Another happy Caravel owner

[rluhr]

Count me in as another happy Caravel owner!

We just took delivery of our 1968 Caravel 17 ... she's dented and scratched on the curbside but in perfect running order otherwise, with lots of new parts. Extensive pictures will be posted when the Airstreamphotos site is back up.

We towed her 500 miles from Maryland to Vermont with no troubles. For those who are interested in statistics, here's the info:

Tow vehicle: 2003 Honda Pilot
Weight of tow vehicle including driver & passenger, spare tire, some gear, and tongue weight: 5080 lbs.
Weight of trailer when hitched to car, with empty tanks and minimal gear: 2420 lbs.
Gross combined weight: 7500 lbs. We expect to hit about 8000 lbs. when loaded, well within the capacity of the Pilot.
Gas mileage not towing with A/C: 22 MPG
Gas mileage towing with A/C (in mountains): 13

The Honda Pilot, Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller and Equal-i-zer hitch worked like a dream! All are recommended. The Honda 3.5 liter V6 had plenty of power at all times. We easily maintained 60 MPH even climbing through the Allegheny Mtns in Pennsylvania. The new hitch needed a little grease on the head every 200 miles as it worked in.

Overall, it was an excellent experience thanks mostly to the prior owners, who were wonderful people that really cared. The Caravel was clean, plugged in, lightly decorated (!), and ready for us to spend the first night in the owners driveway, when we arrived. This is the kind of quality experience you get when you buy from people who love Airstreams and have served as Regional Presidents of WBCCI.

-- RL

[Safari Tim]

That sounds great. Glad you had a good experience.

Can't wait to see pictures.

Have fun with your new trailer!

[gwsullivan]

Congratulations!! Were the POs the original owners??

[hhuber]

Congratulations!!! I love my Caravel!!
Attach a picture if you can.

Heidi

[Stefrobrts]

Time to start a club for all us happy Caravel owners (It's NOT a Bambi, it's a Caravel!)

[rluhr]

SafariTim, Heidi, I'm happy to oblige. Here's a picture of our rig ready to go on its maiden voyage.

This picture shows the "good side". The curbside was badly scraped by an encounter with a brick house many years ago. The door was repaired (mostly) but the curbside is still pretty ugly. I'll post that pic in a separate note.

[rluhr]

Here's the sadder face of our Caravel. Unless someone has a miracle solution for me, I think we'll live with the scrapes for now. Fortunately, it's all cosmetic -- no leaks, and the door closes & locks OK (but requires a little shoving).

gwsullivan, the POs were the second owners. It was handed down through one family from 1968 until just a few years ago. The POs did a lot of work inside to get it back into shape, of which I am the lucky beneficiary. New tires, bearings, TV antenna, brakes, A/C, countertops, flooring, toilet, plastic plumbing, screens, shades, faucets, water pump, water heater, and a graywater tank! Despite all this, it still looks very original inside.

Gotta love that gray tank but it does hang low and we have to be careful about the rougher roads.

-- RL

[InsideOut]

ouch!

Shari

[hhuber]

Rluhr-
I guess after 35 years she's bound to have a scratch or 2.
I'm sure you'll love her anyway. Gotta love the grey water tank
allright!

Heidi

[Stefrobrts]

So is your kitchen window plastic or glass? Because from the scraping I'm guessing it probably bit it at the same time.

I have one plastic window on my trailer. It's the rear-most streetside window. I hear they are almost impossible to replace.

[Chas]

My Overlander has suffered a few nicks and scrapes over the years as well. Just give those beauty scars a good polishing and let them shine!! I think they are really less noticeable after polishing.

All you need to do is remember the last time you saw an SOB (some other brand) trailer that even exists the same vintage as yours. I have friend who has a mid 70's Mallard, a hideous beast, the only reason it still lives is because he keeps it in a metal shed.

BTW, liked your pic of it all hitched up. At first I thought I was looking at one of friends across the pond, some Europeans with the small tow vehicle.

Chas

[rluhr]

Stefrobrts, the kitchen window is plastic. It's cracked, too, so I've contacted Inland RV for another plastic replacement. I think you're right, it must have been replaced originally after the accident. All the other windows are still glass.

Chas, good points. Please DON'T post a picture of that Mallard! BTW, the Pilot is about the size of a Ford Explorer, maybe even a tad longer, with three rows of seating inside. We use it as a quasi-minivan replacement, but with AWD for northeast winters, and better towing ability.

I sure would be interested in hearing from other vintage/small trailer owners about the "little touches" they've added to make life inside more comfortable or functional. For example, our first modification this week will be to add real drawer slides to the two drawers under the streetside gaucho, so that they open and close more easily. We're also planning to do the same thing to the gaucho itself (if we can figure out how) so it breaks down to a bed without all the grunting and fussing we do now.

If anyone else has a neat improvement they've made, let's hear it (and see it)! Or should I start a new thread?

- RL

[Stefrobrts]

The drawer slides are a good idea. Make sure they latch so they don't slide open while you're moving.

I'd like to see what you figure out about the gaucho. The most annoying thing to me are the three legs you have to put in to hold up the edge of the bed when it's extended. When I slip by at night I often knock one out with my foot, then I'll be groping around in the dark trying to find the hole to put it back into. Very annoying. If you think of a better solution for that, let me know.

BTW, the legs for our bed are the most beautiful wood I've ever seen. They are oiled and laquered, and they just almost glow. They are gorgeous. Whenever I pull them out to put the bed together I think 'now this is one of those details that makes Airstream special'. Why would anyone put that much work into bed legs?

[hhuber]

Stef-
My legs are attached to the bed. All you have to do is pull
and the bed comes out. As a matter of fact sometimes
it flies out a little in transport. Just guessing but yours may
be an addition. My wood is not especially attractive but it
all seems to be original (matches, etc.) I can post a pic if you need it so perhaps you can copy them.

Heidi

[Stefrobrts]

How interesting. Mine pulls out and you have to insert the three legs into it. Please post a picture of what yours looks like. I wonder if it's just the difference between 67 and 68?

[rluhr]

I just spent a couple of hours digging around in my Caravel's furniture. What was supposed to be a simple upgrade (adding drawer slides) turned out to be not so easy ... the upshot is that to add slides I either need to build smaller drawers, or re-build the entire frame.

So, I've put everything back together and I'm THINKING...

Stef, the P.O. of my Caravel attached the three bed-support legs with hinges beneath the gaucho. A bit of velcro holds them up in the folded position until you need them, then a gentle tug causes them to fall into place as legs! It's a simple enough modification for anyone to do... If you want I'll email you a picture.

-- RL

[Stefrobrts]

Yes, I'd like to see a picture. That would be a good improvement. So it sounds like '68 gauchos do have legs. Heidi's 67 is slightly different I guess. Though I'm still interested in seeing how hers works.

I was afraid the drawer mod might be a little tricky. I find I can often come up with a solution when I stop and think about it for a day. I'm sure you'll think of something.

[Rog0525]

Count me in also on the happy Caravel owner's club. It took me 2 years to find my ideal little Airstream because like so many other folks I thought Bambi was the only way to go in a little AS.
I traveled 800 miles round trip to pick up this little gem but the trip was more than worthwhile since I've gotten it home and checked everything out.
It's perfect for my needs in a travel trailer. Everything is original and works fine except the Dometic fridge works on gas but not elec. I know there is a thread here somewhere about troubleshooting non-working AC Dometics and I'll be looking that
up next.
I'm not saying that vintage Caravels are equal to or better than Bambis, just saying that I luv my lil 18' Caravel.
I bought and sold 4 other bigger AS's in my quest for my lil jewel and I got attached to each one.
AIRSTREAMS RULE!

Rog

[hhuber]

Here's what the legs look like. They're simply bolted
into the horizontal piece in the front of the bed.
Work very well.

Heidi

[hhuber]

From the front.