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Post by tedalley on May 24, 2013 16:27:04 GMT 10
Hi all,
I just joined cause I recently bought a 19ft Franklin van.
I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if it has a model name? and age of the van.
It has some dry-rot on the drivers side wall that needs the timbers replaced.
Any ideas on the best way to get to the rotten section?
I joined photobucket so I'll try to post a photo.
001 - Outside Right/Front
002 - Outside right
Regards
Ted |
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2013 17:31:37 GMT 10
Hi Ted,
Your van is a Franklin Regent,one of the last ones by the look of it!
Skinny bunk and kitchen windows,and 5ft double hoppers front and rear.
Does the interior have random groove plywood and 3 side hinged cupboards over the kitchen?
Very lightweight van,hence the single axle,all Franklins were good to tow due to light weight and well made but basic chassis.
I would guesstimate the year to be about 1972 or 73,but of course I could be wrong!
Cheers
Hughdeani
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Post by ForumMod on May 24, 2013 18:46:27 GMT 10
G'day Ted,
Have a look on the drawbar just beside the jockey wheel clamp, and there should be a chassis number welded there. Let us know what the complete number is and we can help with the age of the van.
You say there is wood rot on the driver's side. Does that mean in the front corner, or is it further towards the back somewhere? If it's in the front corner, it will be easier to replace than if it's further down the side of the wall.
If you want to read some of the stories about other Franklin vans on the forum, here's what you do:
1. Click on the Hall Of Fame section
2. At the top of the list of threads that show up, there is the word "Subject" in light blue letters on the dark blue band. Click on that word Subject, and it will sort the threads.
3. Jump to pages 2 and 3 and you'll find threads relating to Franklin vans.
cheers,
Al.
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Post by tedalley on May 26, 2013 20:27:42 GMT 10
G'day hughdeani & ForumMod
Thanks for your quick replys. I will include some internal photos.
The rot is both in the front and rear and the water has mainly come from the two skylights running front & rear. The rear part of the wall has actually crumbled at the bottom (ie. the outside cladding is buckled outwards from the weight of the roof. I have temporarly put a prop to hold the roof up (not shown in Photos).
I'll follow the directions to the Threads as suggested
003 - Lounge
004 - Kitchen
005 - Table / Bed
006 - Inside rear
007 - Bunks/Beds
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Gday hughdeani ForumMod
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Post by Gday hughdeani ForumMod on May 27, 2013 15:50:52 GMT 10
G'day hughdeani & ForumMod Well I've read a few articles and i'm not sure what to do about the ROT. It seems to be in the bottom of the whole wall as there is a bit of rust in the "S" channel holding the wall up. I do like the shape of the van which is the reason I bought it. This is the 9th Caravan I've had but I like it the most (1st was an ex-Telstra van in '78). What to do? What to do?  The Chassis no is :V2541 Ted |
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Post by ForumMod on May 27, 2013 17:29:35 GMT 10
G'day Ted,
I'm now convinced that the 'V'-series chassis numbers are from 1974.
It won't be an easy job to repair the rotted timber. Franklin built their walls as a sandwich on the bench, and then lifted them into position on the floor/chassis. The side cladding, framework, and internal panelling were all bonded together with 3M glue, so they were a solid block. Maybe after 40 years the glue has lost its "stickyness" and you can separate the parts easily, but you'd have to test an area to see if that's the case.
cheers,
Al.
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Post by tedalley on May 28, 2013 20:20:50 GMT 10
ForumMod Hi!
Well the rego papers do say 1974 but I didn't believe them. I actually thought someone put an older van on a '74 chassis.
I think, after reading a few articles on Franklins, that I'll have to bite the bullet and take out the Walls.
I figured that I'll have to take the front, top & rear skin off the van first.
Then remove the cupboards from the wall.
Remove all Windows (which will need leak-proofing anyway) to make the Wall lighter.
Remove Wall to cut out Rust and re-weld new metal.
Ted
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Post by tedalley on May 29, 2013 17:21:21 GMT 10
Renovation Progress Report
1) I bought a second hand roll-out awning from Millard for $350.00 and cut off 28 inches to fit my 19ft. I had to remove the Awning recently cause there is heaps of rot in the bottom of the walls. At that stage I hadn't put the triangular alloy corners.
008 - Roll-out Awning
2) Taken out windows and alloy strip around top of wall. Wire brushed (drill type) windows and walls to get old sealant off.
009 - Start Demolishing
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Post by ForumMod on May 29, 2013 18:27:27 GMT 10
G'day Ted, I fixed up your photos.  You asked me in your PM about window sealant. You can go crazy trying to choose which one to use, because there are so many. A lot depends on whether you think you'll ever have to remove the windows again in the future. Some of the sealants cure so that you need a crowbar to remove them. Other sealants stay soft and pliable for many years, and can be removed fairly easily. I've used the SikaLastomer 511 on the poptop windows on the Millard I restored. This one stays soft, but picks up the dirt from the atmosphere and the white sealant turned black. For the current Windsor van, I've used Selleys Butyl Mastic around the van. This also stays soft underneath after the surface layer cures. So far so good with this stuff, and it doesn't seem to pick up the dirt like the Sika one did (or at least the dirt doesn't show up on the grey mastic like it did on the white Sika stuff). I've even refitted one of the Windsor side windows with some closed-cell foam between the window frame and the cladding, to do a bit of a scientific experiment to see if this foam works ok for sealing. The window is protected a bit by the rolled-up awning above it, but rain still hits the window when it falls at a slant. The window hasn't shown up with any leaks so far, and it's copped some heavy rain at times, so the foam seal looks promising. cheers, Al. |
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Post by tedalley on May 29, 2013 19:59:17 GMT 10
Al Hi.
I think the Selleys Butyl Mastic seems the go but I think it will be a while before I get to that stage. I do have a deadline to get the outside finished as Rego is due in Sept.
If I make a mistake with a post in the future can I delete it and re-enter the post. I'm very new to this sort of thing.
Thanks again
Ted
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Post by ForumMod on May 29, 2013 21:54:42 GMT 10
G'day Ted, When you've logged into the forum, go to any of your posts and you'll see the words quote modify delete in the top right hand corner of that particular post box. You can modify any of your own posts by clicking on the word modify (obviously ). When you've clicked on the word, a new window will come up with your post looking like you're still creating it. Make any changes you like, and then click the [Modify Post] button at the bottom. You can modify any or your own posts at any time after you've created that post...days, months, or even years later if you want. If you want to delete one of your posts, just click the word delete in the top right corner of that particular post box. As a Moderator of the forum, I have special powers that allow me to modify every post on the forum if necessary, whereas each forum member can only modify or delete their own individual posts. cheers, Al. |
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Post by tedalley on May 31, 2013 8:01:01 GMT 10
3) Drill out rivets on Front and Roof outside alloy cladding and remove Cladding:
010 - Outside Cladding comes off
011
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Post by tedalley on May 31, 2013 18:58:24 GMT 10
Another day another hard day. I took more of the roof off & took the skylight out.
012 - Outside roof off
A lot of rot in the ply at front and around skylight
013 - Skylights Out
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Post by ForumMod on May 31, 2013 21:05:58 GMT 10
Struth, Ted!...you're not mucking about, are you?!!  It will be pretty interesting to see how these Franklins were actually put together, once you start to work on the roof repairs. Is there any framework in the ceiling area, or is it just internal panelling sitting against the roof cladding? ps. I fixed the chassis number in all the headings. Must have had a senior moment when I typed it.   cheers, Al. |
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2013 22:15:03 GMT 10
You're inspiring me Ted!
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Post by murray on Jun 1, 2013 10:06:32 GMT 10
They certainly look different once the cladding comes off....nice photo. A few close ups on your work would be good.
we can appreciate the amount of work you are doing on the van.
Something I need to attempt on mine ....soon
Following with interest
cheers
Murray
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Post by tedalley on Jun 1, 2013 20:51:40 GMT 10
Al, Gi'day,
Well to answer your question - The roof consists of alloy outside skin, underneath that is 3mm ply then 10mm polystyrene then 3mm ply with a white finish for the ceiling.
Around the skylights there is 10mm ply instead of the polystyrene (not sure yet how deep this 10mm ply is)
4) Todays effort was taking off the rest of the roof skin and the rear skylight before the rain arrived about 4.30pm
I removed all wall cupboards and Fridge. I decided to leave wardrobe in place to support the roof ply with the aid of an accro-prop - this way the other wall wont fall till i'm ready to attack it.
014 - Rear outside off
015 - Removing top cupboards
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Post by tedalley on Jun 2, 2013 9:50:08 GMT 10
Murray Hi, Its hard for me to take photos as I don't like to stop when im ripping into something but my wife likes to snap a few while im working. Now as its pissing down outside and I cant go out to play I took a couple of shots. All cupboards are screwed to the walls approx. every 6" so with the top cupboards I had to gently remove the ply on the inside of bottom shelf to reveal the screws. The tops of the cupboards are nailed, every 2", down from the top of the 16mm ply so using two small gimmi bars I created a 5mm gap and cut the nails off with my reciprocal saw with no damage to ceiling (as shown in photos). I could grind off the nail stubbs but as im replacing the ply roof I wont bother (the ply falling apart badly).   |
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Post by tedalley on Jun 3, 2013 22:51:24 GMT 10
Well Yesterday it rained and rained so I had a rest day.
017 - Today I removed the top and bottom bunks where I intend to make an island double bed.
017b - This picture shows the rot at the bottom of the wall.
017c - Removed the table & lounge where I intend to install a shower/toilet cubicle next to the wheel arch so that the added weight is over the axel.
Hopefully tomorrow I can get a mate to help me take out the drivers side wall. |
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Post by tedalley on Jun 6, 2013 21:21:41 GMT 10
Well I finally got Mick to help remove the wall propping up the roof
018
018b
018c - Check the bottom plate of the wall. Plywood and bottom plate are badly rotten.
018e - The next photo shows the only solid bits of the bottom plate of my 19ft van.
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Post by ForumMod on Jun 6, 2013 23:10:43 GMT 10
G'day Ted,
Finally I get to see first-hand how the wall of a Franklin van comes off. What's the weight of it like? Heavy, or manageable?
What condition is the chassis rail on that side of the van like? Looks a bit rusty in your photo, but has the steel got any holes in it from too much rusting?
Watching you work through this project is very interesting!
cheers,
Al.
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Post by tedalley on Jun 9, 2013 22:05:15 GMT 10
G'day Ted, Finally I get to see first-hand how the wall of a Franklin van comes off. What's the weight of it like? Heavy, or manageable? What condition is the chassis rail on that side of the van like? Looks a bit rusty in your photo, but has the steel got any holes in it from too much rusting? Watching you work through this project is very interesting! cheers, Al.
Al Hi, Sorry I've been looking for a car for one of my grand daughters.
Well the wall was light. Two of us could handle it easily but we really needed another person in the middle as it was very long. Luckily I had some tables in position to lay it onto.
Chassis rails are good still got the black coating on them. On the other hand the "S" bracket that the wall sits on had a lot of rust which I cut off and plan on welding angle bracket to replace the rust. I cleaned up rotten wood and will replace with new ply - this seems to be the only wood in the wall apart from around the windows. Even where the top bunks were there are no "uprights" to support the weight of the bunks. Check out photos.
019 - Rust
019b
019c - Welding new angle
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Post by youngdazza on Jun 9, 2013 23:25:51 GMT 10
Wow youre really getting stuck into it! Should look amazing when youre finished!
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Post by tedalley on Jun 10, 2013 16:16:16 GMT 10
Wow youre really getting stuck into it! Should look amazing when youre finished! youngdazza Giday! I've got to get the outside finished by Sept 'cause that's when it runs out of rego. I also tend to loose interest if something takes too long to finish so i'm at it like a bat outa Hell. I need the rain to stay away. Anyway where abouts in Sydney are you? Ted |
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Post by youngdazza on Jun 11, 2013 18:33:39 GMT 10
Hi Ted
Having a deadline is great for keeping you motivated! The trouble with older vans is that the more you take off the more you seem to find that needs fixing! I discovered this with my Viscount Aerolite which had a similar sandwich construction and more than its fair share of woodrot! I fixed most but there's a little left however it doesn't appear to be structural. Anyway keep up the good work! Btw I'm in the hills district..
Cheers
- young_dazza
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