Modern Caravans Perth

[Gabriel]

Heres a better picture of the sticker. Photo credits - Member of this forum - Papparazzi

[cobber]

ANYBODY yells at the most fair dinkum fifties girl on this forum has to deal with ME..... I got friends in high places .....who have friends in low places ...... you got no worries Gabriel.... me and my friends are on your side

Cobber.

[jasonb92]

No worries i will do that, its funny beacuse the plastic plaque on the side has modern caravans and all the details, but the plaque on the bull nose says viewmaster and i notice everyones on here say modern...

[Lilli]

Hi Jasonb92
I saw your van last weekend at Muka Festival. I have a 1963 Modern with the Viewmaster plate on the front. Here's a pic of my Modern, unfortunately its been painted white but will have it sodablasted soon to its original metal exterior. I'm in the process of restoring it, luckily the interior is original and in good condition.

[Gabriel]

Im thinking Lilli might have solved your problem Jasonb92, her van and yours look very similar.

Lilli
I giggled at your mod cons the old owners did, the silly things people do to update there vans. The aircon unit through the front window and painting it white so it looked like a later van, like mine. thats going to be a real pain getting that paint of the old metal, sodablasting seems like the only way to get into those little lumps and bumps. Good luck with your reno

[jasonb92]

Oh were you the one we spoke to lilli? Thanks so much for that! It is very similar only difference i have found is the interior as the cupboards were different but it hat the same seats table and kitchenette So atleast i have a closer idea of the age because its registered as a 1950 because the previous owner didnt know.....

[Lilli]

Hi Gabriel
Yeah talking about mod cons in the the Mod van, it's shocking the white and aircon be glad when their both gone......I'm just glad they didn't touch the interior too much.

Hi Jabsonb92
I guess it must be roughly the same age, the shape etc is very similar.....I must have the big sister! Really like your little van, especially the porthole window. I forgot to mention that the van has the Modern plate on the back with another plate displaying the address and ph number of the original Modern manufacturers. Once we have the van sodablasted I will put up another pic, hoping to have it done in the next couple of months if not sooner. Look forward to seeing some more pics of your vans interior!

[dusty]

Just wondering if any Modern owners have been able to find a chassis number?

[Don Ricardo]

Modern caravan listed on Gumtree in November 2014 by the advertiser as a 1967 model:

[aza]

Jan 19, 2008 20:44:49 GMT 10 Don Ricardo said:

Information provided by Mark T, transferred from a duplicate thread for Modern caravans:

---

"Modern" Caravans were a Perth based caravan manufacturer who traded for many years at the corner of Royal Street & Wanneroo roads Tuart Hill WA.

Here's some pics of what I believe to be one of the earliest versions of a "Modern Caravan"......why , because of its crude construction ....rough pop rivetting of ali panels, and "old" design, ie, no rear window, little front window, old round shape.

Its located in WA's sou'west and, because of its local historical significance, belongs in a WA vintage caravan museum.









(source: posted by Mark T, Nov 19, 2007)

I also happened across this caravan maybe 2 years ago now. I had asked at the time if it was for sale but the owner
was less than keen to sell.
I have kept an eye on it every few months or so in passing (its about 100kms away from where I live) and today had the chance
to pass by again........ Gone !!!
I asked a few questions and unfortunately the owner has passed and the local council where left with the clean up
process of the property.
I was told first hand from one of the council workers involved in the clean up that it had been crushed on site to make it easier
to load onto a truck and take to the rubbish tip.
I hope that somehow this story is incorrect but im afraid it seems to be true

[deanf]

Hi all, I'm new to the Vintage caravan scene, having just purchased what I'm sure is an old Modern van. It looks identical to the Modern caravan in the pictures on the first post by willyn (silver with blue striping). Does anyone know the model name of this particular van? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Deanf

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Deanf,

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your purchase.

Unfortunately we don't know a lot about the history of Modern Caravans, apart from the fact that they started building caravans in the late 40's and continued into at least the (late?) 60's. However at this stage we don't know anything about how they designated their various models.

Often we are able to glean information about models and sizes, etc, from newspaper advertisements, but we haven't come across any advertisements from Modern at this point, unless one of the WA forum members has come across any info.

Sorry we're not much help at this point. All the same we'd love to see some photos of your van. There's instructions on how to post photos in the 'Forum Guidelines & Helpful Hints' section. The most satisfactory way to post photos is to upload them to Photobucket, but there are other ways to do it as well. You never know, we may be able to deduce something about your van from the photos.

By the bye, the van you referred to at the beginning of this thread is described as being built in 1958. However, further information accumulated since that post tells us that the van is quite a bit younger than that. The shape and the profile of the cladding suggests the second half of the 60's - maybe 1967 or 68 is my guess (but it's only a guess).

Don Ricardo

[heidelberg]

Hello all,

I have only just joined the forum as I came across this forum whilst attempting to research some history and any information I that could about a vintage "Modern" manufactured Caravan that I have just agreed to purchase as a restoration project.

The Caravan is an Aluminium clad single axle Caravan that is around 15 feet long (plus draw bar). It has a rounded roof, front and rear that is almost symetrical front and rear with no bullnose or any design detailing in its construction. It has a front window (2 side by side windows with 3 louvre panes of glass), 2 side windows on one side, 1 door and a side window on the other side, and no window at the rear of the Caravan.

I don't really know when the Caravan was manufactured, but I am guessing in the 1950's based on the posts above regarding the Caravans manufactured by "Modern". It looks quite similar to the one in a post above that advised it was 1958, but the lower slightly corregated aluminium cladding on my Caravan is a lot higher than the photo.

The Caravan is in need of a full rebuild, and it is currently sitting on tyres that will not hold air. In order to make it easier for me to manoeuvre the Caravan and put it onto a large car trailer to bring it home, I think it would make sense if I put on some new wheels/tyres.

Does anyone know what wheel stud pattern "Modern" used in their caravans in the late 1950's?

Thanks....Paul

[jonl]

Oct 15, 2017 13:39:50 GMT 10 heidelberg said:

Does anyone know what wheel stud pattern "Modern" used in their caravans in the late 1950's?

Thanks....Paul

Holden FE I believe.

[heidelberg]

Hi all,

Here's a couple of photo's of the "Modern" caravan that I have now purchased and managed to get home on a car trailer.

I can not see any ID plate or VIN on the chassis and I'd really like to determine what year it was manufactured...I'm guessing mid to late 1950's?

It has a set of 2 x side by side small louver front windows (3 panes each) and no window at the rear.

I'd also like to know what stud pattern the wheels are so I can get the van more mobile than it currently is.

Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks....Paul

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Heidelberg,

Welcome to the forum. How fantastic to see the photos of your Modern!

As far as I can remember, this is the first example of Modern from that era that has been reported on the forum, and I've always found Modern caravans intriguing because I think that they are the only Australian commercial caravan manufacturers who built their vans with louvre windows. I imagine that it's quite difficult to get a proper seal, and I've wondered how they did it.

Looking through the photos on this thread, as I'm sure you have too, my estimate is that your van would have been built between 1956 and 1958, plus or minus. Modern's had quite a unique style in that period with the combination of ridged and flat cladding. They seem to have been quite early adopters of aluminium cladding as well.

I note that on your van the corrugated cladding seems to extend about 60% of the way up the side walls, whereas on the vans in the photos the ridged cladding only seems to go up only about 40% of the wall. I'm not sure if that's significant in dating your van, or identifying the model, but I thought it was an interesting point.

I would be interested to see some photos of your van showing the front and back, and the roof, to compare with the other photos we have.

I can't help you with the stud pattern, but hopefully one of the WA-based forum members may be able to assist you. If none of them reply to your post, I might be able to connect you up with them if that's helpful.

Don Ricardo

[heidelberg]

Thanks for your reply Don.

Here's a couple of photo's of the front louver windows.

Any leads from anyone would be appreciated.

Regards and thanks....Paul

[heidelberg]

Here's 2 more photo's.

One of the rear and another of the louver front windows.

Regards.....Paul

[jonl]

My house mate has a 1958 Modern caravan project she bought a year ago and now, unfortunately, has to let go, due to lack of time and health. It's bare bones, body and chassis (towable), no lining, no windows - I'll post up on For sale.

[heidelberg]

Hi Joni,

Can you please post some photo's as I'd be interested in seeing how similar your house mates caravan is to the one I have?

Thanks...Paul

[lisaangel]

Hi I have just bought a modern caravan and it has the number 1167 welded into the draw bar. Does anyone know of a site that might have further information please?

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Lisaangel,

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for telling us about your Modern caravan.

Unfortunately, we don't know a lot about the history of Modern at this point - apart from what's on this thread - and I don't know of anywhere else on the internet or elsewhere where you might be able to find out more info. You are only the second Modern owner on the forum so far to quote a serial number, so although that's a really useful bit of info we don't know how to interpret yet in terms of build year, etc. (I will copy the info about the other Modern with a serial number in a post below this.)

The best I can suggest is that you have a look at the vans shown on this thread and tell us which one yours looks most like, and we can go from there. Alternatively, perhaps you'd like to post some photos of your van, which I am sure we would all like to see. There are instructions on how to post photos in the 'Forum Guidelines & Helpful Hints' section of the forum. (Let us know if you have any problems doing that and one of us will help you.)

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

On 25 February 2016, Don Ricardo posted here :

New forum member Fiona has emailed me with some photos of a nice little 11 ft van that she and her partner have recently acquired:







Fiona's partner found a label saying 'Modern' above the front window, and the van has a number of the features of the late 60's/early 70's Moderns, including the overall shape, profile of the front wall, the relatively small front window, and the shape of the wheel arch, so it looks as if the label is correct.

However, Fiona is also interested in the approximate age of the van. Assuming that the white paint is original, I am thinking that indicates that the van is no older than 1967 because that's when the acrylic coated cladding started to be used.  The serial number is TL187 if that helps.

Can anyone give Fiona a better indication of the build date of her van? What about the WA crew?

---

Later the same day Hughdeani replied:

Hi all,
Looks to me like a 1970 or 71 model with the green Perspex Windows.
Cheers
hughdeani

---

Then on 10 March 2016 Westozal posted:

Hi,

Yes it a Modern caravan which was made by a company which used to be located on the intersection of Wanneroo road and Royal St in Tuart Hill in WA.

My father was friendly with the owner (one Trevor Clark) and used to hire caravans from them for holidays back in the 1970's and by the look of yours it matches ones we have in photos that were built from about 1971 to 1976.

They had a very good name for strength back in the day compared to Viscount/ Franklin etc and were a favorite for the north west of WA in those days.

Cheers AL

[jonl]

Dec 14, 2017 23:44:22 GMT 10 heidelberg said:

Hi Joni,

Can you please post some photo's as I'd be interested in seeing how similar your house mates caravan is to the one I have?

Thanks...Paul

Probably easier...

vintagecaravans.proboards.com/thread/16585/1958-modern-project-sale-sold

[deblee]

Hi all
I've just bought an old 1977 pop top van 'Modern Trail-Baby' in rough condition in some ways and until i started looking about i didn't realise they were from WA or that they seem fairly rare these days. Although i just wanted it as a go to in the paddock I thought it might be interesting to find out more about them in general and also to find out were/how to get replacement parts which fit if necessary. Any info would be great. It does havecsome original cabinetry in it and poss fridge too if there are any sticklers for keeping there van in that fashion i'd like to move them on. Not sure about loading pics....