[VAC] Does size really matter?

[Robert C Townsend <rctowns@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I don't think this is 'off-list/off-topic' at all... if it is, we'll find
out soon enough.. :-)

The '65 Globetrotter's a 20-footer. In case you haven't tumbled to the fact,
trailer length is measured from the back bumper to the center of the
hitch-ball...Personally, I thought that 20' was plenty big enough for one
person and two kitty-cats. We added a girlfriend when passing through Santa
Fe, and it's a reliable test of compatibility, two persons sharing such
limited space. We (girlfriend and i) parted reluctantly but amicably when it
was time for me to leave Tucson several months later.

When I was looking for another airstream last june, i was looking for the
lightest/smallest trailer to renovate for towing behind my '99 Prowler. I
missed out on the '50's Cruisette at IowaBoys by a matter of days, but was
thrilled to find my 19' Trailwind, figuring that i'd be doing some
significant structural and interior modifications anyway, and could thereby
meet the weight consideration by incorporating some technological
refinements which were unavailable an half-century ago.

The Flying Cloud sounds wonderful, and more than adequate for your needs.
Around this time, Airstream had changed from the 'pipe-frame' (as on the
'Wee-wind', 'Clipper', and 'Trailwind') to the somewhat heavier (but much
more structurally sound) 'ladder-frame'. I'm not sure which the Flying Cloud
was... and, does it have a bathroom (w.c.)? A '51 Flying Cloud behind a '51
Rolls-Royce (R-type Bentley) Flying Cloud would be the my pick for All-Time
Best Vintage Rig imaginable.

Debbie and Michael Smith ( DGSmith58@aol.com ) are offering their 1966 17'
Caravel at an extremely good price - they're neighbors of mine ("Reno's so
close to Hell, one can see Sparks")... If i weren't so over-committed with
my current projects, I'd snap it up myself. It's really, really nice,
probably a tad heavy for the Prowler, although I've pretty much abandoned
the idea of using the Prowler as a tow-vehicle except for shock value at our
'HotAugustNights' or 'GoodGuys' hot-rod events... The re-powered Jeepster
will be a much more suitable vintage hauler...

My heuristic/rationale for trailer size is simple - smaller is better,
because one can use a wider range of tow-vehicles. The later addition of
grey- and black-water tanks resulted in trailers which could not
(reasonably/reliably) be expected to be towed by a passenger cars, and
effectively subverts what i interpret to be the Byam/Airstream intent - a
trailer with all the comforts of home, ready to pick up and go at a moments'
notice behind one's daily-driver.

Tuna
'48 Trailwind
'50 Jeepster
WBCCI#8862, VAC
Reno, NV