The Fifth UltraVan

Preston Jones was so pleased with his new mobile showroom that he formed a new division of his company to take over UltraVan production. The Motor Coach Division of Prescolite Manufacturing Corporation was officially located with the rest of the company (by the airport in San Leandro), but the coaches were still actually produced at the old wooden warehouse down on 8th Avenue.

Robert Schaffer (hired 3/8/63) was assigned duties as Plant Manager, and Ray Page (hired 8/9/63) was responsible for engineering and general supervision. By this time Lloyd Cerruti had left, but before long Robert Wollard was added to the crew. Dave Peterson continued to oversee daily operations.

The build sequence of the Travalon coaches produced by Prescolite is unclear. Only five of the claimed seven have ever even been identified by the Club, and the rapid evolution of the design seems to contradict the apparent serial numbering scheme.

Travalon #S63-104 is definitely not the fourth UltraVan, and was probably not the fourth Travalon either. In 1990 the number "5" was discovered marked on internal panels of the coach in two places, so ever since then it has been referred to as UltraVan #5 (or #005, or #105), or as Travalon #104.

24 feet long and externally similar to #103 and #4, the first Travalon was equipped with a 102 HP engine, front and rear Travalon emblems, and new faired taillight pods incorporating reverse lights. As with #101 and #200, the water and waste tanks consisted of sealed off portions of the central floor structure. The fuel tank is located in the left rear and a propane tank in the right rear.

Inside, #63104 has the standard molded canopy above the windshield, but Prescolite hired Custom Trim (Wendell Wheeler's Hayward CA aircraft interiors shop) to complete the interior. The resulting upholstered walls and ceiling were attractive and functional, but not as durable as the hard laminates used on most UltraVans.

Peterson's notes list five customers for the seven Travalons, but no specific pairings. One of the named customers registered coach #6 with the UVMCC, and another is tentatively linked to #163102 (the Green Machine) - but we have no way of knowing whether #63104 was built for Dr Cornell Weston (who returned it), Lester Brolliar (or Bolliar, Broilar, or Broiler) of Richmond CA, or "Carlton" (who later sold it to Charles Kellogg of Moccasin CA). Unfortunately, none of those names ever appear on the Club membership rosters, and #63104 itself was not registered with the Club until 1990.

On September 6-9 1968, twenty-three UltraVans were camped out on the parade grounds of the Lake Elsinore Military Academy for the sixth ever UltraVan rally. #63104 was among them to commemorate the UltraVan Motor Coach Club's first birthday. 

In 1987 Ray & Hazel Wilkinson of Lawndale CA offered their 1963 Travalon for sale in the Whales on Wheels newsletter. Jim Craig examined the coach in January 1987, and Christy Barden & Bill Binney examined it in 1988. They each felt that it was too far gone to save. The coach had been severely battered, many of the windows were knocked out, the upholstered walls and ceiling were full of rodent debris, and mounds of dog poop had been pitched through the windows onto the engine. To make matters worse, the coach was wedged into a space behind the garage with no room to move forward or back.

Craig & Lea Lamond of Bakersfield CA purchased the Travalon in 1989, sliding it sideways out of its niche on plywood and liquid soap, dragging it backwards out of the yard, and towing it to Olanche CA (where Craig was working). There Craig gutted the narsty interior, power washed the inside, got it running, and drove it to the 1989 Great Western Fan Belt Toss and Swap Meet in Palm Springs with no windows, floor, walls, or ceiling.

In 1999 the Lamonds (now living in Nipomo CA) donated #63104 to support of the restoration of the prototype UltraVan. Robert Craig with the help of his father Jim and their friend Bob Galli replaced the oil, oil filter, carbs, fuel pump, spark plugs & wires, oil cooler, front brake hoses, front wheel bearings and seals, one front brake cylinder, the rear axle bearings, and the u-joints. They rebuilt the other brake cylinders, rewired the brake lights and alternator warning light, hooked up two plastic fuel containers, and Robert drove the coach home to Joshua Tree via the Galli compound in Atascadero.

Within a few months, the first Travalon was sold to 16 year old Paolo Galli (Bob's grandson), and taken right back to Atascadero.

A collection of photos of #63104 can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8769347@N03/albums/72157660189813225