Hi Adrian, why on earth you you want to change a beautiful old van in perfect condition to something its not! preserve it for what it is,thats what vintage vans are all about! cheers hughdeani
Thanks for the advise every one. Just cleaned the vinyl seat and beds today and they came up like new. I think we will keep it just the way it is and bring some colour into it with curtains.
Any idea where i could source a window rubber seal for the small kitchen window. This is the only one that has any wear and is broken.
Also there is a push button on the trailer right next to the coupling, any idea what this does or is for.
Tch tch, DonR...it's got the Franklin sticker that was used from mid-1970 to mid-1972. You'll be sent to the naughty corner if you keep that up!
Why not transfer the photos over to cobber's thread about commercial vans made after 1970 in the Whatever section. Ol' cobber loves reading about those sorts of vans.
Tell ya what Ol' Cobber does like reading about, no bull, all the great restoration jobs being performed on this forum AND .... I've got a great commercial van photo to post for you Al.....after breakfast
...it's got the Franklin sticker that was used from mid-1970 to mid-1972.
That's useful information Franklin1. Thanks.
It seems to me that all of the Franklin commercial "toasters" which have shown on this thread are 1970+. Do you think that means that Franklin only started building commercial vans and/or toaster style vans after 1969? Do we have any evidence one way or the other?
I've never seen a Franklin commercial van or toaster van from earlier than 1970, DonR. It's possible there could be some out there, but nothing's shown up yet, and they never featured in Franklin advertising. I think it might have been a business decision by the new owners who bought the Franklin business in 1970, to start making them. After the demise of the Carapark brand in the mid-'60s, I really don't know who was supplying the commercial market in the late '60s. Neither Viscount nor Millard seem to have made any, from what I've seen so far. Maybe the new owners of Franklin saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the market that no-one else seemed to be interested in.
Post by Don Ricardo on Apr 7, 2015 17:20:43 GMT 10
Information about the Franklin Freeway pick-up camper from the 1969 Winser:
(Source: K Winser, Caravan Manual & Tourist Park Guide, 21st edition, 1969, p 254)
There are several curious aspects about the model name for this camper:
Franklin was producing and advertising full-size 'Freeway' caravans at the same time as it seems to have been producing the Freeway camper.
The 'Freeway' name had been used since 1965 by the Freeway Camper Company in NSW for a range of pick-up campers. However, there does not appear to be any connection between the Franklin and the Freeway Camper Company, since the unit shown in the above photos is clearly displaying a 'Franklin' logo just below the front window.
Given the above, Hughdeani has suggested that the Winser manual may have incorrectly ascribed the Freeway model name to the Franklin camper. Errors of this kind are not unknown in the Winser manuals, and this may be the explanation in this instance. However, the 'Freeway' name was used by Franklin for a model range which varied in length from 14 ft 6 in (and possibly smaller) up to 40 ft. So it is possible that the camper fitted into this general model range.
Don Ricardo
Last Edit: Jul 29, 2015 17:59:52 GMT 10 by Don Ricardo
Post by Don Ricardo on May 5, 2015 13:53:18 GMT 10
Hi all,
There's a discussion happening on the Carapark Caravans facebook page here at the moment regarding a takeover of part of the Carapark company by Franklin. Specifically, Franklin may have taken over the commercial 'toaster' and/or other parts of the Carapark business, resulting in the 70's Franklin toaster style vans we see occasionally. It has also been suggested that towards the end, Carapark obtained its aluminium framed windows from Franklin.
Carapark's disintegration was happening at the same time as Franklin was really ramping up, so anything is possible. However, a Carapark/Franklin link is not something I've heard about, and doesn't readily fit with the info I've collected about Carapark's corporate demise (which I've looked at in a bit of detail - more to come when I get a chance). Does anybody on the forum have any information relating to this, and specifically about a tie up between the two companies?
Met a gentleman the other day in Paynesville who gave me some interesting information about the history of the name "Franklin". This gentleman comes from Sorrento (Vic) and told me that a house belonging to the Robinson family in Sorrento was called "Franklin" and apparently the house is still there...
The information given to Daggsey in 2008 regarding the origins of the 'Franklin' brandname was confirmed in an interview with Geoff Robertson conducted by Rod Bruem of Time to Roam magazine and reported in an article on the history of Franklin caravans in the April/May 2015 edition of the magazine.
Post by Don Ricardo on May 16, 2015 23:22:15 GMT 10
Photos of a 14 ft, 5-berth Franklin caravan branded as a Skyline sold on Ebuy, April 2015:
The caravan was identified as a Franklin by Kingswood308 and Hughdeani who noted the characteristic shelf and the ceiling lining. While we haven't seen a Franklin van with the same front profile and window treatment on the forum before (as far as I'm aware), Hughdeani has advised that it is a standard Franklin front.
Additional photos of the interior of the caravan can be seen here.
Post by Don Ricardo on Jun 28, 2015 20:40:52 GMT 10
Hi all,
When some of you forum members are sitting back contemplating the ways of the world, you probably wonder what a person does after establishing a successful - and for a time market dominating - caravan building business. Am I right? Of course. It's something we all think about from time to time.
Well fortunately I'm here to answer your question.
Following is an article from the Australian Women's Weekly of 6 February 1980 (pp 22-23) telling us what Geoff Robertson, founder of Franklin Caravans, did after selling his business around 1973:
Post by breaker1791 on Feb 27, 2016 10:34:46 GMT 10
Hi, Would anyone be able to share any history on our van we have and if we should keep it original inside with the double bunks or start again. Cheers, Mark
Last Edit: Jul 31, 2017 18:37:13 GMT 10 by Don Ricardo
Absolutely leave it the way it is ! A great old van in good nick inside! Remember.....They're only original once! Bunks are sought after by families and it has the 2 special bunk Windows so when the next custodian has it they'll be happy you left it! In saying that it's your van and you can do what you want with it .... But don't! Welcome aboard!
Post by breaker1791 on Feb 28, 2016 12:25:43 GMT 10
Thank you! Perhaps we should sell it to someone who could utilize the bunks more than us and find one that suits our needs without destroying its character. If there is somone out there, please let us know.
Post by Don Ricardo on Jun 21, 2017 17:19:19 GMT 10
Photos of an early 60's Franklin once owned by Firefighter and postedhereon 14 October 2006:
This caravan has been variously described as being built from 1959 to 1963, however it has a (small) bay window at the front, which places it after 1960, but has different styling to the 1963 Franklins, so I'm estimating that it is either a 1961 or 1962 model. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a record of its serial number which would have helped date it.
We have a number of photos of the exteriors of late 50's and early 60's Franklins on this thread, but few photos of the interiors, which is why I have copied these photos here. Note the "Franklin shelf" in the galley area.
The van was later purchased from Firefighter by forum member Gristy.
Don Ricardo
Last Edit: Jun 21, 2017 17:21:55 GMT 10 by Don Ricardo
Post by Don Ricardo on Jul 23, 2017 16:55:27 GMT 10
On 10 November 2007 Daggsey posted photos of the following Franklin logoshere:
And on the same thread on 13 November 2007, Franklin1 posted the following information:
FRANKLIN CARAVAN LOGOS
Advertisements for Franklin Caravans from March 1968 to end-of-March 1970 show the following logo:
------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisements from the start of July 1970 show a new logo:
Further research is required to determine the logo(s) used up to March 1968, and to determine exactly when the logo changed between March 1970 and July 1970.
(source: Sydney Morning Herald archives). The thumbnail photos available for viewing on the archives are very small.[