a short list of what we have seen as recurring tips, suggestions and worthwhile bits of info for brand new Avion owners!

6 BASIC TIPS TO GET YOU STARTED:

(1) Take your time!!!! Do not rush to completely gut the inside and start from scratch. Live with the interior a little (unless totally ruined by mold or deconstructed already). Mr. Clean Magic Sponges, Awesome Spray Cleaner (at dollar stores) are great for cleaning interior walls and ceilings. Howard’s Restor-A-Finish is excellent for reviving cabinetry.

We have seen so many people go for the complete gut job only to run out of steam, money or time and have to forfeit their RV dreams and sell their now gutted rig (less of a resale market!)

(2) If you do decide to gut the inside of the trailer, put the cabinets, etc up for resale on one of the facebook sites and/or on Ebay! There are 1000’s of fellow Avion owners always in the market for Avion parts, door handles, locks, windows, hinges, and hardware-no matter how small and insignificant it may seem all are in demand. Cabinet trims, lights, cabinet pulls, louvered doors, sinks, tub bases, mirrors, etc. all have a chance at a new life in someone else’s Avion. Please try to recycle rather than take it to the dump. These items are NOT made today and many are irreplaceable!

(3) Give your baby a bath-But Do It Right! You know how good you feel when stepping out of the shower or after a nice warm tub bath! Your Avion will feel the same! BUT—there are definite do’s and don’t to bathing an anodized all aluminum body camper! Once your Avion is clean you will have a better idea of condition. Please listen to our instructional podcast first before doing your first wash down!

(4) Secure from the Top Down! Just like a sticks ‘n bricks home, your roof condition and ongoing roof maintenance is vital to the longevity of your Avion. First on your agenda of “to do list”, after a first bath, should be repairing all the exterior (side and roof) seams, and ensuring that the roof seams, places where vents, A/C, etc are on the roof also have good seals to prevent water penetration in between your exterior and wood interior.

(5) Install a Deadbolt Lock NOW! Time after time we see the tragedy of a door swinging open while and Avion is being towed or camped in a super windy location. Reminder, these doors are not being made anymore! The old, original Bargman locks are nice but they do NOT provide enough security to keep latched. Avion’s have a certain amount of flexing of the aluminum body that happens when being towed. We and many other strongly recommend installing a deadbolt lock in ADDITION to your door handle lock. We also bungy cord ours It is safer for you when camping inside and certainly safer for your door when trailer is being towed.

Here is our article on installing a deadbolt lock.

(6) Reseal and Secure Window Seals if Cracked, Missing or Falling Off! Just like the exterior seams, the windows in many Avion’s that have not been maintained properly have seals that have failed. Many times, the seals have pulled away from the corners and where spliced. This is another major area where leaks happen. On a priority list, windows rank right up there with exterior side and roof seam repairs. It can feel daunting to do, but with practice, it can be done in a couple weekends. Good news is, once they are redone, you should not have to muss with them for at least 5-8 years or more!

See our YouTube channel for our videos of us replacing our window seals and tips we offer.
Read our blog post on how to do, tips, resources for where to get materials to replace the seals.

As promised, here are valuable links just for you!

Below is our “Take Off & Landing” Checklist. You can download and print it out to carry with you too! Bear in mind, depending on the specific equipment you may have – some of the steps we outline may be a bit different. Use this checklist as a general guide to help you practice the art of setting up a camp and breaking down your camp and hitting to road accordingly.

travel-trailer-check-list-thepewterpalace-2022 Download

ONLINE FORUM PAGES: There are a couple of active online FB forums that have great resources and people in them. Just another platform to look for answers and post questions! See we are all in it to win it and help! these are by subscription, so you will need to ask to join!

http://www.aviontrailers.net/
Avion Camping and Restoration Forum https://groups.io/g/AvionForum
SilverAvion.com (I believe this is a static site now but has excellent resource material and links to manuals for various years, etc.)

DEDICATED AVION FACEBOOK PAGES:

Use the simple search of “Avion trailers” on social media and you will be amazed! here are some that we belong to and comment in fairly regularly on Facebook: (note, most if not all of these are monitored very well and do require you request to join)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/avion.owners/ (largest of all the groups)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/606338762755320/ (good site for Avion’s for sale and parts)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1455279564691895/ ( another good Avion owners site)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/842530932474447/ (especially good for tech talk)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/139091933608542/ (Avion Truck Campers, Slide in’s)

LOOKING FOR AVION RALLIES TO ATTEND?

These are facebook group sites so again, ask to join. Many of us travel to these rallies from all over the USA. You can be a member of for example the Texas group but live in NY (like us!) Avioner’s know how to have fun, learn together and break bread—so come to a rally!! Check out our post on the Indiana Rally we have attended for years now! Read more….

Indiana Based Rally: https://www.facebook.com/groups/284409031667225
Texas Based Rally: https://www.facebook.com/groups/684878741674572
Arkansas Based Rallies https://www.facebook.com/groups/2049882605260044
Avion Owners of Missouri https://www.facebook.com/groups/2913544165579566

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR MORE TIPS AND ARTICLES GEARED SPECIFICALLY FOR FIRST TIME AVION OWNERS!

A sample of our blog posts, podcasts and videos coming soon…

Punch list of what to inspect when looking to purchase your first Avion (will include what tools, etc. to bring with you!)
Basic repair and maintenance tool kit must have’s for Avion Owners
ABC’s of Using Stabilizers for your Avion trailer
Tips on how to repair and maintain exterior seams on aluminum trailers
I am just boondocking at Walmart for the night—what should (or shouldn’t) I do besides put my vehicle in park and go to sleep?

How do you find them once we post them AND how do you find all the other articles and videos we have published?

Be sure to subscribe to this blog/website AND to our YouTube Channel! By subscribing you are the first to be alerted to new info!

We thank you for subscribing —- and really look forward to meet you (and your Avion) on the road or at rally in the near future!

All the Very Best, from Kevin and Luise Sherman

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ThePewterPalace-Our Love Affair with Avions