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17 2
Sept 13, 2013 13:08:47 GMT
Post by elainegraham on Sept 13, 2013 13:08:47 GMT
We have just got a 17 2 safari serial number 80013. She is in a bit of a sorry state at the moment, but hopefully with a lot of time, effort and a good imagination she will be beautiful again. This will be the third caravan we have renovated, but the first safari. We will no doubt become regulars on the forum - (will be lots of parts need to be replaced!!) Other people's renovation stories are so inspiring. Ours may make an appearance as we progress with her. Would welcome any history about this caravan Thanks Elaine & Graham
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17 2
Sept 13, 2013 14:22:11 GMT
Post by Brian M on Sept 13, 2013 14:22:11 GMT
Hi Elaine and Graham and welcome to the group.
Your 17-2 is not currently on the register so I cannot help with any history, but it is part of a batch of 17ft Safaris that must have all been made in the same week or so at the factory. We now have 80002, 80003, 80007, 80009, 80012, 80013, 80039 in what seems to be the last batch of 17ft Safaris ever built. Although I have 80089 listed but with a query against it. Can you let me know whereabouts you got yours from it is was a recent Ebay purchase, so I can tie it in with photographs. Don't hesitate to ask any questions, you will find us a friendly bunch who are pleased to help anytone get another Safari back on the road.
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17 2
Sept 13, 2013 18:05:02 GMT
Post by elainegraham on Sept 13, 2013 18:05:02 GMT
Thank you Brian. I think we will be relying quite a lot on help from people in your group!!
We bought the caravan last week for £140 on ebay, and fetched it from Worcestershire to Halifax. It towed well, with no problems. We plan to take our time to renovate the caravan inside and out to as high a standard as we can manage (and afford!)
We have recently sold a 30 year old Abi Ambassador that we did up, and have another 2 caravans on the go as well.
We love the Safari and have wanted a 'classic' caravan for a while. This one will be for us to keep and use.
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17 2
Sept 13, 2013 20:49:41 GMT
via mobile
Post by henry on Sept 13, 2013 20:49:41 GMT
Hi Elaine and Graham
I can't wait to see photos of your safari I hope you can post regular updates of your progress with photos ? As it will encourage more people to have a go at restoration themselves don't be shy you will get nothing but encouragement and good advice here
Safari caravans are among the best ever built and were made to be repaired and last forever and they look stunning you can't say that about anything that's been built in the last 30 years
Gary
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2013 12:16:14 GMT
Hello there! Well done with your purchase at such a good price! lease do keep us updated with photographs of your restoration through every step as it helps influence others to restore theres! Hopefully we will see you at a safari caravan event next year
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17 2
Sept 14, 2013 17:57:14 GMT
Post by elainegraham on Sept 14, 2013 17:57:14 GMT
Thank you for the encouragement it is very much appreciated. We would welcome any information about safari events as we would love to see what other people have done with their caravans. Will be posting some pictures as soon as I work out how to do this!!
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17 2
Sept 15, 2013 6:48:48 GMT
via mobile
Post by henry on Sept 15, 2013 6:48:48 GMT
First you need to get a photobucket account it's free just go on their website and follow the instructions Then follow the instructions on how to upload from there
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oliver1
Junior Member
Posts: 27
Safari Model: 1980 17-2
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17 2
Nov 1, 2013 23:29:05 GMT
Post by oliver1 on Nov 1, 2013 23:29:05 GMT
I have recently come back into the Group, having been lurking in the shadows for many years.
Another 17-2 !!!
Shades of hens' teeth !!
Safaris were of course arguably the Rolls Royce of caravans in their day, and the 17-2 was the flagship of the range. Very few were made, and still fewer have survived, and particularly few in good condition. Aren't you lucky!!
I am currently on my second 17-2: no 80002. My previous one was 78110, which I eventually passed on to a fellow member of this Group (in the old days of the Group being on MSN Groups), Colin Dixon, up in the north-east.
As you may or may not know, the first two digits of the serial number give the year, and the remaining digits give the build number within that year. So your caravan was the 13th one built in 1980; I think that means the 13th Safari, not the 13th 17-2, although since they may well have made them in batches the two may conjecturally be the same, in which case I suspect that yours may be one of the last 17-2s that year; I cannot imagine that they built many more of this model.
Incidentally I have never heard of any 17-2s later than 1980; does anyone know whether there were any?
Incidentally again, the nomenclature is wide open: 17-2, or 17.2, or 17/2. In fact the manufacturers used all three designations in different places in their official literature, apparently randomly, and sometimes even different versions within the same document, so we cannot say that any one of the three is any more correct than any of the others.
My involvement with Safaris started back in 1974 when my late parents bought their first one, new, a 12-2, and then in 1984 they traded it in for one of the very last 14-2s, a 1982 model which had had just three weekends' use. I bought a very fine 1978 17-2 in January 1991, and then in the late nineties I got involved (via my parents) with the Safari Caravan Club. At that time a few members still owned and used Safaris, although we tended to find that the only actual Safaris on a rally field were likely to be those of the then Chairman, Bob Bingham, and my parents and myself. Anyway Bob owned both a 14-2, which he lent long term to his son, and an immaculate 17-2 which was even finer (and two years younger ) than my one, and which I much admired.
Bob lived locally to me, and somewhere around 1999/2000 in the course of a social visit at home he mentioned that he was thinking of selling his 17-2 at some future date, so I asked for first option on it. And in due course he offered it to me in 2002, and I snapped it up.
However I have largely dropped out of caravanning these days in favour of a return to my first love, dinghy and yacht sailing: I cannot tow the dinghy and the caravan simultaneously unless I am sharing the holiday with a second driver and a second car, and combining the two is normally a complete non-starter if I am sailing a yacht. And since I am single I only rarely have a second driver and a second car available.
But I am conscious of age - I am just days shy of 71 - and aware that I have in the past greatly enjoyed caravanning and that there is always the possibility that I may in the future get too old for sailing. I also realise that if I were to part with the Safari I would never find another 17-2 in good condition to replace it, so I am hanging on to it indefinitely.
Incidentally, when you have finished with your restoration your van will be irreplaceable, and you may therefore wish to consider a Classic Caravan insurance policy which covers on an Agreed Value basis and which will if necessary pay for parts to be made rather than limiting you to the manufacturer's last published price list (i.e. 1982!!), which is the norm for conventional insurance policies. I have had such a policy for many years, via Drewe (a.k.a. Look Insurance Services), and on the two occasions in around 25 years when I have had claims and have needed to have parts made I have been very well served by them. It is significantly more expensive than standard policies, but I think that for what it is it is much better value.
The usual disclaimer; I have no connection with whatsoever, except as a very satisfied client.
Oliver
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17 2
Nov 2, 2013 11:56:27 GMT
Post by Brian M on Nov 2, 2013 11:56:27 GMT
Welcome Back Oliver. Just to keep my records straight I will delete your original user account on this forum.
Surviving 17 feet Safaris - 23 are 17-4, 10 are 17-2 and 5 are 17-S, and there are photos of 4 more but the internals of these are not known.
The last serial number for a 17ft is 80089, so there were a few made in 1980 but none after then.
Like you Oliver, I prefer the hyphen between the numbers.
Thanks for your comments on insurance.
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oliver1
Junior Member
Posts: 27
Safari Model: 1980 17-2
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17 2
Nov 2, 2013 16:22:33 GMT
Post by oliver1 on Nov 2, 2013 16:22:33 GMT
Elaine & Graham,
One small point on the internals, which may or may not be relevant to your restoration, either now or at a later date.
On my current 17-2, which (like yours) is a 1980 model, the drawers in the sideboard are lightly and somewhat flimsily constructed, with plastic sides and backs. I have once managed to inadvertently drop one onto the floor, I think possibly while pulling it out but I don't now remember the circumstances, which smashed the plastic, and this took a bit of ingenuity to make a satisfactory repair; I also routinely find that they can be a little troublesome to close properly because they have a tendency to misalign.
On my previous one, a 1978 model, the corresponding drawers were properly constructed in hardwood, and I never had any trouble with them.
If you ever - either now or at a later date - find yours troublesome it might be worth reverting to the earlier specification, and build decent ones in hardwood.
Oliver
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