Pacific Trailer Coach Company - Nowra (NSW)

[Franklin1]

PACIFIC TRAILER COACH COMPANY

Manufactured by Len Bright & Lindsay Burton
Nowra, NSW

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Information posted by sutcac, Dec 13, 2006, who wrote:

Received this info from a lovely young couple who i met at a car show recently. Maybe of interest to some. Cheers, sutcac


Hi Clyde,
This is the information and photos from my father-in-law, Jack Parkinson, about the caravans he built at Nowra in the fifties.
I have just typed in what he had written down on paper.
Hope you find this interesting and if you want anymore info I'm sure Jack would be happy to help. Just let me know .
Wishing you a Merry Christmas,
Michelle and Jon.

Caravans from the 50's, by Jack Parkinson

In 1951, I worked for a few months helping to build caravans in Nowra. The small factory was owned by Len Bright and Lindsay Burton - he is still going at 90 years of age.
The caravans consisted of 2 x 1 Hard Wood framing, which was steamed hot and shaped around a jig on the floor. We had a 14 foot - 4 berth and an 11 foot - 2 berth. The ply came in a roll, just like lino. The roll was 7 feet wide and 25 feet long. It went from the front over the top and down the back, cutting off 1 and a 1/2 inches at the very bottom. To finish off over the top of that was muslin stuck down with varnish and then 7 coats of paint. 4 of the coats were called "dark white" or very black.
The 14 foot ones had the axle 14 inches back from centre. All the steel was 2 inch heavy angle iron. They had a stainless steel sink top, all the lining was varnished and they sold for 450 pounds. The 4 seater table dropped down to make a double bed as you came in the door. Power was 12 volt and electric with a little transformer.
The name of the company was 'Pacific Trailer Coach Company'. (sort of copying America at the time).
I'm not quite sure but I think there was a window at the back as well as the front so you could use the car rear vision mirror right through. ( I could be wrong ?)
The windows were 2 x 1 frame with ply glued on the outside and beaded inside. The mudguards were timber 1 inch thick bolted to the chassis with galvanised steel wrapped over it and screwed on top of it.
Hope you can get the picture of what I've written.
I really like caravans,
Jack.



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cobber replied:

G'day Clyde, That is interesting information mate, thanks for posting it.
The van looks very similar to one I had back in 1994, although mine had no lining inside but did have the table just inside the door that converted to a "double" bed...there was also a permanent bed at the rear.
It did not have a window at the rear...no sink...no ice box.
It was just another one of those puzzles we keep finding with no way of identifying where they come from. This information gives a little clue regarding this cute little old van I once had.



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jailbarjuice replied:

Hi Clyde & Cobber,

That van shape reminds me so much of the one my parents used to borrow. As we lived in Moss Vale, it was quite likely to have been a Nowra van, cause the guy that owned it was pretty wealthy & would have likely bought it.

I'll show the picture to my mother to see what she thinks.

[Jennison]

At coledale I was parked next to Mal with the red coupe and Nowra VV. During restoration, he met the original maker of nowra vans who gave him some info and memorabilia including an original makers plate/plaque that went with each VV when new. Each of these was a hand painted original done by a friend of the owner/manufacturer of nowra vans. I have sent DonR a photo for posting.........Jennison

[Don Ricardo]

Posted on behalf of Jennison as per post above:



What a nice item, and probably no two were exactly the same.

Did anybody happen to take photos of Mal's Pacific Trailer Coach van at Coledale? I can't see it in any of the photos posted on the 2008 Coledale thread.

Don Ricardo

[Jennison]

The guy who took all the pics and is making up a disc has photos of it. Don't know who he is but I put my name down for a copy. It was doubly coincidental cause a friend of mine from ACT EH club came down to Coledale to try and find out about his VV. I walked him half way up to Reddos camp before he mentioned it was a Nowra VV and we turned round and went back and spoke(and learned all about them )from Mal ,camped right next to me! I will
get photos of my mates unrestored one and post them Jennison
Further coincidence was that Mal was leaving 2 days later to check out a Nowra VV he had heard of near Braidwood. Not only was he too late but the new owner was was my mate form the EH club. Small world!!!!!

[cobber]

Are you there Daggsey

Does this “Pacific” look a bit like a “Valiant”( by “Viscount”) to you

vintagecaravans.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=chat&action=display&thread=2002


Cobber.

[Daggsey]

Howdy Cobber,

It is similar, but I'm sure it's not a Valiant.......the top "bulge" at the front is more pointed and the back window on a Valiant has 4 rounded corners. It also appears the small window in the centre may open, whereas the Valiant has a fixed panel.

Daggsey

[Don Ricardo]

Interesting question, Cobber.

Of course we don't have any idea what a Pacific Trailer Coach van looked like beyond the early 50's ply van in the first post on this thread. Nor do we know how long they produced vans for, or whether they ever produced aluminium vans. (Did anybody take any pics of the Pacific Trailer Coach van at Coledale this year??)

Maybe somebody needs to try and track down Jack Parkinson, or the descendants of Len Bright and Lindsay Burton. Maybe the latter (the descendants that is) are still living in the Nowra area. There you are Jennison, next time you are on maneuvers in Nowra how about it?

Anyway having said that, to my eye there are a number of differences between the Pacific vans OlFarts and Harriet have seen and the Valiants:

• The side panel in which the windows are located in the Valiants are consistently of a different pattern to the rest of the wall panels (generally smoother or diamond pattern), whereas on the Pacific they are not.
  
• The side windows on the Valiants are consistently aligned slightly lower than the top edge of the front and back windows, whereas on the Pacific they seem to be aligned with the top edge of the front windows.
  
• The wheel arches on the Valiant are consistently rectangular or a rectangle rounded at the corners, whereas on the Pacific they are a half circle.
  
• The doors and the door flap (sorry the right word won't come!) on the Valiants are consistently made of smooth rather than ridged aluminium paneling, whereas the Pacific door - or at least the flap - uses the ridged paneling.
  
• The rooves on the Valiants are relatively flat, whereas the roof on the Pacific has a pronounced curve to it.
  

I'm not saying that the Pacific is not a product of badge engineering (I think it may very well be), I'm just querying whether it's a Valiant. Interesting to see what Daggsey has to say.

Whichever way it goes, I am thinking that Pacific vans may be a quite different brand to the Pacific Trailer Coach brand, possibly an SA brand although Dave (OlFarts) seems to have received some indication that the Pacific has some definite link to Nowra. Guess we won't know until we can find out more about the Pacific Trailer Coach Company.

On another question, do you reckon the horizontally split front window indicates that the Pacific is a 70's van?

Don Ricardo

[Jennison]

I think Mal who had the Nowra VV at Coledale will be the man to chase up. He had a collection of photos I seem to remember , as well as other memorabilia. Plus he has the contact details of the old fellow who owned the business (or his family if he is now dead) where he got the makers plate etc as well. I will see my mate Mick, in the EH car club, for Mals details. I am sure he has them. regards jennison

PS ....A further thought, did someone keep a list of those who attended at Coledale. Was Mals name on it? He lives near Nowra I am sure!

[Don Ricardo]

1956 Pacific Trailer Coach 9 ft caravan offered on Ebay, July 2010:

















The seller advised that he had the Pacific Trailer Coach name plate from the caravan in his possession.

I think I can safely say that the flat screen TV and microwave aren't period items... ;D ;D ;D

[Jellybean]

Hi, this is really coincidental, but the book called "How to build Caravans" that I have just posted on the publications other part of the forum was actually given to us by a man called Jack Parkinson who is mentioned earlier in this thread. We didn't know him, he just came into work this week and got talking to John and said he had the book at home. He gave us a copy of the same black and white photos that are posted on page 1 of this thread and told John the same story of how the caravans were made at Pacific Trailers. John got him to write his name and address on the back of the book, and he lives at Kallangur. Spooky ............

Dianne

[Don Ricardo]

Post by Jennison on 20 July 2012:

Tripping over VVs everywhere!
I have come across a fellow with a little !950s VV for sale.
Its a Nowra van made by pacific coach and trailer co.
I did get hold of some info on them from the owner of one...who was at coledale a few years in a row a while back.
This one is in need of restoration and is sheeted in "durilium" which is apparently what they made spitfires from....I presume the predecessor material or early name for aluminium.

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Takeiteasy provided further information about the possible cladding on 1 August 2012:

Is that "duralumin" rather than "durilium". I was just reading the wiki on it. Its a copper aluminium alloy used on zepplins originally. Its manufactuer was a WW1 German military secret used to make armoured Junkers planes. Apparently much more prone to corrosion than modern aluminium sheeting. Fascinating stuff.

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The general consensus on the thread was that the duralmin cladding had been added later because of the number of joins and the fact that the sheets were of different sizes. In addition the van still has wooden window frames.