TRAVEL HOME 12 Footer

[Deleted]

Hi. New member Travelfever (Paul and Liz) here. Been looking at vans for a few years now and finally made the plunge recently. Brother in law had a 1979-81 TravelHome 12 footer in his backyard slowly decaying so we worked out a deal and he delivered it to Grenfell NSW (from Victoria) and I towed it back to Katoomba the same day. The van is good enough to travel over a thousand kilometers in 1 day. Once home I pressure washed the outside and spent a few days cleaning out the inside and doing some minor maintenance. May fit some new light truck tyres if travelling any long distances. So far the total outlay is less than $1300. First van I have ever owned and also the first time I have ever towed anything other than a box trailer. Couple of interesting things are that Travel Homes have hydraulic brakes and the twelve footers weigh only 600 kg! Really pleased with the purchase so far...even the fridge works! Does have a bit of visible rot inside but appears very minor: of course it will be much much worse than I can see. The interior is all original in brown and orange cloth and brown formica. Even the fire extinguisher is dated 1979 (I will replace it). Stove works too (fitted new gas bottle). One thing faulty is the rear brake lighting and blinkers, it appears to have a bad earth connection as the lights work but all at once........so any hints on getting a good earth would be appreciated (I am considering fitting LED type rear taillights). Did I mention the original annex and side walls? Obviously we are very proud of the van and ;Can't wait to have a real go at using it with a vengeance!

[ForumMod]

G'day travelfever, and welcome to the forum! ;D

Congratulations on taking the plunge and getting what sounds like a pretty reasonable van.

The running lights can be a pain in the butt sometimes. Manufacturers skimped on the amount of wiring used, and quite often the earthing is through the cladding and the chassis. I always think it's worth starting the fault-finding from the coupling tow plug and working to the back of the van. Some manufacturers put the earth wire (the white wire) in the tow plug and then ran the wire to the back end of the drawbar frame and then fixed it to the chassis. Check if your van is made this way. If so, check the wire connection to the chassis. Remove, clean, and put back. Check the lights operation after doing this. If that doesn't fix the problem, you basically have to go to the back of the van and remove each of the light fittings and clean the earth screw that's connecting the light fitting to the cladding. The overall problem might be that just one of those earth connections is corroded, or a number of them might be corroded, but it only takes one faulty connection to give you grief.


The other possibility is that you don't have a white earth wire in the plug at all. Some manufacturers (like early 1970s Franklins) had the earth return via the van chassis through to the coupling/towbar contact, or the safety chain(s) contact, to the car chassis. That's why I say it's worth starting at the plug to see how your wiring is set up.


With the LED tail lights, keep in the back of your mind that some cars have engine and lighting management systems that falsely detect errors due to the low amperage usage in LEDs, and the LED lights won't work correctly. My 2004 Mazda Tribute wouldn't operate the LED lights properly that I fitted to my Windsor van. After searching the internet for solutions, I found there were also European cars mentioned that people had found similar problems with. I ended up having to fit a diode in the tow plug for both the tail and brake light wires to fool the Mazda into making them work.

Good luck with sorting it out.

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Thanks Al: You must be psychic as the tow car is a2005 V6 Ford Escape (similar to the Mazda you mention). Will check out the earthing before purchase of LEDs. Haven't had a chance today but hopefully tomorrow. Again very much appreciate the input. Regards Paul

[Deleted]

I have had a lot of trouble trying to post a photo: here it is ....I hope!

regards Paul

[Deleted]

Hi to all:
Took the Travel Home to Rylston on weekend 18 -19 May 2013 Me wife and daughter. Slept the three of us with 14 year old on the floor between the 2 single beds…. A bit crowded but better than the tent and so comfortable compared to sleeping out in -4 degrees. We pulled up next to an agricultural pavilion and plugged in the power. We had lights TV if needed (we didn’t) and most importantly heat. I had bought a $12.00 fan heater and we turned it on for 10 minute bursts that heated up the inside terrifically. Cooked breakfast with hot tea and the convenience of coming back and sitting down at any time I repeat this is our first van and our first real go at using the van absolutely hooked and can’t wait to give it another go.

Picked up a couple of Holden hub caps for $5.00 and she looks a million dollars in my eyes. It rained a few days ago and the van does leak it’s kind of a slow weep of water through all the windows which runs down the inner wall……….any suggestions appreciated. Mistakes: yep I made a couple. Left the brakes on for a distance after leaving the backyard, when I thought the car was a bit slower than usual I pulled up and they were really smelly; released them and continued on……seems no harm done. Also when leaving Rylstone I did not turn off the stove gas supply at the bottle. I know these are fundamental errors but I did them and so I write this as a reminder to all even the old hands: Don’t forget!!!! Thought I might mention Jack Absolom we went to Broken Hill earlier in the year and I met him at his art gallery while we couldn’t afford any original artworks I bought a print and a selection of videos of his old shows. In one of his shows he mentions towing a van for about 20 minutes and then stopping and checking over the rig……very sound advice and I owe him because that is exactly what I did and nothing was destroyed despite my errors. Regards Paul

[greedy53]

worth waiting for a nice little van

[murray]

It certainly is a good idea to stop after ten minutes and check everything !!
Not too far to go back if you forget the wife (or husband)
Cute little van.
Cheers

[ForumMod]

G'day travelfever,

As you can see, I've combined all the previous posts about your van, and put them into this thread you started when you first joined us.

Just keep adding any information about your van into this thread, and it will keep your story together.


Sounds like you've had a great time for your first outing. It just gets better from here on. ;D

For the window leaks, you have to try and understand whether the leak is coming through the window itself, or is coming through the plywood around the window. Are you getting leaks through the two front windows that have the weathershield covering them?

Good reminder about checking a van. I always check tyre pressures, wheel nuts, and the van's lights, before setting off for a trip. Then when I go out the gate, I go up and down the road outside our house (we're on a slope) and I do two separate electric brake checks to make sure the van's brakes are working. When packing up at a caravan site, I always get down on my hands and knees and double-check that everything is clear under the van - all jack stands wound up properly; no equipment left under there - that sort of thing.

You get into a routine after you've done a few trips. It's like: This job is done before that, and then that other thing comes next, and so on. My biggest challenge is stopping my partner from racing around getting things set up on the van, when I haven't even unhooked it yet. I'm always yelling, "Wait!! Gotta do this first!"

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the replies: moving house soon still in Katoomba. Also thanks to you all for the encouragement. Will continue to participate in discussions......Regards Paul

[Deleted]

Hello. I've just bought the same type of van. only differance is it has a green strip and needs alot more Tlc. Mine is empty except for 2 beds so i'm interested in seeing how your interior looks. Also just general layout as it's stripped of certain items. I'll try to post when i can work it out.

[Deleted]

Hi Buddaboy Yep I have some interior shots and will post them when I remember how to do that thing............Could you post a couple of your van? By the way we are thinking that a double bed would be much nicer than 2 x singles. Can't figure why a van has singles unless it is for fishing buddies etc. Son has an old Viscount or Franklin (not sure which)with green stripe and a kind of oversize single across the back. regards Paul

[mausie]

Hi Paul

You will understand why some folks prefer single beds when you go to make the bed in a van that has a double bed against the wall

It is also a real PIA when you have to get up in the middle of the night to spend a penny and have climb over the top of you partner but it is a different story on the way back

Most smaller vans either had single beds or a lounge that converts to a double bed. The answer is an island bed but the smaller vans like ours don't have room for one of those.

Our van is a Capricorn and looks very similar to yours and has singles.

By the way loose your Siddeley ute very rare car. A mate of ours has a Sapphire

Cheers
Mausie

[Deleted]

Hi Mausie: Yep the Station Coupe (Ute) is currently unregistered and getting a brake rebuild........ have just moved house and it is winter so may take a couple of months to get motivated (and get built extra sheds). It needs a good service and a coat of paint. Also have a Siddeley LANCASTER (sedan)that is fully road registered. Am heading to the Grand View Hotel in Wentworth Falls for lunch in it tomorrow. However this is all off the subject and is for discussion on another forum. Will post some more photos of the van when it gets used again.......am getting '(Travel)feverish' just typing on the web site! Regards Paul