2011 Airstream Avenue Lounge Upgrade Plans

[Mr. Merk]

Hey everyone,

On July 3rd, we picked up a one-owner, low-mileage 2011 Avenue Lounge in Boise, and road tripped it 2000 miles home to Arkansas. The van surprised us by averaging 18 mpg through the mountains between Boise and Denver going the speed limit up to 75mph.

The biggest issue at the moment is the missing propane tank. The selling dealer removed and misplaced the damaged original before delivery and reimbursed me for a replacement. Unfortunately Airstream no longer supports the original part number but the dealer said we can order one from Manchester, part number 68001, for $3000! I'm having my RV mechanic look into installing a smaller and lighter FlameKing 5.9gal tank for 1/3 the price and then adding a "Stay-a-while" bypass to run an external aux tank or hook up to our propane at home if needed.

Our Avenue came with the standard Chevy steel wheels with simulators. I quickly found a freshly polished set of the GM PY0 16x6.5" forged aluminum wheels, saving 80lbs of weight.

I also replaced the cheap aftermarket headlights with genuine GM lamps and HIR1/HIR2 bulbs for a noticeable improvement in function. Airstream crudely installed aftermarket fog lights from a 2004-2007 Malibu which are now obsolete, but I was able to find genuine GM lamps on eBay and will load them with yellow Fogvision bulbs.

I had the van over to our favorite mechanics for fresh brake fluid, oil, oversized filter and Bilstein shock upgrade. They found my fan clutch failing so we upgraded it with a "severe-duty" unit, part number 2786.

The van is currently at our local RV shop getting the leaky bathroom fixtures upgraded to nickel finished equipment including the Oxygenics Fury shower head. They've already upgraded the original MaxxFan with a remote controlled Deluxe model that has far more features.

Planned modifications:
* Replace the bulky spare tire carrier with a Surco rear door mount. I used sendcutsend.com to make me some reinforcement plates to spread the load on the door along with some black neoprene gaskets to protect the paint and reduce noise. I got some nice 3/8" stainless hardware with insulated washers and nylock nuts. This should reduce weight as well.
* Updating the dated floating Bluetooth radio and backup camera. NEED RECOMMENDATIONS!
* Upgrading to a leather steering wheel.
* Possibly removing the bumper cover and/or swapping to a 2003-2006 Sierra or Silverado SS bumper assembly.
*Installing Onan resonator to generator to reduce noise.
*Ceramic window tint across windshield and roll ups.
*Tru-cool 40k transmission cooler
*160-degree thermostat
*HP Tuners?


I'd love to hear from other Avenue owners. Any recommendations, common upgrades, or things to watch out for?

 

[Johnnyfry]

Are you certain that the Propane tank is not serviceable? The OEM Manchester tanks are ASME specification and are extremely rugged. They are designed for permanent installation and do not require periodic inspection like DOT (Barbecue) tanks. It is quite possible that you can remove the tank, have it sandblasted or wire-brushed and recoated with phosphate rust reformer and a good Epoxy paint. You might have to have the service valve replaced, but this is not a great expense.

 

[Mr. Merk]

Are you certain that the Propane tank is not serviceable? The OEM Manchester tanks are ASME specification and are extremely rugged. They are designed for permanent installation and do not require periodic inspection like DOT (Barbecue) tanks. It is quite possible that you can remove the tank, have it sandblasted or wire-brushed and recoated with phosphate rust reformer and a good Epoxy paint. You might have to have the service valve replaced, but this is not a great expense.

The selling dealer removed and misplaced the damaged original. No idea what he did with it. I discovered that Roadtreks also used the same part# but apparently prone to leak due to corrosion.

 

[DaveBad]

Check out Crutchfield for a new stereo head/ back-up camera. You can search via your vehicles make, model and year. Their customer service has been great.
https://www.crutchfield.com/m_266150/Car-Stereos.html?tp=9

 

[Mr. Merk]

Check out Crutchfield for a new stereo head/ back-up camera. You can search via your vehicles make, model and year. Their customer service has been great.
https://www.crutchfield.com/m_266150/Car-Stereos.html?tp=9

Thanks Mr. Bad.

Generally, I loathe the appearance of aftermarket radios. I considered just getting a factory replacement but would like to retain Bluetooth call and streaming capabilities.

I'm drawn to the custom fit GM-specific touch screens but the reviews on Amazon are hit and miss. Wondering if anyone has tried the Eonon brand?

 

[Mr. Merk]

Bathroom fixtures updated: All in brushed nickel
Oxygenics Fury shower head
Dura Faucet DF-SA100M-SN and matching hose DF-SA200-SN

Finally received the Flame King 5.9gal tank but didn't have time to get it installed before the weekend, and we had to make a quick run out to Colorado so we took the dogs in the van as a shake-down. Overall it was a good trip but we identified some new issues and had a few ideas along the way.

It rained hard both nights while stopped at campgrounds along I70 in Kansas. Woke up to getting sprinkled on from the AC unit above the bed. Going to have our guy check it out and see if the unit needs to be resealed at the roof.

I discovered our Sony floating screen actually does have Carplay/Android Auto functions. But honestly I hate it. Its not in my line of site and it takes up a lot of space. Honestly I don't love the Carplay when my Proclip phone mount is right where I want it. I'm thinking I'll get a Blaupunkt single DIN radio that will tie in nicely with the HVAC control knobs. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

 

[Mr. Merk]

A couple of small updates on the Avenue:

I had the front windshield tinted with 70% ceramic and both front doors done in 25% ceramic. The difference is literally like stepping in and out of the shade. It’s noticeably cooler in the front seats and should help keep the van from heat-soaking as much.

I dropped it back off at the RV shop, where they successfully fitted the $800 Flameking 5.9-gallon LPG tank in place of the $3,000 7.9-gallon Manchester tank. They had to fabricate brackets and raise the tank about two inches, which was as high as they could get it. It’s now higher than the generator exhaust outlet, which appears to be the lowest point on the entire rig. That makes me a little nervous. I’d love to eventually build a belly pan for this thing to protect everything underneath and clean up the airflow under the van at highway speeds.

While they had it, they also found the surprise water leak around the AC unit and are cleaning up the area and resealing the seams along both sides of the roof.

I also had them remove the heavy, cumbersome spare-tire mounting assembly. Hopefully we’ll get the new Surco mount installed on the driver-side rear door this week.

The elevated basket turned out better than I expected. Both rear doors clear the top of the basket! I’m planning to keep the taller or bulkier items on the left side so I can still get into the passenger-side door without too much trouble. I’m also considering adding a bicycle mount to the back of the basket.

I also swapped out the faded porch-light lens over the weekend.

And finally, I’m experimenting with these center-cap decals I ordered from Etsy. Not sure if I’m sold on them yet, but I figured they were worth trying for about $20/set

I did a few small things inside the van. I'm considering adding some L-track under the cabinets to hang things from like cargo nets to store bedding, or closet rod to hang clothes from since we lake any real wardrobe. You can put all kinds of hooks and things on them for hanging hats etc.

 

[Mr. Merk]

We got the Surco tire mount installed yesterday. I designed some oversized backing plates for inside the door and neoprene gaskets for the outside of the door. I also enlarged the holes to 5/8" and obtained stainless hardware with rubber sealed washers and nylock nuts.

Two things to note. This tire carrier does not fit the 6.5" wheel pattern! I have some 2" 6x5.5-to-8x6.5 adapters coming today that will also allow me to run the wheel face out.

The second thing is weight savings. This mount with all the hardware weighs just 9lbs. The original steel mount attached to the hitch was 15lbs heavier. The PY0 forged aluminum wheel saved 16lb. We are at 31lbs saved off the back of the van and 64lbs saved of rotational weight. That's 95lbs, which is equivalent to over 11gal of water or half a tank of gasoline.

 

[Mr. Merk]

This tire mount ended up being more complicated than it should have been, but I got it lined out. Basically, I had to drill one additional hole in the tire mounting plate due to the 6.5" bolt pattern, install two 3" 14x1.5mm bolts with fender washers, and then use four factory-style lug nuts to space out and sandwich the wheel up against the cross tubes. It is very secure now.



If I had to do it all over again, I would probably make bigger reinforcement plates inside the door that connect all three mounting points together.

Pros:

31lbs saved

Much easier access inside left barn door

More clearance down low



Cons:

Drilling holes in the door skin

Stress in the door skin and hinges



Next:

1. I really want to integrate medicine cabinete shaped storage integrated into the structure of the rear and curb side barn doors.



2. Design a Lagun table system compatible for the Chevy swivel seat bases. Thinking up to four different positions all tied together structurely. Possibly use L track.



3. Overhead L track under the cabinets.

 

[peteco]

I like that tire mount for the weight savings and easier access. I'm very weight constrained on my Roadtrek 210P so this would help me a lot. You mentioned you would do the reinforcement differently. What do you suggest?
Also, can you provide the part number and source? Thanks.

 

[Mr. Merk]

I like that tire mount for the weight savings and easier access. I'm very weight constrained on my Roadtrek 210P so this would help me a lot. You mentioned you would do the reinforcement differently. What do you suggest?
Also, can you provide the part number and source? Thanks.

Surco TF200

I'd make the reinforcement plates inside the door much longer vertically to more evenly distribute the load across the door. I still may do this.

Your lowest hanging fruit by far is using the GM PY0 16" wheel as a spare, even better getting the whole set to reduce your curb weight but four of the five wheels will be unsprung weight.

 

[peteco]

Surco TF200

I'd make the reinforcement plates inside the door much longer vertically to more evenly distribute the load across the door. I still may do this.

Your lowest hanging fruit by far is using the GM PY0 16" wheel as a spare, even better getting the whole set to reduce your curb weight but four of the five wheels will be unsprung weight.

Thanks. My Roadtrek came with the American Racing aluminum rims, but a steel spare. I bought another AR rim to replace the steel spare. Big difference in weight.