Questions on a 1977 jayco eagle

[cruiserpop]

The plot just keeps thichening. Think twice befor buying a camper sight unseen from ebay. I did just that! the pictures and descriptions looked good, what the guy had to say sounded decent, but vague. My folks presently heve the thing, and are going through it. not exactly what was expected.
1. appears I'me going to need canvass/cushion cover replacement. has anyone had dealings with canvas replacement, linked here to PUT? the price seems decent-undercut anyone else by $200, and half the price jayco wants.
2. any thoughts on the heater that comes standard with the unit? what should I do to inspect/repair the thing/
3. are there any options to installing ac on an older unit like this? understand anything built before roughly 1988 can't talke a roof unit.

Thanks in advance.

[hoppy]

Pretty much went down the same road as you will need to do when I  restored my 1978 Palomino nine years ago.

    1. I replaced the canvas and the cushion fabric (ugly 70's decor) for $ 650.00. It's real easy..... the tenting came in 5 zippered sections, and all I did was attach using screws and washers to the sections of the roof and the box.
 
     2. The furnace in my trailer was made by Hydra-Flame, and probably the same one you have. They are pretty easy to work on, (mine was like a big coffee can with a burner under it - no fan). Took the furnace out of the trailer, and removed every part and cleaned it out. My furnace would not burn blue, ( Yellow - soot ) and it turned out that a mud-dabber built his home in the middle of the venturi tube. Has run perfectly ever since.
      3. Adding the AC to the old unit is getting a 5,000 - 10,000 BTU window unit, and cutting a hole in the back of the unit. Add bracing to the bumper and frame. That was how my trailer came when I bought it. The paperwork that came with my trailer shows that the AC was added in 1984.


     If it's any help..... I added less than $ 1,000 to totaly restore my trailer (including new Carefree awining, and other odds and ends) and it's still being used by my daughter and son-in-law.

    In spite of all the cost that I put into this thing, I would still sell for $ 1,800.00 - $ 2,000.00


    Hope this helps.

    Keep your kindling dry,

    Hoppy

[tlhdoc]

Good luck with the project and take some pictures so we can see how it goes.   Unless you don't want us looking over your shoulder while you work. :eek:

[afp]

I would be very cautious about putting a roof AC unit on. I'm starting to refurbish a 1978 Jayco Jayhawk 6 and I'm in the process of rebuilding the roof. The current roof was in pretty bad shape with serious wood rot in the rear portion. The aluminum skin on the top was in a hail storm and took quite a beating leaving more dimples than I care to count. I would imagine roof construction of your 1977 would be similair to the 1978. The way Jayco constructed the roof is as follows:

1) The perimeter or the vertical pieces (where the awning is located) is made from 15/32" plywood with aluminum covering the exterior.

2) On the inside of the 15/32" plywood is a frame (1.5" high x 1.0" wide) that is fasten to the plywood creating a rectangle. Looks like pine. Down the center of the roof running front to back is another piece of 1.5 x 1.0 strip.

3) The void in between the boards is filled with 1 inch thick styrofoam.

4) The vent has wood framed around it for support.

5) The aluminum skin is bonded to both the exterior and interior.

As you can see with styrofoam being the majority material used in the roof construction I can't see how it would support the unit. Upon rebuilding the roof I thought about adding additional bracing for a unit, but I really don't want to tie additional money into the pop up, plus I'm not sure what the lifting capacity is of the lift system. The only item I will add to the roof is a piece of 1/4" thick OSB to provide additional roof strength. This will be sandwiched between the top of the wood frame/styrofoam and aluminum skin.