The Franklin Coach Co., of Nappanee, Indiana, was a late comer in regards to travel trailer manufacturing, i.e., they only entered the business in 1945, at the end of WWII, while the industry, in general, had pretty much been in full swing since 1931. That said, they're still in business today, which you can't say for a majority of their contemporaries, and this little trailer is a remaining example from their very early history. I've been unable to locate a serial number on this coach, however, the only ad I've been able to find for the company, that shows a picture of the trailer itself, is from 1952 and the shape of the body then was in a distinct "caravan" style, much like a Spartanette, which, is also the shape that the government ask most trailer coach manufactuers to adhere to for war use. This leads me to believe, therefore, that the first coaches the Franklin Company offered to the public in 1945 were also of this shape, and even though they continued to use the earlier style round clearance lights, and for some reason there's no large picture window on the curb side....most manufacturers were putting them on both sides by 1951, and, to make things more confusing, their '52 model also had them....the shape of the front end, plus the small vent windows high up on both sides, as well as the style of the interior light fixtures and drawer pulls, lead me to believe that it must be a 1953 or '54 model.
As you can see it's a very cool looking little trailer with a very straight exterior skin and a full bathroom, including a shower. And, yes, that's a little laveratory in the shower. However, even though the floor is solid and the cabinetry is in good condition, the rest of the interior wood will need to be replaced because of serious water damage.That said, this is something that we always do during a full restoration, anyway, i.e., all of the original insulation and wiring, which is behind the wood paneling, also needs to be replaced. All of the window glass, except for one window, is there and in good shape, and I had new, 6-ply, bias-ply tires put on before I towed it back from the high desert. So, other than rebuilding the missing kitchen cabinetry and some of the water damaged rib-fram-ing wood , a "normal" full restoration is in order for this trailer. I'm not sure what the original exterior color scheme was, however, that weird green is what's left of the aluminum oxide primer that was underneath the top coat. Dark green doesn't photograph well, in general, and this shade of almost flourescent green gives the skin a mottled and damaged look....which it isn't. You'll have to see this coach in person to see what I mean.
