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Post by Don Ricardo on Aug 22, 2014 21:19:38 GMT 10
Hi all, Following is Boblor's history of Expandavan which he compiled after interviewing John Bury a couple of years ago. John was the proprietor of both Camperland and Camperman, which acted as the Melbourne agent for Expandavan, and was a major influence in the development of the later versions of the caravans. Boblor has very kindly provided this document for me to post. It is very detailed and won't interest everybody, but is an extraordinarily important document. Some of the magazine articles Boblor refers to in the history have been posted higher up this thread. Note the Expandavan in the top left corner of this next page: Sincere thanks go to Boblor for permission to post this document, and also for sharing with us his fantastic talent for research and deep knowledge of fibreglass caravans. Don Ricardo
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Post by shesgotthelook on Sept 6, 2014 10:26:32 GMT 10
A bit of sleuthing required from Don Ricardo & Boblor. On the previous page I mentioned that Uncle Bill believed his expandavan was built by Siddens/Siddons industries. Came across this today. So it appears Siddons did make caravans & the title 'Expanding to fit Australia & you' kind of ties in with Expandavan to me
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Post by boblor on Sept 6, 2014 20:50:55 GMT 10
Hi SGTL I am testing my memory here, but I have ommitted to state that Welded Pipelines was a part of Siddons, or vice versa. I will have to recheck my interview with John Bury. By the way when do you find time to farm . Cheers boblor
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Post by Don Ricardo on Sept 28, 2014 20:02:24 GMT 10
...On the previous page I mentioned that Uncle Bill believed his expandavan was built by...Siddons industries... Hi SGTL, I had a chat with Robert Bury today, who then consulted his father, John. As you probably remember, John was the proprietor of Camperland/Camperman and was very involved in the development of the Expandavan in its latter stages. Robert worked for his father managing the Sydney branch of Camperman. According to Robert and John the story goes like this... Expandavan was produced by Cliff Mintern, with the fibreglass versions built by Helmsman Industries. When Petersville moved into the 'leisure industry' they produced the aluminium version of the Expandavan and the Tagalong camper trailer (all this we know). Siddons Industries comes into the picture because they also decided to get into leisure products and produced Sunwagons (as per the promo document you posted) and Cabana pop-top/foldouts. Siddons Leisure Products also had their own retail outlet(s), including one called 'Holiday Maker' in Croydon (Victoria), where Caravan City now stands. Siddons didn't build Expandavans, but John Bury thinks that they probably acted as agents for Expandavan, and possibly put a Siddons sticker on them. So...your Uncle Bill may well have bought his Expandavan from Siddons through Holiday Makers or another Siddons outlet. Or alternatively, he may have bought a pre-loved or demonstration van from Siddons. Of course all this happened in the 70's, so we can't talk about it here, and this post is a figment of your imagination... Don Ricardo
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Post by eniddaphne on Mar 30, 2015 13:09:46 GMT 10
Hi, does anyone on the forum know of any of these or the Mintern currently for sale. thank Enid
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Post by Don Ricardo on May 21, 2015 16:08:18 GMT 10
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Post by eniddaphne on May 22, 2015 17:42:47 GMT 10
I have one these, the registration sticker and the sticker on the front of the van says Vouge. The sticker near the door says it was made by Vouge Caravans, Port Wakefield Road, Port Wakefield. Mine doesn't have any decorative stickers and is plain white with pale blue wheel arches and both sides expand out to double beds.
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Post by Don Ricardo on May 22, 2015 18:52:07 GMT 10
G'day Eniddaphne,
Thanks for that information about your van. That tells us the origin of the Vogue name and also adds to the list of dealers that we know sold Expandavans.
It seems like it may have not been uncommon for dealers to sell and register the Expandavans under their own names, at least in South Australia.
Don Ricardo
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Post by boblor on Feb 8, 2016 10:45:18 GMT 10
Hi All I have missed commenting on the above caravan. I interviewed John Hill at Port Wakefield on a couple of occassions in the past two years about the Vogue caravans. Yes John and his parents produced these vans which are similar to the Expandavan.John even gave me an original sticker to remind me of my visit. This confirmed that Vogue were not agents for Expandavan. John's family actually started the Viscount brand in the beginning. Cheers boblor
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Post by Don Ricardo on Feb 13, 2016 11:25:43 GMT 10
Hi Boblor, That's really fascinating information about the Vogue Expandavan being built by John Hill and his parents at Port Wakefield - but also very confusing, at least in terms of understanding the convoluted history of the Expandavan. I've spent a bit of time looking very carefully at the photos of the 1971 aluminium-clad Camperland Expandavan higher up this thread here and the photos of the Vogue Expandavan also higher up this thread here, and the only differences I can see are that (a) the A-frames are constructed differently, (b) the filler for the water tank is on the opposite sides of the van - Camperland off-side, Vogue near side, and (c) the stove alcove is a bit higher from the floor on one compared to the other. Otherwise the design, internal layout and fittings appear to be identical. But I also note that the Camperland van was a prototype, so it's possible that the differences between the two vans just reflect some changes from the prototype to the production version. So what does all this mean? I think the fact that the two vans are virtually identical rules out the idea that they were developed and produced independently. So, were the Camperland vans built by the Hills (Vogue)? Or did Camperland build a few Expandavans themselves then pass production over to the Hills? Or did Camperland and the Hills produce vans independently but use the same plans and specifications? Any thoughts Boblor? Incidentally there's a Classic-era Vogue full-size caravan (not an Expandavan) currently for sale on Gumtree, so I guess that's one of the other vans that came off the Hill's production line at Port Wakefield? Don Ricardo (as usual, asking more questions than providing answers!)
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Post by boblor on Feb 14, 2016 8:50:17 GMT 10
Hi Don Ricardo I will contact John Hill and ask 'what years did the family build the Vogues', this may help sort this question out. Vogue may have produced the vans sometime after Expandavan and John Bury had ceased production in the early 70's. Watch this space. Cheers boblor
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sunny62
Junior Member
1956 Homemade bondwood,1968 Adelma
Posts: 61
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Post by sunny62 on May 14, 2017 9:59:59 GMT 10
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Post by skidly007 on Sept 20, 2020 19:54:11 GMT 10
Hi all I have really enjoyed reading all the information placed on the forum in regards to the expandavan. I own one of these vans which was passed down to me from my mother. The van was passed down to her from her farther who purchased it back in the early seventies. He did many trips around QLD were they lived and even down to adelaide to see our side of the tribe. I recall them dropping in with the van being towed by a Holden HT premier wagon back in the late seventies. I am not sure what i am going to do with the van in the near further it would be nice if i could find it a nice new home for it. I have to many other projects on the go, vintage motorbikes as well as a very large sailing boat to maintain. Mum has now moved upstairs to be with dad who has been waiting up there for 4 years so i dont think she would mind me finding it a new home.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Sept 21, 2020 20:04:32 GMT 10
Hi Skidly007, Great to hear about your family’s Expandavan and also pleased that your found this thread. You may find that one of the forum members will be interested in the van, but it will help if you can show us some photos of it so that we can see which particular version it is. You can post photos pretty easily using the ‘Add Attachment’ button. You’ll find instructions if you click here. It will be great to hear more about your van. Don Ricardo
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Post by skidly007 on Sept 22, 2020 11:24:02 GMT 10
Hi Don thanks for your reply/interest. I think the van is a Mk1 going by the chassis No. 134 which is two more then first believed to be made. Although mine has the cables like the Mk.2 to hold the beds not the straps like the Mk1. Interesting, could of been changed later maybe. I have some outside photos attached when i get time i will take some from the inside. (full of storage junk at the moment, good junk though). It still has the original Pilkington Reni stove in it all in good working order. I love the glow plug set up for lighting the pilot light. Cheers Wayne (skidly007)
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Post by Don Ricardo on Sept 15, 2021 20:47:44 GMT 10
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Post by skidly007 on Oct 10, 2021 17:23:08 GMT 10
Hi Don Long time no chat dont know where life has been going. Same for a lot of people these days. Do you remember what sort of money they werre asking for this one Cheers Wayne
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Post by msshoogs on Feb 18, 2022 12:29:25 GMT 10
Attachments:
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Post by msshoogs on Feb 18, 2022 12:33:47 GMT 10
Hi, new to this site and figuring out how to respond to your thread I've recently purchased an expandavan and I'm wondering it it's actually this same van as the lino on the floor is the same. I've attached a photo for you, I hope it works.
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Post by Don Ricardo on Feb 23, 2022 13:12:14 GMT 10
Hi Msshoogs, Welcome to the forum, and yes, we can see the photo of your Expandavan. When you ask if your van may be the same one as shown in the post you've 'quoted' I am assuming you mean the one with the internal photos since you refer to the lino? It is possible that it is the same van, but it is also possible that the manufacturer used the same or similar floor covering in all of many of their vans, so that's not conclusive. If you read the original post about that Expandavan, you'll see that the then owner (back in 2009) said that it had a serial number of 'F No 39' welded on the drawbar. He may have simply meant 'F 39'. If you can find the serial number on your van's drawbar that will tell you conclusively if it's the same van. Let us know what you find. We'll all be interested to know. Hope that helps? Don Ricardo
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Post by msshoogs on Feb 26, 2022 10:36:04 GMT 10
Hi Don, my serial No is 034
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Post by portcarrie on Mar 2, 2022 21:22:06 GMT 10
Hello everyone, First time here. Discovered this thread whilst looking for info on our Expandavan. I believe ours is Petersville Tagalong. 1970-ish? Needs a bit of work. Hinges for the bed pop outs looking shabby. Some minor water damage also. Haven’t had it checked out mechanically yet. We are In Victoria. Would ideally like to restore it and use it for our family of 4 to holiday in. Any info would be welcome. I have never seen another one around so this thread and all of your pictures are great to see. Thanks, Carrie(-:
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Post by portcarrie on Mar 2, 2022 21:29:24 GMT 10
Just figured out how to add pics. (I hope!) (-: Attachments:
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