Hi from Teolo, Italy

[Rolf Dobelli]

Wonderful Site. Here' s our Italcaravan M3 1967.

Kind Regards, Fabio.

[Mary F]

Cool! Welcome to FiberglassRV.com, Fabio!

[Kevin K]

Any inside photos of your Italcaravan M3 1967?

[Donna D.]

Welcome Fabio, we're glad you found us. Dittto to Kevin's request for interior pictures

[honda03842]

Fabio,

I am very interested in European tow vehicles and their ability.

What vehicle do you tow your trailer with?

Trailer weight?

Km/Liter?

Thank you, Norm

[2yax2go]

Ciao, Fabio....

Welcome to the world of fibreglas caravaning.

Along with pix of the inside, I look forward to stories of where you camp. Never been to Italia.

[Rolf Dobelli]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Fabio,

I am very interested in European tow vehicles and their ability.

What vehicle do you tow your trailer with?

Trailer weight?

Km/Liter?

Thank you, Norm

Hi Norm, and all the others,

you mean the tow vehicle in the picture? It's a 85er 1600 ccm 55Kw gasoline VW Passat, sold with the name VW Quantum in the US (I'm looking for the US grill , with the four frontlights, very nice, but rare, all sold out). The trailer weights about 650 kg empty, I guess it weights about 800 kg charged (Neidhart axe....). I drive the old rustbucket mostly with LPG, Liquid Petroleum Gas, with no heavy feet: 9,2 km/l, with gasoline: about 11-12 km/l, but more expensive; 1 l gasoline 1.5 euro, 1 l LPG 0,75 euro (don't know the change USD/€ now). Modern european vehicles are quite less thirsty than my old vw, especially those with diesel engines, so it's not worth to make a comparison.

The pics are taken at home,Teolo-Padova, near Venice, in Trieste-Sistiana, very nice but loud, lot's of discos, and in Lido delle Nazioni, Ferrara. Don't know where we go this year.

Thank you all for your interest, tomorrow I will try to make some updated interior pictures, sorry for my english....


Ciao Ciao

[Lynn Musgrave]

Originally Posted by Rolf Dobelli

Hi Norm, and all the others,

you mean the tow vehicle in the picture? It's a 85er 1600 ccm 55Kw gasoline VW Passat, sold with the name VW Quantum in the US (I'm looking for the US grill , with the four frontlights, very nice, but rare, all sold out). The trailer weights about 650 kg empty, I guess it weights about 800 kg charged (Neidhart axe....). I drive the old rustbucket mostly with LPG, Liquid Petroleum Gas, with no heavy feet: 9,2 km/l, with gasoline: about 11-12 km/l, but more expensive; 1 l gasoline 1.5 euro, 1 l LPG 0,75 euro (don't know the change USD/€ now). Modern european vehicles are quite less thirsty than my old vw, especially those with diesel engines, so it's not worth to make a comparison.

The pics are taken at home,Teolo-Padova, near Venice, in Trieste-Sistiana, very nice but loud, lot's of discos, and in Lido delle Nazioni, Ferrara. Don't know where we go this year.

Thank you all for your interest, tomorrow I will try to make some updated interior pictures, sorry for my english....


Ciao Ciao

hi there...your camper,caravan and English are wonderful...We all look forward to more pictures of the inside as well as places you camp.

Welcome and Happy Camping...Lynn

[rgrugg]

Your English is fine. My Italian is limited to pizza.

[honda03842]

For those interested, Fabio tows a 1760 lb trailer with a 1600cc, 74 hp gas VW and gets 27 mpg.

Norm

[Rolf Dobelli]

Sorry for the mess inside....due to our last trip to the Garda Lake (last pic; Catullos Caves), the matresses are at the upholsterer (too hard for confortable sleeping). The kitchen (water, cooking place isn't working, next thing to do), there's no heating nor fridge.... 1967....

Take care, Fabio.

[theresa p]

welcome, fabio. having another european family member will open up more opportunities for all of us to travel europe thru your photos!!!

[Larry Tenhage]

What a charming looking RV! Thanks for posting all the photos. It looks to be in very good condition too.

[Rolf Dobelli]

Thank's a lot for your appreciations, it tooks two years of part time work to get it in this conditions. I found it half-abandoned in a field near a house on the way at work, where it stands for about ten or twelwe years. Got it for six bottles of wine. I had to lift the egg from the frame, who was rusty and broken in one point, due to overload, I suppose. The frame was cleaned, welded, and treated with rust converter and anti-rust paint. The floor was completely gone, due to water infiltrations from the gutter-screws, so i had to remove the internal lower FG shells and put a new hexagonal cell aluminium-fiberglass floor (called power-wall, not a good idea, lot of work for renforcing it, laminated wood is better). The furniture was arrangeable with vinyl glue and patience. New matresses, curtains, windows and roof seals, 145/82R13 tires, brakes etc etc.... Sorry, the pictures of the restoration are gone with my old crashed computer....

I like this site very much, your campers are fantastic. Especially those trailed by US vintage trucks or cars, symply great. I found it reading about a Boler restauration with a Neidhart rubber torsion axe same as mine, very interesting and great work... compliments!

Kind regards, Fabio.

[Roger C H]

Ciao Fabio!

(Isn't the internet wonderful?)

You have a very nice trailer. I notice the "70" and "80" stickers on the back. Are you limited to these speeds when towing?

For our latest outing goto post #33 on
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...may-43823.html

[honda03842]

Six bottles of wine.... great frade .... probably the best ever. Congratulations on your restoring effort.

Norm

[Rolf Dobelli]

Thank's Roger and Norm,

@Roger, yes, the italian tow limits for caravans are 43,5 mph on common roads and 49.7 on highways. Every european country has own limits. The French and Belgian are the fastest 130/120 Km/h, I think with special permission. Read "Gespanne" on this german link http://www.autokiste.de/verkehrsrecht/tempolimits.htm And what are the limits for towing in the US/Canada?

Cheers

[Roger C H]

Originally Posted by Rolf Dobelli

Thank's Roger and Norm,

@Roger, yes, the italian tow limits for caravans are 43,5 mph on common roads and 49.7 on highways. Every european country has own limits. The French and Belgian are the fastest 130/120 Km/h, I think with special permission. Read "Gespanne" on this german link Tempolimits in Europa [Autokiste] And what are the limits for towing in the US/Canada?

Cheers

Thanks for the interesting link. Do I understand correctly that the autobahn now has speed limits?

I well remember traveling at 240kph in a Mercedes driven by a friend from Bad Segeburg. One really covered ground at those speeds.

[honda03842]

I remember doing about 200 kph on the autobahn and we were passed by something that went by us so fast I though it was a plane. it was gone before I could finish gasping.

One thing about autobahn drivers is they stay to the right, move over for faster traffic always and respond to the flash of a light from behind.

Norm

[Rolf Dobelli]

Originally Posted by Roger C H

Thanks for the interesting link. Do I understand correctly that the autobahn now has speed limits?

AFAIK there are well speed limits, it depends on the qualities of the germ autobahn, but when there's the "no limit" sign 130 Km/h is the "reccommended speed"

Take care, Fabio.