The beginning of "They call me Mellow Yellow"

[CompactJR-Sailor]

We are new owners of a 1971 Compact Jr. Picked it up yesterday in Gorgia and pulled it 350 miles to Punta Gorda Florida. It will spend the winter there while it will be renovated so that it can be camped in from Florida to Texas and then to Ohio where it will live it summer months. I have included a couple of pics more to come.

[Davie B]

Wow; it's beautiful. I'm looking forward to photos of the interior.

[Donna D.]

Contratulations! I took look forward to more pictures and I bet you're looking forward to making lots of camping memories

[Kent I]

Welcome to forum. May your compact junior be the place of comfort and shelter in many adventures. Love the colour.

[Tom Trostel]

Welcome to the forum. We may have seen the twin to your trailer several years ago in California.

Compact :: Mellow Yellow in Crescent City, CA picture by tomNjo - Photobucket

My father-in-law attended the University of Findley years ago and we love the candy store downtown (can't remember the name). He was born and raised in Bellevue, OH. We get up your way every other year as the DW has a favorite cousin there. DW was born in Arcanum, OH near Greenville.

[theresa p]

looks great! any interior shots?

[cyndi H]

The compact junior is my favorite space design (dont tell my boler)

[Borden]

Welcome to a great great group

[Bruce Thomas]

I like it

[francene]

Welcome! Enjoy working on your new find. It looks cool in yellow. What is your tow vehicle? It looks kind of like a Vibe or Matrix. How well does it tow the Compact? I have a Compact II and am looking for a better tow vehicle than the Camry 4 cylinder we currently have.

We're here to help~

Fran
74 Compact II

[buddy hammond]

Great Can't wait to see finished product. All the best

[CompactJR-Sailor]

We towed it with a Vibe and did fine 65- 70 on flat roads without laboring, however you do have to realize your pulling with a 1.8 liter motor. I think your Compact II is heavier so you should have bigger motor. We will be pulling it with a Chrysler mini van from Florida to Texas then Ohio in May. Then I will probably pull it with a Subaru Forrester that I have in Ohio.

Originally Posted by francene

Welcome! Enjoy working on your new find. It looks cool in yellow. What is your tow vehicle? It looks kind of like a Vibe or Matrix. How well does it tow the Compact? I have a Compact II and am looking for a better tow vehicle than the Camry 4 cylinder we currently have.

We're here to help~

Fran
74 Compact II

[francene]

Thanks for the reply. Our Camry did fine pulling the Compact II home the day we purchased the trailer. Loaded down with gear and towing up inclines is another matter, as you imply. The CII doesn't have trailer brakes; I am thinking of towing with a Tacoma or 6 cylinder Forester.

Fran

[eldercaddy]

Yeah boy! Really awesome! Think my wife will gonna like it!

[CompactJR-Sailor]

I have taken the rear door off and put some Penatrol on the rear of the trailer where I had it real clean. I have used Penatrol on an old boat and it brought the color out and it did the same for Tweety. It is very yellow. It is basic and needs a lot of work, but because it was stored under a shelter it does not have any wood damage and the frame is very good. Next I will pull the windows out and reframe around the windows with oak trim and reseal the the windows.

[Borden]

What is the weight of a 16' Compact Jr? The pop-up roof would lower wind drag but add to weight I think. The more square design it seems would add to high speed air resistance. The rear door is a good idea saw the possibilities for this design in the Taylor Coach units he gets a washroom inside his 12’ trailers with a rear door. Our 4 cylinder Corolla has trailer brakes to help stop, progressive trans-axle cooler for long trips, sway bar and Custom made class III hitch with 400/4000 WD system to get the required tongue weight to pull the boler 17' unit. Towing with a Tacoma or 6 cylinder Forester would give a lot more power. Still wonder about the brakes, and cooler but you maybe able to use a class II hitch with maybe a sway bar and and save on cost of wd system.

[Robert Johans]

I just noticed what appears to be a vertical line running perpendicular to the clamshell construction. Is this simply a small stripe, or is it in fact a seam of some kind? If so, is this typical of a CJr?

[Tom Trostel]

Our Compact Jr weighs 1400 lbs. It is 13' from hitch to rear bumper. The body is 10' x 6'. The upper top weighs 67 lbs. Though it's square-ish shaped, the Compact Jr has a 33 sq.ft. frontal area when towed so the power needs to pull it is small for a solid wall trailer. The body is made of a right and left half with vertical seam.

Compact pictures by tomNjo - Photobucket

[francene]

Hi Borden,
I'm impressed you tow with a Corolla; do you do much hill climbing? You've got the trailer brakes, tranny cooler, sway bar and hitch, but being able to pull a 17 footer, wow.

Fran
Compact II '74

[Borden]

Francene the boler trailer has no wood frame, and is one piece made with curved thin wall fiberglass construction that includes a thicker fiberglass floor of 3/16". If you move the insulation to the side a bit light comes through the wall! Like the light weight canoes. Moulded top and bottom halfs are glued together with a metal band over joint with rivets to help hold it in place. No fiber glassed blocks aluminum clips with rivets hold cupboards in place.
The cupboards are structural and make the sides stiff as such the weight is much lower than normal for a trailer of its size 2500 lbs. This means stock a roof air conditioner is out of the question. The rolling resistance is such that I can move the trailer by myself from the front to back yard; very well balanced.
So really not so impressive
The custom part is the Hitch which is fastened at the back like normal but then the 2”center tube snakes forward under trunk and gas tank to refasten forward to the car.