MODERN CARAVAN

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 36, 26 February 1937, Page 6

MODERN CARAVAN

Aucklander's Projected Tour Abroad MANY N0VEL FEATURE8

Many people deslre to travel, btiB only to a few is it given to realiws their ambitions with such completenes® as Mr G. W. Allsop, a retired Auclsland aTchitect, who, with his wife. -5jl shortly to nndertake an extended toik of three continents in his luxnrionsly appointed caravan. With .10 years ,-fexperience of motor touTing to aid hirrt, und with the craftsmanship of his^profession to enable him tb put his idea? into practice, Mr Allsop designed tLe body of the caravan himself, the wor^ neing carried out by an Auckland firm of bodybuilders. * • . Inspected at a farm at East Tamaki, where Mr and Mrs Allsop are making their preparations before starting off On the first stage of their journey, to Anstralia, in April. the caravan proved to be a veritable home on wheels. It ha® all the compactness of the modern ilnt and is an object lesson in forethoujrkt and planning. No expense has been spared. To accustom themselves to tlusurroundings of their new home, Mt and Mrs Allsop have already Islept for Hoverai nights in their caravaa. M Allsop has already travelled cxtensively. On his present trip ho «•* tends to ship his caravan to _Sy(Inc and then. drive afound Anstralia. Fr-T Perth he will take a boat to Durbar work his way nt> through Natal t' Kenya Colony, and then down to Car-e iown. Returning to Frexnantle, he will dri, «1 acroas the Australiau -desert to A«1alaide and then ship to Tasmania. The next stage will be to Sydney, and frora there he will embark for Los Angel^s. Ha and Mrs Allsop will continue their caravanning in America and Canada for aboui 12 months. . In designing the caravan, Mr Allsop has paid special attention to eonditions in tropical countries, where water mayf be iscaree, petrol stations -- far apart and roads non-existent. .Fitted with heavy •army type tyres specially designed for use in rough country, the caravan carries not .chains, but is equipped with a winch and 200ft. of. flexible wire rope for emergencies. A collapsible 'wooden boat 10ft. in length is also carried." A special feature of fhe conatruo» tion is the insulated walls. There H sleeping accommodation - for ths^e'. Particularly useful is the independent generating plant installed under the bonnet for recharging the storage bati tery when it has become nttt dowA through use of the electric light and radio while the caravan is parked for iong period*.