Don caravan

[carolyng]

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Before we started
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Rebuilding some of the rotted framework.

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Some of the work so far including new panels on front and top and new upholstery. Not quite the pure rubber fill but looks and feels great!
Our caravan originally belonged to my husband's grandparents who purchased it second hand in the  early 50s. It was not very old when they purchased it.
The caravan remained on the orchard where my husband grew up (the fourth generation of his family to live there). My parents in law have recently passed away and the family is engaged in a mass scale clean up! We have always spoken about doing the van up 'one day' and the clean up prompted us to action.
I wished I'd asked more questions of my father in law re the van now.  He would really love that we were doing it up although I'm not sure he would agree with the cupboard colors! His favorite color was green. I think he had a fruit picker paint it totally green many years ago. Don Ricardo tells me that it would have been cream originally with green trim.
There are some old photos of this van somewhere -when I find them I'll post them.
We are enjoying doing up the van - me more so than my husband! Any tips are welcome !
I have done lots of sanding and undercoating. I'm unsure which sort of paint to use on the exterior? Any advice? Is enamel a better option?
CarolynG

[carolyng]

Does anyone have any information on these cookers? This is what is in our Don caravan. We will get it checked by a gas fitter of course but just wondered if anyone knew of them. It's brand is shields jet flame.
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[Don Ricardo]

Hi CarolynG,

Great to see the photos of your van and to chat with you the other night. It's always good to see another Don being restored, but then I am a bit biased.

You've already achieved a lot in a relatively short time, and I reckon the van will be something to be really proud of when you're finished. It's excellent that it is reasonably original and solid still, even though you've had quite a bit to do on it.

As we discussed, your van is quite unusual because it's had some gas lighting installed in it. As I mentioned to you, it's the first instance I've seen of a Don with gas lights and I'm 99.99% certain that it would have been installed aftermarket - particularly since you mentioned it having had a gas heater installed as well. While it is quite standard for UK caravans (and some US vans) to have a gas heater installed, it is quite the opposite in Australian caravans, and I can't think of any other examples, although other forum members might.

Regarding your stove, there aren't any instructions for the Shield Jetflame posted on the forum at this point, but quite a few forum members have them in their vans so hopefully somebody will be help you with some information.

Sportsman1 started a thread concerning the installation of a Shield Jetflame in his van that you might find useful for setting up your stove again - click here.

According to Humpty2, the stainless steel Shields Jetflames were introduced in 1965/66. According to him they were enamelled before that (although somebody else said that the stainless steel Jetflames were around in the 50's). If Humpty2 is correct then that may tell you when your van had the gas installed...maybe...(although somebody else said that the stainless steel Jetflames were around in the 50's, so who knows?).

I'm looking foward to seeing more photos of your van as the restoration proceeds.  It is fantastic to have a van that has been in the family for three generations - a real family heirloom!  Good luck with it all.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi again CarolynG,

Looking for something else this morning, I came across some information in the 1960 Winser caravan manual about Shields Jetflame stoves that I thought might be of interest to you - still no instructions but at least some background material:


(Source: K Winser,Australian Caravan and Touring Manual, 12th edition, 1961, p 202)

This advert disproves the suggestion that the stainless steel stoves were only introduced in 1965/66.  At least in 1960 both stainless steel and enamel models were available at the same time.  I presume yours is the Princess model?

Then there is further info in this article from the same publication:


(Source: K Winser,Australian Caravan and Touring Manual, 12th edition, 1961, p 196)

This article mentions the Shields stoves, but also mentions gas lights...and...wait for it...a gas fired heater in the form of "...a small infra-red tile ideal for heating a caravan. When lit there is no naked flame, the tile simply glows emitting a warmth that will heat the van." Does this sound like the heater that was in your van?

Sounds like one of the previous owners of your van - either one of your husband's family members or the original purchaser - went all out to set the van up for gas. How interesting to know all that.

Don Ricardo

[carolyng]

Hi Don Ricardo,
I can't thank you enough for all your research! It's got me intrigued. As I said to you my husband's father was ultra, ultra conservative. Change was not something he did frequently. Hubby and I have been chatting and he wouldn't be surprised if his grandad did the gas fit out and that would put it back in the 50s. We only know his grandfather through the stories of others but it certainly fits what we know of him.
We are going to do more family research - there is only one remaining uncle but I think he will be able to help. i will keep you posted!
It's all so fascinating working out the story of our van - thank you so much for contributing your knowledge to our story.
Regards,
Carolyng

[carolyng]

I found all the light fittings in a box and have had them all fitted! I even found the shades although I will need to replace the fabric. My daughter loves music and saw some shades (too large for us)  in a vintage shop with notes on them.... Yet another challenge to replicate those! Floor tiles were layed this week over Masonite. We took out one gas light and replaced it with the original fitting. We have decided to take the other one out as it's  in a very awkward spot and now that we know it wasn't original... To be honest I am also  concerned about gas in the van. It's getting closer to being finished on the inside which is very exciting! Most of the windows are off and I am having the glass and some lead light repaired by a gentlemen who has done quite a few jobs for us in the past! I found some great vintage style fabric which I will make into curtains. Attachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment Deleted

[carolyng]

Well it's been a while since my last post, but we are progressing - slowly! We had the lead light windows redone, except the back one as it was still intact. Here are our latest pics.

[shesgotthelook]

Hi Carolyn, the attachment function isn't working on the forum. Have a read of this, (very easy once you've done it a couple of times).

vintagecaravans.proboards.com/thread/14478/posting-photos-forum-photobucket-etc

[carolyng]

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Carolyng,

The Don is looking great. I'd heard about what a great job you were doing on the van from a mutual contact, so it's good to see the photos.

You're making excellent progress, even if it's a bit slower than you were hoping. Don't be too hard on yourselves though - slow and steady wins the race and probably results in a more satisfying outcome.

Don Ricardo

[cruiser1980]

Great work so nice pic.

[morgan865]

fantastic !