Franklin Hunter - identifying manufacture date

[franklinx8316]

Hi all,

My fiance and I recently purchased what we believe to be (and was advertised as) a 15 foot Franklin Hunter caravan; aluminium exterior and ply interior, all of which is original to the best of our knowledge, with a very distinct late 60's /early 70's vibe.

In preparing the van for registration, I was hoping to narrow down the date of manufacture.

I have seen a very detailed thread discussing chassis numbers for Franklin's, however none of those numbering systems looked like the one that is welded onto the tow frame of ours - X8316.

Is anyone familiar with this kind of chassis number, and could you please help me identify what year the van may have nm been built in?

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Franklinx8316,

Congratulations on entering the world of vintage and classic caravans. I am sure your van will give you a lot of fun and happy travelling.

The 'X' series serial number indicates that your Franklin was built in 1976 or possibly 1977. If you click here, you'll find a thread on the Classic Caravans forum which discusses another Franklin with an 'X' serial number. The basic story is that Franklin began a new serial number series in 1965 with the format 'xxx-Y' where 'xxx' was the build number in a given year and 'Y' was the a digit indicating the year. So the number '999-5' indicates the 999th van built in 1965. All good until they got to 1975 or thereabouts! At that point Franklin made the last character a letter. So there are V, W & X serial numbers, and apparently 'X' indicates 1976.

Franklin1 knows more about Franklin serial numbers than the rest of us, and may be able to expand more on the above.

Don Ricardo

[franklinx8316]

Feb 6, 2018 10:52:54 GMT 10 Don Ricardo said:

Hi Franklinx8316,

Congratulations on entering the world of vintage and classic caravans. I am sure your van will give you a lot of fun and happy travelling.

The 'X' series serial number indicates that your Franklin was built in 1976 or possibly 1977. If you click here, you'll find a thread on the Classic Caravans forum which discusses another Franklin with an 'X' serial number. The basic story is that Franklin began a new serial number series in 1965 with the format 'xxx-Y' where 'xxx' was the build number in a given year and 'Y' was the a digit indicating the year. So the number '999-5' indicates the 999th van built in 1965. All good until they got to 1975 or thereabouts! At that point Franklin made the last character a letter. So there are V, W & X serial numbers, and apparently 'X' indicates 1976.

Franklin1 knows more about Franklin serial numbers than the rest of us, and may be able to expand more on the above.

Don Ricardo

Thanks so much Don Ricardo, much appreciated!

[Franklin1]

Hi DonR,

Just for future use, the Franklin chassis numbering system over the years is as follows:

From early 1960s up to 1965: Three numbers followed by the letter A, B, C, D, E, or F. The numbers recorded so far have ranged between 1 and 999.

From 1965 to 1972 inclusive: Format is 'numbers, hyphen, one number'. The one number after the hyphen is the year of build, from 5 being 1965 up to 2 being 1972.

1973: This is the unknown year. Not sure yet whether the previous system from '65 to '72 was used, or whether the new system from 1974 was used.

1974 to 1977 inclusive: One letter immediately followed by numbers. The letter V is 1974, W=1975, X=1976, and Y=1977.

1978 to 1981 (Franklin closed in March 1981): Haven't yet determined what system was used, due to no vans from this period appearing on the Classic forum.

cheers,
Al.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Franklin1,

That's a very useful guide. Thanks for providing such a useful summary.

I've taken the liberty of copying and pasting it into the first post on the DHL Franklin Chassis Number' thread. I think it contains the info that a lot of people referring to that thread will be seeking, and it makes sense to have it at the top of the thread. Hope that's OK?

Don Ricardo

[trentjo19]

Hi I am wondering the year of our van. Only number I can find in draw bar is V8939.
And if someone could help me out with what I need to do to get registered in Melbourne Victoria. That would be great. Thanks.