1983 Jayco Sportster 7 rebuild

[kmehr]

This last weekend, my wife and I got a 1983 Jayco Sportster 7. It's in decent shape, everything works, the canvas appears almost new, and we only paid $1,000 for it. If you have ever tried to buy a pop top camper in the middle of the summer in Colorado, you know what the market is like! Its got an ice box, 20 gallon water tank, gas furnace, sink with hand pump, and gas stovetop.

Anyways, wanted to start this thread to post up the rebuild and get some advice. When we got it home and started cleaning it out, I found a good bit of water damage in the front 12inches of the cab over, so project #1 will be replacing the wood up there and re-sealing it.

plans are:

• redo the counters and cabinets,
• replace ice box with fridge,
• remove gas stove top (we plan on cooking outside most of the time on a Coleman stove, and can set it on the counter if the weather is nasty)
• solar setup
• install fantastic fan where vent is
• replace lights with LED bulbs
• add fourth jack for stability (has the original 3 jack setup that is scary wobbly getting into my tall truck!)

I've made pretty good progress so far replacing the cabover wood. Used 15/32 in ply sheathing coated in Kilz wood sealer primer. The interior is completely gutted at this point. I've got a fourth jack in the mail, 100W Renology solar system, Fantastic Fan, and Engle 63quart 12V DC fridge on the way.

 

[kmehr]

 

[kmehr]

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Welcome to WTW,

There are at least two Jayco rebuild threads on the forum, and the owners seem very willing to share their secrets. Please do post your progress.

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/8779-jayco-sportster-8ft-renovation/

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/18163-92-jayco-sportster-8-rebuild-in-the-states-with-support-from-deutschland/

WS

 

[corybrown50]

Looking really GREAT! I'm in the process of redoing my 92 Sportster 8 and the progress has been slow until this weekend. I'll be watching sir.....

Did you replace the entire length of board or just tie into good existing wood?

Manfred has a fantastic build thread that I have been pulling knowledge from...if you haven't seen it....here you go...

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ewanderthewest%2Ecom%2Fforum%2Findex%2Ephp%3F%2Ftopic%2F8779-Jayco-Sportster-8ft---Renovation&share_tid=8779&share_fid=79332&share_type=t


I'll share mine as well....


https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ewanderthewest%2Ecom%2Fforum%2Findex%2Ephp%3F%2Ftopic%2F18163-92-Jayco-Sportster-8%27-rebuild-in-the-States-with-support-from-Deutschland&share_tid=18163&share_fid=79332&share_type=t


Good luck sir!!!

 

[corybrown50]

Hahaha!!! Looks like good WS beat me to the party!!! Save me some cold beverages!! It's a scorcher out today working on the camper.

 

[kmehr]

Thanks for chiming in! I’ve read the whole thread from manfred, the German fella, very good info in there. I’m replacing the entire cab over section, we’ll all the wood anyways. I got the bed cut today and am just waiting for the paint to dry. It’s honestly surprising how little support the cabover floor has, but I couldn’t really figure out how to add more without have to modify the aluminum panels on the outside.

Got my new jack today, and should get the fridge this week. I’ve got one section of the roof that needs replacing too (just the front facing piece. Then it’s a total seam reseal and the exterior with be done. Going to replace the floor and section that sits in the bed to better support the four jacks. I’ve also got an idea for a new jack foot so I don’t run over the tripod section every time I back under it, I’ll post that up as I go. Really excited to get the exterior wrapped up and move onto the inside!

 

[kmehr]

For some reason I can only
Post one pic at a time on the app.

The white boards are ones I have replaced.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

For some reason I can only
Post one pic at a time on the app.
The white boards are ones I have replaced.

IMG_4433.jpg

Try loading them to a personal gallery, then in your post, link to the photo. There are helpful pinned threads in the Member Support forum.

 

[kmehr]

Made some good progress tonight. Followed manfreds lead and did an under bed storage space. I used some brackets to connect the cross pieces and the bottom piece of plywood and it made the cabover section soooo much sturdier. Really really pleased with how it turned out. Interesting lesson I’ve learned is that OSB from Home Depot is 10 Times straighter and less bowed than any of their much more expensive plywood sheeting. Wish I’d have used more of it.

 

[kmehr]

 

[corybrown50]

Keep going man. Enjoy the process.

 

[corybrown50]

Are you using osb? Looks like bias plywood.....osb/chip board is bad except non-structural from what I understand. The pics look like the right stuff, just confirming.

 

[kmehr]

I used OSB only as the actual bed surface. It was advertised as a roofing board with better water resistance, not that it matters much in that location. I will say it’s a lot more square than the other plywood they sell!

 

[corybrown50]

Cool....just checking. I'm getting a bit done on my side as well.....Looks like you're going to beat me to the final destination though. She looks great!

Are you sticking with the full size bed or upgrading to a queen?

 

[kmehr]

I'm going to stick with the full size bed. I thought about a queen, but given that mine is the 7 footer, it would just stick too far into the main part of the camper to expand.

 

[corybrown50]

Definitely makes sense. Be careful with the whole measure twice cut once.....I ended up a bit wide in the front and am in need of a way to cover up about an extra 1/2". Hoping to have everything dried in this week. How's your roof? That's my next big tackle......but I do not have the man power to take the roof completely off.....Hoping to work on it like Manfred did from the inside.

 

[kmehr]

as far as I can tell, the roof only needs new wood on the very front, so I'm hoping that's fairly straight forward. I haven't investigated a whole lot yet.

 

[kmehr]

Progress from today, used metal roofing flashing to tie things back together in the front and got the bed surface covered in carpet. Installing the fourth jack and replacing a piece of the roof is on the list for tomorrow and hopefully onto the inside! this only shows the roofing tape I used underneath. For some reason can’t get the actual flashing picture to show

 

[corybrown50]

FYI.....just dug into my roof.....wet insulation [emoji26].....I weighed a 2"x2" piece at 2.45oz......multiply that out and I have over 200 pounds of extra weight in water. I'm jealous of no roof damage.