Beloved caravan stolen from outside Auckland man's home

The 1979 Concord caravan went missing from Waterview in Auckland last night. Photo / Supplied

An iconic caravan that was used in Auckland Libraries ads for two years has been stolen.

The 1979 Concord was taken from outside its owner Michael Fletcher's house in Waterview, Auckland last night.

It was parked in its usual spot outside the Seaside Ave property about 10pm on Friday but when Fletcher woke up about 4.30am today it was gone.

The caravan was chosen to feature in an Auckland Council campaign promoting e-books in 2013 and 2014 because of its classic, retro look.

The model is rare in New Zealand and Fletcher said he'd never seen another one that had the same green, orange and white colour combination.

The 13-ft fibreglass caravan - which Fletcher named Duane - would be easy to steal because of its small size, but would be hard to hide because of its unique look, Fletcher told the Herald.

"It's that rounded kind of a shape with a full kitchen and two singles or a double bed. It's very, very light and stylish."

Anyone who had a vehicle with a tow bar could have taken it, he said.

"They were advertised as you can pull them with a Humber 80, that was the original 1970s ad for these little, light-weight 13ft caravans."

Fletcher bought Duane for $8000 on Trade Me 10 years ago and estimated it would be worth $10,000 or more now.

Michael Fletcher with his iconic caravan "Duane". Photo / Supplied

It also had sentimental value to Fletcher and he wanted whoever had taken it to return it.

"It's my pride and joy," he said.

"I'm really quite upset because I've had it for 10 years and I love it."

He reported the theft to the police today and said he thinks the theft was planned rather than opportunistic.

"[Seaside Ave is] not a street that you drive through to get somewhere else so to speak. I suspect they saw it a while back and decided to come back and pick it up."

He said he was unsure why someone would want to take it.

"One possibility is it's in a garage somewhere being spoiled with a horrible spray paint job. Or else it's, I don't know, gone up north or to the Coromandel or gone bush somewhere. It is possible that it's just down some side road up north or down south."

Duane is registered and has some distinctive features that Fletcher would be able to recognise if he saw it.

"At the moment it's got a little stone hole in the front windscreen that's got a bit of tape over it. It's got a little ding that the previous owner put in it in the right hand corner even if it had been painted.

"It's got the curtains in it that I sewed from fabric that I bought in Patea from a second-hand shop and things of that sort."

The interior of the stolen caravan. Photo / Supplied

A police spokeswoman confirmed the caravan had been reported stolen from Seaside Ave.

She said police were making inquiries into the theft.