Propert Folding Caravans.

[Richard]

A couple of original Propert advertising flyers, these were "made up" and copies printed off these.

With this picture showing the model with double bunks that never went into production.

[Richard]

Linda and I have recently made a trip up the North Coast so we took the oportunity to stop in at Watsons Caravans at Coffs Harbour to have a look at their Propert Folding Caravan. There is nothing unusual about this 1965 built Propert other than the pop up roof section to the rear of the van, I have always wondered if Thomas Propert had made a modification for a client or if someone had came up with the idea themselves and modified the van to suit their needs.

Front shot of Propert



Rear shot showing the unusual " pop up roof " section which gives a full 6' head height right through the van..



Built in 1965 and is body No 257.









Closer shot of the rear canvas section.



Rear canvas section.



Side canvas section.



Inside rear corners held up with a pivoting metal arm.



Inside roof section, this photo and the photo above show the timbers of the original roof line have been cut off and modified to make the pop up roof section. So this shows that the van was not built with the pop up roof but was modified at a later stage, and considering that some of the work is a bit " rough " and not to Thomas Properts usual standard it would be safe to say that the van has been modified by an owner some time in the past.



Small caster wheels at rear of van.



The van has some legs made up for the rear, they are quite easy to make with a piece of 1" threaded pipe and a pipe flange on the end so they dont sink into the ground. They are made adjustable with a 3/4" threaded rod that slips inside the pipe and a nut to adjust the height with.



The Propert also has this original set of unusual sway bars. The 2 prongs on the arms slip into the 2 holes in the metal bracket that is fixed to the towbar of the car. The arms are then tensioned with the chains on to the drawbar.

[Richard]

A couple of 1960's advertising photos.

[Richard]

A couple of weeks ago I recieved a message on my mobile from a young lady in reguards to an article about my Propert that appeared in a caravan magazine about 2 years ago.
She was letting me know that her Father, Francis had owned a Propert Folding Caravan and that he would like to get in contact with me.
So the next night I rang Francis and had a good old chat to him about the Propert that he had owned.
At the time he and his wife lived in South Australia and in 1962 while on a holiday to Sydney they made an appointment to have a look at one of the Propert Folding Caravans, and after some discussion they decided to purchase a van, but it was up to Thomas Propert to decide whether to sell one or not, apparently he was a bit picky as to who he sold his vans to so you had to get his approval first. After the OK was given they purchased the van ( serial No 199 ) and continued on their holiday.
Francis, his wife and 2 children enjoyed many holidays along the River Murray in the van, as he worked 7 days and then had 4 off there was always time for a quick getaway, they also made several more trips to Sydney and even ventured as far as Brisbane untill 1968 when twin girls arrived and they had to sell the Propert for a larger van.

Francis has been kind enough to give me the original purchase receipts for Propert 199 dated 1962, a receipt for an annexe that they purchased from Properts in 1964 as well as an original brochure.
He has also mailed some photos of their Propert on a couple of family holidays that they had up stream from Mannum in SA along the River Murray.

I was very excited to have these receipts, as they can tell us a bit of information about trying to "date" a Propert. From the receipt above we now know that Propert 199 was sold in 1962 for 435 Pounds, and it was sold less stove and curtains. Even comparing the 2 reciept numbers we can gather that they wrote out 248 reciepts over a 25 month period. From the reciept below we know that an annexe was worth 35 Pound 18 Shillings in 1964.

A few holiday photos from Francis, we know that the last photo was taken after 1964 as they have the annex fitted.

[Richard]

Propert Folding Caravan Prototype.

I have a few original photos of the Prototype Folding Caravan that Thomas Propert built in 1951. The production models remained unchanged except for a box section running through the floor to cover the low slung axle.

Thomas Propert Snr and Propert No1 at the front of the Service Station at Vaucluse.

Propert No1 in the front yard at 765 Old South Head Rd Vaucluse.

[Richard]

John has sent me these two ads for Propert Folding caravans that appeared for the 1955 Motor Show.

It is interesting to note that in the first ad there is a mention of a Junior Model for baby cars selling for $395 and a Special Model selling for $445.

[Richard]

A couple of original Propert advertising boards that Thomas Propert would have used at Trade shows and displays. With the second sign being one of a left and right pair.

[Richard]

Propert Folding Caravan "COPY".

I always wondered if someone out there had built their own copied Propert caravan. Bill Propert had told me that Thomas Propert had a small legal battle in the early 60's with a business in America that had started to make their own version of the Propert Folding Caravan, but the distance and cost made it very hard to "police" his patents.

Well someone here did in the late 1950's when they built this nearly identical version. Although it does not have the folding mechanism, it is still very simple to put up and would take only about 15 seconds longer.

To unfold this "Propert" the board that is bolted to the front of the van with wingnuts is placed in the saddle on the drawbar, this supports the top shell and the sleeping area. The top shell is then lifted as normal, and to lift the second shell, you go in the van and lift it up into position and hold it in place with a couple of wooden pegs.

[Richard]

Propert Folding Caravan on YouTube.

For those that are interested I have added a short video to YouTube of our Propert Folding Caravan.
Click on the link below to view the video.

Propert 39

[Richard]

From 1952 to 1974 Thomas Propert used 3 types of ID plate on his vans. All of the plates have the printing engraved into the plate with the serial number hand stamped.

Paint Colours on the ID Plate.

Black Paint.
Propert Patent Folding Caravans.
Patent Numbers.
The address.

Pale Blue Paint.
The Overlander circle and the parallel lines running off it.

Red Paint.
The word Phone and the phone number.
The word Vaucluse.
The 2 horizontal lines either side of Vaucluse and Phone.


The first type was a chrome plated brass plate. The main feature of the plate is the address is 771 Old South Head Rd, the phone Number starts with FU with the Patent Pending in the US.

The Second type is nearly identical to the first but the address is now 765 & 771 Old South Head Rd, the phone number now starts with 37 and the plate also now has a Patent number for New Zealand.

The Third type of ID plate is identical to the second, but it is made from an anodised aluminium plate.