Elastic cords on bunk ends-

[Greg Ellis]

I have just started posting to this website, and am really enjoying the information and friendship that is coming through to us newbies.  I apologize in advance for asking another dumb question but we just bought our 10 year old used jayco and I popped it up in the driveway for the first time yesterday -cause the wife wanted to start cleaning up the inside.  Of course it rained the next day and I found out I have a pretty good drip inside that suggests I need to caulk the outer middle seam on the roof, for now- I just bought a tarp and threw over it until things dry out.
In the process of putting the bunk ends in place I noticed that the elastic cords are broken in a single place on each seperate bunk end.  Is this a big deal to replace and where do you buy the heavy elastic cords?  Any advice would be welcome...
thanks
Greg in Texas

[Recumbentman]

Hello Greg and welcome to PUT, hope you and the family enjoy your N2U PU.
 You can get the cord itself from HD or Lowe's. If you need the other parts, you could go to your dealer and get it there also. You just need to use a straighten out clothes hanger to feed the cord through the tenting sleeve. very easy fix.

[tlhdoc]

The cord can be a pain to feed through the sleeve if you don't use something like a coat hanger to feed it through.  Your dealer will have the bungi cord, or a home supply/hardware store should have it.  Good luck on cleaning up the PU, it is a work of love.

[mercc350]

I have just started posting to this website, and am really enjoying the information and friendship that is coming through to us newbies.  I apologize in advance for asking another dumb question but we just bought our 10 year old used jayco and I popped it up in the driveway for the first time yesterday -cause the wife wanted to start cleaning up the inside.  Of course it rained the next day and I found out I have a pretty good drip inside that suggests I need to caulk the outer middle seam on the roof, for now- I just bought a tarp and threw over it until things dry out.
In the process of putting the bunk ends in place I noticed that the elastic cords are broken in a single place on each seperate bunk end.  Is this a big deal to replace and where do you buy the heavy elastic cords?  Any advice would be welcome...
thanks
Greg in Texas

I noticed the same problem with my 1996 Jayco 1206 I had just bought I went to try and find the cord material at home depot and at an RV parts store with no luck. It is a simple repair. I didn't think about the coat hanger idea but that will work great for stringing the cord through. I have seen the larger cord in bulk at several places just not the small diameter cord that we need. If I find it I will shoot you a post, please do the same.

By the way what model of Jayco do you have?

[wavery]

You can usually find several different size bungee cord in marine stores like:
http://www.westmarine.com/

Another good source is:
http://sailrite.com/

You can even find it on eBay:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=bungee+cord&category0=

[Kelly]

Thanks, Wayne!  I was having trouble finding a place around me that carried it and was about to ask for reputable online sources!

Must be a Jayco thing ~ mine's a 1995 J-Series 1207 ...

[wavery]

Thanks, Wayne!  I was having trouble finding a place around me that carried it and was about to ask for reputable online sources!

Must be a Jayco thing ~ mine's a 1995 J-Series 1207 ...

Kelly,

http://sailrite.com/ is a great source for all sorts of canvas and sewing supplies. If you are a do-it-yourselfer (like me) that link is indispensable.

[Kelly]

Kelly,

http://sailrite.com/ is a great source for all sorts of canvas and sewing supplies. If you are a do-it-yourselfer (like me) that link is indispensable.

I'm bookmarking it.  I also just finished sewing up a good sized three-corner tear in the canvas.  Looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.  

[Greg Ellis]

Thanks guys, I have a 1996 Jay series Jayco.  I just got it not a month ago, and we set it up in the driveway after getting a facelift from the RV repair shop, only to find that during our recent rainstorm, it was leaking like a sieve inside.  I took it back and the strip that runs down the middle of the outside roof is a piece of channel molding, with a rubber bumper strip wedge inside the channel strip for appearences.  There are screws up and down the strip under the rubber molding that are all rusted out and the repair guys says he is going to have to fix it and could I leave it with him.  I asked him to fix the bungee cords since he had it anyway.  The unit was covered when we bought it, and there is no water damage inside the compartment.  The mattresses are both new, and the cushions are in pristine condition.  The fake wooden paneling inside has some spots where the fake woodgrain plastic shelf paper that they tried to glue onto the particle board is sagging terribly....I think I would like to do some minor carpentry inside and see what it might look like spruced up a bit.  I always wanted a Niagra but the price was right when we bought this unit, and even though it has needed some attention, it is a solid and attractive unit.  The outside vinyl striping decals need to come off, and I will have to come up with something to dress it up a bit...but overall I am happy....

[mercc350]

Thanks guys, I have a 1996 Jay series Jayco.  I just got it not a month ago, and we set it up in the driveway after getting a facelift from the RV repair shop, only to find that during our recent rainstorm, it was leaking like a sieve inside.  I took it back and the strip that runs down the middle of the outside roof is a piece of channel molding, with a rubber bumper strip wedge inside the channel strip for appearences.  There are screws up and down the strip under the rubber molding that are all rusted out and the repair guys says he is going to have to fix it and could I leave it with him.  I asked him to fix the bungee cords since he had it anyway.  The unit was covered when we bought it, and there is no water damage inside the compartment.  The mattresses are both new, and the cushions are in pristine condition.  The fake wooden paneling inside has some spots where the fake woodgrain plastic shelf paper that they tried to glue onto the particle board is sagging terribly....I think I would like to do some minor carpentry inside and see what it might look like spruced up a bit.  I always wanted a Niagra but the price was right when we bought this unit, and even though it has needed some attention, it is a solid and attractive unit.  The outside vinyl striping decals need to come off, and I will have to come up with something to dress it up a bit...but overall I am happy....

What Model did you buy?

[dras]

I recently bought a 1997 Jayco as well, and had to repair quite a few little neglected items including the bungee cords in the tent ends. I looked at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. but could not find any bulk bungee cord. I finally found some at our local REI store. They have a decent web site too //www.REI.com. I tried the piece of coat hanger trick, but it kept getting hung up. In the end, I found that it worked better to just feed the new cording through with a twisting motion. It seemed to 'worm' it's way through without too much trouble. I bought 40 feet of the stuff thinking I would surely have some left over, but it turned out to be just the right amount. 17' on one end and 23' on the other.

I think I need to recaulk everything on the roof as well, because I have some staining inside that seems to indicate some leakage. I didn't realize there were screws under the center seam strip. May have to pop it off for a look.

Good luck with your new toy!

[Greg Ellis]

I am out of town right now, and the RV guy has my unit. I will have to get back to you on my model type.

[Kelly]

I tried the piece of coat hanger trick, but it kept getting hung up. In the end, I found that it worked better to just feed the new cording through with a twisting motion. It seemed to 'worm' it's way through without too much trouble. I bought 40 feet of the stuff thinking I would surely have some left over, but it turned out to be just the right amount. 17' on one end and 23' on the other.

I didn't need a coat hanger and I didn't have to twist either.  Fed through really nicely with very little effort.  I ordered it from sailrite.com (thanks, Wayne!) and they had taped one end ... took about 5 minutes to thread it all through.  The worst part was making the loops at each end and on the corners.  Pinching those darn hog rings around the shock cord was hard!  I used 24' on a king bunk.   Might have to take on the rear bunk some day ....

[no_draws]

Suggestion: instead of coat hanger (or if your house only has plastic hangers) try a wire fish tape. Harbor Freight is selling them for 3-8 bucks and they are up to 50' long so they can help feed or fish anything a long distance.

Just an idea.


Jeff

[BIGDAD]

You can usually find several different size bungee cord in marine stores like:
http://www.westmarine.com/

Another good source is:
http://sailrite.com/

You can even find it on eBay:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=bungee+cord&category0=

HI Greg you can get from canvas Replacements thats were im got mine the number 1-800-232-2079 or you can e-mail then at CanvasReplacements.com James :sombraro: