Post by championthewonder on Apr 30, 2016 15:53:09 GMT 10
Hello all
I am very new to this forum, only having discovered it on the advice of the very helpful Atog, whose name I came across while researching Olympic Riviera caravan refurbishments.
To give you all a bit of a rundown myself and my partner, Jono, purchased a beautiful Olympic Riviera in August 2014 from a gentleman in Brisbane who had put a lot of time and effort into doing it up. He believed that the van was a 1963 model, however, when we registered it in our home state of NSW we were informed its registration history stretched only as far back as 1970. The number on the chassis reads 1582, which I understand might sort this mystery of its age out (Atog has suggested I contact Boblor, which I will do at some point!).
We’re currently at the apex of an around-Australia trip and after an unfortunate incident 40 km south of Geraldton (WA) where one of our wheels came off while we were driving, our van has been declared an insurance write off. We are really hoping we can buy the van back from our insurer and repair it ourselves. However, realistically we can only commit to this if the total costs (parts, labour, freight, storage etc) aren’t going to exceed much beyond $11,000.
After speaking to a local fibre glassing guru we feel relatively confident that we can repair the hole and structural damage if we do the majority of the manual labour to cut costs. However, repairs are rarely as straightforward as you hope and we also have no experience or know-how, so we are wondering if any of you Olympic experts out there might have any advice. We do know to get the van in a roadworthy state again we will also be required to replace the axle etc and maybe even the chassis. Is there anything else we should consider? (see link to photos at the end of this post)
The other issue is that we don’t have the time or the money to remain in Geraldton (there’s number of factors at play), and so we need to find a way to get the van back to Sydney so we can complete the repairs down the track. If anyone has recommendations for freight companies who could get our van from Namgulu in Geraldton to Sydney without costing an arm and a leg, we’d be very grateful. We’re still waiting on some quotes but at this stage the cheapest we’ve found is $3,000 (and that’s only from Perth to Western Sydney, so by the time we get it to Perth and then from Western Sydney to wherever we can find to store it – we live in the north – the freight costs will likely be more like $5,000-$6,000), which is just not feasible.
We also wouldn’t turn our nose up at any suggestions for reasonably priced caravan storage places in either Geraldton or in Sydney (for approximately the next 6 months). We’re exploring all options.
Frustratingly, we really only have a few days to figure all this out as we need to advise our insurer of our decision (buy or dispose) by mid-next week(ish) – so by around 3 May.
Finally, if all else fails, and we financially can't find a way to make this work, we would also entertain the thought of selling it to a fellow vintage caravan enthusiast who has the time and the money to pour into it. I know you have a ‘For Sale’ section on this forum so if anyone thinks we should post there, let me know. However, we would need to find an interested party within a few days ... As you can see, it's a bit of a pickle …
Apologies for the length of this post. Thanking everyone in advance for taking the time to read this and for any advice they can offer.
PS. If anyone wants to see more photos of the van (undamaged) you can take a look at our travel blog championthewonder.com as there's quite a few on there. Or feel free to contact us by email (championthewonderinfo@gmail.com) or by phone (0409183556).
s1067.photobucket.com/user/championthewonderinfoampionthewonder/library/
I am very new to this forum, only having discovered it on the advice of the very helpful Atog, whose name I came across while researching Olympic Riviera caravan refurbishments.
To give you all a bit of a rundown myself and my partner, Jono, purchased a beautiful Olympic Riviera in August 2014 from a gentleman in Brisbane who had put a lot of time and effort into doing it up. He believed that the van was a 1963 model, however, when we registered it in our home state of NSW we were informed its registration history stretched only as far back as 1970. The number on the chassis reads 1582, which I understand might sort this mystery of its age out (Atog has suggested I contact Boblor, which I will do at some point!).
We’re currently at the apex of an around-Australia trip and after an unfortunate incident 40 km south of Geraldton (WA) where one of our wheels came off while we were driving, our van has been declared an insurance write off. We are really hoping we can buy the van back from our insurer and repair it ourselves. However, realistically we can only commit to this if the total costs (parts, labour, freight, storage etc) aren’t going to exceed much beyond $11,000.
After speaking to a local fibre glassing guru we feel relatively confident that we can repair the hole and structural damage if we do the majority of the manual labour to cut costs. However, repairs are rarely as straightforward as you hope and we also have no experience or know-how, so we are wondering if any of you Olympic experts out there might have any advice. We do know to get the van in a roadworthy state again we will also be required to replace the axle etc and maybe even the chassis. Is there anything else we should consider? (see link to photos at the end of this post)
The other issue is that we don’t have the time or the money to remain in Geraldton (there’s number of factors at play), and so we need to find a way to get the van back to Sydney so we can complete the repairs down the track. If anyone has recommendations for freight companies who could get our van from Namgulu in Geraldton to Sydney without costing an arm and a leg, we’d be very grateful. We’re still waiting on some quotes but at this stage the cheapest we’ve found is $3,000 (and that’s only from Perth to Western Sydney, so by the time we get it to Perth and then from Western Sydney to wherever we can find to store it – we live in the north – the freight costs will likely be more like $5,000-$6,000), which is just not feasible.
We also wouldn’t turn our nose up at any suggestions for reasonably priced caravan storage places in either Geraldton or in Sydney (for approximately the next 6 months). We’re exploring all options.
Frustratingly, we really only have a few days to figure all this out as we need to advise our insurer of our decision (buy or dispose) by mid-next week(ish) – so by around 3 May.
Finally, if all else fails, and we financially can't find a way to make this work, we would also entertain the thought of selling it to a fellow vintage caravan enthusiast who has the time and the money to pour into it. I know you have a ‘For Sale’ section on this forum so if anyone thinks we should post there, let me know. However, we would need to find an interested party within a few days ... As you can see, it's a bit of a pickle …
Apologies for the length of this post. Thanking everyone in advance for taking the time to read this and for any advice they can offer.
PS. If anyone wants to see more photos of the van (undamaged) you can take a look at our travel blog championthewonder.com as there's quite a few on there. Or feel free to contact us by email (championthewonderinfo@gmail.com) or by phone (0409183556).
s1067.photobucket.com/user/championthewonderinfoampionthewonder/library/
