Big Al, is it OK for me to repost those photos elsewhere? The American fibreglass trailer guys are always interested in the history of moulded trailers and so they would like to see these.
Do you have any approximate body dimensions?
Post away. I did not want the pics of it as found published as then they are the ones that appear when the item's value is discussed. At the moment I am after information or any evidence of the company and/or the model as so far no one has ever heard of either.
As I said it is just 240 kg in weight. It will be 52 inches wide as it only just went on my trailer. It will be 12 1/2 ft long including the drawbar and I can stand up in it at 5 ft 6in without opening the pop top. So it is close to the Eriba Puck but slightly wider. The owner, the eccentric inventor and green before it was fashionable Captain Seddon, used it behind either of his early self LPG converted 1200cc VW Beetles or his larger motorcycle combo. Incongruously also behind his 1930's LPG converted Rolls Royce as well. As with all his things it had a windmill which was mounted on the front when parked, see clips. The Captain would have used his electrically heated garments, he sold these to motorcyclists as a business, via a plug or two to keep warm on colder days. We like Captain Seddon. Amazingly he new Fritz Fend and there is, somewhere, a tapped discussion between Seddon and Fend. Will it turn up?
The construction appears to be a two part GRP moulding joined down the middle. The pop top as another moulding. The door is wood and ali. Inside there is a wood frame covered with light grade veneered ply. Quite what was used on the upper area I am not sure but it looks like a substance like polystyrene, but not, covered with material. These lightweight interior fixings were enough to stiffen the thin GRP shell which had a thick exterior grade ply floor bolted and screwed on to create the floor - like a Nobel. The whole then sitting on the Walter Winterhiem trailer frame and torsion bar axle without brakes.
As Richard has noticed the caravan has begun to sag a little as the floor has degraded round the edges. Not aided by the modified wheel arches and 12 inch wheels I feel might not be original. So the unit is rather more oval than it should be around the waste, I know the feeling. That and the failed outrigger under the door area have seen that part unsupported and sag enough to strain the roof into a short tear. The bit of string was the only defence to this slow spreading of the shaped GRP. Fortunately the caravan was rescued in time as another year or two and I think it would have failed totally, split open and died pretty fast thereafter. So as it stands the major repairs are in fact woodwork and all the parts are there as patterns. That done the structure will be stiffened again and a couple of GRP repairs will see the remaining task of recreating a good outer surface finish. Much as I would love to do this it might be better to allow someone with more time on their hands to do it. My motivation was to rescue something I see as slightly bonkers and yet useful and very probably the last of its kind.
