Chesney Freedom Express

[danaiglu]

I have recently purchased said pop top van . I believe its from 1973 ? its good enough to use as is , but we are going to tart the old girl up a bit LOL . Previous owner has had the exterior resprayed in 2pac paint and much to my delight they kept with the original colours of cream with the good ol 70's orange and brown stripe !!!

The only history I am aware of is that Chesney were not doing well and were bought out by Monier , who went with the sink or swim theory and 300 of these vans were manufactured and presumably sold then they went belly up........These vans seemed to be way ahead of their time they are so aroedynamic and "modern" looking for the era but also very 70's

I have not seen another one and as soon as I saw this one I had to have her , she is just beautiful

Does anybody have any further info on this model

[atouchofglass]

Hey danaiglu
Can't say I know the model....
But then again I'm new to the whole caravan experience thing anyway

Perhaps a couple of photos of the exterior and interior will help those on the forum to identify or give more information?

Cheers
Atog

[danaiglu]

Lets see if this works ........ It is tucked away in the shed at the moment , I found this photo online





I will try to find some more , i am sure we took some others with it set up , just have to find what i called them LOL

[millard1399]

Hi danaiglu and welcome to the forum. The main method I've been relying on for information about these old caravans is via the on-line Sydney Morning Herald newspaper archives.

If I do a search using the keywords chesney freedom xpress, there are no results.


If I only use chesney freedom, I get a headline from the Sunday, 3 October 1976 edition, which says "Chesney builds a super-trailer", but there's no other info to say what a super-trailer actually is.

If I only use chesney, I get the maximum of 100 results returned, including the following...

Saturday, 20 January 1973: a Classified advert about a Chesney Kampervan, 7 berth, demonstator. (a later advert in May 1973 shows the spelling as Kampavan, and calls it a 1973 Model GT.)

Sunday, 30 September 1973: a headline that says, "Chesney introduces their new" but nothing more is showing to say what the new thing actually is.

By the end of 1976, Chesney advertisements had disappeared, so it looks like the company must have folded around that time.

That's all the info I can find for you.

cheers,
Al.

Update: in the edition, Sunday 28 July 1974, there is a large advertisement showing three Chesney vans, one of which appears to be a camper type van. Unfortunately the photo showing from the archives is too small to read the detail about the vans.

[danaiglu]

Yes it would have been the "supercamper" MOnier who owned the company basically sunk everything into it and manufactured 300 in 1973 and went broke in 1976 ........

The info I have so far I have got from the local canvas guy , when I was looking to buy it i called him and asked for pricing for all new canvas and annex his response was "not the old freedom express" he was actually involved in the testing of the camper at the time of its production. He has told me it has the best windup system of any camper he has seen , and that it was soooo far ahead of its time and that it sold for around the $3000 mark , so in 1973 she wasnt a cheap thing.

He said if it is structurally sound (which it is) to go for it because it really is a fantastic camper.....so I did and when I took it to him to have a look he fell in love and wanted to buy her off me !!!

Thanks for all the replies so far ;D

[Deleted]

Hi danaiglu

The camper you have pictured was not produced in 1973. Chesney (the original) started to produce the Kampavan in about 1973. The original had was white aluminium with a silver aluminium front and a white fibreglass roof. Chesney also produced a fully fibreglass model in late '73 and this was called the GT. I believe this is what millard1399 is referring to. It came out in a couple of colours I think, one being a shade of yellow/orange (everything seemed to be orange in the '70s). Unfortunately the new GT model did have some issues including cracking of the front panel, particularly when taken on rough roads. There was a section on this forum relating to information/adverts on 1970's caravans, can't seem to find it at the moment - but I scanned of an advert for the 1973 Kampavan. When I find the mag again, I will place it in this thread. Hope this helps.
Cheers
Graem

[Deleted]

The advert as promised. Thanks Graem

[Deleted]

Here's the goods and one for sale @ $4600, [phone], HELENSVALE QLD.



I can see what the fuss is about

[danaiglu]

Thanks for that Wahroonga ....I just double checked and your right its a 1978 model ......I think ours is in better condition than the one for sale ...all I can say is I got a bargain LOL.

[Deleted]

Hi Chesney fans,

In early January we called in on Southern Caravan Trading Centre at Aldinga Beach in South Australia and they had an early Chesney Kampa van for sale on their lot. It was in low to average condition and they wanted about $2500 for it. I just had a quick look at it as I have the same model but I have a vague recollection that the fridge was not there. Whether it was removed for repairs or what I do not know.

Worth a look for someone or at least a phone call to see if it is still there?

Would love to see the photo's of the Freedom Xpress.

Cheers, techron

[millard1399]

I have put some very interesting information about the Chesney Freedom Express into the Chronicles section (click on this link)...scroll down to 1976

cheers,
Al.

[danaiglu]

Thanks sooo much for all that info .... thats exactly the sort of stuff that i wanted to know about my beautiful camper.

It is in the garage at the moment but we will be getting her out and starting the reno very very soon.

I am convinced I got a bargain (iguess thats all that matters) but I paid $2000 for her.........as she stands we could use her right now but with a bit of a tart up and a new canvas she will be a star !!!!

We had looked and looked at all the modern styled campers but as soon as I saw this one I had HAD to have it LOL.....

[jeremy]

I have a Chesney Freedom Express that I purchased recently and I am so happy to see that there are other ones out there too as I havent found anyone who knows anything about them.
It is a great van with lots of room and the seats at either end are fantastic...Very Austin Powers....

I am however having a problem with the wind up roof. The gearbox that winds the roof up is slipping and I was wandering if anyone knew where I could get spare Parts?

Its Great to find your forum

[danaiglu]

Hi Jeremy

I also found this forum trying to find info on the freedom express.....

I made enquries with a local canvas guy regarding new canvas and when i told him the van i had he got very excited as he was heavily involved with them when they were first released ......now he did tell me that the gearbox was about the best you could get and i am pretty sure he knew where they could be purchased....

I will chase him up and ask the question for you.... and post it back on here

Has yours been modernised at all

We are just about to start tarting the old girl up a bit.....

And yes you are the only other F/E owner that i have heard of anywhere , and I have tried to find others LOL....so we are few and far between......

[Deleted]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post,I thought I would join the forum,as we also have a 1977 Chesney freedom Express.

Its great to find other owners,of these Beautiful Campers

We haven,t been away in ours yet as we have only had it for a short time(swapped an oztrail 6 camper trailer)for the Chesney

All I had to do was replace one zip,and a thorough clean up,inside and out,and we are ready to go...............when it gets a little warmer.

will add a couple of pics,when i work out how its done.

Cheers.
John

[Deleted]

Welcome johnno02,

Start a thread on your van and post some pictures in the "Hall of Fame" on your great little possession.

[Deleted]

Hi Wahroonga,
Thanks for the welcome,I did look into posting pics,but it seems a little daunting to me.

Cheers.
John
P.S we seem to meet up everywhere, I,m also a member of several GPS forums

[Deleted]

A little bit of info for anyone with a Freedom Express

The wheel bearings are
Holden Inner
Ford Outer

the Zips are
No 10 Chunky open end

I bought 4 of these for $5 odd each

I had 1 faulty zip,and replaced it by hand stitching,just putting the needle,and Polyester thread through the existing holes............still needed pliars though(mini leatherman)
But it worked nicely,so you can replace zips by hand.

Saw a Freedom Express sell on ebay last night for $5,200

I paid $2,500 for an oztrail campertrailer,6and swapped it for the
Chesney. ;D

John

[Deleted]

Here,s a little more confusion for Freedom Express owners,

I contacted the Ebay Seller,asking if he had any info on the Camper,as his was advertised as a 1988 Model.(push up)

Yet looked exactly the same as mine a 1977 Model.(wind up)

He was kind enough to reply to me,with his info.

"Hi John,
my rego papers state its an 1988, I looked for a plate tonight
with no luck, found the original gas plate, dated 1990.
I think the
Chesneys were imported from the USA
good luck, happy camping."

Now I AM confused,My rego NSW papers state a 1977 Model,but the gas compliance plate is dated 1984.

No wonder I drink

John

[millard1399]

Hi johnno and welcome to the forum. I can well understand your confusion about information relating to these old vans. Seems there are a lot of "tall stories" available about where vans came from, etc etc. We are trying to address the issue by creating a library of information on this forum. We've kicked it off, and over the coming months we'll be adding more and more to it.

I've already put some information together on the Chesney Freedom Express. If you haven't already seen it, click on this link, and scroll down until you come to the 1976 box.

The Freedom Express might have been influenced by American engineering in its development, but it definitely wasn't imported from America.

Thanks for your helpful information above about the Freedom Express. I'll copy and paste it over into the reference library.

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Hi Al,

Thanks for the welcome.

Your'e right about "tall tales",theres plenty of them.

At least the people are sharing what they Know,or think they know to be correct,and by doing that we can sort through it all.

The fellow who emailed me,was I believe Genuine in his belief,that his Camper was a 1988 model.

His rego papers even say so,

I have seen other Chesney caravans for sale,with some models advertised as late as 1990.

As I thought Chesney went out of buisness in 1978,this is very hard to understand.

I did read your article on the Freedom express,
I found it very interesting,and that's why I joined in.

Cheers.
John

[millard1399]

John, I guess very few people set out to deliberately misrepresent the details about their van, eh? The big problem with the old caravans is that they don't have the 'compliance plate' like automobiles do. You can't just open the door of the van and there on the side is a plate saying date of manufacture. Makes it d@mn hard to find the truth. And then you get vans that have had the rego lapse for a number of years, get re-regoed...no previous history...so they just whack on the year of re-rego as the year of manufacture. Suddenly a 1975 van becomes a 1988 van. From memory, I think the Victorian system allocates the year of 1900 if there is no information about the van's history. (Someone will correct me if I'm wrong).

You are right about Chesney. They were closed down by their owners in the latter part of 1978, due to the plummeting caravan industry at the time. It's a shame really, because Chesney certainly were prepared to do things a little "differently", and produce vans/campers that were just that bit different to the mainstream products.

So yes...As I understand it, it's impossible to have a Chesney more recent than a 1978 model.

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Hi Al,

Thanks for the explaination,now it makes sense why the Seller on Ebay listed the van as a 1988.

He genuinely believed it was a 1988 Because the rego said so.

Thanks again.
Cheers Al.
John

[Jill]

Bought a chesney kampavan 2 years for $2000, with it was brand new canvas. I think we have dragged it from Hervey Bay to Coffs Harbour and lots of places in between so I think we got our moneys worth. I always figured the cammper trailers would be better but then i see that someone swapped theirs for a Chesney. Having said that...i do love my old Chesney! I would upload a picture but im not sure how to as a guest.

[Danny robertson]

I have just bought a Chesney freedom express how do I rego as a classic