What to tow a '65 Caravel with?

[kevinkatz]

so what do yall use to tow your 65 caravels? how large a vehicle do you need? of course i would love a cool vintage vehicle but the new ones are so much better. any great ideas? how small could you go?

[aceflys]

I tow my 66 Caravel with my 2002 Chevy 3500 Express van. I barely know it is back there. I am now setting my 09 Grand Caravan up for towing my AS. The Caravel in around #2300 lbs. That is is very light in the trailer world.

Ace in PA

[drunkensloth]

I towed my 65 Caravel with a 66 Ranchero. It looked really cool but there was nothing cool about driving it. The ranchero was unibody with 4 wheel drum brakes. Every mile was a battle. After towing for five hours I was exhausted. I now tow with a Chevy Avalanche and it's night and day. Good brakes, power, a/c and room for the dogs makes for a much happier trip.

[Stefrobrts]

We tow with a full size Ford van, which can be handy for all the extras we like to take that don't fit in the trailer. We don't even know it's back there, the van drives the same with or without it. Our Caravel weighs 2800lbs loaded with all our gear and fresh water.

At that weight, your options are pretty wide open. If I had money for a new tow vehicle, I think I'd check out a Honda Pilot.

[AWCHIEF]

I have a 1964 Bambi II 17 footer that is basically the same as a Caraval but bit lighter. I went from a 2008 Xterra that uncomfortable did the job to a 2012 Ford F150 XLT SCREW Ecoboost that works perfectly. It provides effortless and comfortable towing.

[Road Ruler]

For that small lightweight..... on the forum here we have seen.....

Mustangs (old and new)
Mini's
VW and Passat TDI's
Subaru's
BMW sedans
Chrysler and Dodge sedans
Mercedes sedans
Infiniti sedans
Nissan sedans
Lexus coupes / sedan
Jeeps
Saabs
Volvo sedans
Jaguars
Mini vans of all shapes and sizes
Vintage mucscle cars
Hot rods
An assortment of convertibles and station wagons
An assortment of trucks old and new from small V6's to V10's and diesels.
An assortment of SUV's from high performance imports to massive domestics

This raises the question. What vehicles interest you?

Note... to be used as a TV some of the above vehicles require special attention.

[overlander64]

Greetings kevinkatz!

You have a very large number of options for towing your Caravel. The Caravel is only about 600 pounds lighter than my Minuet 6.0 Metre which tows wonderfully with my 1975 Cadillac Edlorado Convertible or 1985 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale Brougham Luxury Sedan. I also tow with a 1999 K2500 Suburban with the 7.4 Liter which is much more than needed with the under 20-foot Vintage Airstreams.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

P.S.: The photo below is of my 1975 Edlorado/1978 Minuet preparing to depart for a Rally:



The photo below is of the Cadillac and Minuet in Yellowstone National Park during the summer of 2008:

[MarkE]

I have towed my 18' Caravel (just slightly heavier than yours) with 1/2 ton pickup trucks: 1982 Jeep J10, 1997 Ford F-150, and now with a 2007 GMC Sierra 1500. Each has handled the trailer with no effort.
I'm sure you could use a smaller pickup or SUV and get along fine.
Be sure to keep us posted on your decision.

[Jewel65]

We are planning to tow ours with the '03 F150 SuperCrew. A Miata might work, but we will stick with the truck! The Caravel is having frame work done now, so It will be a while before testing will occur. I towed it once with the truck from where we purchased it to home, about 30 miles. It towed great then. I think the SuperCrew with 5.4 V8 will pull great, the only question I have is the original sway system the Caravel came with. Will it be necessary, or do I need to upgrade? We use the same truck currently to pull our pop-up that weighs about 1800 lbs with no sway system and it pulls great. The Caravel is only about 500 lbs heavier, so I think it will pull similarly to the popup. We use to use a Ranger 5 speed PU with a 3.0 Liter V6. I had to put air shocks on it, but it did a decent job pulling the pop-up. The bigger 150 is better for towing though. Gas mileage is a little more, but not considerably when towing.

Good luck in your choice of tow vehicle!

[AldeanFan]

The Ford Flex looks great with an Airstream,
Cool vintage look with modern convenience and comfort.

[Road Ruler]

Hey there AldeanFan. Nic looking rig.

By the way.. I do a few training rides each week (pedal bike) and go by your place often. I've noticed the Airstream. Looks good.

PS..... Did you sell that nice 65 Mustang fastback??

[aceflys]

09 Grand Caravan Towing my 66 Caravel

Last weekend I towed my 66 Caravel with my 09 Grand Caravan. We made a 200 mile round trip. It was all highway in the hills of WV and PA. I towed in 3rd keeping it out of overdrive. I did not use any WD system. My van did great. I had no sway and only had to to kick it down to 2nd a few times. When I was going up a big hill to keep it going over 60 mph. I got 13.8 mpg running the AC the whole way. I'm still planning on getting a WD system soon. But I must say it was a much nicer ride towing with the Caravan instead of my one ton Chevy van.

Ace in PA

TAC PA-1
WBCCI 2169

[AldeanFan]

Originally Posted by Road Ruler

Hey there AldeanFan. Nic looking rig.

By the way.. I do a few training rides each week (pedal bike) and go by your place often. I've noticed the Airstream. Looks good.

PS..... Did you sell that nice 65 Mustang fastback??

Hey Road Ruler,
Looks like we have very similar trailers, stop in sometime, expecially if you see me polishing, we can compare notes.

The 65 Mustang belongs to my Father, it didn't sell so I think he's decided to keep it. It would look great towing a Bambi.

[quiltbike]

We tow with a 2012 Toyota Tacoma V6 and are very pleased with the combination.

[kevinkatz]

so here is the final followup to the thread i started about 2 years ago! i had not really intended traveling with my AS but was using it as a bedroom at my kids house. now deciding to start travelling.
i wanted awd and considered diesel for the torque.
just bought a BMW X5d and picking it up tomorrow.

thanks for everyone's opinion.

[kevinkatz]

a further update. i have done about 1000 miles pulling the caravel with the 2011 bmw x5d.
that is a diesel for those that arent familiar. i dont use a weight distribution system and have yet to put on the brake contoller that i bought. i do not have an antisway system.
the trailer and car behave fantastically. i tow easily at 65-70 mph, feel very stable and safe. the car tows easily and it has been absolutely wonderful for me.

[kevinkatz]

i have now done over 10 000 miles with the 2011 BMW X5d and couldnt be happier. just went on the wbcci caravan on the blue ridge parkway and it did just fine while some bigger trucks and vans struggled. this is a great combination.