The Caravan Holiday 2003
It all started as a dream – probably a different dream to most. I wanted to build a caravan.
We had ‘owned’ two full size caravans, and then a Jayco Camper and we knew we like the low towing facility of a campervan, but I also like the old 16’ x 8’ space. It seemed natural to build a cross over between a Jayco and a normal caravan using a commercial caravan chassis.
A suitable old van was purchased and I stripped it down to the floor to commence detail planning. But a friend told me of a van with a good fridge! So I bought that van too – for $400 - $100 more than the first one.
It was a newer van, and plan B was to cut it down below the windows, install the Jayco lifting equipment, make a roof, put it together, and have canvas made –we would be on holidays that year!
So out came the windows – round I went with my circular saw, cutting the whole van in two just below the windows, then off came the whole top section, like a boiled egg, and I was ready. To enable installation of all the new Jayco equipment I had bought, I removed some of the aluminium cladding – and found the wall frames were rotten – so plan C was implemented – new walls, and new side aluminium cladding too. Like the first van, this van too I then stripped to the floor.
Working nights, weekends and all available time, I completed sides and ends, lifting gear installed, aluminium sides and ends cladding on, roof made and installed and skinned – and it was time to go away in it, but no cupboards, and no canvas.
My long suffering Wife thought Fiji was appropriate!
We returned from Fiji to hot weather, and all my aluminium had expanded, the sides were buckled, the top was a frightful mess of dips, bumps and hollows.
Disillusioned, I just went on to other things for about a year.
A good friend, came and helped me to remove and reinstall roof skin after I had removed and reinstalled all the side cladding. Now we were ready for the cupboards. But problem after problem seemed to crop up, and next thing, it was almost four years since I started this project. Bench tops were in and canvas was on, but little else. No bed. No cupboards.
Then we moved house – came into town (Western Victoria) from our bush block, and the Van went to the upholsterers. Six months later, the van came home, and sat in the back yard while the house took precedence. It was now about six years since starting.
Plan D now came into force – holiday to WA to be undertaken for 8 weeks mid year 2003 – so house mods (not quite finished) were left, and work full speed back on Van – making cupboards, doors and drawers, installing table, water tank, gas stove, new wheels and tyres etc etc.
Some of this was completed by local caravan retailer/repairer – and we did get away a mere two weeks late on the 16th July.
Now the holiday – which we had not had time to plan yet – but we were off in our untried van….
Plan E was now adopted – to go to Nhill on day one (as a test run on the run)
At Nhill we discovered a minor problem with my cunningly designed 12 volt/battery system – the battery charger could not charge the gel cell battery. So off to an Auto Electrician, and we were on our way only a couple of hours late. From there we travelled over 9000 kilometres, averaging 22 mpg behind 3.5 litre Mitsubishi Verada.
On the way home from WA we decided to name our van Horizon – and had signage made. It is the only one of a kind, so if you see one – it was mine.
Subsequent tow vehicles included dedicated gas Falcon (towing cost about $0.11 cents per Km) and 3.8 Litre Pajero (towing cost about $0.14 cents per Km)
Some years later, after trips to Queensland and NSW in total about 30,000 Kilometres of happy towing, we sold our home made van for its original cost - $9000.
The theory has been proven as we now have a pop top with smaller footprint than the Horizon – but higher frontal area, and towing costs are now $0.16 cents per Km).