LOOK WHAT I FOUND

General Discussion about almost anything Teardrop or camping related

LOOK WHAT I FOUND

Postby ImRightJack » Sun Apr 16, 2006 3:47 am

G'day, All,
I'm ImRightJack, your newest member from Australia.
Look at what I've recently aquired! Can anyone out there shed any light on what I have here?

I reckon it could be as early as 1930's. The van has been sitting under a house for the past 46 years and was known to have sat there for many years earlier.

The van's built on a car chassis, it appears to be of T model Ford parts and has a full leaf spring suspension set up above the curved axel. The metal chassis is in good condition with surface rust only, despite the van having sat within site of the ocean all these years. However, with its deteriorated appearance the van is in remarkably good condition with hardly any timber rot to be found and the front dolly wheel even wound up with ease, and get this, all the wheel nuts unbolted easily and the wheels still spin nicely over the old drum brakes.

The axil assembly comprises of a full front end including drum brakes on a chassis. The tie rod ends have both been bolted to the centre of the axil to stop any steering movement.

The Van does rock and roll a fair bit and the axil spring combo takes up a hugh amount of floor space under the bed area. I might add that the roof is curved by slates covered by painted canvas and the uniqueness of the design resembles to me early air craft construction methods.

There are no name's or numbers on the van except for a brand name on the rubber tyre on the jockey wheel (Kenworth) and on the jockey wheel housing assembly (Dymwood)

Given the age I'm amazed at the general condition of the van. Plese check out attached image's and If anyone out there in teardrop land is able to shed any light on what I have here I'd greatly appreaciate it.

Cheers,


ImRightJack


:thumbsup:
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Re: LOOK WHAT I FOUND

Postby sdtripper2 » Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:02 am

ImRightJack wrote:G'day, All,
I'm ImRightJack, your newest member from Australia.
Look at what I've recently aquired! Can anyone out there shed any light on what I have here?


Hello RightJack ... :thinking:

You hit the West coast of the USA at about 2AM PST on Easter Sunday morning.

There is usually close to 30 + people here in the evening hours and they will start coming in more around 6-9AM EST

Your rig design looks of interest. I am looking at the Vintage plans above right now.... But there will be more people read this thread and take uP your challenge of type... for you... These guys will help you I am sure.

Can you stand uP inside ? What are the dimensions in feet?


Glad to have you on board... Welcome :thumbsup:
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Measurements for caravan

Postby ImRightJack » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:02 am

Hello sdtripper2,

Standing inside the van from the floor to the ceiling measures 5' 10"
On the exterior the length is 13' 5" and the width is 6' 3"
Great looking forum
Happy Easter, good to be on board

Regards,


ImRightJack
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Postby angib » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:34 am

Jack,

That is a truly stunning find. I'd agree that that looks like a Ford Model T front axle - though I think the chassis is a homebuilt job as the Ford's would have been much higher off the ground.

I don't know what the 'slates' making the roof are - that must be an Aussie word, as slates here are thin bits of 'un-bendy' rock used to roof houses! From the pictures, it looks like the roof is made from narrow strips (of wood?) and if it has then been covered in painted canvas, this is the traditional method of making cabin roofs for boats.

You would have to suspect that you've got a real piece of history that needs to be looked after carefully. This Aussie 'club' web site and forum might be of use to you:
Vintage Caravans web site
Vintage caravans forum

Congratulations on your find and welcome here!

Andrew
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Postby SteveH » Sun Apr 16, 2006 6:46 am

Looking at the axel/frame under the trailer, I believe you are right about the origin of the materials. Looks like an "A" model Ford to me, like 1931 or slightly earlier. That would make it '28 to '31 if I'm right. It's definately not '32 or later as the frame on those was bigger and curved. Really a neat find. :thumbsup:
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Postby JunkMan » Sun Apr 16, 2006 7:56 am

ImRightJack,

The frame looks like it was made from a Model T frame, but I don't think they ever had front brakes on a T. Might have used an Model A axel or some other make for the axel.

It is definatly a nice piece to restore!
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Postby cracker39 » Sun Apr 16, 2006 8:08 am

If you restore that extraordinary vintage trailer and keep that single center spring axle, perhaps you could put shocks or helper coil springs at each end to help with the rock and roll. I wouldn't think that they wouldn't be all that visible and detract from the originality.
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Postby Chip » Sun Apr 16, 2006 8:27 am

Imarightjack,, welcome to the forum and congratulations on that find,, one thing for sure she is a unique old girl,, Just my opinion, but go slowley with any changes or work on this one, it could be one of those rare finds that could be valuable,, Well intentioned removal of paint, rust and other materials can make a valuable piece just another old trailer that has lost its value,,, congratulations again and welcome

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Postby madjack » Sun Apr 16, 2006 9:29 am

hey IRJ, what an absolute blown away find...let me echo others here an say procede slowly on the resto of that historic beauty...I would shake the bushes and kick over the rocks and try and find some history on that ol' girl...she is a fine find...oh yeah, welcome to the board and thanks for da pics...we really do luv da pics around here :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Postby Jiminsav » Sun Apr 16, 2006 10:00 am

well, it looks remarkably like a Runlite..if you look at the plans, they call for a model A frame turned backwards so the front suspension becomes a transverse mounted leaf spring deal..i'm sure Ross would like to see some close-up pics.
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Postby madjack » Sun Apr 16, 2006 10:23 am

Jiminsav wrote:well, it looks remarkably like a Runlite..if you look at the plans, they call for a model A frame turned backwards so the front suspension becomes a transverse mounted leaf spring deal..i'm sure Ross would like to see some close-up pics.


I had thought the same thing Jim, but it appears to be considerably larger...I bet some old boat guy read a MI of the time and said..."I can do that"...
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Postby PresTx82 » Sun Apr 16, 2006 1:38 pm

It's a historical piece indeed. I'm surprised on it's condition. The Aussie weather was good to it for all these years.
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Postby Jiminsav » Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:06 pm

Jack,
If you look at the runlite plans and the actual trailer, there ain't much diffrence..one thing I see is there is no Galley hatch..I think the builder decided he needed a table and fridge and moved the bed back towards the ass end..but it's a runlite..yep
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LOOK WHAT I FOUND

Postby ImRightJack » Sun Apr 16, 2006 11:15 pm

How ya going all! Cheers for your responses.

Thank you for your points of view it seams to be confirming that yep it’s a big teardrop.
Oh and by the way I made a typo, the thin curved wood roof strips we do call slats here (not slates) you refer to as roof battens in the Runlite plans

After looking at the Runlite plans taken from the top of your website page named Vintage Plans (rev 2/19) and in the plans named Runlite (2.7mb) taken from Modern Mechanics Magazine How-To-Build-It 1938 Edition, they mention only Model T Ford parts.
What plans were you looking at Jim? You mentioned Model A Ford parts? Are there other plans available perhaps on a larger scale as is my teardrop?

The Runlite plans are clearly the design of my van with a more complex approach due to the height/width and weight modifications. Page 34 & 35 of the plans I referred to point out that the basic design should not be tampered with although headroom and width can be increased if the builder wishes.

Stupid question-Would you guys definitely agree that the van would have been built in Australia due to the door being on the left hand side when towing or is there another explanation ie Built for importation???
Just for interest, does anyone know what month of the year the article of Runlite (2.7mb) Modern Mechanics Magazine How-To-Build-It 1938 Edition was?


I’ve included more pictures that show:
Wheels-brake hubs
Shots of the Axil
Airplane windshield pyralin used for the windows
Door lock and door handle
Back tail light. It has an extended wooden beam for the back light on one side
Roof hatch
Exterior sheathing is finished with the Duco gunmetal
It has the aluminium moulding covers tacked edge.
ps not all pics could be uploaded

Hey not a bad pick up considering I was asked to cut it up and take it to the tip huh!!

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Postby sdtripper2 » Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:26 am

RightJack:

You Asked:
Just for interest, does anyone know what month of the year the article of
Runlite (2.7mb) Modern Mechanics Magazine How-To-Build-It 1938 Edition was?

:thinking:
Well, after spending some time L@@king ..:SG.. L@@king
I found your date and this article was pulled from the
May issue (How ever this says 1937?) May be a type-O?
Modern Mechanix magazine ......:thumbsup:
had the "Runlite Trailer" article
.

http://tinyurl.com/qme7t
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