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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2014 13:59:42 GMT 10
I've got a very rough old franklin regent 1968 van to repair here. It's had considerable water damage unfortunately - and it's going to be a big job! I'm wondering where is the best place to start repairs? Is there a usual order of things done? If there's already a thread which explains this and someone can post the link that would be greatly appreciated! I've had a look around and seen some great posts here - you're all talented clever people it seems! Thanks in advance for any replies  |
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Post by 2lateagain on Jan 28, 2014 7:07:35 GMT 10
Jillian, Most caravans of that era were built from the inside out, cladding being the last thing applied. It depends on how much time and money you want to spend. I have just totally rebuilt a 1978 Millard, it has taken about 18 months of virtually full time working on it and a lot of money, but in the end I have something that suits our needs. I am not sure how to put in a link, but there are numerous vans that have received similar refurbishments in the Hall of Fame section.
Graham
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Post by ForumMod on Jan 28, 2014 9:53:32 GMT 10
G'day jillian, It pays to do nothing on the van until you get a clearer understanding of what to do, and to find out whether you've jumped into the deep end for your first go. I suspect that may be the case with your van, and you really do need to make a sensible decision about whether you'll go ahead with the van or whether you'll let the project go and find something else better suited to your situation. Graham is on the money with the amount of time and dollars it takes to do a proper job on these old vans. About 2 years is pretty typical from start to finish, and that's if you can work on it pretty well full time. The issue with Franklin caravans built at the time yours was built, is that the walls were constructed on a table in the form of a sandwich. The cladding, the insulation, and the internal panelling were all glued together in a block, and then the whole wall was lifted into position on the side of the van. What this means is that it isn't easy to replace any internal panelling on the sides of the van that has rotted. If you read through this thread, you'll see how tedalley renewed the panelling on his Franklin Regent. You can count on the one hand the number of people who have joined this forum and then actually completed their project. There are hundreds of others who joined and got stuck into it for a while and then gave up for various reasons. I often wonder what happened to a lot of people who we haven't heard from for quite a while. You can also read this interesting blog about a Franklin Mini from 1968 (and not 1964 as they say in the blog). They discovered the sorts of issues that you are likely to discover with your van: The Franklin Coffee vanAll the best, cheers, Al. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2014 17:58:12 GMT 10
Hi Graham - Thanks for your reply - I found your Millard thread and checked it out. Very impressive, but you probably know that, the results speak for themselves! Well done!
Hi Al - Thanks for your reply as well! I've been avidly researching online since acquiring this van and had in fact previously perused those two restorations you linked me to, but I am very grateful for your suggestions and time. Thank you for your warning about the enormity of the task. We have two old vans actually, the other is a Glendale and it's resto is well underway... I realise this essentially makes us twice as insane as someone with only 1 broken caravan!
I've read about the Franklin insulated sandwich walls before and that was the moment I had my first serious doubt....taking walls off is daunting without a doubt. On the upside I've also read this structure gives then the strength essentially of a frame as well - frame appearing rather minimal in these old vans... I don't have the technical language but this seemed like a small upside anyway. .. less structural repairing possibly required?... i realise this is a different standard of repair than stripping to bare chassis but wondering if is it possible to use a heat gun and strip the inner linibg without removing walls?....
very keen to learn more.
Thanks again
Jillian
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Post by ForumMod on Jan 28, 2014 20:35:25 GMT 10
You could always try. The adhesive that Franklin used to bond the layers in the wall was made by the 3M company, who are well-known in the history of adhesives. However, adhesives tend to lose their "grip" over the years, and it's possible that after 45 years your van is not as stuck together as it once was.
Let us know how you go, if you end up trying it.
cheers,
Al.
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Post by tedalley on Jan 28, 2014 22:24:37 GMT 10
wondering if is it possible to use a heat gun and strip the inner linibg without removing walls?....
very keen to learn more.
Jillian, Hi.
I found it impossible to remove the inner lining as mine went about 90mm below the floor and the lower part of the sandwich had 120mm timber plate that the polystyrene sat on.
This bottom plate (which is bolted to the chassis) was completely rotten on one side wall.
I held up the roof with acroprops and after undoing all the cupboards, all the rivits and all the windows my mate & I could lift the wall out and lay it on a bench (prepared previously next to the van).
We cut out the rot and replaced with new timber.
We found that a heat gun melted the polystyrene behind the ply so we left the old ply in place and glued new ply over the old. This made the walls 2.7mm wider but wasn't a great problem when replacing the original roof metel.
I hope this helps
Ted |
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