What can you tell me about Properts?

[Belinda K]

I have to admit I've been tempted by Ace's Propert, but as we already have five cars, eleven bikes, two half-bikes, a tandem and a vintage van in the shed it seems a bit of an over-kill.

However, it did get me curious about these vans and I went searching for Propert posts. The problem is of course that the "members photo" page is now seven pages long and growing fast, and the snippets about Properts are all over the place.

Could we have some general information about them? In particular I've been wondering:
- are they stuffy? it looks like none of the windows open
- two of the Properts on the site have round windows and two have parallelogram-shaped windows. When did that change?
- did they have ice boxes? where?
- did they have fixed water tanks with pump taps, or gravity-fed tanks over the sink? If it's the latter I presume these would have to store somewhere when the van was folded?
- how do you get them leak-proof?
- how many were made? If bigdiddas van is the earliest one on the site, what is the serial number on the latest?

cheers

Belinda

[Roehm3108]

Hi Belinda
I can only tell you from my own experiences about the Propert.
Are they stuffy? Mine has an opening flywire window in the entry door, a rather large opening window in the front of the van (is actually on the roof when van is folded up), as well as a sliding window on one side. So we get good ventillation from ours. Ace's doesn't look as though it has a front window, and to me it looks as if all round windows are fixed. Not sure about the door window. He should be able to clarify that one for you.
Window shapes. The first Properts were built with round windows. It seems that in the very early sixties they changed to the parallelogram shape.
Ice box. I think Ace said his had an ice box (or was it bigdidda?). It would only be the small single door type if it does have one. Mine doesn't have one at all and it doesn't seem that it ever did either. We have a 3way 40 Chescold fridge which we carry in the car boot when we travel. The Propert I saw in Queenbeyan in March this year actually had an electric fridge, slightly bulkier than the small icebox, with a remote compressor on the drawbar. From memory I think it was even 12/240 volts. Certainly looked the same age as the Propert itself.
Water tank. My water tank is similar to the one in your van, that is, gravity fed with a tap over the sink. That was what I recently replaced with the stainless steel one I talked about in another thread. It sits on the back of the benchtop and is strapped to the back wall with a belt! My friend in Melbourne whose Propert is in the for sale thread has his water in a tank in one of the cupboards under the sink, with a pump action tap to the sink.
Leak proof? So far we haven't been in any real storm to test that. Have had showers without any problems. The top where the two shells meet should certainly not get any water in them, as it runs off very quickly and there is a fairly large lip holding those pieces together. The side has an infill panel, which, under some circumstances could let water in.
How many made? Even my friend in Melbourne couldn't give me a number, despite having been in touch with Tom Propert himself. It looks as though they were made for about ten years, from the mid fifties to the mid sixties. Mine is number 345. The Melbourne one is about 360 odd, from memory (I know it is definitely later than mine)
The bed situation is not huge. remember that they are only 6ft wide, so anyone who is over 6ft tall will sleep sideways. The double bed in the front is also not overly huge (as with most vans) we have converted the front bunk so that it becomes a single bed at night. I sleep in the double and Lee in the single. Her feet do still encroach over onto my bed, as the bunk is not that long. You would be flat out sleeping five people. I would say three would be the limit.
Hope that helps you.
Cheers
Ray

[Belinda K]

Just how many beds does it have Ray? I thought Properts just sleep two in a double bed across the front, so what's this about "converting the bunk to a single bed"?

The Propert on display at the National Museum also has its tank held in place with a leather strap.

[bigdidda]

Belinda,
The propert only sleeps two 6 foot total height people in the front double bed and you will be VERY close to each other as it is only 3 feet wide.
Apparently in my van which is an early model No 62 the left bench as you look into the van is meant to be the third bed but its very narrow and also only 3 feet long.
You asked about the water tank.
Mine fits under the sink with a pump and the sink empties out through a garden hose which needs a bucket to catch the water.However my whole kitchen section is able to be removed from the van so you could use it outside in an annex.But this seems normal as every Propert are subtely different to each other.
Ray is quite right about the icebox.Mine is tiny and would only hold about 6 to 8 cans.
In the early vans the porthole windows do not open but with the big window over the bed and the large screen window in the door reasonable ventilation ensues.
In conclusion these are quirky,fun little vans that make people smile when they see them.
I hope this has helped you and i havent rambled on too much.
If you would like to view the original shots of the van, its in Picnic Point Propert.
regards
don