Sunliner caravans (Forster, NSW & Geelong, Vic)

[Franklin1]

Back in December 2008, the Somewhere Else website blog featured a story about Sunliners, which included a photo of humpty's van. Adding to what jennison has said in Repy #16 above, one of the replies to the blog had this to say:

"robert tickner:

My father, Bert Tickner, started and managed the Sunliner Caravan manufacturing business in Forster and I remember running around this factory as a small boy in the late fifties and into the sixties. It is quite remarkable that these vans are still around. My father grew up in Talong near Goulburn and left school at about 12 or 13 and never had the opportunity for the high school and university study which so many now take for granted. Despite this, he was a very entrepreneurial small business person who was also very committed to the country and policies of decentralisation of jobs and industry. Creating a manufacturing business in country NSW back in those days was not easy and a trip to Sydney took probably three times or more as long as it does now and this made the management of the manufacturing supply chain very difficult. I also remember my own long caravan trips up to Cairns way back in those days and am glad to share this brief memory with those who may be interested.
January 4, 2009, 6:57 pm."

[humpty2]

I am fairly sure that the Robert Tickner who posted that reply is in fact the....... SENATOR Robert Tickner.

[Franklin1]

Hi humpty, I think he was only in the lower house in Canberra. Before leaving politics, he was the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the Keating Government. He left in 1995 to become the CEO of Red Cross, and is still in that position today, as far as I know.

If it is indeed the same Robert Tickner as the former MP, I wonder if he ever did any campaigning around the countryside in a Sunliner?? Maybe the Red Cross goes out to emergency situations using a Sunliner as their command post. Ahhh...the possibilities are endless.

Gotta love those Sunliners! ;D ;D

[Jennison]

If it Robert is Berts son , has anyone contacted him about family photos and the like. He may have some of the factory etc - a bit like me with my grandads pics - it would be a shame not to ask.

[Don Ricardo]

1963 Sunliner

Nov 19, 2007 15:26:20 GMT 10 JBJ said:

This van van is owned by Brett, & I think he said it had 1963 in the chassis number.

Its the only one I've noticed with leaf springs & a steel tube trussed chassis, but maybe its not uncommon. I havent worked on one of these later series.



jailbarjuice

[duds]

it's probably here somewhere but just can't fiind it...but when was the last Sunliner made?

[humpty2]

sometime in 1966

[Don Ricardo]

Photos posted on 28 March 2010 by Sutcac of one of the scarce 15 foot Sunliners for sale near Hervey Bay:

---

Sutcac commented on 29 March 2010:

AS Humpty says..........15 ' Sunliners are a pretty rare breed indeed .................
....in the 5 years or so that I've been involved with V Vans, I have only ever seen three, fifteen footers..........as against probably 50 or so of the more common 13 footers ...........

[Don Ricardo]

CONCORD CARAVANS, NEW ZEALAND

As discussed in a recent thread in the General section, it appears that after production of Sunliners ceased in Australia in 1966, the molds may have been used soon after to produce caravans in New Zealand under the Concord name. However, how this came about is unclear and vintage vanners in New Zealand give the credit for developing the Concord design to Rudy Mueller of Tauranga.

All the same - and without wishing to besmirch Mr Mueller's character or memory in any way - it is clear from the following photos of a 1967 Concord that the early Concords were based on the Sunliner design:




(Source: Chris Hunter's Vantastic, HarperCollins, 1965, pp 119 & 113).

The little plate under the front windows says 'Atkins Caravan Sales'.

The following information is reproduced from Vantastic:




(Source: C Hunter, Vantastic, pp119-120)

A couple of interesting little snippets from Chris Hunter:

• "Today, Concord caravans are difficult to find second-hand, and are even sought after in Australia." He has possibly seen Sunliners in Australia and thought they were Concords?
  
  
• "Concord Fibreglass is now gearing up to restart the manufacture of Concord caravans."

Regarding the last point, the manufacturing does seem to have restarted as Hunter anticipated. Check out this Oxford Concord for hire (Oxford is part of the CI Munro company which went into an ill-fated partnership with Concord at one point) :


(Source: BOP Caravan Rentals)

See also this pic of the current Concord Fibreglass caravan range which still bear quite a strong resemblance to the original Sunliners:


(Source: Concord Fibreglass)

A very nice contemporary interpretation of the original iconic design...

Don Ricardo

[atouchofglass]

While on the subject of 15 foot sunliners
This link is worth a look
vintagecaravans.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general08&action=display&thread=2562

Perhaps one of the admin team might like to put the thread into this one.

Cheers
Atog

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Editorial note: The link provided by ATOG concerns caravans produced as 'Sunliner by Walden' - more info here. Don Ricardo

[Swellwillys]

That 20 footer is a sweet piece of VV equipment.

Thanks for Posting Don Ricardo !

Swellwillys

[griffin]

Concord vans may be the inspiration for the ceramic caravan wall hanging offered at this NZ site www.silverfernz.com/2189-ceramic-new-zealand-caravan-wall-hanging.htm I wondered why a Sunliner would be represented in NZ.
George

[chippydave01]

Cheers Dave

[Don Ricardo]

Promotional blurb for the Sunliner Victory Special, posted on behalf of Larry McM. (Original source and date unknown.)

Does anyone know the background to the 'Victory Special' model name?

[humpty2]

I hate saying this........"the Victory is the special cheap model."
It has fewer cupboards than the regular model, I don't know what else they cheapened up on it.

It was made primarily to supply the hire van market.

[Surf Tragic]

source; Keith Winser Australian Caravan & Touring Manual 1960 Edition, Page 160.

Surf Tragic

[griffin]

This advertisement for the Sunliner range was published in the N.R.M.A Camping and Caravanning Guide for 1962-3 and lists the three models with weights and prices.

George

[griffin]

A second Sunliner advertisement from the same 1962-3 N.R.M.A. Camping and Caravanning Guide. A little confusing that two advertisements in the same publication offer the Thriftmaster at different prices???

George

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Griffin,

Thanks for posting the Sunliner adverts. The different prices for the Thriftmaster is a bit confusing..."Hmm, wonder which one I'll choose? I know, I'll go for the expensive one." ;D ;D ;D

The first advert looks to have been placed by Mid North Moulded Products itself, whereas the other seems to have been placed by the NSW agents for Sunliner - CAB Sales Pty Ltd of Maryville. Sounds like communication between the two might have not been their strong point?

Don Ricardo

[seeshell]

Hi Griffin

I didn't realise the chassis were so different on the same make of van - did they buy in chassis from other suppliers on which to set the body? The first has a "radio tower" looking chassis, and the other looks to be box steel.

Could there have been different options that would have accounted for a price difference?

Thanks for the interesting ads!
Seeshell

[griffin]

Hi Seeshell

Sorry I know nothing of the technical side of Sunliner construction other that what may be on the Forums. The ads simply posted for information of those who are interested.

I was offered a Sunliner by a mate a few years back that needed full restoration but I declined as I didn't want a project!! Hindsight, wonderful thing. It did go to a Forum member in the end I believe.

D.R. might be on the money with the price difference, some lack of communication between manufacturer and agent's list prices, or maybe there was a 40 quid saving if you could be bothered to go and collect it. My experience however is that the manufacturer won't undercut the price of his agent for direct buying. The company I worked for in the '70s sold at 'list price' and so got more $ for selling direct at the factory than selling to the agent. Direct selling was discouraged though.

George

[JBJ]

Hi,

Welcome to the confusing world of Sunliners. Unfortunately a true history probably never will eventuate, as no records were retained from the factory.

I agree that the prices could have varied for a number of reasons.Something again we will never know.

With the vans in the 2 ads, the first one is a 16' van, & the second ad is the normal sized tubular chassis version.

Its interesting that Sunliner didnt build the tubular chassis,just bought it in. I've seen the same style of chassis under a Gypsy van ( I think owned by Chippydave at one stage), & I've seen the adverts for that chassis. Cant remember who built them, but from memory they were on the north side of Sydney.

They are a great van, regardless. Sometimes I wish I hadn't sold mine, but then I never would have ended up with Deejay I suppose.

JBJ

[humpty2]

Chassis were made in Wickham (Newcastle).....and the reason you saw that chassis on another van was because when Sunliner stopped making vans, there were about 80 chassis still sitting there at Newcastle...without vans.
In reference to the "thriftmaster"....there was an "economy" model called the 'Victory Special'. It had fewer cupboards and probably some other 'deletes'.

[JBJ]

Thanks Humpty,

Hoped you would come on & let us know a bit more.

JBJ

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Seeshell, Griffin, JBJ and Humpty,

Re the two different chassis types shown in the two Sunliner adverts Griffin posted, the Our Touring Past website says here that Sunliner started using a chassis built out of what I'll call cylindrical tubing braced with steel webbing with independent suspension (I'm sure there's a much more accurate engineer's description!), but that a chassis using square/rectangular tube could be ordered with a solid axle and leaf springs.

There seem to have been Sunliners built with the first type of chassis throughout their production life, but - suspension type aside - I'm wondering if the second type of chassis may also have been related to where the vans were built? What I am thinking is that vans with the second type of chassis may have come from the Geelong factory? (See the Geelong advert in Reply #50 above.) I wouldn't think it would make sense to ship chassis from Newcastle down to Geelong.

Any thoughts?