Stu57's South Australian Bondwood

[stus57]

Hi
We have just purchased a Rowvan, registered as a 1951 model.
It's reasonable condition having had some restoration done by the previous owner.
It has 3 windows at the front, a wide middle window and 2 small fixed glass windows each side.
I haven't seen another Rowvan with this window set up, so this may help with identifying weather it is in fact a 1951 model.
It has serial number R78T022796
Any information will be appreciated

Thank you

Stuart

[stus57]

Hi
A couple of more photos, showing the front windows and internally the roof which doesn't have a hatch.
I think the previous owner may have repaired the roof and took out the hatch.

Thanks

Stuart

[Roehm3108]

Hi Stuart. Some extra photo's of this van (especially the kitchen area) would be appreciated. There are some rather uncharacteristic NON-Rowvan features about it. It looks as if this van has been altered. The double-cambered roof is gone! It looks like the front roofline has been heightened and the old tudor style framing removed. The front windows are also an alteration. Those early vans had twin or single windows in the front, not three. That era Rowvan also didn't have a wheel arch, with the bottom bodyline going in a straight line instead. Is the little badge to the left of the entry door a Keith Odgers sign or just a caravan industry sign? The serial numbers are of no real help for determining the age. I found a date in the one I had , in the framing beneath the kitchen sink. Do you know much about the background of this van?

[stus57]

Hi Roehm

I'm hoping to get some more history from the previous owners father, who did the repairs.
I have a list materials that he used, which includes 6 sheets of 3 ply, 1 sheet of 5 ply & 8 lengths of 25 x 50 pine to repair it. The back and front were badly rotted. To change the profile of the van at the front, he would have to have lengthened the sides and altered the cupboards, this doesn't appear to be the case. There are obvious signs of repairs to the front and back also the front middle front window has been filled in to fit an etched glass panel.
The Plaque at the door says
Sold by LEM MOEBUS caravan hire and sales services
125 Lanetree Ave Mildura

I believe that the caravan was purchased from Mildura by the previous owner.

Thanks

Stu

[Roehm3108]

Hi Stu
Thanks for your extra pic, it only ADDS to the mystery in some way. It seems that this van has had some major surgery done to it and the reasons behind it would be very interesting.
As I mentioned before, virtually all traces of the Tudor roof frame have been removed and the double camber is completely gone. I still maintain that the front top section has been heightened. Yes it would have changed the overhead cupboards, but I believe that this is exactly what has happened. Those upper doors seem slightly higher, especially the middle one. The clincher is that the hinge location has changed. Yours shows the hinges at the top, while other Rowvans have bottom hinges.
The cupboard where the stove would go in the kitchen is also new. I say that because the trimline from left to right changes levels as well as type, which doesn’t happen in other Rowvans. That whole bench section also seems narrower??!! Perhaps the sink has also bee replaced with a slightly longer one???
That inventory of six sheets of three-ply is interesting. If they are what we call the standard large size of 1200mm by 2400mm, then we’re talking about a lot of coverage! Do they show the size of the sheets?

Don Ricardo, I wonder if this thread conversation could be moved to the Member’s Photo Album section of the forum? It is becoming very single van specific rather than brand related.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Stus57,

What an interesting van you've acquired. Such an interesting shape. However, despite the 'Rowvan' signage on it, I'm pretty sure that it isn't actually a Rowvan. Almost none of the design features of the van are consistent with the Rowans built from the 1940's to the very late 50's. Roehm3108 has already mentioned some of the differences between your van and Rowvan vans, and I could list a whole host of other differences. (I can do that for you if you'd like me to.)

The thing with Rowan is that the design of their vans stayed really consistent from the 40's through to the late 50's. The design did develop a bit over those years, but some of the main design elements stayed the same throughout, and it is those design elements which are missing from your van. We have been told that when demand for their vans really took off in the 50's, the Rowes used to contract out the finishing of their vans, nevertheless the basic shape and design features stayed the same.

Roehm suggested that the van may be a modified Rowvan, however in my opinion the differences are so great that I think that's very unlikely. It would have meant really substantial changes not only to the shape of the roof, but also to the floor line and the shape of the front of the van, amongst other things.

Having said all that, it is very probable that your van was South Australian built because of the tudor ceiling. In addition is the roof clad in canvas?

I have a theory about the Rowvan signage though... Back in the early days of the Vintage Caravan movement, Rowvans were the only vans people knew about with porthole windows. In fact as it turned out, quite a few manufacturers put porthole windows into their vans. But not knowing that, for a while any van with portholes that appeared on the forum were identified as Rowvans, even though they had often been built by some other manufacturer. So, what I reckon might have happened with your van is that one of its previous owners may have noted its porthole windows and said 'Ah, porthole windows - it must be a Rowvan', then had the signage put on it. Anyway, that's what I'm guessing.

The serial number you quoted is a modern VIN number that has been put on the van when it was re-registered at some stage, so unfortunately doesn't tell us any more than that.

Roehm has suggested that we should move the posts about your van to a separate thread in the 'Members Photo Album' section. Are you OK with that? If you are, I'll move the posts.

Don Ricardo

[stus57]

Hi Don

Upon further inspection of the van today , I'm sure that there hasn't been any changes to the shape of this caravan.
All the ply inside the cupboards is original as are the roof support beams.
It has a canvas roof and was sold out of Mildura, so I would agree that it is probably built in South Australia.
As you said a previous owner may have thought it was a Rowvan and registered it as a Rowvan
I'm happy for you to move this thread to Members Photo Section, I hope that someone can help me identify what make it is or if is't home made.

Cheers

Stu