Macland's Free Bird Jayco Jay pop up

[Macland]

I was recently given a 1995 Jayco Jay series pop up camper, hence the Free Bird name. It's definitely a project....it was left sitting for three years by my aunt and uncle who graciously gave it to me with no expectations.

The cabinets in the picture below had water damage as well as almost all of the curtains and valences. There was also a little water damage on the rear roof. We set it up and let it air out and it's still up and doing that as I type. We don't get much rain and as long as the wind doesn't get crazy then I'll be leaving it up for at least a week.

I know I can manage building some replacement cabinets, my wife can manage sewing some new curtains, but the canvas holes and the zippered sections on the back are going to be more difficult.



After a pressure wash.





























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I've also gotta get the fridge and ac/heater running.

 

[metzican]

Yikes what a project. Knowing a few people who worked on repairing one. Like my parents growing up. I would think long and hard after water damage. All that fabric is very difficult to make water tight if you are going to replace any.. My parents ended up giving up and turning it into a utility trailer which worked pretty nicely.

I don't mean to bash any of your plans I just don't want you diving into something you might regret down the line. If it is for a hobby or just labor of love/boredom go for it.

 

[granitex]

Once you pull out everything that is damaged, you will have a much better idea what you have to work with. Good luck with it I have slept in worse.

 

[Macland]

Luckily I was given free reign to do whatever is needed by my aunt and uncle, they said if it wasn't worth the hassle then be gone with it.

But I'm still in the evaluating stage so I'm going to see what needs done and how much it's going to cost me. At the moment I'm still in for $0 because I didn't even have to pull it home.

Here's the pictures after pulling out the bad fabric.

 

[Roadwarrior]

Personally, I would strip it down to the essentials and take the money and time to build it up right.

Could be an awesome project once completed though, keep those eyes on the prize.

 

[Macland]

Well at the moment I've only got two problem areas keeping it from being camp worthy. The leaking roof which leads to the interior roof damage, and the subsequently ruined screens. Everything else is pretty straight forward. New cabinets, figure out what's needed to get the ac/heater and fridge running. And new propane tank with updated valves. The sink and pump on the sink still work.

 

[Timrich]

It's worth checking out for sure. Once you decide if your keeping it keep an eye out for old cabinets on the roadside. I see them all the time when ppl remodel and throw out the old ones. Check craigslist as well for stuff like that to keep the buget low. Good Luck on it Mac!

 

[Macland]

Thanks man. I think I'm going to build my own cabinets or I may even go with plastic cabinets that I can remove and set outside so there's more leg room in the camper. It's all fluid right now but the budget being low is priority 1. I don't have much choice anyways haha.

 

[Timrich]

Well you're on the right track for sure with a free camper! Lol

 

[Rammer'sX]

Check for floor damage, rotten floor woodboards, it will feel a little spongy... The cabinets are pretty easy to replace, especially considering they are on the floor, just measure, cut at 45* angle where boards meet and replace. DIY online will help. You will need to secure them to the floor.

 

[Macland]

Thanks for the tip. I've been reading up on a pop up forum and getting ideas on restoration. When I was walking around inside Sunday everything felt solid, under the cabinets may be a different story but I should be able to just cut the floor out and replace whatever I need to.

 

[civicjoe]

Dude you scored! A Project for sure! LOL, it will great once its camp worthy

 

[Airmapper]

Very cool man!

You have a golden opportunity there to really make the most out of that space. For example, I like my pop-up, it's roomy and modern. It has an on board water tanks, hoses, and a sink. I never use that junk, I just set a bucket on the picnic table to wash from, keep the dirty dishes and stuff out there and only take it in clean. So for me water setup is just taking up space. So is the redundant dual gas burners, one on the galley and one that mounts outside, weird, and again, a waste of space. Sad to say many newer campers are kinda lacking on intelligent design, so you get to fix that.

I think the thing that would scare me most on a pop-up is the canvas, that is an area I'm not too comfortable working on.

Good luck, looks like a fun project!

 

[Macland]

Thanks Joe! I'm confident I can get it up and running within a years time and that's being generous IMO.

The canvas has me a little apprehensive but the toughest stuff is still in good condition.

I tore out the cabinets today where the water damage was. I don't think I'll be able to use plastic drawers like I was thinking because the hub sits on one side and the exterior storage on the other. What I might do is build back with a couple of the cabinets or drawers I saved and make the exterior storage cabinet only accessible from the outside.



I found an outlet that I hadn't seen.





Here's the extent of the roof damage.

 

[Macland]

So my plan is to use eternabond tape and some sort of roof sealant to seal everything else. I think I'm going to tape all of the seams and just make this thing water tight on top.

 

[MadMike]

Pretty sweet score for sure! Definitely in rough shape, but nothing a little TLC and hard work can't fix. Can't wait to see the finished product.