Looking at modern luxury caravans, you could easily believe that a large fifth wheeler towed by a powerful truck is a current-day development in caravan design. In fact, the fifth wheel approach was being used on horsedrawn wagons early in the 20th century, and was adopted by some luxury caravan builders in the 1940’s.
The caravan in this article, was built in 1949, with a 1946 Fargo truck as the tow vehicle. It was known as the ‘Highway Palace’, and is generally recognised as being Australia’s most impressive vintage caravan.
Fargo was a Chrysler company that made trucks for the US market from 1928 to 1930. After that, the Fargo brand was used for some years to badge Dodge trucks that were for export only, to countries such as Turkey, India and Australia. Fargo Trucks, as a separate entity, did continue in Canada for the domestic and export market. This 1946 Fargo truck came to Australia from Canada, after World War Two, as surplus military equipment, with the bodywork being built in Adelaide by T.J. Richards. It was initially used by a farmer as a lighting plant for his farm.
The Fargo truck is quite rare, but the caravan is even rarer; it is literally one of a kind. It was custom-built in 1949 by Grace Brothers (not related to the department store), a family owned construction business in Adelaide. Grace Brothers produced two standard caravan models known as the ‘Highway Cabin’ and the ‘Highway Castle’, so the name ‘Highway Palace’ was a fairly obvious choice for this luxurious fifth wheeler. The cost of £2,000 ($4,000) sounds surprisingly modest compared with today’s prices, but was close to the cost of a house at that time.
The Highway Palace is 42ft (13m) long and weighs six tons. It was built for Mr Harry Parr and his wife, Daisy, who ran the local bakery and tearooms at Pinnaroo, in South Australia. They had previously owned other caravans, but commissioned the Highway Palace to be custom-built for their post-retirement travels. They drove the big rig as far as Queensland and probably to Western Australia, in addition to smaller trips within South Australia.
The huge caravan still seems luxurious by modern standards. It has a spacious, well equipped kitchen towards the front, and steps leading up to a plush semi-circular lounge/dining area with a domed roof and seating for up to 12 people. At the rear, there is a bedroom with twin beds along the side walls. Possibly though, the most surprising feature, is the ceramic tile-lined bathroom, which has a steel bath set into the floor!
The caravan also has many innovative technical details. The water tank is beneath the seats in the dining area, so water is fed to most of the taps by gravity without requiring pumps. Vents in the bathroom are arranged to extract steamy air by natural convection, without needing an extractor fan. A small alcove near the kitchen is an office, with a writing desk which can be folded up flat into the wall. The huge nine inch tow ball that connects the caravan to the Fargo tow truck is ex-military equipment.
The Highway Palace looks as good as new today, but it wasn’t in such good shape when the current owner, Richard Hart, acquired it in 1999. Over the years, it had served many different purposes, being used as a permanent dwelling, then as a holiday cottage on the coast, and eventually as a storage room for horse equipment. When Richard found it, the Fargo truck was rusting away in a paddock and the caravan was badly weathered.
Restoring such a large rig is a huge project, which would be beyond the capabilities of most people. Luckily, Richard had some friends who were happy to help with bringing this unique vehicle back to its former glory. Richard belongs to the Chrysler Restorer’s Club of South Australia, and the club took this on as a group project.
Richard worked on mechanical aspects of the restoration, while other members of the group worked on areas such as the woodwork, electrics and plumbing. The Fargo truck still has its original six cylinder, 240cu. inch (4 litre) engine, gearbox and transmission, though all have been rebuilt. The wiring has also been replaced.
Rebuilding the truck was well within the scope of the group’s normal interests, but restoring the caravan was a different matter. The timber was so badly rotted that the van required almost a total rebuild. That involved plenty of woodwork to replace the frame and reconstruct the curved roof with its skylights and air vents. The window frames were replaced, and the plumbing and electrics were tidied up for improved safety and functionality. The group worked on the project every Saturday for five years to complete the restoration.
Shortly after completion, the big rig was driven to Pinnaroo as part of the ‘Return to Pinnaroo’ celebrations. Richard commented that, at this event, “history came out of the woodwork”. People were very pleased to see the Highway Palace back in town, and later sent photos of the rig and its owners from their family albums. The Highway Palace was also driven to Alice Springs to participate in the 10th Anniversary celebrations for the Australian Road Transport Hall of Fame.
Unfortunately, the Highway Palace doesn’t get out on the road very often these days. With a cruising speed of around 70kph and fuel consumption of about 1 litre per kilometre, it is not well suited to modern driving conditions. Richard also commented that driving is a bit of a chore with the pre-synchromesh gears. As a result, it occasionally appears at shows, but is no longer used for holiday travel.
Whenever it does go out in public though, this remarkable palace on wheels draws huge crowds of amazed admirers. It is a monument to the vision of Harry Parr, for whom it was built, and also to the skills and determination of the Chrysler Restorers Club of South Australia. *Keith Hall.
