What year is my franklin

[trentjo19]

Hi I am hoping to find out the year of our franklin caravan we have just picked up. We have already cleaned the inside out and have redone all the walls and nearly all the cupboards and bed. Just have the kitchen area and then we can start with the painting and wallpaper transformation of the insides. Can is in great condition. All electrical work inside. Just not sure if the year. The only number I have found on the drawer bar is V8939. No other markings anywhere on the van or drawer bar.
Also if someone is able to tell me what is required to get her registers that would be great. We are in Melbourne Victoria. Thanks.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Trentjo19,

The ‘V’ at the beginning of the serial number for your Franklin indicates that it was built in 1974, and the numerals tell us that it was the 8,939th Franklin built in that year.

The process for re-registering a caravan in Victoria is pretty straightforward. You don’t need an RWC or anything like that. Shesgotthelook provided the following advice on registering a caravan here just a couple of days ago, so click on the link to see what she said. She's a vintage caravan registration veteran.

Don Ricardo

[Roehm3108]

Welcome back DonR! You say that the OP's van "was the 8939th van built in that year" (1974). Sorry, but I doubt that that many could have been built in one year! Even if this was the last van built for the year, that equates to around 24.5 vans a day! I suspect that there is something wrong with the way the chassis number is being interpreted.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi R3108 (hmmm, that sounds like a serial number!! )

I don't think what I said is incorrect. At around that stage (early/mid 70's) Viscount was producing 10,000 caravans a year, which equates to almost 200 a week or around 40 a day. Sounds a lot of caravans I know, but the records support that.  I would think that Franklin probably had production numbers at around the same level.

Don Ricardo

[Roehm3108]

I stand corrected DonR!!! After reading up on the Franklin history (which I had neglected to do earlier), those sort of figures stack up! Hard to imagine one factory employing 5-600 people in those days.