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Part
and repairs for all years and models of AVION
and Cayo RV's.
Phone 269.463.5068
Fax 269.463.5073
4835 M-140
Watervliet, MI 49098 |
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Chuck
Cayo engages in the project.
The CAYO family has been involved
in the construction of AVION's and CAYO RV's.
To
learn more about the history click here. |
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was not a job for an amateur. We needed expertise
and Cayo Repair was the logical choice. Our
repair estimate had come from CAYO based on a complete
set of pictures I had sent them. All sides of the
trailer had damage. I bought the salvage by converting
the title to a salvage title. Once this was done
the insurance company issued my check and I called
Chuck to pick up the trailer. After getting it to
his shop he called and said it is not as bad as
he thought so the cost would be lower than his estimate.
We made decisions about keeping or not keeping the
frame side cabinets, bottle cover etc. If the insurance
company had payed to have it repaired everything
would need repairing. I hated the bottle cover and
saved $400 to put towards a new rock guard. I decided
to do a few other things. One strategy was to Permacoat
the exterior to blend the new aluminum with the
older. I had some other things done and still came
in under the original estimate. |
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We
called Chuck Cayo and he came down to pick up the
trailer and tow it to the garage. Our timing was
just right. The trailer got to Michigan just before
the snow. This is a great time to have work done
at CAYO since the snowbirds have gone south. There
is more time for a big project. We made a trip to
go over the entire trailer and make the decisions
about how to go about the project. The first thing
Chuck said was, "it's not as bad as it looked
in the pictures." His friends had stopped in
and asked him what he was going to do with the smashed
up trailer. |
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He
told them he was going to repair it. They thought
he was kidding and could not believe it was the
same unit after it was completed. A revised estimate
allowed us money to do some long needed repairs.
This trailer has the beautiful wrap around glass
windows front and rear. The curved glass is no longer
available. |
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The front window had to be removed so this was one
of the nervous moments. Our rock guard was very
brittle so we used some of our windfall money to
replace it. I was concerned about the curved glass
issue. I imagined a ball breaking the rear window.
Especially in our driveway. The curved window also
needs side panels hung from the carefree awning
to keep the sun out. This was at best cumbersome.
We decided to put a rock guard on the rear window
too.
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Most
all of the damage occurred mid-coach forward. The
entire kitchen was stripped down to the walls. Cabinet
work would be easier on the work table. Some cabinets
were cracked and chipped. We later found that the
water tank had ruptured and had it replaced the
following year.
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The
exterior aluminum creates an issue for all of us
trying to preserve our silver Avions. The last large
pieces of aluminum skin were used on this renovation.
You can see some difference in the metal on this
job but much of it has been blended by using permacoat
over the entire trailer. This is another thing we
always wanted to have done.
Continue click here. |
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