Mr. Merk
Airstream Avenue
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?
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?
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