help with identification please

[Deleted]

from Margaret:


Hi Mark

I found your web site very interesting and wondered if you would know any details about this small caravan of mine. It is all silver unpainted aluminium with a diamond pattern in the aluminium and is six foot wide by ten foot long. It has a hatch in the roof, two push out windows on the driver's side and one window and a door on the passenger side. Inside it has a gas/electric fridge, small dinette (table and two seats which converts into a bed) and a bed across the width of the van at the back, sink, large wardrobe type cupboard and cupboards with sliding doors across the front and back and along the driver's side.

I have been told it could be late fifites, or sixties, but no-one seems to know the brand or actual date.

I would really appreciate any views or information you may have regarding this van.

With best wishes and thanks for a wonderful site.

Margaret

[Franklin1]

Hi Margaret, and welcome to the forum. It is possible your van is an Escort caravan. Compare the following photos with the inside and outside of your van to see if they match. The sharp angle on the body just below the front window is similar, as is the overall shape of the van...





From what I can see in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper archives, the Escort name doesn't start to appear until a private advert in November 1968 for a 10ft Escort, and then next in July 1969 when an announcement is made about a "New North Shore Dealer" (which turns out to be...surprise, surprise...Castle Caravans Pty Ltd). So I'm making an assumption here that the brand wasn't around before 1968 or thereabouts, at least in the Sydney region. I haven't been able to determine where they were actually made, so if they were made in another state and then shipped to Sydney as part of the developing sales market, then it's possible they were available in their home state before 1968.

The various advertisements for Escort vans describe a 10ft and a 13ft van, so there were a couple of different sizes under this name.

Does yours have a badge fixed somewhere on the rear end that says something like..."Supplied by Castle Caravans Pty Ltd"? If so, that would indicate your van is after July 1969.

Hope this helps you in your search for your van's identity. It looks like it's been very well looked after.

cheers,
Al.

[Note to DonR...no, this brand of van is not in the DHL section. I'll sort that out eventually ]