1949 Don

[bobandjacqui]

Thanks for sharing such a great memory of your family van Richard. Very special to have a photographic history of your parents adventures.

Cheers Bob and Jacqui.

[Roehm3108]

Hi Don

You are spoilt for choices around that neck of the woods of Vic, which is still my fav state, although Tassie is right up there with it. Sometimes it's nice to be able to go somewhere unpopulated!

[kck]

Can you please share some information about the replacement seals around the windows door and roof?

[Don Ricardo]

Oct 24, 2018 9:01:47 GMT 10 kck said:

Can you please share some information about the replacement seals around the windows door and roof?

Hi KCK,

Sorry for the slow reply to your post.

I bought the rubber for the seals from Clark Rubber. They have quite a wide range of sizes and types. Fortunately we don't need anything too fancy for the seals on a Don - just rubber strip which can be stuck in place using contact glue.

Having said that, I haven't been entirely satisfied with the rubber I used - some seals are too tight, and some not tight enough. I think it may be an issue arising from using metric measurement rubber in imperial measurement gaps! I'm going to have another go at it, and your post has prompted me to get my act into gear. I will give you some measurements in a day or so.

Don Ricardo

[kck]

How did you go with the weather tape don?

[Don Ricardo]

Oops KCK,

I forgot to get back to you about the rubber seals. Sorry for that...

Doors & windows: EPDM414 Supersoft Self Adhesive Tape 12 mm wide x 9.5 mm high/thick. It stretches quite a lot while being applied, and then can retract once it's on, leaving gaps at the corners, so try and take it slowly and allow the rubber to contract as you go.

Door hatch: Finding rubber to fit the door hatch is a bit tricky because there's nothing on sale which is quite narrow enough - it needs to be 7 mm wide. I tried cutting down some rubber strip which was 12 mm wide x 5 mm thick, and with a little raised ridge down the middle which makes it 7 mm thick in total. That turned out to be too thick and has made it difficult to close the hatch without putting too much pressure on the hinges and catch. So now I've bought some strip which is 12 mm wide by 5 mm, but without the raised ridge. I'll need to cut it down to 7 mm wide to fit, but I'll let you know how I get on.  I stuck the strip on the hatch with Selleys contact glue.

Roof hatch: EPDM414 Supersoft Self Adhesive Tape 12 mm wide x 9.5 mm thick. That's been OK, but could afford to be a bit thicker, eg 11 or 12 mm thick.

I obtained the rubber strip from my local(ish) Clark Rubber store, which had quite a good range of sizes.

Hope that helps. If you would like to see some photos of the strip let me know and I can post some.

Don Ricardo

[Roehm3108]

Hi DonR. Have to looked at the Raven weather seals for doors and windows at the big green shed? I bought some rubber hollow core stuff for the Hunter minor window there and will do the same for Cino Vardo. It is self adhesive and easy to instal. I bought ones that were about 5 mm wide (doubled on the roll, so 10mm when you buy it)

[Don Ricardo]

Hi R3108,

That's a good tip. Thanks, and hopefully it will be useful for KCK too.

Don Ricardo

[kck]

Thank you both for the tips.

I wonder if I could finally accept your invitation to come see the 1949? I think I need to see these weather strips in situation. A few photos would help but I’m in the dark with how to select/purchase. A real grey zone for me.
My Don will be a rattle bucket if I don’t get this right.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi KCK,

You're most welcome to come and have a look at our van. I'll send you a PM.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Well it's a Very Happy 70th Birthday to our Don which was born to my parents at the Don Factory on 15 July 1949 after a trouble free delivery. Here's its Birth Certificate:



It's wet and cold in our part of the world at the moment, so the Don has decided to have a night in to celebrate its birthday:

Don Ricardo

[Roehm3108]

Congrats Don461. You don't look a day older than 50. Any younger and we'd have to ban you from the site!!!

[Franklin1]

Hi DonR, what a fantastic milestone to reach! Congratulations and a BIG Happy Birthday wish to the Don!!🎂🥂

And... congratulations to you and your family for the "Aged Care" services provided to the Don over the years.😎

Cheers,
Al.

[cobber]

G'day Don R.

I would find it very satisfying to still have, and be using the caravan I grew up with, you must both have a multitude of pleasant memories.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DON 461 💥🌟⚡️🎂

Cobber.

[Geoff & Jude]

hi don and donna

congratulations on your "baby's" 70th birthday, you both must be very proud parents (or siblings maybe).

now, getting down to business, judy and i have discussed the situation and we're prepared to offer you £750/10/0 for the old Don, that's a little more than 20% profit on the original price of £624/12/6, much better returns than you will get from any of the big banks or current financial institutions.

no need to answer straight away, think it over and give us a ring (we can be a little flexible on the offer if necessary).

hear from you soon.

geoff 'n jude

[Mustang]

A wonderful family ikon

[Don Ricardo]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your kind comments. I’ve conveyed them to the Don, which blushed demurely.

The van is very definitely a family treasure - which leaves our three sons feeling a bit overwhelmed about having to deal with it when the time comes!

And that leads me to Geoff ‘n Jude’s generous offer of £750/10/0 for the van. So kind...but I think you forgot to mention that you wanted to adjust that amount for inflation... You did mean to include that didn’t you? I’ve checked the inflation rate over the 70 years and it works out at 4.98% pa. So that takes the price up to $45,030. Still a bargain!!

On a more serious note, while I was thinking about the issue of inflation, etc, I wondered how the price of the Don compared to the average wage back in 1949. The answer is that the basic annual wage then was £322 pa. The total price of the Don to my parents was £674/12/6 (including an annexe and a portable toilet and the deposit of £50). So that means that the cost of the Don was 2.09 times the basic annual wage.

These days we talk about the minimum wage rather than the basic wage, and the current minimum wage is $38,521 pa. 2.09 times the minimum wage would mean that you had $80,510 to spend on a caravan. You can get a reasonable caravan for that price (although not a high end one like the Don was in its time).

I don’t think that proves much, but it is interesting to think about. Mind you if the basic wage in 1949 had only increased by the inflation rate, the current minimum wage would only be $19,339, so I guess that most of us (but not all!) are better off than we used to be?

Don Ricardo

[kck]

$45,030 is my min sell price. Don 990 😍

[jaynco]

G’day Don Ricardo. Absolutely in awe of your history with the Don. I am a true history buff and to have such a complete and personal history to be able to hand down is just amazing. In my early teens my Dad worked away and bought a mammoth 28 or 30ft van. I think it was a Millard. We had it for about 10 years and he then sold it to my Uncle. He took it to the beach and it ended up rusting into nothing. Oh but the memories I have as a kid in that van are some of the happiest of my life. School holidays at the Endeavour Caravan Park at Peregian Beach were magical. Thank you for sharing.