The 15th International Portafold & Ansfold Gathering) (i.e. 2024)

Our annual gathering will be returning to the Newbury Retrofestival.

So put the dates 9th, 10th & 11th of August 2024 in your diary now and get those dates booked off work early.

Show Address: Newbury Showground, Priors Court, Hermitage, Thatcham, West Berkshire, RG18 9QZ

Don't book direct with the show organisers it will cost you more money, just contact me (07771544419) to get your pitch saved.

Looking for a Mini-Motel

Any 'Wanted' requests.
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Nic
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Joined: Sun, 11 Oct 2009, 4:09 pm
Location: Brockenhurst, Hampshire

Looking for a Mini-Motel

Post by Nic » Thu, 21 Jan 2010, 9:45 pm

Hiya, if anyone has a spare Mini-Motel they don't need any more I'd love to take it off your hands. :D

More seriously, I've been looking for one for ages. I'm hoping to emulate this video:



Except for the jumper...

airstreamguy
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed, 26 May 2010, 3:25 am
Location: Wyandotte, Michigan, USA

Re: Looking for a Mini-Motel

Post by airstreamguy » Mon, 07 Jun 2010, 1:31 am

HI, did you find one? I too am looking for one to hook to my vespa - I belong to vintage trailer club (tincantourist) and we are always trying to come up with something really unique..
A couple of questions - were these really made to be towed by a scooter or was that a publicity stunt? Any idea if they were ever exported to the US? I have a friend that visits the UK 2 or 3 times a year... If I can track one down he would help get it shipped back here.
Any other pictures of the interiors?

Thank you, John

Nic
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun, 11 Oct 2009, 4:09 pm
Location: Brockenhurst, Hampshire

Re: Looking for a Mini-Motel

Post by Nic » Mon, 07 Jun 2010, 5:21 am

Hi John, no I didn't find one. I suspect it was a stunt, but a good one. Lambretta Concessionaires were pretty good at them in the 50s and 60s. But in any event these weren't meant to be towed by scooters but by a small car. I very much doubt if they were imported into the US.

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Admin
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Location: Christchurch, Dorset

Re: Looking for a Mini-Motel

Post by Admin » Tue, 15 Jun 2010, 6:28 pm

Nic wrote:I suspect it was a stunt, but a good one. Lambretta Concessionaires were pretty good at them in the 50s and 60s. But in any event these weren't meant to be towed by scooters but by a small car.
Nic, fraid to say I've found some adverts for the Mini-Motels and they were advertised as:

"Erected in seconds, towed easily by scooter combination, three wheeler or any size of car."

Not that I've been able to confirm what the one in the video is yet... See the other post for the latest:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=100
Matthew
portafold.co.uk
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Wanted: Any original Portafold, Ansfold or Mini-Motel brochures, adverts or magazine articles.
Also, any chassis numbers for the above caravans!

Nic
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun, 11 Oct 2009, 4:09 pm
Location: Brockenhurst, Hampshire

Re: Looking for a Mini-Motel

Post by Nic » Wed, 23 Jun 2010, 4:04 pm

Happy to be corrected. :thumbup: I did see the original thread on this subject, btw. Awesome detective work. I think the video actually give the county location of the caravan manufacturer, which is how I ended up on this site

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Admin
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Joined: Sun, 05 Nov 2006, 8:53 pm
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Re: Looking for a Mini-Motel

Post by Admin » Wed, 23 Jun 2010, 4:24 pm

They do mention in the video that it's built in Emsworth, Hampshire; which matches with one of the three(!) addresses that were on the Mini-Motel adverts.

So that fact goes in the 'for' box when it comes to working out what caravan it is in the video. With all the design differences going into the 'against'.
Matthew
portafold.co.uk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wanted: Any original Portafold, Ansfold or Mini-Motel brochures, adverts or magazine articles.
Also, any chassis numbers for the above caravans!

Nic
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun, 11 Oct 2009, 4:09 pm
Location: Brockenhurst, Hampshire

Re: Looking for a Mini-Motel

Post by Nic » Wed, 23 Jun 2010, 6:35 pm

Admin wrote:They do mention in the video that it's built in Emsworth, Hampshire; which matches with one of the three(!) addresses that were on the Mini-Motel adverts.
That's why I ended up here. :) It is always possible that the video showed a one-off version of the Mini-Motel. In my experience of Lammies, that can sometimes happen with scooters too.

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Admin
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Re: Looking for a Mini-Motel

Post by Admin » Wed, 23 Jun 2010, 9:51 pm

That had crossed my mind actually.

With the Portafolds any picture you see in any literature is nearly always the early type model, and usually all from the same photo shoot that featured Conrad Faulkner's Vauxhall Cresta. It's like they thought it wasn't worth taking any more pictures because the changes in design didn't warrant documenting. I don't think they thought in their wildest dreams that 40 years later an anorak like me would be picking up every little design change they made. :roll:
Matthew
portafold.co.uk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wanted: Any original Portafold, Ansfold or Mini-Motel brochures, adverts or magazine articles.
Also, any chassis numbers for the above caravans!

Nic
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun, 11 Oct 2009, 4:09 pm
Location: Brockenhurst, Hampshire

Re: Looking for a Mini-Motel

Post by Nic » Thu, 24 Jun 2010, 8:45 am

I think you've nailed it Matthew.

In my own experience of vintage two-wheelers, there were always minor production changes that, with a handful of exceptions where notification needed to be given to the dealer network, were almost never publicly announced. For example, replacing metal fuel taps, petrol flaps, rear frame and horncast grilles with plastic ones, using non Allen-key oil plugs or moving from studs & nuts to bolts for engine casings. There were also many recorded cases of the firm using parts & even minor bodywork from older models in the transition to new ones. After all, if the part is on the shop floor or in the store room, why waste money on a completely new one?

So I'd be amazed if in your own area of expertise something similar didn't happen.

Back on-topic, in terms of dating the film, the scooter itself is an S1, which ceased production in 1959.

It's worth noting that Lambretta Concessionaires were masters of PR. One of their other filmed stunts included an amphibian-powered Lambretta being driven in and out of the Thames.

In the LCGB we have a fairly good archive of information and also many older members have their own and special interest areas. Apart from that short film, there are no records or pictures within our club of a Mini-Motel (or any other small caravan) ever actually being towed in reality.

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