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Post by carinna on Nov 3, 2018 21:47:14 GMT 10
Does anybody on here own a 1960 classic caravan?
I bought a beautiful 1960 otten 2 weeks ago and cannot find anybody that can insure it! The companies i am calling are saying that either they can not insure caravans of this age, or that my van make is not listed. I called a lovely guy called Jim at the vintage caravan club, he advised to try and add it to my home insurance, but i had no luck there either. There must be somewhere i can call? Can anybody help me please?
Carinna
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Post by Don Ricardo on Nov 4, 2018 15:27:02 GMT 10
Hi Carinna, Welcome to the forum. It's great to hear about the Otten caravan you have bought. Otten caravans were built in the Netherlands (as you are probably aware?) and I see from your other post that you are based in the UK. Because you are located in the UK, we can only be of limited assistance to you, because this is an Australian vintage caravan forum, and while we know quite a bit about Australian caravans, we don't know very much about UK/European caravans because only a very small number have ever been brought to Australia. However, even though you are in the UK, you are most welcome to be a part of this forum - we are always happy to hear from vintage and classic caravanners from other parts of the world. In Australia, caravans built up to the end of 1969 are categorised as 'vintage caravans', and caravans built between the beginning of 1970 and the end of 1979 are categorised as 'classic caravans'. So being built in 1960 means that your Otten would be 'vintage' in Australia. We can commiserate with you on the insurance issue. It can be a vexed issue in Australia as well. While there are a number of insurance companies that do insure older caravans, sometimes their rules seem to be very confusing, with some caravans being refused for cover by some companies, but accepted by others. And sometimes it depends on who you speak to at a particular company on a given day as to whether cover is available or not. I see that you have been in contact with Jim from the Vintage Caravan Club, but I am not sure where that Club is based? I think your best strategy to finding a solution to your insurance problem is to continue asking around, which is what you are doing by posting on this forum. There are a couple of vintage/classic caravan groups in the UK which may be able to help you: The other option you could try if you were in Australia, would be to ring an insurance broker and see what they could find. An insurance broker is an independent 'middle person' who helps customers find the most suitable insurance for their needs. I'm not sure if you have them in the UK? I'm sure there must be someone in the UK that insures vintage caravans. It may not be your regular insurers; you may have to find a specialist insurer that covers classic cars and motorbikes, etc. Perhaps it will help if you can present them with information about Otten caravans? I'm not sure whether you've been able to find out much info about Otten caravans, but I have found a Facebook page that you may be interested in - click here. That page provides the following history (just in case you're not on Facebook). I should add that the translation from Dutch is theirs!: "History of the otten caravan
"Even before the 2TH WORLD WAR, Jan Cornelis and barend otten had already built a small caravan, but it lasted until 1956 before they started the production of otten caravans in their carrosseriefabriek in Amsterdam (Groningen). Caravans were built for 'sporty people', so extra luxury was considered redundant. The caravans were all equipped with hefdaken, the trademark of the firm company. The largest otten built in series was the "discoverer the smallest of the" wanderer From Small to large: Tramp, tracker, tractor, cruiser and explorer.
"The caravans had a striking appearance until 1982, which was not followed by other manufacturers. Since 1963, cars have been built with a shorter floor area than Roofline. This style of architecture lasted until 1982., then a somewhat more traditional architecture. It lasted until 1994 when the curtain fell for this distinctive groninger caravanmerk. Sale was carried out in the various years in harderwijk, soesterberg and veendam.
"From 1970 to 1994, otten produced his caravans in foxhol, in the wood and meubelwaren factory of Georg Heller. Until 1970, the caravans were made at the 37 In those first years, the bodies were built in Amsterdam, after which they were transported to foxhol. This is where the furniture was built and the caravan was dismantled in Amsterdam. All caravans of otten are built on the same construction method, namely a wooden framework of elm or ash. Plywood inside plating and insulating materials such as grill and wattendekens and a external of Masonite. Masonite is a Swedish Hardboardmerk, solid and flexible and impregnated with oil, so sturdy and very suitable for caravanbouwers. Most manufacturers used Masonite To CA 1966 and then switched to alluminium or full polyester. Otten remained loyal to Masonite until the end. The chassis was jumping a steel spaceframe modified in alko mountings.
"From 1963, the otten caravans were all equipped with a polyester coating. For 1963, this was optional. The cost at that time was 500 guilders. A 1959-Year-old drifter cost 3195 guilders. A Cruiser 4800 guilders. The models that were built were then firmly felt on the 'Hook' by its own staff, and it noticed that the ride was excellent by the low centre of gravity. Due to their low altitude, air resistance was low and fuel consumption was relatively low. Today, this marked caravanmerk still has a large number of fans and there are still about 1000 of this brand in the Netherlands. The maintenance, repair and restoration of these oddball models takes place in workshops of enthusiasts.
Many of these lovers are members of the oldtimer caravan club where together the passion is shared."Good luck with your search for insurance. As I commented, it can be a bit of a trial for us in Australia too, so we can sympathise with you. And if you would like to show us some photos of your van, there are instructions on how to post photos in the 'Forum Guidelines & Helpful Hints' section of the forum. Don Ricardo |
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