1966 Caravel: value?

[66caravel_ia]

Hi All,

I'm considering purchasing this 1966 Caravel. I am completely new to Airstream and travel trailers. I'm not looking to do a complete restoration or anything, just have a clean, sharp unit to camp and use for fun.

The current owner bought at an auction and doesn't know too much. I'm going to post some pictures and the original listing from the seller.

But a couple things I'm concerned about:
- Drain pipe fixing
- there's no fridge where there should be one. Can it be added easily or will that require a lot of gutting of the interior?
- there's no A/C unit either. I see there are ones that can be added to the top roof vent or a window but how much of a job is that?
- I'm going to look at it tomorrow (about a 5 hr drive) anything else I should look specifically for?
- what's a good price for a unit in this condition? He's asking $16,000.

Thanks,
Mike in Iowa

[66caravel_ia]

Original sellers description and more photos.

This auction is for a 1966 vintage Airstream Caravel camper. I picked it up on a auction a month ago. I put in a new deep cycle battery. Added a set of rims and tires. Re-painted the bottom half of the bathroom and put down some vinyl stick wood flooring. I stripped the clear coat off and buffed it a bit. It shines nice but there is a lot of imperfections in the aluminum. It`s far from perfect and needs a lot of little things. All the lights and plug ins work inside. The insides look to have been re-covered at one time. I hooked a old propane tank to it to try the stove. The stove lit but the burners weren't` very high. Maybe the gas valve?? I didn`t try the hot water heater, furnace or the propane light inside. The system had antifreeze in the water tank and lines . But the cap won`t come off the front. I think it was cross threaded on and I didn`t want to break it off. The Sure-Flo pump works. I hooked a water hose up to it and the faucets all worked. The one in the kitchen sprayed out at a angle. Maybe just needs a bit of water run through it. The drain was a bit slow. The toilet flushed fine. The sink in the bathroom worked fine and the shower drained fine. Under the camper when I ran water through it. It came out in the main drain. But also ran out of the aluminum skirt in the rear. I`m guessing the back plate will have to be dropped down and a pipe fixed. I siliconed the roof vent because it leaked. It needs a new seal. We had a hard rain and it left a 5in puddle on the floor so I didn`t get it quite good enough. All the out side lights work. Two of the marker lights need to be grounded a little better. You have to move them to come on. Running lights Brake and turn signals work fine.. I welded on a new set of safety chains and raised the center jack up a inch. The hook up for the camper takes a 7 blade for the lights. They do sell a adapter at the parts store to change it to a 4 pin if you don`t have that type set up. You can order a piece of side glass through. Vintage trailer supply for $99.00 A couple of the widows leak and will need new seals. I would put in all new seals. dosen`t look to hard to put in. The propane tanks are empty. The orig. wheels and hubcaps will come along. The tires that were on the rims were to big. The moon type hubcaps are rusty looking and have some dents in them. The camper pulls nice down the road. There is a spare mag wheel that matches. One of the license plate bolts will need to be replaced on the back. It spun when I removed the old plate. There is a hose that hooks up to the bottom to dump the waste tank. While I had the toilet off. I sprayed it out. It will need a hose that hooks from the sink to the vintage shower head. There was some cracking in the fiberglass up on the sink and on the shower floor. There is a spot where the plexeglass window had leaked on the wood on the couch. It`s a old camper. And needs more TLC. But for it`s age I think it`s in fair shape. The aluminum has been patched in spots on the camper. The aluminum is pushed in a bit on the bottom towards the front. The front cover over the front window is in bad shape. New ones can be bought at Vintage Trailer Supply. The screen door needs a new screen put in the door and a couple snaps that keep the small door shut. Rear window blinds need replaced. Doors locks fine. I don`t have a key for the small fridge door on the side.

[Argonaut20]

The outside of the Caravel looks good. The refrigerator is likely not too hard to replace but don't count on the new one fitting without some work on the cabinet and some mods to the propane line. What's been done with the floor can hide a multitude of sins or the floor underneath may be fine. Look in the space where the fridge is supposed to go for clues (water damage, rot, etc.) as well as the floors of the closets.
One thing that is very likely to need replacement is the axle. Caravels of this age have a tendency to break the axle if it is original. The spindle snaps off.
Having AC installed in the roof is best left to people familiar with Airstreams. The procedure is to cut a hole in the roof ahead of the vent and mount the AC there. There is probably wiring for the AC in place in the roof so no new wire pulling is needed.
Wiring is aluminum in these Caravels which may be a problem.
Over all, I think $16K is high for a rig that hasn't been redone pretty completely. It depends on you to make the decision. There are always things that pop up in these older trailers, things that you find after you have purchased it. Caravels will likely go up in value as there aren't many of them. Whether nice, complete, functional examples will exceed $16,000 soon is a crap shoot.

[Argonaut20]

Note that a Caravel just sold on ebay for $13,600.

[66caravel_ia]

Thanks Argonaut20. If you have any other tips, I'd appreciate the info. My biggest concern is that I really like the idea if the A/S but I don't have lots of time on my hands to be tinkering around all the time with it. I want something that's pretty road ready and I can do the finishing touches and enhance over time.

Most things seem to be in the about $1,000 at a time cost - fridge, AC, axle. But I don't want to be dropping money in all the time. I don't need to have a hugely restored trailer. This one seems close from what I can tell.

What do you think about the water coming out in the skirt he mentioned?

[Argonaut20]

He is right that the belly pan will need to be dropped so the leak in the rear can be fixed. Without inspecting, there are several sources of leaks in the area.
You might also look at ebay
1965 Vintage Airstream Caravel 17' Travel Trailer | eBay

It has AC and sounds like you have operating appliances in it. These folks have used it so they should know what is good and bad about it. The axle is still a question on any of them.

[Stefrobrts]

You can find fridges to fit in the space, but I actually kind of like the mod to have extra cupboard space there instead. We rarely use our fridge. Most of our trips are short in the Caravel and we tend to just use a big cooler with ice instead.

[55AS]

Water leak is likely a damaged p trap. The one in my Bambi 2 (similar to Caravel) is accessible from underneath without removing belly pan.

[idroba]

To my mind it is way overpriced. Sounds like a flipper to me, who has no real idea of how much things cost to repair or replace and is trying to put the best light on all the defects, which at least he mentions. Leaks, silicone repairs, plastic windows, no refrigerator, and "lightly polished but pitted" exterior metal, nothing really tested to see if it works, etc.

If you want a rig which you can camp in and not be rebuilding constantly, or repairing a lot, or spending more money on, this is not the one to buy.

[Jewel65]

Most of the comments here are valid. I think this guy is asking too much for this unit. If he bought it at an auction, he probably didn't pay much for it. It was probably a car auction and few people there even interested in a camper. So, I think he has a lot of room for negotiation. It does look like a solid camper for someone to restore, but if you are not into the whole restoration process you will need to move on. Even if that camper was 6-8k (what I would consider to be a fair price for this one), it would probably still need 4-5k put into it to bring it up to what I would consider a good usable camper. There is no question that it will need a new axle. I would not even attempt to pull it over 100 miles without replacing the axle. It might make it further, but it would be a crap shoot. It probably has wood rot under the bathroom. Check in the under-sink cabinet with a flashlight and poke around with an ice pick in that area. If you see daylight there it will at least need a floor replacement in the back half. That means all cabinetry and fiberglass bathroom will have to be removed. Yes, you can use it for a while with a rotten floor, but it will stress the rest of the trailer and you will never be satisfied and will want to address it eventually. So, yes it looks like a nice trailer, but don't pay that much for it. If you are willing to pay that much, get one that has been restored already, but make sure you do your homework and make sure it has been restored correctly.

BTW, you can take the back belly section off separately from the rest. I would ask if I could do this before you purchase. That way you can inspect the floor and all plumbing underneath. Plumbing repairs are not that hard.

[Janet H]

I think any vintage trailer unless fully refurbbed is going to have some projects - this one is no exception. Based on the sellers description you have some projects. BUT often they can be spread out, done when you have time or money and so if you like the trailer you might ponder this...


Regarding price - I think the price is not too high (although cheaper is always better). These small trailers have gone up substantially in the past year, imo and even with the body repair and patches I think the seller can probably command that price or close to it.

Some other things to consider: No gray tank on this rig, silicon to removed, $1000 each for the axle and fridge. You might use these two big ticket items as a bargaining chip if you decide to proceed.

[Jewel65]

Originally Posted by Janet

These small trailers have gone up substantially in the past year, imo and even with the body repair and patches I think the seller can probably command that price or close to it.

That's good to hear for those of us that already have one. My pricing is from my own experience when purchasing about 2 year ago, so maybe things have gone up a little since then, but 16k still looks a little high to me. If that's true I should be looking at a 20k - 30k trailer when mine is finished. Not that I would sell it.

[Melody Ranch]

I see many bad thing, and good thing, here. The Caravel has been thru, what I call, a "quick and dirty" rehab. The 66 has many things you need to be aware of. Always beware of a newly covered floor where you can't check ity out or have many photos of the work in progress. The 66 almost always has a broken black tank, on top at the toilet connect...it is because the toilet flange rests directly on the tank. All the weight flexing cracks it . There is no real good fix...just do it right and get a new tank. The axles...period. The windows and seals are pretty, but a B---ch to work on. The AC should never be installed in the vent opening at rear top. The position is way out of place for it. This means cut a new position at the top center. All the wiring and drains associated with that. The fridge vent usually is cracked and will allow fumes to leak. The price at 16 is way to high. NEVER pay attention to "well, one sold on EBAY for ------$." There is lots of great info in the Forums section here under the Caravels. Study up! The Caravel is always one of my favorites. I loved my 66.

[Cochese]

I have an acquaintance that bought a 66 caravel last summer. She paid about 16k for it , it looked pretty in the pics that she sent me, but after spending $2k to have it trailered to upstate NY, the grim reality set in, as it often does! Rotted floor, cracked wet bath, rusted out rear frame,etc. one year later and $25k additional money later, the trailer is about half finished. My point is, she is going to have waaaay more $$ than the trailer is worth. I would ask for documentation about any resto work, mainly condition of the floor & frame, if not assume that it will have to be repaired!........Brian

[aceflys]

Originally Posted by Jewel65

That's good to hear for those of us that already have one. My pricing is from my own experience when purchasing about 2 year ago, so maybe things have gone up a little since then, but 16k still looks a little high to me. If that's true I should be looking at a 20k - 30k trailer when mine is finished. Not that I would sell it.

I was thinking the same thing about my 66 after seeing what they are selling for now. I feel so lucky to have got mine about 6 years ago for much less than they are sell for now. I had to do only minor repairs and some updating to mine. New water heater, some plumbing, new axle and polishing. I think the price of them are still going up. All small vintage trailers\ SOB are very hot now. I recently sold a 68 13 Scotty for $5500 that was 3 times what I paid for it 7 years ago. Saying all this paying top dollar now may seen like a deal in a few years

As Found 2007





Now 2014





Ace in PA

Living The Airstream Dream

[tonyseidel]

Looks identical inside to my '66 Caravel. Only the reefer is missing, and it's an easy replacement (same basic size) for under $800. All else looks good, tho i'd look close for water damage under the bath sink and where the original water inlet (hose connection) was placed (I moved mine outside, below). Not sure what the hole is above the access door (which has been replaced, I note). Check the axle - i.e., have a dealer check it, and the brakes. Price? $15K is average for this vintage. Polish job is a nice extra.

[NJtoNC]

they are asking too much. if everything was working and tested, it would be a 16k trailer. "not tested" means it dosen't work right now. This is a $10-$12k trailer as it stands.

Also, doing the first cut on a 'polish job' takes about a day. to finish it takes about 2 weeks.

[RM66caravel]

I am going to give my opinion but take it as that as others have said there are indicators that problems are there hidden under the stick on floor! 16k is way too much for a polished turd so you will have to be deaf and pay attention to details because 1. The staining in the cabinets show some lack of care and the shot of the belly pan towards the back screams leak, rust or busted belly pan! There are sites that show prices of 29 to 33k for a finished professionally done caravel. So a little bondo and a cheap coat of paint or polish and there she is a pot of gold! Okay it may be a pot or a money pit! Look under the sink and probe with a key or screw driver and watch the sellers reaction to your inspection! No he probably will not let it go cheaper (his pot of gold and pt Barnum) if you don't the next guy will lose his money! If the floor is soft or there are holes then you would be in deeper then you say that you want to be! Do some looking and buy smart and yes just my opinion.
Thanks for reading
Cliff

[66caravel_ia]

Thanks so much for everyone's responses here. I have passed on this particular trailer. But will be keeping my eyes out for another option.

[Jeepers!]

Look in the little door in the bathroom, at where the back wall meets the floor, almost all have the floor rotted out there. All. I saw this one on ebay, too, I passed. The wheels and tires are too small also. Check behind the wheels in the wheel wells, usually there is damage to the outrigger there from tire blowouts. A/C is nice but these trailers really aren't built for modern roof units, plus it devalues a sleek body style. Most likely the floor is ruined (unless it never saw rain, ever). Trailers of that vintage usually get renovated because of the floor. AS didn't seal the back of the trailer above the frame correctly and rain got in.