Queensland's Favourite Caravan

[Deleted]

As a direct result of one of our Vintage vanners displaying their vintagecaravans.com sticker on the rear of their caravan on their way to Cunungra, yet another ol' bondy is possibly going to be saved .......if we find an enthusiastic purchaser


This vintage caravan retrieval requires a car trailer WITH GOOD BRAKES ......... and a tow vehicle also with very good brakes .....

Why ......the caravan is situated in Mt Nebo, ....... from what Steve (the owner) tells me, .......its a very steep climb to Mt Nebo ......and obviously a very steep twisty decline on the return trip........

and ....the prospective purchaser will need to be handy on the tools ......the old Bondy does need some work, ......particularly at the rear where its been exposed to the weather ........BUT .......it has a shed built around it, and has been in the shed for 30 plus years ......and is a good restorer .......well ......so I'm told .

Steve wants the shed space .....and wants it gone .....it was headed for tip, until he spotted one of our stickers














looks as though its been covered with some form of vinyl



Steve is asking some xmas cash for it ......a coupla hundred bucks will do ............

Mt Nebo is about 40 mins outta Brisi ......with 20 mins being the climb up the Mount.

So .......if you're prepared to do the retrieval ......and some repairs .......I believe you'll have yourself a sweet 1956 vintage caravan
......the signage on it is just beautiful


Steve 07 32898269

..............tell 'im Mark sent ya ;D .........

.......and it would be good to know the outcome please

Mark

[Smiley]

g'day, We phoned Steve and told him we are interested. We will take a trip up the mountain tomorrow for a look see at the van and how we might retrieve it, and hopefully be the proud owners of a VV that requires a little bit of work:)

[Deleted]

good onya Smiley .......

if ya do decide to retrieve it .......we want plenty of pics of the retrieval .......including the trip down the mountain with the
popular in tow ;D ;D ;D

Mark

[trub73]

with a bit of elbow -grease, that little van will come up a treat!!!
they were a nice shaped little van, love the way the door opens up, and that port-hole window!!!....the next addition to my collection is gonna have a port-hole window (just havnt found the next addition just yet !!! ha ha ha) hope it goes to a good home- looking forward to the reno photos. nicole

[noblesgarage]

Crank up the retrieval truck Mr T ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ITS GOT A PORT HOLE Mite be a bit of a drive though Isn't that Hillbilious type Country.
Vice captain "the retrieval team".

[Smiley]

Well we went and had a look and have decided against getting it. The back of the shed will have to be dismantled (Steve is happy to help with that) to get the van out. A tilt tray would be required as there is a drop of a bit less than a metre once the wall is taken down. The van is on blocks with no wheels attached, and it is going to be a very close call with height as far as the hatch goes. The shed was most certainly built around the van, then excavation work was done next to the shed, making it a challenge (I am sure there will be someone up for it). Have priced a tilt tray and they estimate $300. Would have to be done on a very fine day as quite a pull back up the dirt drive before it heads back down the mountain. In saying all of this it does have an opening port hole, old Electrolux frig and monkey pump tap. There is carpet on the floor but didn't think to look under to see if there was any lino. The external cladding is bondwood with a vinyl type material adhered to the wood. The front is aluminium. The door is not like the one in there advertisement, it has a side opening stable door not lift up. Cupboards in pretty good nic, but with a few broken hinges. There is one back glass panel window missing and also one back side aluminium window missing. I have taken additional photos, so if anyone is interested PM me with your email address and I will email as don't know how to post photos here.
Cheers Smiley

[Deleted]

G'day Smiley,
sounds like a tricky, .......and challenging retrieval job
Thanks for the report

If you email me the photos, I'll post them on this thread........
[e-mail]

Brian (noblesgarage) ......its tooooo far to take the vintage caravan retieval truck ;D ;D ;D ;D ....we wouldn't be back in time for the xmas party at yours ......


Mark

[Deleted]

Thanks to Smiley for the pics

Mark

[Jennison]

the beerfridge in my garage is identical to that one in the photo!!
keeps em icy cold like no other ;D ;D

[Cruz]

Hi
Those fridges must be common. My Runlite came with one. Not exactly period but i intend to repair and repaint it for use in the van.
Cruz

PS Please someone save that great old van.

[davidandlyn]

Hullo Mark,Well ,Queenslands favourite caravan is spoken for.The deal is get it out in one piece or dispose of it one way or the other(chainsaw).All the above posts are true,there is no room at the top(the hatch is higher than the roof timbers)and little to spare underneath,only one wheel and the dolly wheel and corner steadies are rusted up and siezed.The coupling head has been removed and is hard up against the wall.As said,the wall will have to be removed and the drop outside is near four feet and not level following excavation .Tilt tray is not high enough and may opt out when they see where they have to get,very wet with all the rain.Rough plan is to winch it out with brake drums in channel iron to edge of drop and then think about it,maybe channel iron ramp and slide it down if it will clear the roof.All suggestions welcome. Looks like a few fun weekends. regards david&lyn.

[davidandlyn]

Yes Dosse, I don't know why I'm doing it either,dont need it & nowhere to put it,must be the caravan bug.

[Deleted]

davidandlyn say:
the deal is get it out in one piece or dispose of it one way or the other(chainsaw)

....shock .....horror ......not the chainsaw on ..... Queensland's Favourite Caravan ;D ;D

thanks davidandlyn for the feedback, and taking on the project.

This IS one challenging retrieval mission ......but ...from what I'm reading,....... the bondy is sound enough conditionwise to be worthy of rescue

Depending on how the shed roof is fastened, maybe a few of those adjustable upright steel poles patio & shed builders use to raise/lower roofs maybe the go .....that would at least give a couple of inches roof clearance to winch the bondy out ......

Personally, I wouldn't go there without a plan of what to do once its dragged outta the shed .......sounds as though a truck with long ramps (flat top machinery carrier) maybe better than a tilt tray .......as far as getting the truck back up the muddy driveway .....may need the neighbours tractor on hand ;D . Obviously the cost of machinery & equipment hire versus the viability of the project

The lunar landers (corner steadies) are probably easiest just being cut .......job No 1 !

Either way, plenty of pics please (happy to post them for ya) ........but NOT if the
Litecraft Popular is attacked with a chainsaw .......we don't want to distress our viewers ;D ;D ;D



Mark

[samson]

Well, well, well...Glad to see she's getting rescued. We went and had a look at her on Friday. If no-one was going to grab her, I would have eventually got her after this rain stopped (forgot my camera).
The back right side looks a lot worse than the back left side, but the van does have a lot of potential.
My suggestion of getting the van out would be to try to get some air in those tires and put them on, the van will drop down a little bit more (if you look at the photos, the blocks aren't sitting on the axle they are sitting on the chassis). I would then dig a channel on each side of the tires out towards the front of the shed. I personally think you could get a tilt tray that could back up to the bank of the shed. Even if it's just a little drop from the bank down to the tilt tray. There is plenty of galvanized roofing lying around the shed, which could be used as a ramp going from the bank of the shed to the back of the tilt tray.
When I took a look at the top of the van, it didn't seem like it had to drop down much further to get it out of the shed. Anyway that's just my two bobs worth.
Good luck with the rescue. Hope all goes well.

Shane
P.S don't scratch it getting it out of the shed

[humpyboy]

The missus would kill me but if I lived closer I'd have had a look at this van, David, your idea of Channel iron sounds good to me, not only something to roll in with out getting bogged but it may also double as a form of steering/guiding the van in the direction you wish it to go, it's a shame this land is so big I would love to give you a hand to rescue this one, hope all goes well and as planed.

[hwyman]

Don't forget what can be done on a budget in the past i have moved vans in tight situations with a chain block & tackle mounted to the towbar with the car wheels chocked sliding the van on 3'' treated pine posts . The last one i did was a 25ft tandem viscount which i dragged 12ft sideways before i could tow it out .
But it was hot work on a 40 degree day.

hwyman.

[davidandlyn]

Hi to all interested in Queenslands favourite caravan.Good news is it came home today on our car trailer and now tarped up in our yard until we decide what to do with it,just have to replace back wall of shed up the mountain. Thanks to Samson,Humpyboy and Hwyman for your suggestions,used bits of all to make it happen and managed to beat the rain. Inside seems pretty ok,just ratty,back and lower edges will need work or replaceing and hatch shows rot but have not looked up top yet,still sitting on trailer until weather improves. Only van i've ever seen with steel window frames,vynal overlay over outside ply and plywood sheets joined by bevelling and overlapping and not butt joining. thanks to Mark for offer to post photos,have taken a swag but will have to get kids to send them as thats beyond me,you can post any you find interesting. Regards to all,Davidandlyn.

[humpyboy]

That's great news, can't wait for the photos now,waiting,waiting,waiting, mmm that's right only 5.30 am over in the west,probably still sleeping.

[dosse]

Hi David & Lyn
You and lyn are two people that know how to roll up the sleeves and put your back into it .......Good on you for the successful retrieval of the little Litecraft Popular ;D ;D. Now at last.....you have a little van that once restored can be towed by one or both of your Studbakers .....or the old Benz.....or the little Fiat Maybe not the Fiat, Any-way great
news and congratulations to you both. dosse

[Deleted]

humpyboy says:
That's great news, can't wait for the photos now,waiting,waiting,waiting, mmm that's right only 5.30 am over in the west,probably still sleeping.

too right humpy boy ....definately in the land of zzzz
at that time

Great effort davidandlyn .......good to hear Queenslands Favourite Caravan will again grace the streets ....and caravan parks

Waiting on the emailed pics to post ...............

Mark

[Deleted]

vv retrieval pics from davidandlyn

from davidandlyn :

Hi Mark, just a bit of info regarding photos.Gravel road is the old goat track ,one way up and a short cut .Bitumin road is way down & no place to stop for photos,enough said bikies regard it as the second best ride in Aus.after the great ocean road.photos of trip down were taken next day bringing trailer full of gear home.i'm sure you can edit the rest to make some sequence of it and use what suits. regards david&lyn.

[Deleted]

and the trip down the mountain

the sign says it all ;D ;D

[Roehm3108]

This has got to be right up there for gutsy retrievals Congratulations on an incredible job, as well as getting it down those roads. I am familiar with them and have some idea of how hair-raising it would have been.

From here on, the restoration will be easy!!!

Was that a smile on the van when it saw the light of day again ;D ;D

Well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ray

[Surf Tragic]

Hi davidandlyn

That's an incredible story, The retrieval is half the fun of it all don't you reckon ? especially from the location for one thing, then the site it was perched on, .

Thanks for the photos, I really enjoyed seeing what you have done, now you can have the enjoyment of the restoration .................I love the van too

Cheers, Surf Tragic.

[cobber]

Congratulations and thank you David and Lyn for your determination to recover this piece of Australia's touring heritage
Looks like it might have been part of Australia's Political Heritage too, don't chuck the posters it looks as though they are part of this caravan's life story.

The “Popular” is a nicely shaped 'van.... I hope you have fun restoring it

Cobber.