unknown caravan model ??

[amac62]

Gidday all, 

Having accessed your site approx. 3 months ago after purchasing a van, I need some help!!!!

I have been in caravans since the mid 60's as a kid & remember all the vans my parents have had right up until I began work work in 1979.

The Missus spotted this van & fell in love with it, & now we have it - I had never entertained the idea of owning a caravan, although they have been a big part of my upbringing.

We now have a van which we would like to positively identify, later I will put in some picks when I find out how to! - but here are the details.

This van measures 14'2" not including the draw bar. This van has a name above the front center window of "PATHMASTER"

Having seen quite a few van manufacturers in my time I cannot recall this brand/name. Having looked up the history of this manufacturer on your site ( manufactured in Shepparton)

The draw-bar does have a welded number on it - top RHS behind the jockey wheel - 927 D (no forward slash or high-phone between the 7 & D) very roughly welded number by stick & high amps. 

Morphy-Richards Astral gas only fridge - brilliant condition & works like a dream! - keeps my stubbies cold!!

Van does not have a overhang at the roof above the front window - just comes straight down. Have tried to attach a photo -ANDY

Attachment Deleted

[Don Ricardo]

G'day Amac62,

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the acquisition of your van.

As you have discovered, we don't know very much at all about the history of Pathmaster caravans at this point, but every little bit of info fills in the picture just a bit more. So it is exciting to hear about your Pathmaster.

Looking at the photo of your van, it occurs to me that it appears to look like a Franklin van that you can see by clicking here. Have a look at the photos of the Franklin and tell us what you think.

It may be that by the mid to late 60's Pathmaster were selling re-badged Franklins, or even that it was applying its own badge to any second hand caravans it was selling. We don't know whether that's the case at this point, but it's a possibility. Even if that is what was happening, that doesn't mean that it didn't build its own vans at an earlier point.

Anyway, tell us how your van compares to the Franklin I've pointed you to, and we can discuss further.

Don Ricardo

[amac62]

Hi Don,

Thanks for your reply & you are spot on!- even same colour!!

The photo of the Franklin is definitely the same as our van, although ours is a bit longer with a window above the sink.
I do have the fiberglass spats that cover the wheel wells & am in the process of repairing bits & pieces on the van so that we can actually use it.

Are you able to shed any light on the number welded on the draw bar - 972 D ?? ie year of manufacture (97th van made in 1962 ??) don't know what "D" stands for ??
The cupboard sliding doors & table all have this identity number written on them in pencil.

Look forward to your & any other reply's

Regards,
Amac62

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Amac62,

Well there you go! So maybe that tells us a bit more about Pathmaster. I'll be interested in seeing some photos of your van, including the Pathmaster logo/sticker when you get a chance. The Franklin van I pointed you to was advertised as a 13 footer, so yours is obviously the next size up.

Regarding the serial number, there is a Franklin serial number thread started by Franklin1 in the Down History Lane section here. That tells me that from 1965 onwards, Franklin gave each of their vans a serial number consisting of one to four digits followed by a dash and another digit - xxxx-x. The first one to four digits indicated the number of the van built in a particular year, and the digit after the dash indicated the year. For example van 123-5 would be the 123rd van built in 1965.

As you'll see from Franklin1's post, prior to 1965 the serial number consisted of a number of digits followed by a letter from 'A' to 'E'. Your van is 972D, and based on how Franklin numbered its vans from 1965 onwards, I'm going to make an educated guess that the letter after the numbers may have represented a year. So 'A' would be 1960, 'B' would be 1961, 'C' Would be 1962, 'D' would be 1963, and 'E' would be 1964. Based on that assumption your van would be the 972nd built in 1963.

Now that is only a guess, and it wouldn't apply to other van manufacturers who used a letter to designate a particular model, or sold vans under more than one brand name and used the letter to designate the brand, or used the letter to indicate the factory the van was built in. However, looking at Franklin1's post indicates that in the case of Franklin the letter D applied to more than one model, and I'm pretty sure that Pathmaster didn't sell 972 vans or else we would have seen more of them. So for the moment, I'm going with the theory that the letter indicates the year. I'll be interested to hear what Franklin1 thinks when he gets a chance (he's the "go to" man for 1960's serial numbers!!).

One test of the theory is to find out if Franklin was selling your particular model/shape in 1963, but I can't answer that at the moment because I don't have enough info.

Anyway, there's something to work with!

Don Ricardo

[amac62]

Attachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedHello again Don,Attachment DeletedAttachment Deleted

That's great info & means I am 1 year older than the van!-Here are some more picks!
talk again soon - AMAC62

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Amac62,

Thanks for posting the extra photos of your van. It does look to be in pretty good condition. Have you had to do much work on it?

I see the Pathmaster label has begun peeling on one corner. If you look under the corner, is there any sign of a Franklin sticker? I'm just trying to work out whether Pathmaster was selling Franklin vans under its own name, or just applied its label to vans it sold second hand, as we were discussing earlier.

If it's OK with you, I'll copy a couple of your photos to the Pathmaster thread in the Down History Lane section so that we have a reference to it there.

Don Ricardo

[shesgotthelook]

I think it also closely resembles the Hillandales. Just my 10c worth

[Deleted]

Hi amac,
I reckon it's a Franklin,an earlier version of the "Premier" model.
If you put a small mirror inside an overhead slider you might find a written date or number,and you will see how agricultural the locks are!
Also the cut out under the wheel spats shout Franklin to me.In a kitchen cupboard is a section lined in aluminium?that is the bread tin.
Cheers
hughdeani

[amac62]

Thanks all for your interest. I have peeled back Attachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment Deletedthe Pathmaster label a little bit (photo) nothing but mirror finish aluminium, doesn't mean that there isn't something further under the label.
The label is very thin aluminium stuck on with a sticky adhesive & curls when it is pulled back.
I found the same stove that I have (photo)  in your Franklin section in a 65' model, the i.d plate on the back of my stove has 7-64 on it.
Have included photo of back of fridge with i.d number.
Have replaced the axle - 3" drop axle ( both wheels were on about a 20 degree lean - been overloaded).
New brake lines, replaced rotten timber at base of sills to chassis, pressed aluminium fitted behind bench, new window rubbers still to go on & replace broken back window, water tank still to remove & sink pump (photo) to fix, lino to back on the floor & a few other bits & pieces.
No aluminium in any of the cupboards under the sink Hughdeani as asked to look for.

First trip will be to the weigh bridge - very curious to find out its weight - will it go over 750 kgs? what do you think?

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Amac62 and Hughdeani,

As noted higher up the thread, the van has a Franklin serial number, so it is good to hear Hughdeani's comment that the van shouts 'Franklin'. We're definitely on the right track then Amac62. Hughdeani knows his stuff!!

Interesting that the stove is dated July '64. I would have tended to think that the stove date would be pretty close to the date of the van (although only if it was an original fitting of course), so may be the van is a 1964 model, not 1963 as I guessed from the serial number. However there are a couple of other possibilities:

• Maybe Franklin built chassis, numbered them, and stored them until they were ready to be used - possibly some months later?
• If the vans were built for Pathmaster, maybe they were built, sent to Pathmaster who then fitted them out with stoves, etc, when they were ready to be sold, which, being based in a smaller regional centre, might have taken a few months?

What do you reckon Hughdeani?

I'm not sure how to interpret the fact that there is no Franklin signage under the Pathmaster label. It could mean that the vans were sold in the first place as Pathmasters, or it could mean that Pathmaster was careful to take off the Franklin signage before applying their own label to a second hand van. We do know that some Franklins acquired 'alternative' branding along the way - one example is a Wanda branded Franklin. At this point we don't have a clue who or what Wanda was, but at least we know something about Pathmaster. What would be great, would be for a former Pathmaster proprietor/employee to turn up on the forum and tell us a bit about their business. Hopefully it will happen one day.

Don Ricardo

[Deleted]

Hi all,
All I seem to remember is Pathmaster was a dealer.
I don't think Franklin would have been able to afford to stockpile chassis back then,but I could be wrong.
Cheers
hughdeani

[gilbert]

nice clean van