Caravan Refrigerators

[Don Ricardo]

Information about the 'Carafrige' refrigerator for caravans:


(Source: Australian Monthly Motor Manual, March 1953, p 828)

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

The first post on this thread contains a 1953 news item about the Carafridge caravan refrigerator produced by Owens & Williamson in Sydney, and mentions that Caravan Park was an agent for the fridge.

Below is an advert published by Caravan Park in the Brisbane Courier-Mail on Saturday, 5 November 1950 (page 5), which may possibly be the Carafridge, although the advert says that it is a 'Carapark product':


(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50036527 )

The specifications of the fridges in both items seem to largely match up.

The 1953 news item say that the 'Carafridge' "operates with kerosene, gas or electricity", suggesting that it was effectively a three-way fridge.  However, the 1950 advert says "Gas...Kerosene...or Electric", which could possibly be taken to mean that a fridge could be purchased to operate on any one of those single power sources.  Can anybody tell us if the Carafridge was a three-way fridge?  Kerosene and electricity sounds like a bit of a volatile mix!

Don Ricardo

[Don Ricardo]

Hi all,

There hasn't been a lot of discussion on the forum about caravan refrigerators that were installed as original equipment in vintage caravans (as opposed to after market replacements for ice boxes). There are a few examples of ingenious people who installed refrigerators in home-built caravans, and there are a few references to caravan manufacturers in the 50's and 60's beginning to offer refrigerators as either standard equipment or as optional equipment. However, it is unclear when commercial builders first began to offer refrigerators.

With this in mind, I was interested to see this advert published in the Melbourne Age on Saturday, 6 November 1937 (page 16) that tells us that R Foster & Son were offering their Windsor caravans with a 'special caravan refrigerator':


(Source: National Library of Australia nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205554626 )

It is not clear whether the refrigerator was powered by kerosene or electricity.  I'm guessing the former.  I think it is extremely unlikely at that stage that the device would have been two-way.  And of course it's possible that 'special caravan refrigerator' was just a fancy name for an ice box...

Anyway, taking it at face value, the advert seems to be indicating that refrigerators were being fitted in vans as early as 1937.  Any advances on that?

Don Ricardo