"Three Star Caravans" - Melb Vic 70's

[hoff]

Hi guys i am based in Perth and i purchased this caravan some 10yrs ago off a rural property in the Swan Valley parked up and left for the weeds to grow around it. The owner did not live on the property and he was retired and had advertised it. I believe he bought it just to use if he stayed on the property and did not know much about it and it was unlicensed

It was in pretty average condition with external damage to the left rear where it had been backed into something and a leaking roof and very tired interior

I had to tear it apart and rebuild it but the chassis was good with no rust and strangely enough it had been updated with a new axle/electric brakes/springs/shocks so a good base to start with.

I kick myself as i can't find my old hard-drive with pics when i bought it and the reno pics as i renovated it 9yrs ago and we used it to haul to Kalbarri and to Dunsborough caravan parks and had a lot of fun it and then it got parked up for some period as we spent a lot of ensuing yrs flying to Bali for our holidays in line with most Perth people due to cheap flights/accomodation/food

Covid triggered our focus back on the Van and i am embarking on another upgrade after we recently returned from 2 weeks holiday at the Murchison Caravan Park in Kalbarri as my wife Caron & myself had a blast and really enjoyed getting back into the caravan park scene and the Van is super comfi.

It used to have the faded caravan maker logo on the top front middle of the Van -

:Make: "Three Star Caravans" with 3 stars on the left and then the writing (see pics) until i repainted over it.
:Chassis serial # C728JJ (etched into the chassis frame drawbar)
:70's period van 5.4m (17ft 6") single axle and it now has new axle, holden HT hubs, 14inch wheels and electric brakes  
:Weighbridge after the reno - Tare 1300kg / Agg 1700kg

The original layout was a double bed crossways down the back sectioned off room with privacy slider curtain so it was a proper bedroom
Kitchen opposite the doorway / sitting area at front end that converted to a bed and couch next to the doorway over the RS wheel tub

The inside was well and truly past its used by date and the roof had minor water damage around the rear 4-seasons hatch as it has 2 x 4-seasons hatches 
As mentioned i gutted the interior and re-built it with all new wall/ceiling panels and floor and did all the new interior fittout myself making all the furniture and doors.


The old lino floor was removed and back to bare wood base floor which was in pretty good condition and not water damaged at all
I ended up putting another wood lining over the top to get me a perfect new smooth flat surface to work with before applying a new vinyl floor before any new furniture work started

Sourced new caravan panel lining for both the walls and ceiling from Gunnersons
I kept all the overhead cupboard framing as it was in good condition and just re-lined everything and made new doors myself and just trimmed them out to keep the colour them all blending in and they are lightweight as well and work very well.

New benchtop with new deep sink - built the kitchen cupboards myself and it has all worked just fine for us over the years since

I built a new bed base with marine ply top that hinges up and also have side access for plastic storage tubs which provides tons of storage under the bed.

The mattress is a proper ortho innerspring top of the range mattress that you would use in a house and it is super comfortable for us to sleep on

Ripped out all the gas as did not want gas in the caravan (we cook outside on small/light gas stove in need)

Installed a modern 240V full size compressor fridge and an underbench full size 240v compressor freezer (best thing we ever did and luv having a full height fridge and it is all fridge space and we pack it full when set up on site)

The freezer under the bench we cryvac and freeze down all our meat etc and the freezer remains frozen when we arrive on site and it is a decent size with slide out baskets and you can fit a lot in there

Installed a multi-convection 240v microwave which worked out perfect for our needs and Caron can whip up a feast in not time

Installed a split system Kelvinator aircon with the compressor mounted at the back of the van and i must say it works a treat over the past 10yrs

Installed a flat screen TV with DVD player although that is out of date now but we have hundreds of DVD's we can still watch

Installed as lightweight large storage box on the drawbar at the front of the van which has worked a treat and stood the test of time over the past 10yrs

Re-sealed the roof and then prepped it etch primed and painted with that expensive Aztec paint from SA that requires primer base coats and then the top coats - special product with silicon in the paint that cuts down heat sink dramatically for a cooler van if not using the aircon

If i recall the all up cost was around $6k with me doing all the labour

We haul our van to caravan parks for a holiday and it was not intended for off-grid camping although i do have 4500w inverter generator (silenced type) if we ever ventured where there is no power

Anyway wind forward to Feb this year 2021:- 
So we just got back from two weeks stay at the Murchison Caravan Park with river and ocean views and loved it, so it rekindled my passion


I had forgotten how comfi our old caravan is and the fun of staying in a caravan park (avoiding school holidays)

I use a proper Reece hitch and the van is well balanced and it tows and tracks so smooth and steady with no swaying at all

Up the Brand highway sitting on average 90kmh and with fast moving road-trains passing opposite there is no buffeting from them that disturbs the van at all and the dual cab turbo diesel hi-lux pulls it so easy.

We don't have a roll-out annex and always erected our 3m Oz-trail annex which works fine but i/we have got the passion back for caravaning and more upgrades are now in motion and planned as follows



March 2021 Shopping list:

Going for a carefree 16ft roll out annexe Ocean Blue which has just arrived - but awaiting on white legs now as back-order with Suppliers

Just purchased 3 x new holden HT spec 14 x 6" sunraysier white rims with new Kumho light truck tyres fitted as old LT tyres are out of date now

Just purchased new caravan "foldout step" with wider platform to be mounted under the door after i remove the oroginal one which is a bit narrow.

Ordered a new Replacement Door - Luckily Vintage Caravans had my exact door spec and ordered a new modern style version as mine is the original old school with slide down panel and its a bit tired and the new one has the split door with security grill etc

Ordered and received new mesh for both the 4-seasons hatches which still work a treat

Replacing all the 6 x Camec wind-out windows with new 3mm acrylic plastic (Perspex) and will go for a light tint this time and i found a local plastics place in Balcatta that can supply and lazor cut all the windows working off my old one as templates (my acrylic is too far gone now)

Ordered new sealing rubber for installing the perspex and spent a bit of time and pics with Vintage Caravans getting the right version rubber

I am going to prep and etch prime and paint all the alloy trim on the windows to go to black for an upgraded look

Ordered new Camec flyscreens in black for all windows (my old ones were grey)

Replaced all the Narva side lights with new ones

Purchased new LED style rear light panels ready to install and remove the old style rear lights 

Bought a new jockey wheel (larger wheel type)

Will do some more fine tuning to the interior and perhaps upgrade the flat screen TV to a new one


Here are the pics i took on a recent Kalbarri trip we just got back from last weekend and excuse our clutter in the interior as were actually camping when i took these pics and i did not bother to tidy it up before taking some snaps - it is usually very neatly kept inside - haha
We love our old caravan as it is super comfortable and roomy and it want to keep it in the family so our kids and the grandkids can also enjoy it


If anyone is good at old caravan details please chip in as i could only search the company name and of course it was de-registered in the 80's but found out it was a Melb based business. 
I have never found any online pics of same make caravan and am reaching out to you guys to see if somneone has any background on this caravan maker at all to piece together the vans history

i managed to dig up some old pics to show the original paint stripe colour on the sides and the Van logo
I gues the original rear window/or windows were removed years ago and on old style aircon installed and later removed and the cuttout sealed up before my time
I will end up tidying up the rear in the current upgrade iam undertaking as reno #2
Cheers Kim  (the Hoff)


IMG_3550 (2) by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3529 (2) by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3566 by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3543 (2) by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3528 (2) by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3547 (2) by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3582 by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3587 by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3589 by Kim, on Flickr
SEL at Home Pic2 by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3603 by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3604 by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3605 by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3534 (2) by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3533 (2) by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3535 (2) by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3537 (2) by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3538 (1) by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3539 by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3540 by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3541 by Kim, on Flickr
IMG_3532 (2) by Kim, on Flickr

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Hoff,

What a great read! Thanks for telling us about your journey with your Three Star caravan. It is great to know that the van has served you so well, and that you have rediscovered your enjoyment of caravanning. And also interesting to read about your various updates and upgrades.

I don’t recall hearing about Three Star Caravans before, possibly because they were building vans in the 70’s and this forum is focused on caravans from pre-1970. However, one of the forum members - Hughdeany - was involved in the caravan industry for a number of decades from the 1960’s on and has a detailed knowledge about most of the various brands and companies operating over the years. Hopefully he will be able to tell you some more about Three Star vans when he catches up with your post.

Don Ricardo

[hughdeany]

Hi Hoff,
sorry I can’t tell you anything about your van,except that it looks a lot like the generic vans that were built around Australia in the seventies and then disappeared when the petrol crunch took hold.
cheers
hughdeany

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Hoff,

Three Star Caravans must have been a pretty small manufacturer or retailer if Hughdeany doesn't know about them!

I've done a bit of digging around and come up with a little bit of info about Three Star. Following is an extract from the Court List for 7 February 1978 that appeared in the Melbourne Age the same day (page 14):

(Source:  www.newspapers.com )

This shows that the Court was to decide on an application to wind up the company Three Star Caravans Pty Ltd.  The application must have been successful because the following item then appeared in the Age on Wednesday, 15 February 1978 (page 25):

(Source: www.newspapers.com )

The first item refers to a 'petition for winding up' and the second item refers to a liquidator, so that suggests to me that the company was forced into liquidation and was possibly bankrupt, but I may be reading too much into the statements.  In any case it appears that Three Star Caravans had come to the end of its life early in 1978.  So that presumable puts an upper limit on when your van was built.

Not much I know, but it's something to work with.

Don Ricardo