[VAC] Re: 67 Caravel Utility Compartment

["Dave Huffman" <huff@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My wife and I just returned from OUR first 'long' Airstream trip -- 2-1/2
weeks, 3000 miles from Longview, WA (just north of Portland, OR) to Montana,
here and there in western Montanta.  Tow vehicle is 6 cyl. '97 Toyota
LandCruiser -- very satisfactory; had to drop to 2nd gear in some long grade
situations, seldom passed by any other RV or heavy truck in this situation.
Fastest I tow is 70, but some on this list caution that these trailers were
never made to cruise steadily at today's highway speeds.  I prefer 65mph
max.
    Always a few comments from observers on Airstream trips; this time:
"they sure tow well, don't they?"   Yes, even in the storms we encountered
when the Shelby area roads were closed!
    Airstream surprise on this trip was we saw more current Strems than
vintage ones!   Maybe a dozen current on the roads or in campgrounds, only a
couple of vintage Streams did we see anywhere!  (2nd Airstream remark on
this trip from a current Stream owner: "I think they [Airstreams] last
longer."
    Great trailer, great towcar, great trip.

Any Cons?  Yes, Airstream's '67 version of a utility compartment!
1)  get one your knee(s) to unscrew the cap under the compartment!
2) bump electric switches removing hose/cable from the compartment  ("Why
don't any of the lights work?")
3) feeding cable/hose through the bottom port -- pulling them back though to
leave camp.
4) no shorts yet from hose metal parts contacting battery terminals, but...
    So I noted what the world is doing in '02, and you know what?... they
ain't bending over much at all!  Yea, external water connection (looks like
a cinch with the part readily available at almost any RV store.  Small
enough not to ruin the appearance of a Stream).
    But the electric.  Most trailers feature a plastic door less than a foor
square, featuring a hole for the elec. cable to exit.  Is this a separate
box installed against the outer trailer wall?
So where to put such a thing in a '67 Caravel?
    First of all, I use two golf cart batteries, so they fill much of the
present Util.Compt. space.
But there is plenty of room in a compartment just forward of the Util.
Compt.  This space is storage, accessable via the seat cushion over this
area -- just aft of the water tank.
    Has anyone tried this?  Can the cover be matched to aluminum?... other
than painting it?

Huff   --  more questions coming, but one topic at a time.