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Post by matias8diana on May 14, 2019 14:05:05 GMT 10
Hi all,
My partner and I are looking to buy and renovate a classic caravan. I am a joiner and she is an interior designer with a few Reno projects already completed but this would be our first one on wheels. I came across this great platform here and I would have a few questions to work out what type of van to look for.
We are looking to get a caravan to use it ourselves but also to hire out occasionally.
We would enjoy a larger size caravan but I was told a double axel one doesn’t pivot so apparently you can’t reverse it into a site in a caravan park. I remember reversing a double axel trailer in a driveway before so I wanted to ask for a second opinion on this from experienced caravaners.
Would you go for single or tandem axel van?
What are the pros and cons?
Thanks heaps,
Matias and Diana
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Post by Mustang on May 14, 2019 16:39:17 GMT 10
Hi matias8diana, Welcome to the Classic Forum. As most Vintage & Classic vans were made before larger cars single axle is popular, more so amongst vintage. I have owned several vans (2 at the moment) & all have been single axle. I have towed a tandem & yes they sit more "quietly" on the road at speed. If you want something larger most singles will top out at 17'. I have recently renovated a 17'6" Viscount single link & it towed fine at 100kph. Visit our "Hall of Fame" to see members projects, if you want to hire out, check your insurance policy about commercial operation. Again welcome & good luck, come back with any questions. Cheers Brent PS: It is against forum policy to discuss prices of advertised vans. PM me if you have any questions. |
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Post by 78466noM on May 14, 2019 20:50:11 GMT 10
A duel axle is easier to reverse than a single axle as it will turn much slowly to the sides as you maneuver it will sit a little better on road compared to a single axle(as long as it is loaded correctly that is your load and set up are correct as both single and duel axle will whip from side to side if it isn't right) My biggest reason for getting a single axle over a duel axle was where I park it. With an annex I can comfortably house 3 adults and 2 kids for a few weeks so it suits us.
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Post by matias8diana on May 14, 2019 21:59:24 GMT 10
Hi matias8diana, Welcome to the Classic Forum. As most Vintage & Classic vans were made before larger cars single axle is popular, more so amongst vintage. I have owned several vans (2 at the moment) & all have been single axle. I have towed a tandem & yes they sit more "quietly" on the road at speed. If you want something larger most singles will top out at 17'. I have recently renovated a 17'6" Viscount single link & it towed fine at 100kph. Visit our "Hall of Fame" to see members projects, if you want to hire out, check your insurance policy about commercial operation. Again welcome & good luck, come back with any questions. Cheers Brent PS: It is against forum policy to discuss prices of advertised vans. PM me if you have any questions. Thank you for the input and the tips Brent |
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Post by matias8diana on May 14, 2019 22:00:47 GMT 10
A duel axle is easier to reverse than a single axle as it will turn much slowly to the sides as you maneuver it will sit a little better on road compared to a single axle(as long as it is loaded correctly that is your load and set up are correct as both single and duel axle will whip from side to side if it isn't right) My biggest reason for getting a single axle over a duel axle was where I park it. With an annex I can comfortably house 3 adults and 2 kids for a few weeks so it suits us. Thanks, I thought this reversing tip was a myth, thank you for confirming! |
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Post by snoops on May 18, 2019 18:07:37 GMT 10
I’ve had both a single axle 16’ Franklin and now a 19’ Dual axle Viscount. Both have pros and cons in my opinion. I found the single axle van easier to tow, but it was lighter and I had fitted a longer drawbar which helped a lot, but I was always close to max capacity weight wise with it. The tandem has better weight capacity and I don’t have to worry about that so much. It does tow well, but not quite as well as the Franklin, backing it is easy and there are no dramas backing it around corners, what you’ve been told is not right.
Happy hunting!
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Post by matias8diana on Jun 15, 2019 10:50:10 GMT 10
I’ve had both a single axle 16’ Franklin and now a 19’ Dual axle Viscount. Both have pros and cons in my opinion. I found the single axle van easier to tow, but it was lighter and I had fitted a longer drawbar which helped a lot, but I was always close to max capacity weight wise with it. The tandem has better weight capacity and I don’t have to worry about that so much. It does tow well, but not quite as well as the Franklin, backing it is easy and there are no dramas backing it around corners, what you’ve been told is not right. Happy hunting! Hi Snoops, thanks heaps for the info. In terms of weight, how do you work out the max load capacity for an older van? Most of these don’t have paperwork or user manual to go by. Would you have any tips on this? |
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Post by matias8diana on Jun 15, 2019 10:54:42 GMT 10
A duel axle is easier to reverse than a single axle as it will turn much slowly to the sides as you maneuver it will sit a little better on road compared to a single axle(as long as it is loaded correctly that is your load and set up are correct as both single and duel axle will whip from side to side if it isn't right) My biggest reason for getting a single axle over a duel axle was where I park it. With an annex I can comfortably house 3 adults and 2 kids for a few weeks so it suits us. Hey thanks for the input. How do you load your van correctly for travel? Do you have any tips on that? |
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Post by snoops on Jun 17, 2019 18:56:43 GMT 10
I’ve had both a single axle 16’ Franklin and now a 19’ Dual axle Viscount. Both have pros and cons in my opinion. I found the single axle van easier to tow, but it was lighter and I had fitted a longer drawbar which helped a lot, but I was always close to max capacity weight wise with it. The tandem has better weight capacity and I don’t have to worry about that so much. It does tow well, but not quite as well as the Franklin, backing it is easy and there are no dramas backing it around corners, what you’ve been told is not right. Happy hunting! Hi Snoops, thanks heaps for the info. In terms of weight, how do you work out the max load capacity for an older van? Most of these don’t have paperwork or user manual to go by. Would you have any tips on this? Depends where you live - in Victoria, it’s easy to get a GTM increase on old vans as there is generally nothing listed. Best way is to work out what axle/s capacity is/are. Best guess would be it will be running the smaller Holden bearings which in general means the axle is good for between 750 and 1000kg - depending on axle size. 42mm square gives you the 1000kg. Then, before reg, load the van up with gas bottle, water, and a few other heavier items and go get a weighbridge ticket - you’ll then be allowed to register it with a GTM up to 300kg above that (as long as it doesn’t exceed max axle capacity) - so there’s a bit to it. So, more research for you when looking at potential vans, although sticking a bigger axle/s under a van isn’t hard (but isn’t cheap) Oh, and where do you live, as what I’m describing works in Vic but may not in other States. 😊 |
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Post by 78466noM on Jun 20, 2019 8:06:58 GMT 10
You can get special scales to measure to measure ball weight on front of van ( sits in tow hitch ) So to make it easy if your van fully loaded is 1000kg then the ball weight should be 100kgs but if it was say 121kgs it isn't too bad but under 100kgs isn't good . This has to be done on level ground because doing it on a slope will throw your measurements out . I also use weight distribution bars on ours when it is behind the ranger not to lift the rear of ranger as what they are mainly used for but being an old van without shocks they help keep it a little more stable in wind and when trucks pass at speed.
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Post by matias8diana on Jun 24, 2019 12:49:11 GMT 10
Hi matias8diana, Welcome to the Classic Forum. As most Vintage & Classic vans were made before larger cars single axle is popular, more so amongst vintage. I have owned several vans (2 at the moment) & all have been single axle. I have towed a tandem & yes they sit more "quietly" on the road at speed. If you want something larger most singles will top out at 17'. I have recently renovated a 17'6" Viscount single link & it towed fine at 100kph. Visit our "Hall of Fame" to see members projects, if you want to hire out, check your insurance policy about commercial operation. Again welcome & good luck, come back with any questions. Cheers Brent PS: It is against forum policy to discuss prices of advertised vans. PM me if you have any questions. Hi Brent, I think I might have read somewhere on this forum that there is a Facebook page also, would that be ‘Classic Caravans of Oz’? This is the closest one I’ve found. Thanks Diana |
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Post by matias8diana on Jun 24, 2019 13:49:28 GMT 10
Hi Snoops, thanks heaps for the info. In terms of weight, how do you work out the max load capacity for an older van? Most of these don’t have paperwork or user manual to go by. Would you have any tips on this? Depends where you live - in Victoria, it’s easy to get a GTM increase on old vans as there is generally nothing listed. Best way is to work out what axle/s capacity is/are. Best guess would be it will be running the smaller Holden bearings which in general means the axle is good for between 750 and 1000kg - depending on axle size. 42mm square gives you the 1000kg. Then, before reg, load the van up with gas bottle, water, and a few other heavier items and go get a weighbridge ticket - you’ll then be allowed to register it with a GTM up to 300kg above that (as long as it doesn’t exceed max axle capacity) - so there’s a bit to it. So, more research for you when looking at potential vans, although sticking a bigger axle/s under a van isn’t hard (but isn’t cheap) Oh, and where do you live, as what I’m describing works in Vic but may not in other States. 😊 We live in Sydney NSW. I’m looking at a 16 foot single axel 1976ish Millard at the moment, towable but unregistered. Thanks for the info Snoops, I’ll look into what’s involved in NSW. |
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Post by matias8diana on Jun 24, 2019 13:54:35 GMT 10
You can get special scales to measure to measure ball weight on front of van ( sits in tow hitch ) So to make it easy if your van fully loaded is 1000kg then the ball weight should be 100kgs but if it was say 121kgs it isn't too bad but under 100kgs isn't good . This has to be done on level ground because doing it on a slope will throw your measurements out . I also use weight distribution bars on ours when it is behind the ranger not to lift the rear of ranger as what they are mainly used for but being an old van without shocks they help keep it a little more stable in wind and when trucks pass at speed. Thanks, I’ll look into these scales. So is the ball weight meant to be 10% of the GTM? Or over 100kg or around 100kg? |
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Post by 78466noM on Jun 25, 2019 17:29:47 GMT 10
10% or a little more of what the van weighs total ready to tow on your holiday etc (that is to make it easy say you have a van it has a tare of 1000kg's and a gvm of 2000kg's you put ll your stuff food cloths blankets etc in than go to a weight bridge and the total weight is 1500kg's so the ball weight should be 150kg's or a little more not 200kg's as the max gvm of van for the small price of a weight bridge ticket can make it much easier and safer for you ) not less than 10% .Not enough and it will sway also if there is too much it will sway get the weight right and maybe a good set of load levelers and as long as your car can tow the weight and you take it steady ie change lanes smoothly if an animal jumps or runs out in front of you hold steering strait apply brakes etc stay safe and have fun.
My single axle millard is sitting at about 13% ball weight we took it from Sydney to kangaroo Island out to Batemans bay then back to Sydney behind a ford Territory not a problem load levelers helped keep it a little more stable with passing trucks and high wind so they paid for themselves . now it is towed by a ford ranger we still use the levelers on that and an old ford f350 no levelers on that as the tow bar set up is a pintle hook and won't let the plate for the levelers to be put on though I tow at 100kmh with it on freeways and don't feel the van sitting behind it.
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