AVION GUY'S Blog

February 22, 2011
My son Michael took his JAYCO trailer out of storage and went to Pigeon Forge for the weekend. It was in the mid-sixties. The only problem was he had to drive home. Ice and snow galore and he had to stop at motel on the way home. As I reflected on what a dumb ass he was I remembered a trip home from Myrtle Beach in March 2003. Here is what we woke up to in West Virginia.
Like father like son.

January 24, 2011
It’s January, I am bored, and I can’t go camping. Our family also likes to go on cruises and that was the inspiration of the new landing page for silveravion.com. When Avion Gal saw the page she said she wants that campsite.
(Don’t we all!)

January 18, 2011
If you are a vintage trailer junkie there are other sites you should check out. Wally exchanged links with me this week for VintageAirstreamer.com. You have nothing better to do on a cold winter day so go and check it out. Wally has links to other vintage sites also.

January 8, 2011
January in Cleveland is a miserable month, but this weekend was the annual RV Show. It reminds us that summer is just around the corner. It is a very large show that you can easily spend two days at if you want to see inside every trailer and motor home. Lot’s of campground owners have booths and people selling gadgets. For me it is a reminder about how much I love my AVION. I have yet to find a new trailer that compares in style, design and quality. Another new year means nothing. My AVION is built to last!

December 27, 2010
Looking out the window I see blowing snow. Long ago the ground has disappeared beneath it’s white blanket. We took the trailer up to CAYO finally in November to get the leaks fixed. After spraying a hose from many different angles Chuck finally found small holes in the top of the window frame. For whatever reason the window seems to be manufactured with these holes. We have it in storage now and hope that the problem is solved. Those little leaks are frustrating and I finally threw in the towel when I could not find them myself.

September 2, 2010
It is hard to believe that it is September 2nd already. I worked on the AVION last night and realized how much work I need to do and little time to catch up. AVION gal came out and started asking questions. I found myself saying “I’ll do this when I retire and do that when I retire.” Between these tasks, what I need to do around the house and the traveling we want to do, it is becoming apparent why my friends say they are busier now then before the retired.

August 16, 2010
The AVION has been in the driveway this week for some maintenance. The Delta faucets in the kitchen, tub, and bathroom sink had begun to drip so I rebuilt them. It rained hard and rain accumulated on the front shelf. AVION Gal reminded me of the article about fixing leaks and I suspect it is the rock guard rail. AVION Boy and I need to remove the rock guard and do some caulking. If you would like to review fixing common leaks visit. http://silveravion.com/2010Fix%20Leaks.htm

August 8, 2010
Camping this last week was amazing. The overall appearance of the trailer is very good. It is hard to believe that it was made this month in 1986. I did find out one thing. Grandchildren can be hazardous to the finish. Someone got something on the door and it left a permanent stain. Could have been condiments but I suspect a chemical for fighting poison ivy or mosquito bites. Spending time with loved ones was worth a little stain in the door. I want to have my trailer a show piece but must also recognize that using it causes wear and tear.
It sure beats the storage lot!

Coming soon

Avion Boy loves LED lights. He gave my golf cart in FL an under body treatment. Now he wants to do the wheel wells and the stairs of the AVION. The blue LED’s are already on order. We will document the installation and post it on silveravion.com just as soon as the job is complete.

July 29, 2010
Cleaning the awnings on my Avion Trailer has never been a pleasant experience. Not only is it a lot of work but the results have not been what I wanted. This week that has all changed. A pressure washer and car detailing tools changed all of that this year. Check out the whole story.
July 27, 2010

Last night AVION Gal and I went to the storage lot and picked up our trailer. For a myriad of reasons we have not used it since 2008. We have a couple of leaks that needed fixing and we had no time to do it. So before we stowed it away we purchased a cover that covers the entire trailer. It is a breathable fabric and not really intended for winter use but we did not want to spend the money for what the manufacturer said was more appropriate. It is amazing how good a job the cover did. We never took it off in 2009 but were able to get inside the trailer because of a zipper opening. We checked on it several times and dumped the water out of the water absorbent. The biggest surprise was that everything worked! My 1986 Coleman Air Conditioner still blows cold. i have never done a thing to it. The refrigerator works on LP. It hasn’t worked on electric for several years which is fine by me. LP works better. The water heater cranked right up and no leaking pipes
My oldest son bought his first trailer and picks it up this weekend. It is a Hybrid 23 FT Jayco with fold out end bunks. A good trailer for him to learn on and is well suited for his Trail Blazer. He needs me to travel with him next week and that is the reason the AVION Trailer came out of storage.
May God Bless that Jayco for getting me out camping, and may God Bless my AVION that has made it easy for me to join him and his family,

A.G.
—————————————————————————————————————

July 26, 2010

Be aware of a potential problem with hitch platforms supplied on tow packages of GM trucks built from 2000 – 2004. This would include pickup trucks, Suburban, Yukon’s etc.
I was involved in a roll-over accident in 2001. (to learn more click here.) The vehicle was a 2001 GMC Yukon. There is no positive cause for this accident but the hitch platform certainly would be one of the potential weak links. Other possibilities exist including a worn coupler. My current truck is a 2003 Yukon. It was supplied with the same design OEM platform as the vehicle in the accident. This design also appears on many GM trucks. In November 2004 while on a trip with our trailer we had a failure in this platform. The problem was corrected by the dealer installing a new platform on the vehicle under the factory warranty. There were several cracked welds. This distorted the box into an upward angle and also bent it to the left. There is no question about this failure. The design of this platform rely on these welds more than more traditional designs. Traditional designs typically weld the receiver box to flat plate. The plate is then welded to the bottom of rectangular tubing used as the cross brace on the platform. The rectangular cross brace passes through the side supports. This method distributes weight more evenly and the welds are not integral to weight. The GM design has the hitch box welded to a flat c channel. This channel passes under a round cross brace and welded to the back of this round brace. Tongue weight provides downward forces that rely on the weld. I am urging owners of these vehicles to inspect their OEM platform design to understand the potential problem. At the same time careful inspection of the welds should be made. If others find cracks in these welds or have already experienced failure we should accumulate this information and report it to GM and National Highway Safety. This spring I will replace this receiver with a traditional platform design from Reese or other well known hitch manufacturer. Let’s all be safe out there and watch out for each other. Please click here to see pictures and diagrams.
——————————————————————————————————————————————-
July 20, 2010

My oldest son says I should have a blog so I guess this is it. He says a lot of things. He says we should live full time at our FL house. He says we should retire today. He says I should make the background of the site white but I like it black. Most of all he thinks we should sell him our AVION TRAILER someday.

AVION GAL and I don’t yet know who the next owner will be. The most important thing to me is that the next owner be someone who will not only enjoy it but preserve it for others in the future. These silver beauties are a piece of Americana. Along the way we stop being owners and become caretakers for the next generation to enjoy. It really isn’t a question of who will own it but who will accept the responsibility that comes with it.

Son, that’s what I say.