How old is "Vintage"

[JamesH]

How old is "Vintage"
How old does a caravan have to be to be classed as a vintage van ?
My van is 23 years old. Will it become a vintage van at 25 years old or just an old van ?

 

[LizziePope]

That, JamesH, is a fantastic question. The answer is probably subjective and might depend on the condition of the van in question. What do the rest of you think?

 

[emmerson]

Good question James!
There are a couple of clubs which cater for older vans. Please don't quote me on this, but I think one only caters for pre 1965, and the other for pre 1980.
As I said in an earlier post, I regularly attend the European Classic Caravan Rally, and their cut-off date is 1980, so I guess that is about the norm.
So, here's an idea: why not start a club for vans like yours, which don't fit into any of the categories? Say, post 1980, up to 1995? I'm sure there are lots people out there still using vans which fall between those dates.After all, not everyone can afford £20,000 for a new van!

 

[smiley]

My van is 23 this July.

If vintage van are pre 1980 are ours called Classic caravans? how old is Classic??

 

[emmerson]

As always Smiley, one question leads to another!! My Van is 1979, and I refer to it as Classic. The European Classic rally has attenders back to 1920s but not later than 1980. Car enthusiasts have this same discussion, but they also have veterans, post-vintage, post-vintage thoroughbred and classic. My Range Rover is known as a LSE Classic, but classic people generally don't seem to agree that it is now a classic car.The argument can go on for ever, depending on the quantity of beer consumed!
Personally, I don't much care what they're called, I just enjoy my outfit!

 

[RogerL]

31st December 1979 is a good cut-off point for Vintage - it's around the time when the main brands changed from from glass windows, full wood-framed walls and structural chassis frames to plastic windows, foam sandwich walls and "wishbone" lightweight chassis - the exact year varied across the manufacturers, I think CI were the last to change although Carlight never did.

I offer no opinion on what date constitutes "Classic" as each brand had it's high/low points at different times - for me, the 2001/2002 Baileys were their best but others will say the Series-6 were their Classics.

 

[JamesH]

After reading an item in one of the weekend newspapers I reckon that 40 years is the definitive age of "vintage". Seemingly it was announced in the March 2014 budget that there would be a rolling 40-year exemption from VED for all cars.
Therefore my van will become "vintage" in 2031 by which time I will be 95! In 2013 I hope to be able to announce that my van has attained vintage status, whether I will still be towing it is another question - there’s no harm in living in hope.

 

[CameronBurns]

We've always gone by 1982. The recession of 1982 saw off most of the "classic" makes such as Safari, Royale, Cheltenham... even Sprite! Clubs and rallies tend to go with 1980, but this misses some caravans which were manufactured between 1980 and 1982 but the design remained the same.

However, my first caravan was from 1988 and was decidedly old-fashioned. This often got a few looks and sparked some interest on site as people weren't used to seeing such an old caravan!

 

[emmerson]

Is this the same Cameron I had the pleasure of pitching next to at ECCR in Belgium back in the spring?
If so, then greetings to you and Chris(?).

Emmerson and Anne.

 

[CameronBurns]

Yes Emmerson, that's us! We're currently planning to attend next year's ECCR near Amiens. Will we be seeing you there again? Hope you and Anne are well.

 

[emmerson]

Already planned, Cam! We're leaving home around mid-April, returning mid-June.
Take care son.

E&A

 

[RogerL]

The period around 1980-1982 marked a fundamental change in the way that UK caravans were built:-
- prior to that the chassis was substantial, the bodywork was built with a timber frame, internal panelling, loose-laid insulation and the outer skin applied last, windows were glass, not even toughened in some cases.

- after that time the chassis became the simple wishbone we know now but relying on the wood/foam/wood bonded floor for torsional strength, the walls were ply/foam/aluminium pressure-bonded sandwich and the windows were plastic, single glazed to start with but soon followed by double glazed.

Different manufacturers and models changed for different model years - Sprite being the last of the volume makers to change build methods.