1940s Caravans

[Franklin1]

Year: Exact year unknown, but thought to be 1940s
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown
Construction material: Unknown
Dimensions: Unknown
Weight: Unknown

[Franklin1]

Year: 1948
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown
Construction materials: Bondwood
Dimensions: Unknown
Weight: Unknown

[Franklin1]

1940s advertisement for Mobil oil:

[Franklin1]

Year: Unknown
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: Unknown
Construction material: Unknown
Dimensions: Unknown
Weight: Unknown

[Franklin1]

Caravan at Christies museum, Tocumwal NSW: [appears to be similar in age to others in this thread, but is not confirmed as 1940s - Franklin1]



(source: posted by firefighter, Oct 19, 2007, who wrote: what a ripper of a museum this is ,4 vintage vans...
this museum was at kinglake vic and mr christie retired and moved it to Tocumwal)

[Franklin1]

1948 Holiday Home:



(source: posted by Mark T, date??)

[Franklin1]

1940s caravan:



(source: posted Mark T, Oct 14, 2004, who wrote: I received an email & photos back in March from Gregor in Victoria of his newly acquired old caravan.

Quote from Gregor: "these are a couple of pics of a van I recently acquired from a shed in Lang Lang in Vic. The van is of unknown make but shares a scary resemblance to the 1948 holiday home [see photos in reply above]. It was in a shed that had been built around it and we had to dismantle the wall of the shed to get it out and the shed was old let me tell you. It is in near perfect condition except it needs a full repaint.
Gregor." )

[Don Ricardo]

1946 caravan offered on Ebay, June 2008:







Description:

Classic Vintage Caravan, built in 1946, has been in the same family since it was new, outside is in good condition, all still original bondwood, with some minor repairs needed, and some flaking paint, one rear panel has come away slightly, but will be a very easy fix, all original glass in good condition, late 30s Ford wheels and caps, the old 16 inch tyres do need replacing.

Inside retains its original fittings, all showing some age, but all in good condition, no leaks cracks or moisture visible, good cupboard space, double bed at rear, folding table up front, sink, may of had a stove not sure, if it did its is missing, wind out windows, opening hatch in roof, "A" frame and hitch in good condition, as is the jocky wheel, tow very well with no issues, not registered, these early art deco style caravans are getting hard to find, this one needs a bit of tiding up here and there, but it would be an easy fix up, and paint it in a color to match your classic car!!!!!!

[Franklin1]

Possible 1940s caravan: [...no, I really don't know if this is a 1940s caravan or not. I'm putting the information here until someone can give us a more accurate idea of the year/brand/details about this van.]





(source: listed on ebay Sept 2008, with the description: "1950's Bond wood Caravan
Original - never been restored
Needs paint job on outside
Been in storage for about 30 years
12FT Length x 6FT Width x 8FT Height approx.
Little damage near L/H arch. Near door
Table folds down to make up bed
Single bed at other end
Original ice box and stove
Any accessories pictured come with caravan
These include Canister Set, Electric Jug, Salt & Pepper shakers and Clock
Original venetians
Plenty of storage
Annex still rolled up under seat
Wooden window frame."

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Al,

It struck me that there are a number of similarities between the ebay caravan in your post and the van at Chrystie's Museum in Tocumwal, which you've posted pictures of further up this thread.

Some of the internal cupboards and stove alcove, and the front of the van are very similar.

As you've indicated the caravan at Chrystie's is said to be late 40's. For various reasons I would almost be inclined to think that the van on ebay may pre-date Chrystie's van, so your dating may be right.

For what it's worth (and open to argument)...

Don Ricardo

[firefighter]

don r

your statment.......for what it,s worth ( and open to argument )

christie's van

port hole in the door
bath under bed
table leg different
seat frame different
fridge /cupboard after sink
front seat frame at front different
inside roof higher at front & has cupboards
wire door
don......just a few things I see as different between the 2 vans
f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[cobber]

Another 'van from the 40's.

The plans for this caravan were in the September 1943 edition of the "Australian Home Beautiful" magazine.

I have a feeling I have seen a similar 'van somewhere on the forum........ but I can't find it



Cobber.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Firefighter,

Yes, you're right there are a lot of differences between the van Al was asking about and Chrystie's van. I was really only pointing to some design similarities that suggested to me that Al's dating of the van he was discussing was a 40's van.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Evening all,

Quite some time ago (2008), someone emailed me this photo of a caravan which they had seen locked in a compound somewhere in Queensland (I think in the Brisbane area).



I don't have access to the email now, and have forgotten who sent it to me. I apologise to the person concerned if they are still a member of the forum. The pic is not very good because it is a scan of a print on ordinary A4 paper - not a recipe for high quality!

My reason for posting the pic now is because when I was doing a bit of Google searching this afternoon, I found a pic of the rear of the same van here. The photo is copyright so I haven't copied it.

I'm guessing that the van is a 40's van, because of some of its features, but it could equally be from the 30's. Note the general shape, the lantern roof combined with a double hatch (a quid each way ), the leadlight windows and their size, and the livery. The other thing that's struck me is that it looks to be a big van for its era.

The second photo was taken in 2009 and it appears that the van was still registered at that point, so hopefully that means its still out and about.

Don Ricardo

[Roehm3108]

Hi cobber. Just been browsing at the little black and white pic of the van you put up. How would they have towed the darn thing? Doesn't appear to have a drawbar on it!!
Ray

[vernon]

Hi everyone with 1940"s caravans.
We are trying to chase up a 240 volt inlet thingy for our Valmay. We understand they are probably hard to find. We were wondering if we could get a look-see at some examples you all have on your vans please. Next big big question we wanted to ask are they a lot different then a 1950's inlet so we could widen the our chances.

Cheers Des and Kel

[cobber]

G'day Des and Kel,

An interesting subject for the history freaks to freak out on, one that hasn't been investigated before so far as I can remember.

Neither of these examples are from the 1940's but I thought I'd post them just to get the ball rolling, if we get enough contributions it could become a separate thread in the technical section .

My Newcastle van built in 1960 has this 10 amp Clipsal fitting which I suspect may have been in production for some time previous to 1960, maybe back into the '40's . It does not have a cover and requires a 2 inch hole to fit in.
The same fitting was sighted on Madgirl's "Glen" caravan at Coledale last year.



This next one is on “Driftwood” a late 1950's van, and I can't guarantee it isn't a replacement sometime between then and 1993 when I acquired the van. It's a 15 amp fitting and looks pretty similar to those available today. (I'd just like to mention I didn't paint it black )





My 1936 van has no power inlet because it has no 240 volt wiring.

It would be interesting to hear what Marks “Land Cruiser “ and “Paramount” caravans have.

Cobber.

[seeshell]

My god Cobber, I'm shocked down to my soul...

Look at the orientation of those flat head screws. Talk about making mother cry.

Tisk tisk!
Seeshell

[overlanda]

It looks like some naughty person attacked the earth pin on the 15amp Clipsal inlet with a file or similar tool as it is a lot smaller than it should be . You are supposed to use 15 amp leads with the big earth pins . Not the 10 amp ones.
Regards Gerald

[cobber]

Seeshell, you noticed

I deliberately moved those screws before taking the photos......it's just my way of keeping everybody focused on the importance of aligning the slots correctly

And Gerald,

That earth pin is wider at the base than it is at the tip, it won't accept a 10 amp socket. It is the only 15 amp plug I have so maybe somebody can show us a later one to show that the pin should be the same width all the way down...... maybe ….. just maybe mine is a transitional one used when they were changing the rules from 10 amp to 15 amp

Now....this style of cover over the power inlet is fitted to a 1964 Harris caravan.



The one on the left is a SOCKET

Cobber.

[minor man]

hi
the first outlet is still available in both 10 and 15 amp
the others are also made in 10 and 15 amp
if anybody would like to know i will get the clipsal part numbers from work tomorrow
and yes that earth pin has been filed down they did not make them like that.
brian

[firefighter]

G,day Cobber

What do you do for 240 power in driftwood??? if you don't use that plug
Or are you still on candle power ?
f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[cobber]

G'day F/F,

I use a 15 amp cord

Cobber.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Vernon 2,

You asked about power inlets for 1940's caravans. Cobber has shown you the inlets from a couple of 1950's vans and a 1960's van - as if you wouldn't notice the difference - and told you that his 1930's van didn't have electricity - as if that answered the question!

Well let me show you a dinky di power inlet from a dinky di 1940's caravan.

You've quite probably seen our van before, but this is it - a 1949 Don:



The 240v power for our van consists of a single power point above the stove alcove, as seen in this pic:



The power source for this power point consists of a cord which runs down the wall, in between the inner and outer skins, and comes out underneath the floor. The cord is attached to a household quality three pin plug, which is then inserted into the plug end of your extension cord.

Now I know you'll want to see how this is all wired up, so I carefully peeled off the outer skin of the van so you could see a cut away view of everything...no, don't thank me, it was a pleasure!



The vertical wire you can see running down the wall to the right of the wheel is the 240v cord. The other wiring is for the 6v lights in the van.

The next photo shows the three pin plug attached to the cord:



Now with the Don being a quality van (which it was in its day), there is a little block of wood attached underneath the floor with three holes drilled in it. That's so that you can plug the three pin plug into it when you're travelling to keep it clean and ensure you don't rip it off on the undergrowth.

So there you are. That's how some caravan manufacturers set up their power inlets in the 40's.

All of that is absolutely true...but, ahem, I have a confession to make. That's exactly how our van used to be set up, but now it's got a modern external white power inlet on the wall of the van about 2 metres off the ground. If you look carefully in the first photo you will see it. We've also replaced the original internal power point with some modern sockets. Embarassing but true, I'm afraid - it was something Dona Ricardo and I did in our "modernist period" in the 1980's...

The internal pic of the power point is actually from Austin125's Don, built in 1947, and the two 'cut away' shots are of Cobber's Don, built in around 1950/1. So together they show how Don did it in the late 40's and early 50's.

Funny, you might have noticed Cobber didn't mention his Don caravan in his post about electrics, nor is it listed amongst his vans in his signature panel. Surely he's not trying to keep the best hidden away?

Don Ricardo

[cobber]

Jun 22, 2011 19:39:19 GMT 10 minor man said:

hi
the first outlet is still available in both 10 and 15 amp
the others are also made in 10 and 15 amp
if anybody would like to know i will get the clipsal part numbers from work tomorrow
brian

G'day Brian,

That would be great if you can do that and would you be able to find out when the round one first became available and..... if there was a different design before it ?

Don R,

The reason I didn't show vernon the crappy Don Caravan arrangement for connecting 240 volt to a caravan is because I think he might be after something a little more sophisticated, and I'm pretty sure something more sophisticated was available in the 1940's.

Cobber.