1976 Franklin Snipe poptop X2863

[Deleted]

hi i just brought a 1985 franklin caravan , i am in the process of getting it registered but i noticed i have to do some repairs to the chassis first,
i am pretty handy with stuff and was planning to just cut out the rusted parts (pretty bad) and weld some metal plate back to the chassis in replace of the bits removed .
so i am wondering if i do this will it give me troubles once trying to get it registered or should i take it in to be repaired by a pro?
the bit i have to remove is on the main chassis arm at the front its about 30 cm long so i assume it would cause significant loss to the strength of the chassis?

any tips or advice would be appreciated .


Also is it possible to take the van off the chassis at home to allow for easy and thorough inspection and repair or is this just a silly idea of mine ?

[ForumMod]

G'day butchermartin, and welcome to the forum!

Firstly, there's no such thing as a 1985 Franklin, because Franklin Caravans closed down in March 1981, so your van will be from an earlier year than that. Look for a chassis number welded on the drawbar arm somewhere near the jockey wheel clamp. Tell us what that complete number is and we should be able to tell you what year the van is from.

Chassis repairs can be done, and if welded correctly will be as strong as the original. It really depends on where exactly the rusted parts are, and how they might affect the overall structure of the towbar. I'd say if there's any doubt in your mind, at least get a professional welder to have a look at the job, and advise you whether you could get away with patching it up or not. There'd be nothing worse (or more dangerous) than trying to skimp on the job and have the drawbar collapse on you at speed on the highway.

Taking the van off the chassis is "theoretically" possible. After all, the van was built as a chassis first, and then the cabin was added on top afterwards. It really depends on whether you've got all the necessary space and gear to lift the cabin up and roll the chassis out from underneath. There's been a few people on the forum who have done it successfully, but not necessarily with a Franklin van. Give me a bit of time and I'll find the threads relating to those vans.

In the meantime, you can have a read of tedalley's thread about his Franklin van and learn how you can pull these vans apart and put them back together again: 1974 Franklin Regent - V2541

cheers,
Al.

[ForumMod]

Butcherman, there might be something of interest about the chassis in these threads...

1974 Viscount Royal R44140

RocketRod's 1970's Viscount Reno

1972 Viscount Royal 4170E

1976 Millard M48180 rebuild

There are probably some other threads, but the ones above will get you started.

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Cheers thanks for the links very useful stuff , I'll take a look at the numbers tomorrow and let you know , I'll also see if I can get the chassie out , I have access to a workshop so I should have the resources required , after looking at those links , I'm excited to do A complete overhaul of the van , even though it's in good internal condition I'm sure there is underlying issues .
After our next holidays will start the big project .
Will keep you posted and put up some pics .
Cheers for the help

[Deleted]

so i wake thismorning after a sleepless night thinking about the jobs i will be performing today  , only to find the rain has started pouring.
ive decided this will not stop me and i wil continue even if it means a freezing cold and wet day laying under the caravan chassie with the grinder spinning .
i must prep the chassie before it goes to the workshop for its repairing welds.

[Deleted]

SO I SET OUT THIS MORNING , WITH THE GRINDER IN THE RAIN ,
CLIMBED UNDER THE VAN AND WENT FOR IT WITH THE EARMUFFS ON AND GOGGLES , I HAD GONE INTO ANOTHER WORLD.
A FEW HOURS HAD PASSED AND I HAVE NOW COMPLETED MOST OF THE SURFACE RUST REMOVAL EXCEPT FOR NEAR THE AXLE AND AROUND THE GASLINES WHICH I WILL WAIT FOR EASE OF ACCESS ONCE ON THE HOIST TONIGHT.
SLIGHTLY SORE NECK AND BOTH EYES FULL OF RUST DUST I TAKE TO MEASURING OUT THE METAL I WILL NEED TO COMPLETE THE REPAIR .
JUST AS YOU'D EXPECT THE RUST HAS GROWN OVER NIGHT AND IS PRETTY LARGE COVERING A SPACE 3MM WIDE TO 1100 MM LONG ON THE A FRAME WICH WILL NEED REPAIRING.

I GO IN TO TOWN AND VISIT MY LOCAL ENGINEERING MATE AT HIS WORK SHOP , HE GIVES ME A RUNDOWN ON HOW I SHOULD PROPERLY COMPLETE THE REPAIR FOR OPTIMUM STRENGTH, LOADS ME UP WITH THE METAL I WILL NEED AND GIVES ME A GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN .....
ITS GONNA BE A LONG NIGHT!

[Deleted]

[Deleted]

As you can see there is quiet a bit of rust on the A frame wich will need to be removed and underbody.

Attachments:

[Deleted]

So the repair had begun , first to remove the bad bits then clean ur the chassie and re weld new parts in , im lucky my mate is handy on the welder.

[Deleted]

Makes life easy havin the hoist, i ran all over the chassie with the rust remover tool while me mate , done the weld. by now its about 1 am and were beginning to tyre and go a little mad , maby from being tyred or maby from the metho i been usin to wipe and clean the chassie gettin it ready for rust converter and painting.

[Deleted]

2 am hits , weve taken it in turns grinding back the weld tryna get a good finish on it , the chassie is half painted with rust converter , time to call it a day and hed home , will have to do more tomorrow , i think the finish looks great he done a good job welding , tyred and sore i cant even sleep so i sat up thinking of tomorrows jobs for another hour or so , will start the seccond part of the chassie tomorrow and get most of it paintes , im using a zinc rich gal type paint , says on the can its rust resistant .

[Deleted]

Hey Butchermartin,

You have the same chassis as my Franklin Hunter.

ditzygypsy.proboards.com/thread/1157/advice-needed-franklin-hunter-rust

And the same problem, rust on the right side a frame.
Looks to me like a design fault.

When you go to insure it the question will be asked "does it have any corrosion" and if it does you wont get insurance til its fixed.
Shouldnt be a problem now.

I didnt replace or repair my a frame, but had a trailer builder look at it and he said if the brace at the bottom is not snapped then all is good, clean up the corrosion and paint with POR 15. Its designed to go over rust and bond to it.

Scotty

[Deleted]

Hey , yer cheers scotty , the bit where the wires and lines run seams to be a water trapping fail .
Do you reckon its requirements to run the lines through a metal bit like that? i was kinda thinking of just using some conduit to re run the lines and put it on a slight angle to stop the water building up ?
i ve also rust converted the entire chassie and almost completed the new paint job on it , will put up some pics today .
Tha A fram is almost finished too and im happy with the end result.
A fter sanding back most of the bubbly bits of rust and applying the rustconverter / primer 2 in one 1 im acually quiet amazed at the finish it brings up once it dries , its good stuff.

[supreme78]

Hi all
My idea is simple. If you bought a van and spent time inside painting recovering seats and putting in new curtains ect then why would you hook up your baby to your car with a tow frame that's not 100%.
I have seen this things broken and the van is destroyed as a result. And I would believe the insurance company would drop you like a hot spud.
I have a 1978 viscount supreme and the draw bar is quite solid because it's made from box section steel with the ends welded in to stop entry of water and dirt.
The frame is made from 65mm X 35mm steel with a brace underneath. One of the main reasons I am changing mine is it's to short and my pajero spare would most certainly hit the caravan spare wheel if the right angles were attempted.
Also want to get some more storage on the draw bar for jerry can ect. Extending the draw bar by 300mm will also reduce the weight on my tow bar as it's around 180 kg now with it loaded so it needs some help n that area. 300mm might not make a huge difference but it will make the van easier to tow and reverse.
I will be making the new draw bar from 75x50x3mm rhs. And I will be leaving the ends open so I can spray rust inhibitor in there. On a viscount the gas lines and the electrical all run on the outside so water and dirt can't get trapped inside and rust the steel.mm
I am not a qualified welder but with experience in building all types of things in metal like fences trailers and fuel tanks I am confident this will be easy for me.
I will take plenty of photos and do a write up when I do the job.
I will also be replacing the springs, axle and brakes to bit beaver setup to handle all the mod cons I have added to my van.
I am happy to assist others with advice if they want to replace there draw bar or other chassis components.
Regards
Paul

[Deleted]

hey, thanks for your reply and concern.
i have now finished the a frame and the job is complete , i am really happy with the result and i am sure its stronger than ever .
the lenght of the welds is pretty long so the strengh would br good also the penetration on the weld goes right through the 3mm plate .
took me 3 massive days ro rub back the whole chassie and weld and fix the rusted spots and paint it . It was well worth it in the end , but if i had the coin i probbably would have just made a new A frame.

[Deleted]

How important is it to get the chassis cleaned up? Our 12ft Millard pop-top has moderate surface rust, but no holes in the channels from rust. Cleaning it up is not a job we're looking forward to. Is it ok to just leave it? 2 hours under the van on the drill with wire brush attachment doesn't seem to have made much difference. Its an awkward job because we haven't taken off the floor, and we are lying on the concrete while 'drilling'.
And has anyone considered sandblasting the chassis? I don't seem to have heard of anyone doing this. Why not? Surely sandblasting would be easier, although a bit costly. How much would sandblasting a caravan chassis cost, by the way? Feedback appreciated.
Lachlan

[PaulW]

As with anything you only get rewarded by doing the work yourself. I have spent many hours restoring cars and now caravans and the feeling of doing it yourself is reward in itself.
Just throw on some old clothes get a bit of old carpet to lay on and get under there and have a go.
i got some rust convertor from the hardware. It's like cream and you brush it on and it goes black you can then paint over it. You need to remove loose rust first but some good quality scourer pads from the supermarket will take care of that.
its not about getting an award for the best job it's about making it last longer and looking neat.
i haven't done my current van but when the weather fines up I will be getting under there for a while for a lay down hehe.
good luck 

[Deleted]

hey lachlan,
I was particular with my chassie because it had SA rego and i was re registering it in NSW, wich ment getting a blueslip.
i did most of the loose rust removal ( wire brush ) laying on the grass in the rain , so i feel ur pain.
I probbably went a little over board , but i wasent prepared for a knock back on the blue slip ,and if a job is worth doing its worth doing right.
a week later im glad i did a thourough job , it will last for ages and wont hve to be touched up for a few trips (years)
The inspector alos said what good condition the chassie was in for its age wich put a small grin on my face.
Dont underestimate the power of rust converter , its amazing and stops surface rust in its tracks.
I used a 2 in one rust converter primer and finished the job off with a zinc rich gal paint.
Good luck and have patience.

[Deleted]

Hi Buchermartin, I have the same van as yours Chassis # X2882 19 vans after yours!!, I have started a reno but dont need to go to the extent you did underneath, mine has been in a shed up on blocks for the past 20+ years. just had the electrical compliance cert signed off and in the next couple of days she is going in for the VI for rego. I will post up some pics shortly, always good to swap stories from someone with the same van

keep up the good work

cheers
kimba

[Deleted]

hi kimba,
good to see someonw with the same van , me and the mrs are in love with ours now , we are gona use it soon to get eloped in march so verry exciting.
if you need any more help or advice with the van im happy to help.
If you take a look at my pics of the rusted part on the A frame you will see it was pretty bad and id reccomend you atleast remove the metal runner on the inside of the A frame that houses the lines to prevent the same fate.

good luck and all the best.