Fabulous Andrew takes me right back to my Monza. Kids were tiny and bathed in a plastic bath which fitted between the seats in the dinette. That’s how we started our love affair with Caravanning. Yes your right the gas mantle was always on the seat when we arrived home.
My Dad had one of these, thanks for posting as it brings back Very Happy memories, Dad passed away two weeks ago at 88, he was a life long fan of Caravans, I am too and am about to buy my 6th van.
Spent childhood holidays in one of those. First trip of the year was always at Easter. Dad’s favourite trip was to Herne Bay. Woke up one time to find ice on the inside of the windows. Scraping it off revealed it had snowed. Not a problem Mum did us hearty fry-ups and roast dinners. Happy Days!
Fantastic. You are so right about the view through. It used to be a comment in most reviews or tests of the time. I spotted the Thompson T Line. Our first caravan was a Thompson Miniglen. We loved it. Gas lights. So narrow, short and light. I’m going online to look for one now. Keep up the good work.
Hi Andrew this was the first video of yours I watched,brought back happy memories of family holiday's & weekends in late 60's we had a bluebird Europe love to you & dougal
Another great vlog. Love the caravan, its got every thing you need. Once saw a french couple turn up on site in a van at least as old as your Alpine. Didn't worry about it being level, legs came down, 2 chairs came out with table, bottle of red wine and some bread and cheese and they had started there hols. I think they had it right
Well done Andrew those older vans were much more fun than the new stuff we must have today ! I fondly remember my first van a Monza 1000 in 1976 when the kids were very young. Such fun.
Oh that is so cool my late Father used to take us on holidays in the 60's caravanning I loved it later in life we went abroad but my best holiday was when he hired a vw campervan in the summer of 76, Dougal is adorable and secretly smiling from the inside :)
you prolly dont care at all but does anybody know of a method to get back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid forgot the password. I appreciate any assistance you can give me.
@Weston Emmett I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and Im in the hacking process now. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
I totally love your retro caravan! Our family had a similar size 60's trailer when I was a little one. It has the gas lamps. I miss those!!! You are so lucky. I have it on my bucket list to own one again. Thanks!
Good luck with your dream of owning another retro caravan - as dreams go it’s a modest one!!! Go for it - get excited about it - your caravan will come into your life sooner than you think 😊💖
Takes me back! We always went caravanning at least once a year to Scotland when I was a child, in our Thomson T-Line. I recall the foot pump very well!
Love the view trough, our elldis typhoon two berth, 1999 vintage allows you to drive with the washroom/toilet sliding door open and locked in that position. Brilliant being able to see traffic which is right behind you. Helps with reversing too. Being new to caravaning it's a great help. Love your videos Andrew, love dougal. Thanks, Vinny. :-)
Isn’t Glynis just stunning?! 😍😍 absolutely great to see a caravan like that get another lease of life again! Reminds me of my childhood and mum & dad having basic caravans like this! Can’t wait to see how you get on with her 👍🏻
You are slowly winning me over with Glynnis, - I had a bit of "the shock of the old" from your first video! The new cushions and throws have already freshened her up enormously. Looking forward to the new curtains. Nice to see Dougal taking it all in his stride! 😃
Hi Andrew, Funny how the lack of spark ignition on the campervan review was"almost a deal breaker" and here you seem to love the simplicty of the matches and the retro cooker!😅😅😂😂 My father also had a sprite when i was small, cant remember too much of it though, i think he swapped it for an older bigger van as we were three kids mum n dad in the van, it had a raised part on the roof with little windows in it if i remeber rightly, the storms of 70s blew the wall over onto the cravan and the street light blew over and hit my mums car! Quite a night! I remember me and my two bigger sisters cowering in the house with all hell breaking out aound us while my parents were at the pub! Lola Enjoy you retro refurbishment im sure it will be awesome.
Dear Andrew, What a new adventure, eh? My parents had a 1970 Sprite Alpine C which had a single bunk at the front with a Tygan hammock above instead of the digit dinette of the 1971 model. A tip to preserve the gas mantles before towing is to spray them with hair lacquer. Remove the glass globe, protect the wall by holding some newspaper behind the mantle, bring careful to avoid touching it, then spray the mantle liberally from all directions with hair lacquer. Allow to dry and carefully replace the glass globe. When igniting the gas next time the hair lacquer burns off rather as new mantles do.
What a fantastic update. Thank you for bringing us along. I don’t think you will be needing a full duvet coming out to Germany. We are sat by the river Rhine in Düsseldorf and it’s red hot all day and night 🥵 will catch you when you get here. 👍👍😊😊
My goodness Andrew , what a treat to see your new purchase , that takes me right back , my late hubbie and I started our caravanning adventures in a borrowed Sprite Alpine of similar vintage , became totally hooked and purchased a 10ft Perle 1977 in Sept 1984 , loved it , took it everywhere , one night stops and as you say life was so much simplier then , and yes the see through in the car mirror , such a bonus , enjoy getting all the little vintage thingys to make it homely , car boots great place to start to pick up some retro stuff , but once you join your first rally , all your new found friends will be a source of information , happy travels in Glynis , give Dougal a big smacher from me ATVB ps. The Hebrides Series was truly amazing , so educational and informative , loved every one and also the two articles in the CAMC mag , excellent stuff !! Well done !!
I enjoy watching your videos. Always fun to see new places/another way of traveling. I think that price for custom cushions in 2 days was good. (I paid $100 ten years ago to get a replacement foam cushion for the deck of my sofa. ) Now here's some more unsolicited advice from someone who sews, a lot. Replace the cushion covers. You will be able to find a color and weight you like. Consider using very big sheets (preferably unfitted) as the fabric for new curtains. This can be very cost effective compared to fabric off the bolt. I see on eBay that Orla Kiely also makes sheets in great prints. Sheet fabric is very sturdy and highly washable. You might have extra fabric for a couple of pillow covers. The person who makes up the curtains will be able to get the most from several large sheets. Happy trails/roads/highways/A & B roads...
Thanks Bernadette! Funnily enough we checked out the bedding in John Lewis today, but it was the same huge print... Will keep looking though, many thanks. 👍
Yay! A wonderful trip back to the 1970s - so that's having to collect your own water, worrying about electric power and some planning to make sure the gas supply is uninterrupted :). I love the way you are keeping it real, you just need an 8-track somewhere :). For the fridge consider a £85 Table Top Fridge such as the A++ rated 'Inventor' one - uses 36W when running (I measured mine with the compressor going), suitable for running off a decent (Victron pure sine) 300W-500W inverter and perhaps adding some solar with the money saved. The heavier Victron (Low freq) have a mere 2W standby power.
ETA: I fitted a Victron Multi 500 to a van (with compressor fridge) which worked out well because the 'multi' behaves like a computer UPS (providing uninterrupted power, you can plug in an EHU when needed and it manages everything else. You'd also need a split charge from the towing electrics but you'd probably need to beef up the +ve feed wire for that, and any batteries you add should be positioned near the axle for stability, a provision for a portable flexible solar may be wise too. Whether moving to a modern 240V maintained electric system spoils the ethos of an olde-world van is a point for discussion, but when faced with £500-900 for a 'proper' 3 way fridge (without the temperature regulation of a compressor one) the budget is there for alternatives, and having 240V on tap isn't such a bad thing!. Before buying anything however see if you need to run any 1000W + items and size accordingly, sometimes a small eco toaster etc can be useful, gas toasters seem to be simple smoke generators IME.
Ahhh. Happy memories. Seeing through, gas lights, foot operated water pump..... amazing. One modern update I recomend is a gas fire lighter. Way easier than matches, and they still work for the cooker after the gas has run out (as long as the piezo bit works)! Loving Glynis. Not keen on the tomato fabric. I prefer the original curtains. Don't know how close to that you could get though. I like the way Dougal just settles down in whatever caravan you use. He seems easily pleased.
Very nice caravan! It is in excellent shape and you are obviously doing a top-notch job on the restoration. I have a '73 U.S. Sprite 400. The cushions were perfect, though they were not comfortable. The style was much more subdued by then (gray velour), so I made flowered slipcovers with sheets, and it worked well with white lace curtains. Makes me want to go out and have a tea party.
Lovely video. Brings back some lovely memories of the Sprite Major my parents had. The original upholstery was that same orange colour. My mum recovered it all and fitted new curtains way back in the late 70's. That thing was so heavy to tow. My dad had a Morris 1800 Land Crab that used to tow it. Coincidentally in the photo you showed there was a pic of the Wolsley version of the same car. So many great holidays. How that car ever managed with I'll never know especially as we loaded the caravan with our bikes and all sorts.
Reminds me of the 16 ft Terry my dad bought to go to Mexico with in about '63. We also had a couple of gas lights. Since there was no fridge, just an ice box, we didn't have to worry about a vent for it. Interesting thing about the gas lights was one mantle would always fall apart while the other lasted for years. We got to where we just planned on replacing the one each time we towed. Hope you find the things you're looking for and you're really able to enjoy Glynnis.
I really enjoyed that video. Retro caravanning is so much fun to watch. And some of those older vans really do remind us that newer ones can sometimes lose the plot a bit 🤔
Merci Andrew for this vidéo. I love your rétro caravan. It IS my dream to own a second caravan too. I would love a old eriba puck. Big kisses from France 😘
Andrew, have you thought about a simple small computer fan to improve the ventilation? They are available for about $10 (US) online or at a computer shop, use very little electricity and last years. If you have access to the rear or inside of that vent it would be easy to attach 2-4 on its length. I’d put one facing in and the rest facing out to expel the air outside. Computers can adjust the fan speed as needed based on the heat level, so you could optionally get a small thumb type rheostat to adjust the fan speed to your liking from an electronics store or online. Just a thought.
Reminds me of our first van, think it was an Abbey with a gas mantel at the front shelf, before we switched to motorhoming. Have finally sold our Hymer & Honda CRV & bought a Westfalia Jules Verne that we love.
New subscriber here from the U.S., hope you don’t mind if I tag along! And your dog is a hit, I heard her say she loves the ikea throw you got for her new cushions!
Good Heavens, can't believe I have carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in my house, never thought about my travel trailer! Thanks for mentioning it! Happy travels from the desert Southwest U.S.A.
MsSixty? They even make a Co detector CARD for small airplanes,,a spot in its middle turns BLACK when exposed, to CO, , as you get your heat from a heat exchanger from the exhaust pipe. Cheers from NJ
That's a very nice Alpine you've got,mate. We had a '79 Alpine and it was the best handling caravan i ever had. Drove all over Europe with it behind my '72 Range Rover V8. Best off luck with it and i hope your Airstream gets properly sorted for you this time.
Beautiful vintage caravan for its age!! Love the retro look and it will look fab with those curtains or similar in the design size you want. I agree that the larger print would be too dominant so its best to scale down. Dougal is so cute but looks decidedly under-whelmed by it all, have fun x
Glynnis is about the same size as a caravan my parents had in the 60s and early 70s. I can't remember what the manufacturer was for that one. The gas lights in Glynnis really take me back to that time. My parents would take that caravan from Ireland to England each summer, then once we went across Europe to Italy. However my father found it quite scary to tow over those long distances so we got a trailer tent and used that for our expeditions across Europe.
Love the fabric choice you describe. Keep in mind when blending fabric "patterns" you must vary the pattern sizes...so if your curtains are a certain scale in pattern it's best to go with a different scale size pattern in a complementing choice. For instance, if you have an average smallish size floral calico, you need to pair that with a bit larger pattern stripe, or tiny dot. Does this make sense? I may not have explained it well. The thinking is even if you have complementing fabrics, if they're all the same scale you won't get the effect you desire.
Thanks Sue. The seat fabric I’m after is a plain orange like the original, so hopefully that will offset the slightly ‘busy’ curtains, just as it did in that pics from the original brochure. Many thanks for your good advice. 👍
I also love your caravan! I have a Freedom microlite and I bought it for its simplicity. However I am starting to complicate it by buying gadgets and crap to fill him up! I wanted the simple life. I’m now having to stop it all. I am going to go for a little trip and go empty just to see how I get on! You have a wonderful life! meala-naidheachd!!!
Hi Andrew, loving Glynis! Have you looked at Orla Kiely tablecloths. They might be in the smaller scale, like the cushions, and will have enough depth of fabric to make curtains from. Now.... when you go to Dusseldorf can you show us some of the european caravans (please not motorhomes!). We are really interested in seeing what they have to offer and how it differs from the UK. We were pleased to hear you mention this when you were taking in your recent video. Thanks Pamela
My first caravan was a '74 Alpine. No frills but we had some good times. Advertised as a 5 berth but 4 was a bit 'comfortable'. It had a front toilet compartment with a double hinged door which opened up to encompass the main door. O.k. If you remembered to lock it before being used in anger. That was in 1975' still have a touring caravan but with a few more refinements.
Hello Andrew and cute sidekick! I don’t want to steer you wrong but is the fabric at Dunelm @£18 per meter the right size? (Hard to tell on the website). I was lucky with my vintage trailer because all the upholstery and curtains had been done top notch (yellow/gray/white/black with bird motif on curtains) I did however cover one of the two bunk beds with a black ultra suede curtain that I pinned with large safety pins from the local fabric shop. Worked very well. You are making me heart sick for selling my vintage fg trailer Bertie 😩. After a one day shakedown trip in my new Class B I already pine for simpler days and the personality of vintage RV’s. Will love living vicariously through you now!
Oh, she's a peach! I'll keep an eye out for your fabric at my local shops,,,,,are you interested in other vintage designs? Or just the tomato flower? I can tell Dougal is over the moon excited about the new digs,,,,he's absolutly giddy!
I emailed my friend, (she renovated her grandparents' truck camper,) because I remembered her fabric being FANTASTICALLY 50's. She used Covington Fiesta Carson design, so I Googled it,,,and it's just as wonderful as I remembered! She used a complimentary stripe for the accent pillows. Just saying,,,,,
I spent many a happy childhood holiday in a similar vintage sprite caravan. Ours had the toilet by the door and a long bench opposite I recall. Mum and dad then upgraded to an Alpine SV which I used once or twice after dad passed away. We had neither electricity or a fridge but still enjoyed ourselves. Happy times Andrew 👍 Edited to say I am sure I have a spare gas mantle but I can't at the moment remember where it is. One of those things that was kept in a spares box in the caravan. If I find it do you want it?
Keith Hicks - Dougle does seem a bit unenthusiastic at times, but in many of Andrews videos you can see Dougle having a blast happy as can be playing. I just think Dougle doesn’t understand what’s going on when he is filming. Kind of like when I trim my dogs toenails, she’s not happy and has this look of humorous toleration that’s as if she’s thinking "Stupid Humans." 😎
Talking of view through, do yo remember the periscope Retrovisor that fitted to the roof of the tow car with suction cups? Loved this vid. My Mum and dad bought a 1969 Alpine C brand new. Many happy memories. I wish still had it now.
Orla Kiely's designs bring the Mod look into the 21st Century. Also.....for consideration's sake..... Would you consider upgrading the lighting set up to a solar powered led strip or an auxiliary solar powered led lamp?
Loved the video (and the Dougal kisses!). I think you need to replace 50 year old fabric--don't just restuff. Hope you can find material that closely matches the original. Continued safe travels!!
Found Orly Kiely, "colorful leaf" in the small pattern, not tomato stem (leaf color slightly different but same pattern). It's a 72"x72" polyester water & mildew resistant curtain. Amazon, sold by Cloud Dream Home, $18. Looks like could be sewn into caravan curtains.
If you can’t find fabric commercially, consider checking out Spoonflower.com where there are many many designs. You could even design your own and have Spoonflower produce your yardage!🙂
Very nice little van So how did they manage to make that last so long when so many new wonderful vans these days leak after a few years? Personally I think I'd go with cutting a flue and having a gas fridge, I'm sure you can source, or maybe colour , the new flue plastic vent to look old and in keeping. Personally I hate compressor fridges , noisy and consume loads of amps. We rented a campervan recently with a compressor fridge, I turned it off each night as I couldn't put up with the noise.......to be fair I ran it at it's coldest setting all day so even when it was switched off overnight it still kept the items cold by the following morning.
You should strongly consider a compressor fridge. They're just better, as long as you have decent battery capacity. Although you could consider something like a Dometic CFX chest-style compressor one, too. The benefit of that being that now you have a small portable fridge - or freezer, they can be either - which is something that could come in handy in any motorhome or caravan as secondary cold storage in the future, when you go back to the Airstream or a loaner van or whatever. Just a thought.
Hello, If You want you can make your own curtains very easy. Please get some white cotton fabric and measure,cut and sew to size needed. Then get some fabric paint with some rubber stamps in the shape you wish along with the colors you wish. Then stamp till your heart is content and hang them up and you will be so happy with you own personal curtains.
Hi there... I have just brought a Sprite Alpine pretty much exactly the same as this. Just a quick question... did they originally come with some sort of "braking" system or were they are unbraked? As I cannot see any brakes on ours at all. Thanks a lot :)
Wow !!!! I can't believe how similar you dog is to mine. They could be brother and sister ( if your dog is 13 that is ) I hope you have insurance for him as ours needed two operations for cruciate ligament problems ( back legs ) £1000 per op.
