Hello, I’m sooo excited to renovate our vintage pup! I just don’t know where to even start lol. Does anyone have the same model or similar?
Congratulations on the NTU Pup and Welcome to the forum from Midway USA. We have a 1998 Jayco Eagle 12 so I'm sure there are similarities. The best advice I can give is the first thing you need to do is make sure it's road worthy. Check tires, wheel bearings, lights, converter, etc. After that you can start on the cosmetics and other mechanics. Take your time and I'm sure you'll have it all spiffed up in no time.
Welcome from northern Virginia. I had a barebones 1990 Jayco 1006 up until 5 years ago. The lift broke on it and I didn’t have the knowledge, manpower, and space to fix it. Found out shops refuse to touch the old units here. Mainly because parts for such an old unit was getting a lot harder to find as they were discontinued . Had to do a whole lot of improvising to fix things. Everything was on me to fix. Decided to save my pennies and upgrade. Gave the Jayco to my brother, who ended up bracing the roof and lived in the camper for a few years on his friends back property and then converted it as a fishing shack. I do miss the simplicity of the old unit, but hated the dry time ( it had an old fashioned army tent type canvas). It was getting too frustrating to work on. It stopped being fun for me.
Welcome from Central Oregon. Don’t have a Jayco, mine’s a slightly newer Viking. As for where to start? I’d suggest the core systems, namely the lift system then inspect the canvas. The lift IMO is the most complicated and the canvas the most expensive.
Welcome from Planet Georgia! If your climate (and residence) permits, open it up. Use silicone lube on the lift system, if needed. If you see daylight through the bunk ends (aka canvas), that needs to be fixed. If the PO (previous owner) didn't keep it clean, get a container of disinfectant wipes and deal with the interior. Make sure all the zippers work… you have a 40 year old unit, after all (I was in college when it was built… dang, but I feel old). If the zippers feel sticky, rub a candle over them and give them a little workout. Now it's time to check the utilities. Assuming you have propane in the tank, does the stove work? If you have a furnace, does it work? (This is a good time of year for that, LOL.) If you're plugged in, do the lights and fans work? If you have A/C, does it run? If you have a battery hookup, does everything (except the A/C) work OK? You should also check the tires, bearings, and brakes (if your pup has brakes). Doing a Camp Driveway (there's a whole sub-forum dedicated to this) is a good way to see what you need before venturing out. More blankets during the winter is a good idea, just sayin'. If you don't have a furnace, a space heater or propane (Buddy Heater) unit should help this time of year. For renovation, restoration, or just fixing things up, there's plenty of info and prior examples here to check out. Best of luck!
