Playtime Caravans. Maidstone, Vic.

[cobber]

PLAYTIME CARAVANS

Sold by George M Lewin
78-80 Ballarat Road, Maidstone Vic

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Playtime caravans from the “Australian Caravan and Touring Manual 1957”
And the way I read it, they came with crockery supplied ;D.







Cobber

[Geoff & Jude]

hi cobber

i think what it means is it comes with storage for crockery, food and saucepans.

geoff 'n jude

[exocet]

Hi Cobber, in the '56 KW touring manual they also have an advert for the Playtime, except this add says they also built a 20 ft model, whereas in your advert of '57 they only say up to 15 ft. There motto was '' The Caravan you will be proud to own at a price you can afford to pay''. It shows a picture of the Playtime Factory and Showground at Maidstone. Oh and it also said they have TWO porthole windows!!

Cheers Exocet

[Don Ricardo]

Information provided regarding Ian & Belinda Campbell's Playtime Caravan by Trodler, 24 February 2008:

trodler said:

Hi Ian and Belinda.
The van vou have is actually a Rowvan built in SA by Mr and Mrs Rowe.
They built vans under their name and they also built vans unnamed and shiped them out to
their suppliers who gave them their own brand. ( Mr Row wasnt really concerned about the naming as long as he was paid.)
If you have a look in the cupboard and up under the sink there should be a date written in chalk of when it was built, it may even have the builders signature.
...

Cheers.
Trodler.

[cobber]

Trodler,

There is no denying that the “Playtime & the “Rowvan” look pretty much like they came out of the same mold, but what strange behavior on somebody's part

The “Playtime” advertisement says they were “ manufactured by Geo. m. Lewin designer and builder of high-class caravans”.

Apart from an add in the 1961 “ Australian caravan and touring manual” placed by an agent (I think) by the name of Keith Odgers for Rowvan & Falcon caravans, I can find no other addvertisment for “Rowvans”, or any evidence of who claims to have made them.

What evidence do you have that Mr. And Mrs Rowe actually built the “Rowvan” Trodler

Who is telling a porkie here..... Mr. Lewin or Mr. Rowe and did Mr. Odgers try to get into the act around 1962.

A case for Mr. Sherlock Holmes maybe.



Cobber.

[cobber]

Trodler,

Don't forget to ask the Rowes where "Playtime" fits into the picture, made by Geo. M. Lewin in that 1957 advertisement, so he claims.

Playtime are mentioned in the "Caravan Trade Directory" of 1957 as "Manufacturers, Equipment, Frames, Repairs & Service".

As you say there is no mention of Rowe anywhere, unless their business was under another name, if you know that send me a PM and I'll shut up and let you get on with your research

Cobber.

[exocet]

In the '56 KW mag there is another advertised van very similar to the Playtime and Rowvan, it's called a Travelo, is that the 3rd brand??

Exocet

[Don Ricardo]

Specifications for Playtime caravans available in 1956 as per Keith Winser's Australian Caravan and Touring Manual for 1956 (p 83):

[Don Ricardo]

Playtime caravan advertised on Ebay, March 2011:



















The seller described the caravan as being both a Playtime and a Rowvan, but there was no indication of the basis for this. Our understanding at this point is that Playtime vans were built by Rowvan and sold in Victoria under the Playtime brand.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

1950'S Playtime brochure advertised on Ebay, February 2014:

[Don Ricardo]

Playtime caravan photographed at the 2013 Ballarat swap meet by Frank and posted on 24 February 2013:

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In their post Frank mentioned that the owner of the van had been told it was a 1950 model, to which Don Ricardo responded on 2 March 2013:

Based on what we do know about Playtime and the photos you've shown us, my personal thoughts are that the van you saw is definitely not a 1950 van, and that it is probably from the second half of the 50's. My reasons for saying this are that:

• The van is more of a late 50's shape, particularly the back end. That shape would have been unusual in the early 50's.
  
• The aluminium framed windows on the van didn't come into general use until the mid-50's.
  
• The rubber sealed front and rear windows are also more typical of a van from the second half of the 50's. A van from 1950 is likely to have had a wooden framed windows.

Despite the fact that the Playtime advert shown on the DHL thread claims that they manufacture their own vans, we know that the vans in the advertisement were built by someone else, and we have no evidence of Playtime actually building vans themselves. On that basis my guess is that the van you saw was probably built by someone else and badged as a Playtime.

By the look of it, the aluminium cladding may be after market. It would be interesting to know if there is bondwood underneath it.

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Later the same day, Hughdeani added:

Hi Don and Frank,
looks to me like a Wayfarer with a Playtime badge on it!
Just to set the cat amongst the pigeons!
Cheers
hughdeani

[wayfarer63]

Hi All looks like a WAYFARER to me but there is also the GLOBE TROTTER in the mix of the 1957 PLAYTIME it is my belief that most were built in SA and marketed under all sorts of names. PS Maryann and I enjoyed the Broken Hill Nats made it home OK regards WAYFARER 63

[Don Ricardo]

Playtime advert published in the Melbourne Age on Saturday, 21 July 1956 (page 24):


(Source: http://www.newspapers.com)

[murray]

1957 Playtime sold in Victoria August 2019

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[Don Ricardo]

Caravan advertised as a 1956 Playtime on Gumtree in October 2021:























No evidence was provided with the advert to confirm that this van is actually a Playtime, however I have posted the above photos on (possibly misplaced) trust.  

We are most familiar with the Rowvans badged and sold as Playtimes, but we know that Playtime also sourced their vans from other manufacturers such as Wayfarer.  Although they claimed to be the designer and manufacturer of their vans, so far we have no evidence that they actually built any vans.  Assuming this van is indeed a Playtime, it is unclear who may have built it.

Don Ricardo