Carriage Assembly

After the first carriage assembly and one month of riding it was clear to us we have to re-assembly the carriage. The big mistake we have made is to buy an old-caravan. Look back on its condition the car was only to use for holidays. The pole of the wagon didn’t make turns as easy as we want to. The horses work harder than it should be. Part of the problem is also the disk underneath the box. At every bump we make we can hear the female screws scraping into the wood.

Not a pleasant thought to go further away from Holland. It’s clear the system needs a complete overhaul.

This is very disappointing after al the preparation we have made before.

Look at this page to see more about antique carriages.

Three day’s ago we met Piet. A middle aged Dutch man. He owns two horses and a passionate driver in the past himself. Somewhere on the road he has seen us driving. Get concerned about the carriage condition and decided to contact us. Unbelievable how friendly and generous that is.

He invites us to his home to meet his wife Janny and to stay over. A first inspection of the car will tell him, and us, how and what to do. The next day the whole under frame is unplugged from the car and the damage is clear. The female screws have made deep grooves into the wood. Getting worse at every turn we make. This needs a major repair!

As you can see, the wood is totally deep grooved. Piet stumbles up on his attic and find some of his best wood. Four pieces of splendid oak-wood from an old bell tower will be use for the carriage assembly!. Hope its blessed wood!P.S. We could not resist to make a trip to the little Bell Tower to make this picture!

First thing to handle is find out what cause the problem. The pole, where the horses are attached to is pulling up the under-frame and floor. The frame is to weak to and need to be re-placed. In the mean time we cannot sleep in the wagon. Jannie and Piet are very hospitable and even we are totally strangers they take care of us like family!

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Precautions

The disk is running smoothly again. To take precautions he also make an iron tube to get the weight spread underneath.On every action Piet make he is thinking of dangerous roads in Romania and Bulgarian. With deep steeps and precipitous hills. Our thoughts are parable so we very lucky to have this whole operation.

Even the equator and pole is fixed and re-assembled again. We also are covering the pole to protect the horses when the road is rough, not a common caravan accessory I think. Did we tell that we have our own sewing machine with us? Could not resist leaving it home. Now it’s handy to have it. Even a 10-year old zipper, about 2.00 meters long is used now!

In about five day’s Piet build a whole new under frame. He totally re- assembled the carriage front. A very skilfully man to be proud of. He drives with us to the next address and takes the time to re-arrange harness and ropes. After a warm good-by and many thanks he leaves us. We stay behind, gratefully and knowing we will never forget him and his wife.

Thea

End of carriage assembly, back to carriage antique

End of carriage assembly, back to Homepage