Aerolite caravan (Pascoe Vale, Vic)

[Don Ricardo]

Hi DC3Td,

Thanks for posting that Aerolite advert. It shows a nice lot of detail. I've just noted the prominent hood which surrounds the round window at the rear of the side of the van. It can also be seen in one of the photos provided by Jack Anderson's son-in-law (Reply #10). I wonder what its purpose was?

Do you know the date of the advert?

Don Ricardo

[Deleted]

Hi Don,
I think those eyebrows are for the opening portholes to keep the weather out.
Cheers
Hughdeani

[DC3Td]

Hi Don. Like Hughdeani said,weather strips. Can be seen on the majority of the pics here. Pic from Time to Roam who will be doing a story on Aerolites in an upcoming edition. gordon

[Don Ricardo]

Extract from a late 50's Aerolite Caravans brochure advertised on Ebay, February 2014:

[Don Ricardo]

Photos of their Aerolite 15 as found, posted by Geoff n Jude on 7 May 2012:



Note the hatch for the storage compartment located under the front bay window:

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On 15 September 2012 Geoff 'n Jude posted:

hi all

started doing a bit of work on the aerolite today, hoping to get the outside finished before tathra.

we're removing all the paint by either sanding, stripping or heat gun, then we'll give it a few filler/sealer/undercoats before the top coats.

if it's half as good as col and kris' results we'll be pretty happy.

found this across the back under a few coats of paint.



"Aerolite" 15
AUSTRALIAS LIGHTEST CARAVANS

there's something after the 15 that looks like ?SE?? but it's very faint and we can't work it out.

there's also a ying-yangy looking thing with 13 cwt in it.

13 cwt comes to about 660kg, so that's pretty light for a 15 footer.

(the data sheet lists 15' as 12 cwt (610kg))

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On 12 September 2014, Geoff 'n Jude posted further:

hi all

i took the front off the boot today to replace the ply which had de-laminated and found this behind it, on the original front face of the van.





i've always known it was there but wasn't able to get a good picture of it.

it suggests that the van was originally built without the bay window, which was added later.

maybe the first owners asked for it to be modified before they picked it up.

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Don Ricardo responded on 13 September 2014:

G'day Geoff 'n Jude,

It's amazing - and exciting - what can be found hidden away under paintwork, behind panels underneath drawers, etc on our V V's isn't it? Fantastic to see the 'Aerolite 15' signage in all its glory, and very close to pristine after being hidden away after all these years.

I note in your first post on this thread that you referred to the bay window as being optional. If that's the case, then it certainly seems to have been a factory option. Here for example is an advert from the 1967 Winser for a 27 ft Aerolite with basically the same bay window (although the corners on the "boot" are rounded not 90 degrees, and there is no sign of an opening door, at least on the side the photo was taken from):



Given the advert, it makes you wonder if in fact Aerolite at some point added the bay window as a standard fitting to make what was basically an older bondwood design look more edgy and contemporary? (Which it did.)

When I look back at your posts, it is clear in this photo where the upper and lower parts of the bay window have been added:



Without the bay window, I presume the profile of your van would have been pretty much like a longer version of Aeroliteej's 12 ft 6 in Aerolite:

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Further photos of, and comments about this caravan can be found here. The van has now been purchased by another vintage caravanner.

[Don Ricardo]

Photos of what appears to be an Aerolite 'Sunseeker' 15 ft caravan sighted by Supreme78 and posted on 13 September 2014:

[stephen&Julie]

Out of all the vintage vans I have rescued over the years this 1956 Aerolite holds my attention, safely stored away under cover awaiting the coming of retirement or more time to spend on it , can't wait

[Roehm3108]

Bugger work, take early retirement, with such a project in the offing!!

[hilldweller]

Wow that could take you to galaxies far far away..... Great that it's found someone to do justice to it.

[iamjj]

Hi everyone! I’m new to this forum - but I'm hopeful I may have found some answers about the origins of my vintage camper! I have what I believe to be an Aerolite from the 50's - maybe 1954? But I am not in Australia - I"m in Southern California, USA. Does anyone know if any Aerolites made it over here?

Here's the story:

The owners we bought it from in 2014 lived in Long Beach, CA. They did a lot of research (as have I), and they actually met another family who had an identical one. At first they had no idea what the brand was. Even the owner of the online vintage travel museum was stumped as well as many Tin Can tourist members. They searched and asked around for years, then they lifted the sink counter and the name was right there: AEROLITE. A few months later they camped a few spaces from someone who owns the only other Vintage Aerolite known. She too had only seen these two Vintage Aerolites. The other is also in CA and it has the paper work ID is a 1953 Aerolite, our heater was identified as a possible 1954 model so we believe the trailer is 1950's.



Here are a couple of pics of my camper... and then one pic of the one that the prior owners camped next to that still had the Aerolite logo on it:

[Roehm3108]

Hi iamjj and welcome. Not sure about answering your question, but it seems that some of what you posted may have dropped off (probably maintaining social separation!). Have a look here to see how to add photos on this forum. There are a couple of options
vintagecaravans.proboards.com/board/29/post-photos-on-forum

Look forward to the pics

[Geoff & Jude]

hi iamjj

here's a link to our 15 footer that we sold on a few years ago.

vintagecaravans.proboards.com/thread/10126?page=1#81659

geoff 'n jude

[hughdeany]

Hi iamjj,
I’m pretty sure your van is an American Aerolite,I seem to recall you had them over there,but nothing to do with the Australian Aerolite.
We would love to see pics though.😉😉
Cheers
hughdeany

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Iamjj,

I’ve replied to your PM (Personal Message) regarding posting photos on the forum. Apologies for the delay, but I hope the info I’ve provided will help you.

Like Hughdeany, I would also love to see the photos of your Aerolite. If you’re still having trouble with Flickr let me know and I’ll help you further.

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Extract from the November 1960 VR Newsletter posted by Rodericksmith here on 11 June 2022 showing a 25ft Aerolite caravan used by the Victorian Railways as a mobile advisory service:


(Source: VR News Letter, November 1960, page 171 www.victorianrailways.net/vr%20history/magazine_newsletters/1960.pdf )

It's interesting that the article states that "the V.R. has had built a mobile exhibit", but there is no mention by whom. However the Aerolite designs were so distinctive that there is no question of who built the van.

Don Ricardo

[Mustang]

There is another excellent 15' example on the Fraser Coast, very rare now.