Morris Minor Owners Club

hello there
i am currently very tempted to buy a friend of mines 1960 caravan that he has for sale. it is light weight 500kg and has brakes. the trouble is my old much loved traveller does not as yet have a tow bar( i know i can get one for a hundred quid)and i have never towed anything! meand my children rent our house out every summer for 6 weeks and after this years wet one i really like the idea of having somewhere more solid to stay in...that also looks the part! Am i mad? or is this a feasible idea. would it be hard to tow...would i need special mirrors attached to car. oh yes....my car is not modified.
with thanks
Lucy

Trav will tow that easily, (weightwise) have a tow bar on my scabby trav, looks horrible but is occasionally useful.
You would need some extended mirrors I'd imagine.

My 1098 trav pulls my trailer loaded with the big pump (total approx 500kg) without too much trouble. You know the trailer is there though, and the fuel consumption all but doubles, this being dictated by the extra windage and terrain. Pulling out into traffic is not pleasant, and you have to be careful changing gear quickly at higher engine revs that you are usually used to; it may be an idea to get a 'Slow Vehicle' sign on the back of the caravan (if this is legal) but you should find you can cruise up to 50mph without too much trouble. You will by law need extended wing mirrors. If you get a towbar fitted, make sure that it is not only bolted to the bumper bolts, but also to the floor thus taking out any twisting moment whilst braking. You also need to have a chain from the car to the trailer.

I was really impressed with the Trav's pulling power on grassy fields with the loaded trailer on behind.

As long as the chassis is solid enough to take the tow bar (a very simple affair - just angle iron) then you will have no problems. I think IoW has speed limit anyway ? If you are only going local distances - it will be fine. Blow the rear tyres up to about 35 psi ! You will need to patch into the electrics to connect the caravan of course. That will be interesting if your Trav has the old Trafficator Arms !!

I would advise fitting toughened half shafts or the brand new EN24
high tensile steel ones. Half shafts are easy to change unless one has broken when it becomes a much more involved job. The only time I broke a shaft was after towing a heavy boat all over Scotland! I assume that you have the 1098 engine as I wouldn't try with a smaller one.

i tow with my traveller o.k its got a 1275 lump but it pulls my 17 foot caravan its about 950 kg unladern it dont like hills at all but only use it for short distance to move the caravan 1 or 2 miles i would not trust it any longer but it can be done