Buying an old Viscount caravan - circa 1978

[twr7cx]

A while ago someone planted the seed in the wifes head about buying an old Australian made caravan. She's found this 1978 Viscount about 3 and a half hours drive away that she's got her mind set on:







What can anyone tell me? What do I need to know? What should I look out for? Common rust or failure points? How to identify if wooden framing or aluminium framing? Should I be running in the other direction?

Given it's age, 42 years old, it looks pretty neat. They're asking $9,000.00 but...
It looks like it's an aluminium body but due for a new paint job, one side worse than the other. It also looks to be missing the front flap panel for the front window (I assume this protects the window from rocks flicked up by the tow car and/or wind pressure when being towed) that can be seen open ajar in this photograph from the internet:



Is this flap likely to be a significant concern for replacing?

In regards to intended use, it wouldn't be much. We wouldn't likely tow it off the island (Tasmania) so a trip would probably only be a maximum of 800km return, usually less. I assume the weight and aerodynamics of them is not great compared to more modern offerings, but I'd assume our 2012 Land Rover Discovery 4 2.7 TDV6 with it's ECU remap could handle it just fine. We've got a 2 and a half year old and 6 month old so, jobs and mortgages so not getting away often either - then again with COVID and no interstate or international travel for a while...

[snoops]

Glad to see you made it here (I’m Homestar from AULRO) 👍😊

Do you have the Chassis number at all?

The front window flap is a common loss on these vans as they have a tendency of blowing off, and are getting hard to locate. My last van (1976 Franklin Arrow) has done close to 10,000KM since I had it (plus what the new owner has done) without one and I’ve never broken the front window. If it’s a concern, replacing the glass with acrylic will see that problem fixed, but apart from an errant stone, then it isn’t a concern,

Your Disco will knock it out of the park towing it - you’ll, hardly feel it - that van will probably come in at 1300kg or so as is. My 19’ Visocunt tandem axle is 1600kg and tows easily with my work Hilux, so don’t sweat that one.

Should be an aluminium frame, but the roof trusses will be timber and the seals down each side where the roof meets the walls (called J moulds) could now leak as the mastic gets hard over time. Easy fix but time consuming. Check for water damage in the ceiling panels at the corners.

Check for substantial rust on the chassis - it will have surface rust, but that’s fine - also check the hitch and draw bar - draw bar should be fine - it looks like mine which is 100mm C section and we’ll up to the task and sheds water easily, but where the bolts went through he hitch was an issue - bolts looked fine from outside but they were less than half their original width due to rust when I removed them - I also fitted a new plate top and bottom where the hitch mounts, but that’s as far as I needed to go, everything else else was solid and it’s stood up well to towing since.

Im sure others will chime in at some point, it can take a few days here, don’t expect multiple replies in a day like you’d get on AULRO, but it’s great place to get to know if you’re looking at getting into an older van. 👍😊

[twr7cx]

Cheers, thank you.

I have contacted them asking for the chassis number and will post it up once received.

Appreciate the info.

How much more spacious and pracical is a tandem axel model if we keep looking?

[78466noM]

As snoops said check it right over and rust is a must to look out for mostly the outside edges it can be fixed but is fiddly and time consuming hence if you can't fix it yourself could cost a fortune ( in western Sydney my draw-bar replacement cost me $500.00 I supplied steel as I needed steel for other repairs and got a good price also had floor lifted and all preped for new draw-bar to be welded on ) outside windows , hatch j-rails as snoops also suggested are easy and should be done even if it doesn't seem to have leaks at the moment. I used mastic mainly because it lasted 40 years from original and I did it on my own no rush to get every thing back together before the sealant started to set . sika flex is something a lot of people push but it is a glue as well as a sealant and if you have to pull something back off it is generally destroyed . have fun and if it smells musky it has or had a leak also check in cupboards for dark stains and musky smells also dark stains around edges of windows inside seating etc

[snoops]

Aug 19, 2020 9:42:53 GMT 10 twr7cx said:

Cheers, thank you.

I have contacted them asking for the chassis number and will post it up once received.

Appreciate the info.

How much more spacious and pracical is a tandem axel model if we keep looking?

As far as space goes, the larger vans have a bit more room - I removed the bunks opposite the kitchen and installed a shadower and toilet, but depends on what you’re after.  I sometimes wish I had my smaller Franklin back - was easier to tow and suited my needs fine.  The layout on the van you’ve shown is a good setup, ideal for 2 people.

[Mustang]

Check out our recent resto, this will show you behind the walls.

ditzygypsy.proboards.com/thread/3044/17-viscount-supreme-vincent

Vincent is currently being used as a prom vehicle by "Time to Roam" caravan magazine.