'73 Holiday Rambler

[weedlady]

DH and I are looking at a 1973 Holiday Rambler. DH looked at the outside today and it's in really good shape. We plan to look at the inside on Saturday. "Everything works as it should". (I will check this out very carefully). The price is right.

I'm having trouble finding information about Holiday Ramblers of this era. Is there anything in particular I need to be aware of? Can anyone tell me where online to look for details?

thanks
Martha

[brwneyedsue]

TravelinTwin wrote:
I desperately need a OWNERS' MANUAL for My 1973 HOLIDAY RAMBLER!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated.....

Did you find a manual yet? I have one. It was sent to me by someone I met on facebook. I will look for it. 🙂

[zooey112689]

HELLO FOLKS. First time travel trailer purchaser here. I've been looking for several months and finally fate brought me this 1973 Holiday Vacationer 20ft. Looking pretty good for $900. I was hoping for any input from anyone familiar with HR trailers and if anyone has copies of any manuals from '73.... I am also wondering if I've got an inadequate tow vehicle now, this thing is built like a tank! I'm unsure of overall weight, but I'm guessing over 3,000#... Well, what do you think? Good purchase or no?? Wish me luck! 🙂

[MrSurly]

amobley73 wrote:
You were on point, thanks. Under all the old paint, there it was! It provided Month, year made as well as the VIN.

No kidding?
I didn't see a date stamp on mine, I'll have to look more closely.

[weedlady]

You are welcome. Hope you find it helpful.

[amobley73]

Thanks to Martha (Weedlady)the manual are great! My wife may not be happy with my new bedside reading material, but I love it.

[amobley73]

You were on point, thanks. Under all the old paint, there it was! It provided Month, year made as well as the VIN.

[MrSurly]

amobley73 wrote:
Can anyone tell me where to find the VIN on my 73 Holiday Rambler Vacationer?

I found what I believe to be the VIN on mine stamped into the top of the hitch just beside the jack.

[MrSurly]

amobley73 wrote:
Recently my Church organization give me a 73 Holiday Rambler Vacationer Travel Trailer. Reading the posting has helped a lot. I'm looking forward to receiving a instruction manual from Weedlady, since I'd no idea_ what I'm doing. I'm a little lost as to what to check first, I do believe the roof had a leak, so that's the first issue. I did plug it in, but I believe the previous user of the trailer changed the fridge to a electric only. I've been reading about the braking system in this forum and need to determine what type, if any brakes are on this trailer. But, my final question is, should I even consider pulling this trailer with my Grand Marguis Auto?

Last question, first answer: There is NO possibility of towing a trailer of that size with the Mercury. The max tow capacity for any model of Gran Marquis is 2000#. The vacationer is going to be in the 5000# range.
I don't have the specs for the Vacationer but I need to find them as well as I'm building one myself in this thread. Take a look, see if yours looks similar?
There are other threads around here of folks working on other HRs. They are really well built, I would guess that's why they keep popping up around here! When you plugged it in, did you have 12Volts to the interior (lights/furnace/venthood)?

[TravelinTwin]

I desperately need a OWNERS' MANUAL for My 1973 HOLIDAY RAMBLER!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated.....

[amobley73]

Can anyone tell me where to find the VIN on my 73 Holiday Rambler Vacationer?

[amobley73]

Recently my Church organization give me a 73 Holiday Rambler Vacationer Travel Trailer. Reading the posting has helped a lot. I'm looking forward to receiving a instruction manual from weedlady, since I'd no ideal what I'm doing. I'm a little lost as to what to check first, I do believe the roof had a leak, so that's the first issue. I did plug it in, but I believe the previous user of the trailer changed the freege to a electric only. I've been reading about the braking system in this forum and need to determine what type, if any brakes are on this trailer. But, my final question is, should I even consider pulling this trailer with my Grand Marguis Auto?

[weedlady]

I have the '73 Owner's Manual copied and saved to PDF. It has sections for each of the models. Like most owner's manuals, it doesn't give much real info, but I'd be happy to send it to you if you want to PM me with your email address.
I also have the manuals for all the appliances. My is a 32' HR. If you think you might have the same appliances, I will share those also.

Just let me know. Hope you come to love your trailer as much as I do mine.
Martha

[nmhusky]

Westend
I got the 18' Vacationer moved to the house. Batteries are gone. Trailer wiring harness connections are all corroded. Vent over kitchen missing, as is the cover for the fridge flue.. if I can find a decent a/c unit I will replace the vent with that. I will start throwing away the rotten foam bedding and cushions and old carpet.

Then start figuring out how to troubleshooting appliance systems.

Anyone out there have schematics? Or maybe a way to modernize the system?

Right now no real water damage! We will see what day 2 holds.

[westend]

Hi Steve,
Welcome to the world of vintage TT's! The size of the hitch ball is probably 2 516", a standard size for trailers of this weight. You should have no problems pulling the Holiday Rambler with your GMC.
One thing I've noticed about the Holiday Ramblers is that they seem to have less liklihood of water leaks or the few that do show up are the ones that didn't. Unfortunately, there seems to be little documentation on the older Holiday trailers as the company was bought and sold and the support information like brochures and owner's manuals seems to have evaporated. It's possible that you'll meet an owner that has some of the product information. The good news is that most of these vintage rigs were built very similar and what was contained in one may be the same as your Holiday. Appliances, for instance, seem to be similar as to year class, across brands of TT's.
Good luck with your project and post some pics up if you have the chance. There are some excelllent restoration threads on the Forum and some really talented DIY'ers so you will have good resources going forward.

[nmhusky]

Hi All
I am totally new here. I will be moving a 1973 Holiday Rambler 200? to my home and start a restoration project. I don't know the exact length yet or the actual model yet. I think it is about 20' long. The entrance door is on the right rear. It has a stove top, fridge, bath room. It may have more but it was soo full of boxes that we could not see the rest. It does not appear to have much if any water damage. And there are no major dings on the exterior.

Not sure of the hitch size but another post listed a 2.5" ball. Hope that is right cause I am going to try and move it that way. I will be pulling it with a 2000 GMC Z71 (1/2 tom) with a trailer package. Anyone have experience moving a similar TT with this size truck?

Any help appreciated,
steve