1974 Franklin Hunter - V3356

[tassietiger]

Well folks I have bitten the bullet and bought a 70's caravan on ebay and guess what it's in NSW and I'm in Tassie So other than the pictures on ebay it is sight unseen!!!!

Here are some pics of my purchase












So if there are any Franklin officionardos out there I would welcome any information you might be able to offer eg. It was advertised as 70s is that correct? general thoughts and info would be good
Cheers
Wayne

[bobt]

Congratulations.

Looks a bit of alright.

So when do you take delivery?

[tassietiger]

Still working on that re bookings on the Spirit of Tas but at this stage I am aiming for early March. Still getting over the shock

[Deleted]

Good on you for taking the plunge, now all you have to do is get it home and give it a good going over. The van looks to be in reasonably good condition for its age. It was built probably in 1973 or later, the metal name badge is the giveaway, came out in '73 and stayed in use until Franklin closed. when you get the van have a look for the serial number on the drawbar, probably on a makers plate for that model and let us know, the guru's on V.V. have cracked Franklins numbering code for the earlier vans and it seems to carry on the same into the '70s, at least the early '70s anyway.
Now you can begin classic vanning,--woopee, the fun begins.

[millard1399]

tassietiger...tassietiger...tassietiger

You sure make like difficult for yourself, don't you?? Buying a van from NSW when you live in Tassie? Are you nuts??

No, as a matter of fact, you're not!!!! ;D ;D ;D

Ya can't go wrong with a Franklin, my man!

This little van is a Franklin Hunter model, first launched in 1972, and then appears to have been discontinued in 1977 when the Franklin Truline range was launched. Unfortunately, the chassis numbering system we've cracked for the 1960s is not applicable into the 1970s. Franklin sold out to an investment company in 1970 and changes were made under the new ownership. But when you get the van, tell us what the numbers are on the drawbar, and it'll help us to crack the coding for Franklins in the 1970s.

Your van seems to match up with a photo I have of a 1973 Franklin Hunter advertisement, in terms of the painted stripes on the sides, so it probably is from around the 1973 period as frankidownunder says.

I've never seen a tasmanian tiger, let alone one with a BIG grin ;D , but I reckon there's one down Sandford way that's showing a few bare teeth at the moment!! ;D ;D ;D

Good luck to ya!
cheers,
Al.

[tassietiger]

Wow, thanks Denis and Al that is really reassuring You know how it is you buy something like this then you think oh sh*t what have I done After sleeping on it I believe I have done the right thing. I had to start somewhere. Will keep you posted.

Cheers
Wayne

[atouchofglass]

Hey TT

The next bit is spoken using James Earl Jones voice (Darth Vada)
"I see the force goes stronger with this one."
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Great to see you dive in the deep end and swim like crazy
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Cheers
Atog

[lisa]

Super cute!!!!

[Deleted]

Gday Wayne
That looks like a great little buy you got there

Hopefully all you will need to do when she get her home is put your favorite drop in fridge and tucker in the box ;D

Then off on the open road.....Happy vanning

Cheers Bazz

[tassietiger]

Well, I've booked my passage to the lessland and will be over that way starting next Thursday night. Up to Wagga on Friday pick up the van stay overnight and back down near Melbourne on Saturday catch the Spirit back home Sunday morning. Looked at other options for getting it here but the freight costs are a killer when you live on an island. I like the sound of a drop in the fridge bazz ;D That may well happen Friday night

[Deleted]

A snatch and grab.

[kylarama]

Congrats on the purchase TT.

Hope she's all 'tow worthy' for the trip home.


Keep us informed on the improvments you make to her.

[murray]

Excellent purchase.
Tow it slow along Acton road so as I can get a good glimpse from SMB
cheers

[tassietiger]

Sorry murray I won't be bringing it back throught the Mud Walls road and Richmond and then Acton Rd. The MW rd is way to rough perhaps it will get a face lift as a result of the election!!!

You must have supervision to see Acton Rd from SMB!!!!

[tassietiger]

Well folks the "Hunter" has landed

The Franklin has been safely transported to Tasmania. An uneventful but hot and interesting trip up to Wagga and got back home around 11 last night. Two very pleasant day time crossings on the Spirit of Tasmania which I highly recommend for all you vanners out there. In fact on yesterdays crossing there were some 250 caravans and motor homes of all shapes and sizes on board. It would seem there is some sort of vanners gathering down here this week.

My purchase is definitely a Franklin Hunter and it still has the original decals to prove it! The rego papers tell me it was first registered in 1974 and chassis number on the draw bar is V3356 so there's one for all you code crackers out there

A bit more water damage than I had been told about but nothing too serious. Tows really well and very cosy to sleep in which I did on Friday and Saturday nights at Holbrook and Kilmore respectively.

The fun now begins of planning the sequence of the reno project. The first thing that has become obvious is I need a decent sized shed to put it in to work on Suppose I should of thought of that before hand Oh well just part of the journey. However, I think a couple of trips away in it first to get a better "feel" for it and the possibilities will be the first order of priority.

Hoping for some really heavy rain tonight to see how many buckets I will need!!!!!!!

I would appreciate any advice on web sites that carry parts for Franklin vans.

[Deleted]

Gidday wayne,

Welcome to the forum and that sure is a beaut little van you have there. Talk about jumping in with both feet mate - good on yer, I dont think that you will regret it at all and I'm sure you'll get many happy years out of the Franklin.

I have just come back from working in the bush so I have just caught up with all the latest gossip on here yesterday and head back out bush on friday for a couple of weeks of no internet at all and not much phone either as it turns out. So I will pop in and out to say gidday to the forum sporadically for a while.

Carl.

[libstar]

Fabulous Wayne.. What are your intentions with your new van? You sure went to a lot of trouble to get her so I assume you are going to buy her a new dress or something nice

[tassietiger]

Thanks for that kiwicarl

libstar its all up for grabs at the moment although I have a few ideas it will all depend on what I find when I start the reno. My initial thoughts are to keep it original on the outside and predominantly so on the inside with some modifications to accommodate just me and my 21st century needs and wants. All exciting stuff ;D

[libstar]

Fantastic, Keep us updated... I just love seeing what changes people make.. and yes it is exciting

[millard1399]

G'day Wayne, great to hear you got home in one piece, although I wouldn't have expected anything else with a Franklin! ;D ;D

Now you can have lots of fun with him/her/it, either travelling around or doing bits and pieces of it up. No more spare time for you, eh?!!

There are plenty of internet caravan parts places. It's just a matter of latching onto one that will courier stuff down to you at a reasonable price. You can have a look at the caravansplus website, and type Franklin in the search field top left hand corner. I've bought a couple of deliveries from them and they've looked after me. But check delivery costs to your state first, before you lash out.

Keep us posted on whatever you end up doing to the van. Now that you've actually got the van home, I'm going to change the title of this thread to "1974 Franklin Hunter" and move the thread over into the Hall Of Fame section. I'll do it in the next 24 hours, so from then on you can add to it over there.

Your chassis number gives me a bit of a "sniff" into how Franklin might have numbered their chassis through at least some of the 1970s. Yours is V3356 for 1974, and I've collected information about a van on ebay the other day that they reckon was a 1975 Franklin Hunter with a chassis number of W1777, so my Sherlock Holmes brain says that maybe it was something like this...

1972 = T0001 to T9999 maybe??

1973 = U0001 to U9999 maybe??

1974 = V0001 to V9999

1975 = W0001 to W9999

Where's philou, and what's the chassis number on his little Franklin (or do I already have it?? )

cheers,
Al.

[tassietiger]

thanks Al. Hall of Fame as long as it does not end up being the "hall of infamey" No worries with getting carried away with buying bits. I will need to get my budget back in order first

Bucketing down with rain here at the moment(at long last) so will be a good test to find any of those nasty things called leaks

I found the caravansplus website last night so will go back and type in franklin.

Cheers
Wayne

[philouise]

G'day tassietiger.
Glad your hunt is over. We spent months looking for ours but only travelling about 250klm there. Ended up finding it 20kms away.
I can't wait to get a photo of ours down near the arch & blowhole and get some more of those berries & icecream.

We have a mid 70s baby Hunter (10.5ft)
I was able to buy all parts from a caravan repair shop. Door locks, window fittings and screens (even the dust seal rubber around the windows) etc.
Camec also have a website with Franklin parts.

I am still looking for a "hunter" badge from an old Hillman but no luck yet.

Yours appears to have edging around the cupdoar doors which is good to stop the chipboard chiping. Yours may also have foam glued between the inner & outer side walls & roof which will make removing any damaged interior ply difficult. Yours may also not have a very good door jam. I made a new one from aluminium angle so the door closes against it all around.

Have Fun.
Phil.

(p.s. my vin was 2039 with no letter which doesnt seem to match anything. this number was stamped on most of the internal pieces as well.)
ditzygypsy.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=photos&action=display&thread=389

[tassietiger]

G'day Phil,

Another "Hunter" great stuff!!! I would find it very useful to share notes etc with you on what you have done to yours.

The edging around the doors was put there by a previous owner and is in various stages of falling off so I may well remove it all entirely.

You are right about the door. The frame is not square but the door does close flat in the frame. Just one more thing to add to the to do list. I am seriously thinking of replacing the wind up fibreglass roof hatch with a fours seasons model which would also afford me the opportunity to replace the water damaged roof linings and check out the roof frames. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

I am hoping there is no sandwiched wall or roof insulation as I was hoping to completly strip the exterior of the van to check the frame, to reseal all the joints and windows and to provide access for putting in additional 240v and 12v wiring.

I would also be interested to get the contact details from you re the caravan repair shop that has the Franklin parts etc. and, forgive my vanning ignorance but what is Camec???

Look forward to catching up with you when you come down. I'll have the berries and icecream waiting ;D

Cheers
Wayne

PS I will keep an eye out for a Hillman Hunter badge. Going to a car show in Launceston in a couple of weeks so might be something there.

[kylarama]

Feb 28, 2010 8:44:19 GMT 10 tassietiger said:

forgive my vanning ignorance but what is Camec???

Caravan parts supplier. They do not sell to the public, so you will need to find a local Camec distributor.

Check out their catalogue here.

www.camec.com.au/

[tassietiger]

Thanks kylarama. Looks like an interesting site. Might have to allocate a day and work my way through it