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Post by nitesurfer on Mar 28, 2012 20:45:58 GMT 10
Hi all.. stupid question from a newbie time.... but exactly where do people measure when they measure caravan length....?? Is it just the length of the body?/the floor length of the body?/ or does it include the draw bar as well??? And do different manufacturers measure differently  Thanks |
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Post by Don Ricardo on Mar 28, 2012 21:41:33 GMT 10
G'day Nitesurfer, Welcome to the forum. There are no stupid questions on the forum... Well, even if there are, yours is not one of them!  The length of the caravan refers to the external length of the body/cabin excluding the drawbar. I personally am not aware of manufacturers measuring it differently - I'm pretty sure that length always related to the length of the cabin. You could get different measurements depending on what part of the body you measured, but I would think that most manufacturers would have measured at the longest point. For example, our van has a rounded shape (my sister-in-law refers to it as "the egg", so that tells you what shape it is) and was listed by the manufacturer as 14 ft 6 in. That's the figure you get if you measure mid way up the wall where the length is greatest, but if you measured at floor level it is 12 ft. Hope that helps? Maybe you'd like to tell us about your van, or if you haven't got one yet about your interest in vintage caravans? Don Ricardo |
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Post by Franklin1 on Mar 28, 2012 21:44:04 GMT 10
G'day nitesurfer, and welcome to the forum! ;D No such thing as a stupid question here, so feel free to ask whatever you like.  It's a real dilemma trying to work out if there's a standard method for measuring caravan lengths. What IS standard is that caravan lengths that are quoted should refer to the cabin length, and don't include the drawbar length or any rear brackets, etc. Where it goes haywire is trying to determine from where to where on the cabin the length should be measured. Different manufacturers have done it in different ways. Vans with eyebrows or noserolls above the front and rear windows also confuse the issue. Are they included or not? (Usually not). I've always found the best approximation is to measure the cabin length along the side just under the side windows (about mid-height). Measure from the line of the front window face to the rear window face. I reckon at worst you'll have an error of about 6 inches, depending on the cabin shape. Hope this helps, cheers, Al. [Gees, I thought I felt a breeze just then. Must have been that Don Ricardo fella whizzing past me to the post!  ] |
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Post by nitesurfer on Mar 29, 2012 11:05:32 GMT 10
Thanks guys.. i figured it was pretty much cabin length but i come from a boaty type background where every little bit that sticks out is an addition to the length.. I have finally got myself a fixer upper.. hopefully vintage.. otherwise you will see me in the classic section lol I got this off of ebay cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320870150578&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:AU:3160and i will post some pics when i take them... It is an old viscount.. or at least has a very old viscount sticker on it .... I am already in love with it.... but like the ad says it needs some tlc ;D It is a 12 footer or just over ( need to get that longer tape measure) and i will post about her when i know a little more and have some pics.. In the meantime a pleasure to be here.. been reading around at some of the stuff you guys do and its great... I am an avid caravan lover.. especially the old eggs.... and im also a hoarder so i think i am in good company lol ps any hints at model or age would be helpful  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2012 18:48:45 GMT 10
Hi nitesurfer,
your van is a Franklin Freeway,looks like it originally had silver aluminium thats been painted white at some stage(lot of vans were painted in the 70s!)
Caravans are measured 12inches above the floorline front to back of the body.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Cheers
hughdeani
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Post by nitesurfer on Mar 30, 2012 0:55:37 GMT 10
Hi nitesurfer, your van is a Franklin Freeway,looks like it originally had silver aluminium thats been painted white at some stage(lot of vans were painted in the 70s!) Caravans are measured 12inches above the floorline front to back of the body. Hope this is of some help to you. Cheers hughdeani Wow thanks a lot.. I have beeen loooking at hillendales cause they looked similar (but wheel arch was different).... and then viscounts because of a faded 'viscount' on the rear roof ( but i couldnt find any reference to a 12 foot viscount with the same windows).... but the pics i see of the rankilin freeway 1966 model looks an exact match... but now i know its a freeway i can go and suss the number on the chassis to get the year.... And thanks for the tip on measuring.. at least that is a constant Looking forward to posting pics when i make them |
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Post by nitesurfer on Mar 30, 2012 1:00:26 GMT 10
Welcome to the forum mate, it is good fun ;D You can't go wrong with you new van. Good luck with it. Not a bad idea to post up where you are from, cause who knows who may live around the corner from you. Do you have an interesting tow car Cheers Rod ;D Hahahahahaaaaa are you ready for the irony Rod..... Got the van but nothing to tow it with yet... (got a tow truck to deliver it ) I have a hyundai excel that doubles as a general freight carrier but i dont think it will handle a tow bar lol.... |
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Post by Roehm3108 on Mar 30, 2012 5:58:47 GMT 10
Hi nightsurfer
Welcome to the world of vintage vanning. You have certainly given yourself a project for your first resto!! I reckon you'll enjoy bringing this girl back to life. I have a soft spot for the Franklins, as I unknowingly had one well before this site operated, that I restored and toured with throughout a lot of Qld. You'll get a lot of help from fellow Franklinites, I'm sure.
Good luck
Ray
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