Advice: Renovating 1978 Franklin Snipe Caravan

Have never reno'd a van before but I would reckon that the first thing to ensure is that there is no water damage anywhere. If there is then I,d say this is vital to have fixed before contemplating anything else. I think that you-tube would have numerous videos on renovating a van. The decor is that of an older van but if it is clean and functional why try and make it something it is not? Maybe new style covers for the setee, lick of paint on the ceiling and some more modern looking lino on the floor. Maybe some new kick boards around the setee base to match the lino. The van looks in good condition and as it is an older model I wouldn't go overboard in a reno project. LED lights, maybe a portable convection stove top, good water pump and fit Lithium batteries to lower weight and extra power reserves. Solar on the roof. Renew bearings and brakes.Good luck..shouldn,t be a big project but a satisfying one.

Not a Franklin, but I renovated an old Supreme Getaway.

Stripped off the cladding, fixed some damaged frame timber, rewired all 12 volt gear, added a lithium battery, deleted 240v except for 2 power points internally and one outside, installed new electric water pump and plumbing, new LED lighting along with phone/tablet charging points. New hubs with electric braking, new tyres, new poptop skirt.

Fitted new cladding.

End result is a fully functional off road van that cost just over $12,000.
A lot of work, a huge amount of time and effort, but very satisfying.

You will have problems if you attempt to radically modernise the interior. I would thoroughly advise you to keep as much of the heritage value of the van as you can. If you decide to sell the van in the future, vintage car owners are frequently looking for a heritage van to tow behind their cars to vintage car rallies. this will ensure you have a ready market waiting for your van.

The side walls of your van, I suspect, will be of foam panel construction. I do not know of any vans of that age that Franklin used framed construction in the side walls. This means that the interior plywood is firmly glued to the foam insulation in the walls, which will make it extremely interesting if you attempt to replace it. Also, the construction of the fixed interior furniture is very lightweight. If you attempt to replace it with furniture with solid construction, you will seriously increase the weight of the van. The axle/wheel assemblies on those old vans is very lightweight so if you add new furniture that does not use the same construction methods, you could have to replace the whole axle assembly.

Changing the interior lighting to LED lights that match the old lighting will not change the heritage value of the van much, as will be replacing the external running lights with LED assemblies. You can still get new glass covers to replace the one on the outside annex light that appears to be missing, You can get LED assemblies to insert in that light.

When you learn to live with the dark colours in the van you will enjoy your heritage van.

Hello StephJane.
Apart from what others have mentioned, If maintaining the LOOK is required then perhaps my suggestions are not what you want, BUT, for ease of wheel changing especially in a challenging situation , while renovating, I would cut a wheel arch to access the wheels. At present you will have to jack it quite high to full spring droop and then fight to get the wheel off.
Also, if possible, fit larger than 13" rims if it has those, because of tyre /load ability and speed rating. A larger modern tyre will cater for highway speeds much better and carry the load with a greater degree of safety.
While in QLD travelling south, a Landscruiser with an older van overtook my 95 khm at an elevated rate. I commented, we will see him soon. 15km later, One of the thin overloaded 13" tyres gave up, threw in the towel and disintegrated. I changed it for them and said, if you travel at high speed with those tyres, they will fail. He blew two in total before learning the lesson. Tyre trouble is NOT what you want if spending time on any van.

What is the objective here?
1. A "period restoration"?
2. To get a van to use and enjoy at a budget cost?
3. To provide you with a job to get you off the street?

If the answer is 1, go for it, but it will take 3 times as long and cost 3 times as much as you estimate now.
If the answer is 2, or 3, I suggest you sell it because 2 is unlikely to be achievable and starting from scratch will give you a better result.
Cheers,
Peter
Motorhome home builder.
OKA196

Try
vintagecaravans.proboards.com
some very knowledgeable people on there with regard to older caravans.
It isn’t a very busy site & runs on old technology but if you have questions someone will get back eventually. You may even find others that have restored the same van as yours. There are threads for most vans produced in Australia.

Hi Stephjane,

If you are thinking of putting Solar Panels on the roof, be aware that this will add a significant amount of weight to the roof. It will most likely mean that your current scissor lift may not be strong enough to both lift the roof, and hold it in the raised position.

Macca.