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[GMCnet] Avion - BLATANT SALES PITCH! [message #290560] Wed, 18 November 2015 18:29 Go to previous message
USAussie is currently offline  USAussie   United States
Messages: 15912
Registered: July 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia
Karma:
Senior Member
G’day,

The following is a blatant sales pitch for GMC's outfitted by Avion; hopefully it will not offend owners of GMC's outfitted by other
companies. If it does all I can say is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLlJLpd3utY

As you can see in my signature I own two Avions and they are very nice units. They were only built one year (1975) and were about
$25 large which I understand was a lot more than GMC's that year. The interior is birch laminated on plywood or particle board.
However, Avion was a bit sneaky, they cut the door and drawer fronts at a 45° angle so you can't see the sides which were just
sealed with varnish and not laminated with birch strips.

Here's some links to brochures on the 26' Avion:

http://www.bdub.net/publications/Avion/Avion.htm

http://www.bdub.net/publications/Avion2/avion-int-261.htm

Below you will find some features that I believe demonstrate why they were more expensive than GMC's in 1975. I have divided them
into three groups; interior, house systems, and exterior

Interior:

1) Twin rear beds (75 inches long by 32 inches wide) making it unnecessary to climb over anyone when getting out of bed. For the
record I'm 6' 1 1/2" tall and sleep comfortably although another couple of inches would be nice.

2) A three draw "dresser" between the beds that has a slide out table above the top drawer and three cabinets for clothes storage
above each bed. Here's a cabinet I had made up to go over the rear window ala the gun / fishing rod cabinet in GMC's

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6174-rear-window-cabinet-avion-only.html

3) A cabinet under the passenger side bed for storage.

4) A dry bathroom with a separate shower; with storage under the sink, behind the mirror, and above the toilet.

I removed the door to the shower and copied Larry W's curtain arrangement:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6498-avion-shower-curtain-installation.html

Here's some mods I made under the bathroom sink:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6546-under-double-trouble-27s-bathroom-sink.html

5) Storage above and below the fridge.

A larger fridge can be installed; however, the enclosure must be extended into the side passage:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/double-trouble-photos/p56827-refrigeratorfreezer.html

6) There is a pantry next to the fridge in the main entry area.

7) The galley has a tall thin cupboard to the left of the oven that contains a pull out dish towel rack, It has a tilt down draw
under the sink that is perfect for utensils, a large center cupboard under the sink for big appliances and the four drawers to the
right of that are very handy for larger coking utensils, napkins, zip lock bags, etc. Here's a couple of mods I made to the galley:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g5643-galley-cutting-board-extension.html

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g5796-galley-pull-out-drawers.html

Note that I removed the oven and replaced it with a combination microwave, convection oven, grill.

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/aa-miscellaneous-photos/p53464-convection-2f-microwave-2f-grill-comparison.html

6) It has an extra window behind the cooktop that I don’t believe GMC's have.

7) The dinette seat bases are constructed from plywood and there is storage under both. Here's what I did with Double Trouble:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g5795-tool-box-installation.html

8) The dinette table can be detached from the wall and is used to turn the dinette into a bed that will sleep two.

The down side on the interior is the love seat behind the driver seat. It is wide enough for one adult or two kids. It does have a
single seat belt so it can be used safely and legally while under way. I intend to remove it in both my Avions and extend the
galley. The dinette seats have four seat belts as well so you could legally carry four additional people anyway. Also the cabinet
above the stove is filled with the exhaust fan. I removed it and fitted a fan that is attached to the bottom of that cabinet. Sorry
no photos.

House systems:

1) Above the pantry on the left side as you enter the Avion is the instrument signal center. It has a unique system of level
indicators for the fresh water tank, the black tank, the LPG tank, and the house battery status. There are five bulbs behind the
panel that light up and advise the level of each of the above tanks (E - 1/4 - 1/2 - 3/4 - F). It also has the Onan remote Start /
Stop switch and the Onan hour meter. The fresh water and black tank have screws through them that complete a circuit to light up the
correct bulb, no floats to fail! The LPG tank has the same float system as the GMC.

2) The Avion has a single 50 amp cable and once plugged in to shore power in such a way that EVERYTHING powered by 120VAC at the
same time, even two roof airs. I will admit that after 40 years that cable is a bit stiff. BTW if the Onan is functioning properly
it too can power everything as well. After Emery helped me get the Onan in Double Trouble running properly we ran the following
equipment at the same time: front and rear roof airs, water heater, microwave, all the 12vdc interior lights (off the batteries /
convertor), TV / satellite receiver, etc.

Here's a schematic that shows how the 120VAC was wired:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/aa-miscellaneous-photos/p33849-avion-120-vac-wiring-diagram.html

Here's a schematic that shows how the 12VdC was wired:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/aa-miscellaneous-photos/p41274-avion-12-volt-wiring-diagram.html

Here's how I updated the 120 VAC and 12 VDC panels under the bathroom sink:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6710-xantrex-inverter-installation.html

Here's photos of the 120VAC circuit breaker box:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6241-avion-circuit-breaker-panel.html

Here's photos of the 2000 watt Xantrex inverter installation:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6710-xantrex-inverter-installation.html

3) The water system is 1/2" OD copper tubing and has a pressure regulator that drops the city water pressure down to 40 psi when
connected. Here's a schematic that shows how it was plumbed:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/aa-miscellaneous-photos/p57067-26-27-avion-water-supply-system.html

Note the drain valves on the water tank outlet, water pump outlet, water heater, and stool. To winterize the Avion all you have to
do is open all the drains and taps, pressurize the city water fitting with air, and blow the bulk of the water out. Once the bulk of
the water is out shut off the drains and taps one by one and purge the system with air. Pour some RV water system anti-freeze into
the toilet sink / shower drains and the galley sink drains and you're done.

4) Easy access to the three inch dump system which allows simple installation of a macerator:

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/macerator-install/p24344-before-macerator-install.html

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6528-macerator-install.html

Exterior

1) On the passenger side of the Avion just forward of the main entry door is a hatch that opens. The first time I saw it I wondered
what the hell it was for. When I read the brochure and noted it was a ski storage compartment I was really surprised. Given the
traction problems the GMC has it seemed to me to be a bit silly; I for one would not take a GMC into the mountains in winter to go
skiing. It is a handy place to store stuff and I copied John R’s Avion and the section of the floor that coves the compartment
between the dinette and love seat is hinged and I can lift it up to access storage space.

Well that's the end of my sales pitch, as I think of other stuff I'll update it

Regards,
Rob M.
The Pedantic Mechanic
Sydney, Australia
AUS '75 Avion - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428
USA '75 Avion - Double Trouble TZE365V100426


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Regards, Rob M. (USAussie) The Pedantic Mechanic Sydney, Australia '75 Avion - AUS - The Blue Streak TZE365V100428 '75 Avion - USA - Double Trouble TZE365V100426

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