"New" old 17' Caravel

[fdole]

Hi all,

We just purchased an old 1968 Caravel and are very excited. I towed it home with my 2003 Dodge Dakota - kind of small for the job but the trailer handled well. The gas milage suffer however! The trailer is almost all original and in great shape. The grey-water tank was removed however, and some alterations to the plumbing took place. I will spend time this winter attempting to restore everything to original condition and repairing the belly pan. This is going to be a very exciting and fulfilling project - though I am green!

I look forward to communicating with many of you as I look for advise, and offer what I can.

All my very best!
fred
Clarkston, WA.

[Wazbro]

Welcome a 68 did not come with a gray tank from the factory. It is nice to have a gray tank though unless you just camp with full hookups.

[TouringDan]

The 68 Caravel is one of my favorite Airstream trailers. It has the beautiful Phillips curved windows which were used in 66-68 Airstreams only.

Welcome to the Forums. Your life will be forever changed.

I don't believe you need any more TV than your Dodge Dakota to tow your Caravel.

Dan

[MarkE]

Fred, Welcome to the forum & the Airstream family!
I'm always happy to see more Caravels (their owners, actually,) joining in.
Wazbro is correct, the '68 Airstreams didn't come with a grey-water tank but don't dispair, this only means your trailer is even more original than yiou thoiught!
There are several ways to add this feature, if you want: just check out the archives for past threads on the suject and feel free to ask questions of those on the forum.
OR you can handle it as I do. When I am in a location without sewer hookup, & a regulation that I cannot let grey-water drain on the ground, I use a "blue boy". It's a plastic tank to set under the Caravel to catch the water. The only disadvantages to this method are having to dump the tank manually (which can sometimes mean transporting it a distance) and having to store the "blue boy" while traveling.
Once again...WELOME!

[idroba]

Originally Posted by MarkE

(snip)When I am in a location without sewer hookup, & a regulation that I cannot let grey-water drain on the ground, I use a "blue boy". It's a plastic tank to set under the Caravel to catch the water. The only disadvantages to this method are having to dump the tank manually (which can sometimes mean transporting it a distance) and having to store the "blue boy" while traveling.

Another problem with the "blue boy" is that if you want to wash your hands or use the kitchen sink while traveling the water ponds in the drain lines. If you use too much, it will back up into the shower (in the case of the wet bath caravel, the bathroom floor). Also, when you remove the drain cap, you will get a gush of the gray water wherever you do the job. Sometimes that is not very pleasant or even legal.

One of these days I need to add a gray water tank to my 71 Caravel to eliminate those issues.

[snakecharmer]

Hello fdole, and welcome!
You will find an astounding amount of knowledge, wisdom (hard earned), and technical support here. Enjoy your new Caravel!

[fdole]

Thanks so much for all the replies to my post. No grey water tank?!? Who knew! So decisions will have to be made. Do I go with a blue boy or an add-on tank. Very interesting! I will proceed through the archives looking for others who struggled with this. While I work on this I will be checking all the other systems.

Again - thanks so much! Wow!

fred

[Bigventure]

A 15 or 20 gallon blue boy is plenty on a Caravel.

The cap that covers the waste outlet can be punctured with a few small holes to allow gray water to seap out slowly.

You can hook up the blue boy via a shortened garden hose to the portable tank vent. You will need a Thetford adapter and a cap with garden hose outlet.

Caravels have Thetford size outlets, new sewer hoses won't fit.

[idroba]

Originally Posted by fdole

Thanks so much for all the replies to my post. No grey water tank?!? Who knew! So decisions will have to be made. Do I go with a blue boy or an add-on tank. Very interesting! I will proceed through the archives looking for others who struggled with this. While I work on this I will be checking all the other systems.

Again - thanks so much! Wow!

fred

Fred: I had not noticed you are in Clarkston WA. Funny, I am in Clarkston right now, but I live up river 100 miles. If there is anything I can do to help, let me know. One of my Airstreams was a '68 Caravel. I have a '71 now.