[A/S] The Cayo Avion History

[hhamp5246@xxxxxxx]

Hi Gang,

I know we had had many questions and guesses over the years of how the Avion 
corp. got started...... I'm visiting friends who have the July 2004 MotorHome 
magazine and imagine my surprise to read all about the beginnings.... so, no 
more guesses... this is the definitive answer. I scanned the article for all to 
see.....  Hunter 

Cayo Motovator by Bruce Hampson

"The western shoreline of Michigan has long been considered prime real estate 
for boat repair businesses but if you look inland a few miles east of Benton 
Harbor, you'll find a seven-bay service facility that, while focusing on 
recreation vehicles, rarely entertains anything without wheels. Fiberglass guests 
are just as infrequent at Cayo Repair Service, where the specialty of the house 
is riveted aluminum renovation.

Granted, Cayo isn't alone in practicing what's fast becoming a lost art among 
motorhome collision-repair facilities. The difference is a matter of 
pedigree; on a good day, the marquees sequestered on the grounds will include one 
sharing heritage with the shop itself.

The Cayo Motovator is tangible proof that imitation truly is the sincerest 
form of flattery. This precursor to a contemporary Class C coach has its roots 
in a metal-stamping business - and a travel trailer. Any discussion of the 
Motovator, however, must by nature include a brief history of the Avion Coach 
Corporation.

"My father, Robert, and my uncle, Loren, were both outdoorsmen," recalled 
Bill Cayo. "In the mid-'50s, Loren bought an Airstream trailer, during a camping 
trip to Yellowstone National Park, they reflected on how great it was  and 
decided to build one like it."

Drawing on metalworking backgrounds forged at the metal-stamping business 
owned by their father, the Cayos and a third partner, building contractor Alan 
Grams, introduced their first trailer in 1955.

"The first few vehicles were actually built under the Romney Coach badge," 
Bill noted, "but apparently there were some problems with the name, so in 1957 
the company name was changed to Avion Coach Corporation."

Travel trailers weren't the only vehicles manufactured by Avion. Using the 
same basic parts that went into the Avion trailer, Bill cobbled together a 
pickup camper for his own use and the company liked the result. In 1965, Avion 
started offering
pickup truck campers, as well. That division would figure prominently when, 
several years after Loren's untimely passing in 1967, Avion was sold.

"The company (Legan Enterprises) really didn't want to manufacture pickup 
campers," Bill said, "so part of the purchase agreement was that they would sell 
the camper division back to my father, my brother and myself." In 1970, the 
Cayos affixed their own name to the familiar streamlined camper shell. A year 
later, they extended the length of the camper, slipped a cutoff chassis beneath 
it and christened the self-propelled coach the Cayo Motovator.

Available in 20- and 22-toot models, the Motovator featured an anodized 
aluminum shell (sporting a 13-panel rear cap design so familiar to owners of 
mid-'50s Airstream trailers) and metal framing which allowed the mini-motorhome to 
maintain its structural integrity, In fact, the Cayo RV Corporation offered the 
coaches with a lifetime warranty to the original owner, "When we designed it, 
we realized that the body of the coach would last longer than the chassis," 
Bill pointed out, "so it was actually designed to be removed and placed on a 
newer chassis, should the need arise".

Originally available on a Dodge one-ton chassis with a choice of a 360 cid or 
318 cid Dodge, 350 CID Chevy or 302 CiD Ford V-8 engine, the Cayo carried a 
dry weight of 8,245 pounds (20-foot model). The spacious interior (6 feet, 8 
inches, floor to ceiling and 7 feet, 7 inches wall-to-wall) was fitted with most 
conveniences then available, including maple hardwoods, a dual-battery 
charging system with 30-amp converter, 22,000 BTU forced-air gas heating system and 
sizable 5 cubic-foot refrigerator. Options included an auxiliary gas tank, 
2.5Kw AC generator, roof rack and ladder, Therma San waste incinerator, water 
purifier and 10,000 BTU roof-mounted air conditioner (which raised the height to 
nearly 10 feet). The 52-inch cabover configuration offered sleeping 
arrangements for four.

While the Motovator proved popular and its size and reliance on small-block 
V-8 engines allowed for relatively respectable mileage - the Cayo earned 10-12 
MPG in an
era where big block-powered Class A coaches were getting just half that - 
sales dropped off following the gas crunch of 1973-74. Although the OPEC oil 
embargo lasted just six months, the Cayo Motovator never really rebounded; in 
1974, Cayo RV Corporation closed its Benton Harbor, Michigan, factory after 
approximately 600 Motovators passed through the facility.

The small number of coaches produced essentially precludes the possibility of 
a Cayo-only national club, but Cayo owners are welcomed at the Avion 
Travelcade Club (avionclub.org). In 1977, Bill funneled his experience into Cayo 
Repair Service, which he operates today with his son, Chuck. You could say that 
they know this coach from the inside, out - it's in their blood." 




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