Need to rescue a 1969 Caravel. Advice on moving her?

[Caddyshack]

Excited about being part of this group. The AS Caravel that we have belonged to my father who owned it for about 20 years prior to his passing in 2003.

About six years ago I loaned it to a friend who was building a country home in a secluded area, so he could live in it during construction. So it has been sitting there ever since. He never finished the house, but I felt it was time to get AS back.

We are going to have to clear brush and small trees. But chainsaws are a lot of fun! Get some labor guys to cut a path about ten feet wide and 75 feet long and we will haul her out of there! I will use my Polaris 6 wheel drive ATV to get her to the road.

1. Get the wheels off and new tires. Check wheel bearings and (what else)??
2. New tires and repack wheel bearings if needed.
3. Cut the path.
4. Use Polaris to pull her to the concrete pad where he was going to build his house, jack her up and check the bottom side and make sure nothing is loose.
5. Bring her home, about 30 miles.

Would sure appreciate any advice about what to check and make sure she is road-worthy.

Our home is a warehouse. We built a house inside it and we have plenty of room to work on the Caravel. Don't have a clue about condition. Where should we start?

I read somewhere that it might be a good idea to put heavy tape over the wing windows to secure them to the body to be sure they did not come loose during our initial drive home. I don't know the condition of the rubber. Any thoughts on this?

There is also a dent in the front edge of the roof, I suppose I can pull this out with a suction cup? Any advice about this?


I will, of course, take a lot of pictures and post them about our adventure!

[Caddyshack]

Any recomendations on tires? I think I need 700x15 ten ply trailer tires??

Would also appreciate any advice about a good brand of tire and where to buy them? I usually go to Costco for tires, but am open to other places.

I might go for wide white walls if possible. May be pulling her with a 1958 Cadillac, looking to buy one of these. Would make a fun combination!

[Lance M]

Bill,
Welcome! You have a super little trailer there. Great rescue. Sounds like you have the very important things covered. Tires/wheels, repack wheel bearings, lights, coupler, break away chains.
Go slow and take it easy.
Yes the original tires were 7.00x15. You can go back with the original or radial tires in 225/75/15 or a few other sizes that will fit and carry the loaded weight of your trailer.

Good luck and we look forward to more pics of the rescue!

[HiHoAgRV]

Thays a cool camper. You are correct about protecting those wing windows, they are specific to 1969 and very expensive to replace (if you can find them)

The only item I can add is to take a set of add on trailer lights and lots of duct tape.

Once you get it home, start up a restoration thread and keep us 'posted'

[Belegedhel]

Also make sure the door is secured. If there is no dead bolt, hasp, etc., then there is the possibility it will come open in transit and bend up your door frame. Some people run a rope clear over and under the trailer to secure the door, others bring some scrap wood and wedge it under the handle that is next to the door.

The wing windows don't open, so shouldn't just fall out, but as mentioned above, they are hard to acquire, so protecting them from debris is a good idea. Make sure all of the other windows that do open are locked down before you start moving. Same goes for the roof vents. Makes sure you have a jack with enough height to serve as a tongue jack just in case the one you have on there is frozen/non-functional.

As for rennovation, treat it like a house and start with the foundation. Check out how rotten the floor is, and make a decision as to how much of it is going to need to be replaced (patch vs. shell-off). If it turns into a shell off, you can work the bellypan, floor, insulation, axles, etc. at once. From there, you work your way up.