by Niki Greig
You may remember reading last year of a first-time caravanner embarking upon an ambitious restoration project on a 1973 Carlight Caribbean.
First-time caravanner John Anderson spotted this vintage tourer in our Used Caravan of the Week feature last summer and decided to take the plunge and splash out £650 on what many have described as ‘the Rolls Royce of caravans’.
Well now CaravanTimes has caught up with John Anderson one year on to see if his dream has become a reality.
Having been first drawn to the caravan’s antique style, CaravanTimes was intrigued to see if the couple had kept all of the original features intact.
After inspecting the ‘van, John and his wife were delighted to discover that it still contained practically all the original features, including a stunning cocktail cabinet, which the pair intend to keep well stocked.
So they decided to set about restoring it in keeping with the 1970s era and have done a stunning job.
John explains that the couple set about renovating the ‘van themselves, as a side project after the couple welcomed his first son last year.
“We wanted to keep the caravan as originally intended but bring it up to date with newer fabrics and a fresh coat of paint,” he says.
The entire interior has been refreshed cosmetically by his wife with the reupholstering of cushions and curtains and a fresh lick of paint.
In the meantime John set about mending the door frames and other parts of the ‘van using previous carpentry skills and learning as he went along.
John admits that there is still work to be done but the couple have decided to focus on getting the caravan into working order then focusing on minor alterations as and when they are needed.
Despite the dreadful start to the summer, the family have already enjoyed two outings in the caravan so far this year on a seasonal pitch where they have been very lucky with the weather and enjoyed sunny holidays in the newly restored Carlight.
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But the family still face a major problem: they have nothing to tow their new van with.
John says: “because the caravan weighs about 2,500lbs, it is very heavy and needs a very heavy duty vehicle to tow it with which we haven’t got round to purchasing yet”.
Family duties have got in the way, but John intends to pick up an old Land Rover Defender or similar vehicle to proudly tow the caravan with.
When they do get round to buying a towing vehicle, the young family intend to use the caravan to escape working life and show their young son the countryside.
John has even spoken of potentially touring Europe with the ‘van but admits that this is likely to be a trip taken after they retire.
Words of wisdom
When asked for words of advice to budding caravan restorers, John says: “Go for it, but be wary of what you’re letting yourself in for!”
On the plus side the pair seem to have spent far less money than originally anticipated as he went on to say: “The major expense was the material for the upholstery and curtains and we did pick expensive fabrics, the rest of the budget was spent on wood and paint.
“But we managed to keep well below our anticipated spend as so many of the original features were still in the caravan, they just needed some attention”.
This can only be good news for any budding restorers and will hopefully inspire others to embark upon their own restoration projects.
For more pictures of the rebuild visit John’s Flickr page to see how the project has developed.
