Home-made Caravans

[Franklin1]

1961 "Charlwyn"



Year: 1961
Manufacturer: Tom Charles and Elwyn Williams, Sydney
Model: n/a
Construction materials: marine ply over timber frame and plywood lining; steel chassis
Dimensions: Unknown (4 berth)
Weight: 1090kgs
Description: Running gear
Alko torsional rubber suspension
10” electric brake drums 14” Holden rims c/w Light truck tyres
(Originally 9” drums, electric solenoid operated vacuum system)
Jones dolly wheel with Houdaille shock absorber
Twin 9 Kg Gas bottles and Indicator Change over switch

Appointments
Carmichael two burner stove and oven
Morphy Richards Gas Refrigerator
Gas Lighting for non powered sites
240 v lighting and transformer for car or built in battery.
Copper water tank 12 gallon
Custom made canvas annex

---

ADDENDUM - October 2021: Photo of the Charlwyn caravan repainted to match its owner’s tow vehicle, as shown in an unknown car magazine. Don Ricardo


(Source unrecorded, February 2018)

[carrots]

Here are pics of the late Trev`s home made. It was an early 50`s bondwood. It had timber floors. The pics inside are as it was when it came to us. Trev found it at Busselton WA.

[carrots]

This is the home made caravan that my parents spent their honeymoon and the first years of their marriage.
It is early 50`s.
Dad sitting on the front.

[Franklin1]

1950 Home made bondwood caravan



Description: (this van was for sale at $10,000 when I came across the information back in 2006) "Vintage, 1950 Bondwood caravan, 12’ x 6’6”. Handmade by cabinetmaker. Large & small annexes, camping gear, gas stove, chrome FJ holden wheels & spare, all original 50’s accessories, new 3-way fridge, 24 & 12 volt lights.
Detailed instruction manual, written by maker. In absolutely pristine condition, inside & out. ..., identical to one in the National Museum in many respects, superior in condition, design, and fittings to the Museum’s.
..., a reminder of Australia’s motoring heritage."

[Franklin1]

Unidentified home-made caravan:





(source: John McCorkelle, Sept 18, 2004, who wrote: I recently found this van in a caravan park in Porpunkah. After making inquiries and waiting for months to find out whether or not it was for sale, I finally bought it. Needs a bit of work, but tows well. Not sure how clear the photo's are, but the roof and one side has been covered with aluminium, leaving only the door side in wood.
...Not sure of make or year of the van, haven't found any markings. When I bought it, the bloke told me that his old man had built the frame, so I'm assuming that it's a home-made.)

---

Editorial note:  Later research by John indicated that this caravan was most likely a Gypsy Gem.  Don Ricardo

[Franklin1]

1960s Homemade caravan:



(source: posted by cuz, Feb 22, 2005, who wrote: ...It is about 10ft, homemade by a real tradesman in the early 60's, it's 6'6" wide with the sides being about 1/4" marine ply so giving plenty of room for the bed across the back. The mattress is a touch longer and a little bit narrower than a standard double bed.
...the inside is totally original, with the same decals that were put on over 40 years ago and the paintwork as good as new.
...I was also suprised to find out that the annexe with the van was over 40 years old and was like brand new!)

[Franklin1]

1956 Home made caravan:



(source: posted by Jim, Oct 27, 2006, who wrote: There’s an interesting story in the December ‘06 issue of ‘Caravan and Motorhome’. The story is about a nice looking van, built by Roy White in 1956 and now owned by his daughter Marlene.
From the pictures and story in the magazine the van is in excellent condition inside and out, with all the original fittings, including the ice chest. Roy built three vans in all, the first in 1938, the second in 1948 and this one in 1956.
One of the interesting notes in the story is Marlene believes the van may be the oldest continuously registered caravan in Australia.)

[Franklin1]

1948 Home-made masonite caravan:



(source: posted by Mark T, Nov 5, 2006, who wrote: Just returned from a 800km round trip to pick up another vintage caravan, a homemade masonite van built in 1948 that measures 16' 9", and has an all wooden chassis. The original owner built 5 of them (all the same) in 1948, sold four and kept one, which he and his wife lived in for 15 years. I purchased it off a farmer who had bought the van a couple of years ago from the original owner's farm clearance sale.
Features include a bath, full size Aladdin kero stove with oven, full size kero fridge, overhead glass display cupboards and full size house kitchen sink. It has original lino, original seat cushions (kapok) and mattress, original laminex, and original tatty curtains ...its a real time warp.
...its gotta hatch as well as two flutes, one over the kero stove and the other over the kero fridge. Its not lined on the inside, so weightwise, its not too bad, ...)

[Franklin1]

1950s homebuilt caravan:



(source: posted by Mark T, Aug 20, 2004, who wrote: Here's a pic sent to me by Jamie & Louise Singleton from Victoria
...it's their Grandfather's caravan he built in the 1950's and remains in pristine condition today after having been garaged for 25 years. The van is made of bondwood and painted Tan & Cream. Original internal features consist of a "Flavel" gas porcelain two burner cook top & Electrolux fridge.
Note the workmanship that has gone into the van...Grandpa must have been one helluva tradesman !)

Update: Here is a picture of the same van taken in Aug 2005 by Roehm3108: (the "name" of the van is now missing from the front nearside, and an outdoor light has been fitted)

[1954homemade]

This 1956 homemade van was the 3rd of only 3 Handmade Caravans built by Mr Ken Harley (deceased) of South Hurstville, NSW. The van was built for use by Mr & Mrs Harley and their young family. Originally it was built as a 3 berth but with the addition of another family member, Mr Harley added an additional bed to make 4. Once the Harley’s had 3 children, the caravan became a bit too small for everyone to sleep inside, so all 3 children slept in the annex. Mr Harley then removed the 4th bed to make more space within the caravan.

Besides other trips, the van was taken to Kiama every year for the family holiday.

In the late 70’s, early 80’s Mr Harley made some changes to the caravan. He installed a new fridge (3 way), a new gas stove and oven, fitted electric brakes and put an aluminium skin on the sides, front and back of the caravan. It was then used by the next Harley generation, daughter Kay, her husband Keith and their children.

The caravan had been sitting unused in Mrs Harleys garage for approx 15 years when the decision was made to sell it. Keith arranged the sale through Shannons Auctions and on 24th July 2006 we became the new very proud owners.

Both the van and annex are in great condition and therefore we haven't had to carry out any work on it. The only thing we have done in put on hubcaps - oh and build a very expensive car port to keep it under cover.

In March 2007 at Chryslers On The Murray in Albury we met forum member "rtcruiser" who told us about the forum and various upcoming events. Later on in the year we met forum member "reddo" at Cessnock Swap who told us about the East Coast Tour and Coledale. Much thanks to rtcruiser and reddo as we have now become very happy forum members and vint van travellers. ;D ;D ;D

[Franklin1]

This van has now been identified as one of a limited number of caravans built under the name of 'Roadcruiser'. More information available by clicking here

---

1966 Home-made fibreglass caravan:

On May 28, 2005, Roehm3108 wrote: Shewhomustbe.... gave me a few days off this week, as she was entertaining some of her girlfriends (all over 65 sadly), so I went to Burrum Heads just north of Hervey Bay in Booootiful Qld! Met this bloke in the caravan park and asked him "How long you had the Sunliner?" "It's not a Sunliner" he replied with a scowl on his face.
It actually doesn't have a name, but for registration purposes I think he called it a Roadmaster. It's about 12-13ft long. He built it himself 39 years ago from a mould he got from a friend, who had made 4 previous ones, and then stopped making them. They were built in Guilford NSW. It is in original condition, both inside and out. The inside paintwork is still highly laquered (not enough space to photograph it), with the exception of a couple of paint runs caused from using flyspray. Apparently you don't use flyspray in fibreglass vans!!



------------------------------------------------

reply by humptydumpty: Looks like it would be lucky to stretch to 12ft, got some good ideas though.....look at the size of that roof vent

------------------------------------------------

reply by jailbarjuice: Hi humpty & ray, I wonder if those molds the guy used were part of the sunliner moulds left after shutdown. The back of the van & roof vent look very similar to the big sunliner pix that Mark posted for me under "for sale/wanted" as "sunliner for sale in Qld" on 4/7/2005. its certainly nice to see something as complex to construct as a glass van built years ago without factory support, & still alive & well.

------------------------------------------------

reply by Roehm3108: From what the owner told me, there were only 4 made before this one, and they never went into production, hence, they don't have an official name, the name being created only for registration purposes.

[Franklin1]

1954 Aluminium caravan made from an aircraft:



(source: posted by fixvans, Nov 15, 2005, who wrote: Hi everybody, the van was built in 1954 by a local; Jim Flatterly (a WW2 airplane fitter). The plane that it was built from was a Fairy Battle, these planes were used at Evans Head for gunner practice. The door in the van is the landing flap, the floor is the skin of one of the wings. Jim used a variety of other panels to finish the van. All the solid rivets were hammered by hand resulting in a lot of complaints from the neighbours. He used equipment at the airbase to roll and form the aluminium. Even the interior was aluminium. He also used 1928 overland stub axles and wheels. it was built this way so it was light enough not to need brakes fitted. His son told me it was polished enough so that he could comb his hair in it! Jim cant wait to see again as he said he's often thought about what happened to it.

The fella i bought it off was the second owner, he stripped the interior out as he was going to make a trailer out of it. i asked him if he would swap if for a trailer, and he kindly agreed.

then i had to try to find a trailer cheep! a person came into the workshop looking for a wind out window. i told him he could have the one out of my old bondy for a box of beer. two weeks later, a fella i had working for me asked me if i wanted an old trailer; i offered him the box of beer, he agreed and now i own the caravan.)

Here is a photo of the van when it was originally built, being towed by a 1936 Prefect:



[posting of original information assisted by jailbarjuice.]

[Franklin1]

1950 CARAVANETTE:



(source: Australian Monthly Motor Manual, February 1950, page 743.)

[Franklin1]

1960s "Home made" caravan, listed on ebay April 2008:



Edited description: 12 foot long with full length pop-up sunroof. Drop axle. Has a rear roller. Near new tyres. White wall flaps. Original working Electrolux fridge and stove. Gas not used with current owner, but all fittings still in place. 240 power and 12 volt lights.

Original owner had the van built by a friend at the De Havilland Aircraft factory in Victoria in the early 60's. Purpose-built for lightweight towing and aero-dynamically designed including wind-tunnel tested.

Groovy gingham cafe style curtains and black and white rock and roll lino floor. Original yellow check splashback and table top laminex. Timber veneer cupboards.

[To read more about this van, click on this link to the Members Photo Album section: 1963 Plywood (Custom/Home-made) ]

[ammbassodor]

G'day there, My Grandad built caravans in the late 50's and early 60's. Most of them were built as hire caravans for Bevick Motors(I think). His vans were all built in the back shed at Beaumaris Victoria. The one van that he built for himself he called 'Flamingo' and it had a picture of a flamingo on the side. All of Grandad's vans were frameless plywood. If anyone has seen 'Flamingo' (I'm not holding my breath), but you would become my new best friend if you had any info or pictures on her. You can contact me by email at [e-mail]. ;D

[cobber]

This article from Motor Manual March 1956 shows what is most likely a "one of"..... as we are not likely to see another in a days march the moderatorsssss might like to move it to the "Home made" thread


Cobber.

[bobt]

Absolutely amazing looking caravan.

It would have taken some considerable skill to craft the shape.

The boot is an invation that did not take to the caravan trade till the 90's then they put it at the wrong end!!

[cobber]

Just to indicate the type of material that was available to help people build their own caravan is this small sample from “A Colorgravure Publication” (The Herald & Weekly Times Limited).
I can't find the year of publication but there is mention by “The Herald Touring Club” that the charges for one night in a caravan park range from 1/ to 3/..... that is, one shilling to three shillings... that is, 10 cents to 30 cents.
If anybody has this magazine & knows year of publication let us know please.









Cobber.

[firefighter]

::)Hi cobber

I thought I had all the roadhaven caravan history covered
but you come up with
The home beautiful caravan built by H Pruser of Northcote

This is Herbert Pruser owner/ builder of Roadhaven caravans between 1952/1970 when he died ....when I interviewed Herberts son Ray he did not say any thing about this home beautiful van
f/f ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[cobber]

Thanks for spotting that connection Geoff .... there is no mention in the Home Beautiful book that Mr H. Pruser was connected with “Roadhaven” so I expect he was just honing his skills before starting “Roadhaven”......... that means these plans are pre 1952.

Cobber.

[dorian]

What a great thread! Fun read!!

[cobber]

If anybody would like to replicate this home made caravan



The following are drawings taken from the “Caravan & Touring in Australia” 1948 Year Book









Not very clear but ... the Blue prints may be obtained from the Masonite Corporation, 529 Collins Street, Melbourne for 2/-

The restoration of this 'van can be seen at -
vintagecaravans.proboards.com/thread/1129?page=1

Cobber.

[Don Ricardo]

1956 Jackson caravan - Wollongong, NSW:

Sept 15, 2008 16:46:50 GMT 10 cobber said:

This article from Motor Manual March 1956 shows what is most likely a "one of"..... as we are not likely to see another in a days march the moderatorsssss might like to move it to the "Home made" thread


Cobber.

[cobber]

The plans for this good looking 'van were in Keith Winser's "Caravans and Touring" book #4... 1951 - 1952.
There are eight pages of detailed drawings if anybody is interested.



Cobber.

[Don Ricardo]

G'day Cobber,

Interesting design from Winser #4. I note that it is based on an "up to date English design", and the roof line obviously suggests that. I'm intrigued by the guy ropes attached to the roof at each corner. Either it was extremely light and prone to being blown about in a breeze, or it was for use in cyclone territory... Any explanation in the text?

Don Ricardo