Jim
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by Jim on Dec 31, 2005 18:58:19 GMT 10
Following up on the post I put up about our recent trip to New Zealand and the NZ caravan history book, I regret now that I didn’t take more photos of old caravans we saw in our travels, especially on the South Island In particular old and seemingly abandoned vans that we saw lying under trees, in backyards, driveways and in paddocks with the usual grime and streaks that the weather brings. Years ago I was impressed with the amount of light and the lovely feeling of airiness in a van that huge windows give. It seemed it was always New Zealand built vans that gave that feeling. Here are a couple of the (sadly few) pictures I did take that illustrate that idea quite well. Maybe one could argue that our wonderful Australian gravel and corrugated roads might destroy a van with lots of glass area, which means it has less frame.. ? Personally I believe it’s all about good chassis and suspension design, which is sadly lacking on most caravans. Has anyone got thoughts or opinions about that? Jim
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veedubnut
Full Member
The Compact Camper
Posts: 272
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Post by veedubnut on Jan 1, 2006 1:09:01 GMT 10
The New Zealand vans are really nice with plenty of large windows... However nothing to do with giving an airy feeling to the vans interior...The reason for the large front and rear windows was to comply with vehicle design rules in New Zealand... When towing the driver was to be able to see from the internal rear vision mirror straight through the van to the traffic behind... Crazy huh?!?! Depending on your tow vehicles size and ride height I don't think you would see much except maybe a semi trailer!
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Jim
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by Jim on Jan 20, 2006 16:10:17 GMT 10
VDub
This thread is old hat now, but I think you missed the point I was making about big windows.
I think large windows have got everything to do with having a light and airy feeling in a van, regardless of why they were fitted. It was livability that was the basis of my comments about windows, not regulations.
I guess you have to live a while in a van with big windows to appreciate the difference
I am aware that the NZ regulation issue you mentioned, but regulations wouldn’t account for the large side windows as in the second picture I posted.
How would a revamp of an old van (such as some that are on ebay at the moment that need work) come up if the windows where changed for huge ones?
Or, say, if large windows were fitted to an old teardrop?
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