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Comment by Ted Rice on June 14, 2019 at 10:41am

My ceiling didn't work out too well. Too heavy, and as the trailer has no shocks it induced rocking and swaying. I am going to have to replace the ceiling with lighter materials. Right now it is still in storage, as my tow vehicle (2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport)  gave out and I am presently installing a trailer hitch on the 2009 Dodge Journey I replaced it with.

Comment by Jenny on May 17, 2018 at 6:50pm

Looking great Ted!

I've been meaning to thank you for sharing your experience and wisdom with me. Our first official camping trip is this weekend. Wish us luck!

Jenny

Comment by Ted Rice on May 17, 2018 at 6:40pm

While working on the ceiling, I also made some new drawer fronts. There is still a lot to do, but that will probably be it for the inside this year. I do want to remove the rest of the tar from the roof and paint it with the white latex paint I got three years ago. The half of the roof I did then has held up well.

Comment by Ted Rice on May 17, 2018 at 6:22pm

Three years after beginning, I finally got the ceiling finished (except for putting in a few screws).

Comment by Ted Rice on April 11, 2018 at 9:35am

That one looks like new! Great buy.

My parents got tired of popping the 12 inch tires on the one we have, so swapped out the axle for one off a Saab 99 (Dad towed it with one, so it saved carrying a spare also). But he flipped the axle on it's side, which threw the alignment off, (he then had to heat the axle red hot and bend it to stop it scrubbing the tread off the tires) and he also had to replace the springs with bigger and longer ones plus remove the wheel wells and cut out the openings to clear the bigger tires (15 inch), then build new wheel wells. It works, but it was a major project and came out poorly - the tires still wear too much. I wouldn't recommend it! Especially as yours is stock and looks like new. You probably should keep it stock as much as possible. If you can find slightly bigger and tougher 12 inch tires, that would be O.K. - just make sure they clear the wheel wells and don't rub.

Another problem they had was that the tongue cracked a few inches ahead of the body while crossing New Hampshire. They were able to get it welded and get home, but replaced it with a longer and much heavier one before going out again. It was likely metal fatigue, so keep an eye on yours. (My parents almost certainly grossly overloaded the camper, which would have contributed).

Comment by Lakota Wolf on April 11, 2018 at 12:40am

Several members here are more than happy to help you along on the difficult repairs. That's a cute camper, looks like it's been taken care of. Happy trails. L.W.

Comment by Jenny on April 10, 2018 at 10:54pm

Hi,

My boyfriend and I just bought this cutie and can't wait to take her camping! Any input, advice, or info on this model would be very appreciated. I've done some research, but it seems there is very little info on Avalon. We've thought about swapping out the tires for slightly bigger ones. Has anyone done this or considered it?

Thank you!

Jenny

Comment by Ted Rice on May 12, 2017 at 12:17pm

I have the skills, but not the cash, and time seems to be at a premium as well, even though I am retired!

I rebuilt the door a few years ago - it wasn't the original having been replaced once before. Re-framed it and put new paneling on the inside. Put heavy mesh over the screening to keep the dog from ripping the screen. It needs paneling again already.

Comment by camille brown on May 12, 2017 at 11:43am

Wow, Ted! You have skills I don't have. I hope I can ask for advice when I need it? I'm pretty handy, but I'm learning as I go. I'll update pics as I go. I actually rebuild my door in my NYC apartment.

Comment by Ted Rice on May 11, 2017 at 10:06am

And a new vent with a fan. Then I started removing 47 years of accumulated roof coating of various types. Used kerosene to soften it, but that ran all down the sides, so I mixed up some napalm, which worked better but took a huge amount of styrofoam to make a small amount. Finally just did the scraping on very hot days with small amount of kero. Then removed the oil film with brake cleaner and painted it with Calcor roof coating. Still have half of that to do. My stove is rusted also. The counter was replaced once before with particle board - I replaced that with plywood and seeing what the laminate cost, I covered it with commercial floor tile and waxed it well. I want to repanel the inside and check for rot in the walls.

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