The Other Twentieth UltraVan

Lake Cahuilla CA, April 1976

Today's UltraVan is an anomaly that doesn't fit the sequence. It is either an extra coach, unmentioned in any of Dave Peterson's notes, or one of several Oakland-built UltraVans whose identification shifted over the years.

Victor "Jack" and Ethel Darwin of Carlsbad CA were members of the UVMCC from 1972 to 1986, registered as owners of a coach that they identified as UltraVan #209. Ethel rejoined the Club from 1989 to 1993, registering as former owner of #209. During the interim, Jack had passed away (1988) and the coach had been sold. Ethel herself passed away in 1993. Dean Coshow of Valley Center CA is listed in the Registry as the last known owner of the coach, but he never joined the Club and appears to have also passed away in 1993.

Hemet CA, January 1974

Pictures of Darwin's #209 survive in the Ryerson slide collection, showing the coach at the January 1974 rally in Hemet CA and the April 1976 rally at Lake Cahuilla CA. Rally reports also state that the Darwins attended the first ever UVMCC national rally at Henderson AR in October 1973.

The pictures reveal a 2nd generation coach incorporating Econoline headlights with separate turn signals, galley configured with the stove on the left, and taillights in the raised position. By 1974 it featured a unique two tone paint job (cream over chocolate) and bumpers fabricated from welded irrigation pipe. By 1976 a Coleman rooftop air conditioner and an awning rail had been installed. Walt Davison visited the Darwins during his wanderings, and later stated that their coach had the "leading arm" rear suspension (Walt passed away in 2016).

Lake Cahuilla CA, April 1976

The 2nd generation bodystyle and leading arm suspension indicate that Darwin's UltraVan #209 must have been built in Oakland in 1965, but it is definitely not the same coach as Myron Hurd's UltraVan #20 (serial #209); and it also could not be a mis-identified #201, #202, #203, #205, #206, #208, or #211. Records of both #204 and #207 cease at roughly the same time frame as Darwin's #209 appears, and records of #210 are even more sparse - but until one of these coaches reappears it remains impossible to state conclusively how the puzzle fits together.

Lake Cahuilla CA, April 1976