Time to Roam Magazine Issue 9 - June/July 2014 | Page 24
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feature reno rescue
Our Reno
Rescue
Before
John and Chris Hunter, Walker Flat SA
‘Mrs Bean’ a 1950s Rowvan
How did you come to buy it?
The shape of it and the fact it’s old. I like
restoring old things, they have a style about
them. This is a custom made version,
six inches longer than standard.
What was your aim with the restoration?
We intended to bring the van back to its
original condition. We removed the cladding
and found rotting ply and timber frames
underneath. This left us with a dilemma.
Do we proceed or just dump it?
With compassion we proceeded with
the restoration which included, new back
and front frames, ply cladding, ceiling
and canvas roof, kitchen, timber windows,
flyscreens, doors and a new hatch as well.
We were able to duplicate the Rowvan logo
and the original two-tone style paint pattern
from traces we found on the original ply.
The only major deviations we made from
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the original caravan specs was including
wheel arches and 12 volt lighting.
The restoration started in August 2013 with
the intention of having it completed for the
Vintage Caravan Nationals at Broken Hill. After
many long days and nights we just made it.
At the subsequent Vintage and Classic
Caravan gathering at Tanunda we had
a surprise visit from Helen Rowe, whose
parents designed and manufactured
Rowvans between 1948 and 1960. She was
impressed with our achievement, and said
Mrs Bean looked like she’d just one that had
come out of the factory 60 years ago.
The exact year of our van is unknown,
however the three paneled framed hinged
timber windows font and back indicate
that it’s a very early model.
Share your reno rescue:
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