Franklin chassis number Register

[jendeneau]

Hi.. just purchased what I believe to be a 1966 Caravelle. I cant find any numbers on the chassis. Where exactly woukd they be?? Thanks.

[shesgotthelook]

They should be on the drawbar,near side (left), towards the front. May have been painted over, sanded off or whole drawbar replaced if they are not there.

On page 2 of this thread is a photo of the numbers on a 66 caravelle I owned. On the top of the drawbar near the hitch.

[jendeneau]

We just ourchased a caravelle.. number 7 100
Cant find another number.. had to get rid of years of paint and a little rust to find this too..any help please :-)

[Don Ricardo]

G'day Jendeneau,

I'm just wondering whether the Caravelle you posted about is the Kara Kar van you posted about on another thread, or whether they are different vans?

Don Ricardo

[catherine636]

We purchased a Franklin Freeway caravan the other week. Know it's a Freeway from the remnants of the stickers on it. Wrap around windows have been painted over and front and rear windows removed - we will reinstate them shortly. (Needing a rear window if anyone has one.) The chassis has had a plate welded on to put a gas bottle on and unfortunately welded over the last figure of the year!! 1452 is the only number I can see - I am putting it at late 65 or 66? What do people think?

[Franklin1]

G'day catherine, and welcome to the forum!

It's difficult to be sure of the year of your van without having some more information. Is the external cladding plain silver aluminium, or is it white? Silver will likely be before mid-1967 and white after that date.

cheers,
Al.

[catherine636]

Thanks Al - yes, it's the aluminium diamond pattern (not smooth) in silver. I am cleaning up the inside a bit more and putting our mark on it. We will have it at Winton in a couple of weeks even though it's a work in progress!

Seals - where would we get those? Clarke rubber are a no, and the Bendigo caravan places don't have anything like it for pop out windows - have a brace arm with wing its to secure them. The seals run in a channel. Any help there would be great as most seals need replacing.

[grandad]

Have you tried Oasis Caravans? Near the new supermarket in Epson.
They sometimes have NOS (New Old Stock) available.

Jim

[catherine636]

Thanks Jim, I tried two but will try and find Oasis this week.

[dettio]

Hi Guys,
I recently purchased a Franklin 14ft caravan.
Looks Identical to the one pictured.
I was told it was 1972 but the chassi number is xxxx-8 so Im guessing its really a 1968 model? it apears to be a premier.
Can anyone confirm whether these vans are meant to have vin plates for registration or due to the age is the chassi number everything?
I can not locate my vin plate. wondering if its been removed or never there in the first place.
Thanks for the help.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Dettio,

Congratulations on your purchase. Your conclusion that your van is a 1968 model is correct, based on the chassis number and the design and styling of the van.

Caravans back in the 60's didn't have VIN numbers, so your chassis number is your identifier for registration purposes, and that should be acceptable to the registration office. Being built in 1968, and therefore being pre-1992, you're van doesn't need to meet all the current registration requirements providing that it hasn't been significantly modified. But you may need to stand your ground. I haven't had to re-register a caravan, so I haven't had to argue my case, but others here have and will be able to give you advice.

I read somewhere that VIN numbers for caravans weren't introduced until 1989. I'm not sure if that's right, or if it is only true for some states and not others? Perhaps someone will be able to tell us? Hughdeani?

Don Ricardo

[dettio]

Yes I read 1989 too, Was just not sure if the trailers still need a plate with the chasi number, tare weight and GVM details. ?

[Mustang]

Jul 21, 2017 16:21:50 GMT 10 dettio said:

Yes I read 1989 too, Was just not sure if the trailers still need a plate with the chasi number, tare weight and GVM details. ?

Apparently Classics & Vintage over 30yo do not need a plate.

[dettio]

I have noticed that the van has a drop axle with 100mm to the wheels to help tuck them under the body.
Has any one on here turned them upside down to create a much much greater ground clearance>?

[Koala]

No but I have replaced the drop axle with a straight one. My Franklin was too low and scraped its tail when going into service stations etc.

Koala

[dann750]

Hmm well I was hoping to find info on my 1960's Franklin but as I cannot attach photos as there is no more space available for this in this forum theres no point....

[Don Ricardo]

Dec 1, 2018 15:35:28 GMT 10 dann750 said:

Hmm well I was hoping to find info on my 1960's Franklin but as I cannot attach photos as there is no more space available for this in this forum theres no point....

Hi Dann750,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry you ran into a problem posting photos, but don't give up on us. We'd love to hear (and see) more about your Franklin caravan.

Unfortunately, the 'Add Attachment' button on the forum is not operational for various reasons (mainly due to cost for the person who finances the forum), which is why you got the message you did. But photos can still be posted via a number of photo storage websites. There are instructions on how to do that in the 'Forum Guidelines & Helfpul Hints' section of the forum. Alternatively, you can email some photos to me at [e-mail] and I'll post them for you.

Don Ricardo
for the admin team

[otktyler]

Hi all,
after some help. I run a business in wollongong repairing & modifying caravans / campers etc. We're currently working on a customers caravan. He believes its a late '70's frankiln, but with no badges, no VIN plate etc its hard to know. the drawbar is extremely rusted, but we think the number welded on it is 21-12-0. does this make sense to any builds at all?? any help would be appreciated.


Thanks, tyler 

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Otktyler,

If the van you're working on is a Franklin, the '0' at the right hand end would indicate that it was built in 1970. The preceding numbers '21?12' would be the build number in that year...BUT that number would seem to suggest that it was the 21,000+ van built in 1970. I think that is unlikely, because it would mean that Franklin had been turning out 81 caravans per day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year, which just seems to high from what we know of Franklin's production numbers at that time. From what I've read their production rate at that point was around 200 caravans per week. On that basis the number on your client's van could be, say, '2112' if the number was badly formed. (Franklin changed its numbering system after 1972, and the new system doesn't match the number you've provided at all. So I think that counts it out as a late 70's Franklin.)

If the number is definitely as you say, ie '21-12-0', then maybe it isn't a Franklin? If you can post some photos (including the serial number) we should be able to help you identify it, unless it's some obscure or unknown brand. There are instructions on how to post photos in the 'Forum Guidelines & Helpful Hints' section of the forum - just go to the Home page and look down the index. Alternatively if you would prefer, you can email me some photos to look at and/or post for you. My email address is [e-mail]

We'll certainly help you identify the van and build year if we can.

Don Ricardo

[otktyler]

Thanks for that Don. I have emailed you a few pics - check junk & spam folders if you dont see it (my emails go there a bit for some reason). cleaned the chassis up better this morning & am pretty confident its a 2172-0, not 2112-0 as we thought, judging by your reply but, that doesnt really help does it - actually makes it an even later build. sent some pics of the van itself also, hope you can help.
Thanks heaps, Tyler

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Otktyler,

I received your email, thanks, and have posted the photos you sent below so that other people can see what we're talking about. Hope that's OK?

Your reading of the serial number (2172-0) is the same as mine:







Now that we've clarified the serial number, it confirms that the van is a Franklin built in 1970 (as indicated by the '0'), and that it was the 2,172nd van built by Franklin in that year.  Based on an estimate of 10,000 vans a year, that would suggest that the van was built in the first quarter of the year.  Or if 10,000 is an overestimate, then it was still almost certainly built in the first six months of the year.

The photos also tell us the van is a Franklin Regent, which was introduced in about mid-1968.  There is a 1971 road test of the Regent model which you and your client may find interesting here.

Hope that helps. 

Don Ricardo

[otktyler]

Thats sensational Don, great info! more than happy to share pics - hopefully others can benefit.
Cheers

[shesgotthelook]

1962 Franklin Tandem Bondwood

Drawbar weld 892 C

892 pencilled inside every cupboard

[lizc]

Hello,
i have not finished reading all the posts and this original posting I do not k ow if someone has answered or clarified the identification for Franklin Arrow caravans from 1978 -1981.

I found the receipt from when we purchased ours and tomorrow I will search the A Frame however we have a Chassis or VIN starting with R78T and six more numbers as well as Rego number.

the original rego number plate is still on her. Rusted but still there.

is this chassis/VIN form of numbering what you were looking for for the time period 1978-1981?

I call her Moon Godess and she is approx 20 feet long, tandem.

respectfully

Liz

[Deleted]

Hi all,

My first post here, have a Vacation labelled van registered as 1967 build V755, finding it hard to find info but believe it to be only just Franklin. Could anyone please shed some light for me please.

TIA