In this blog we will discuss the initial external condition of the 1989 Jayco 17’6” pop-top caravan.
The exterior of the caravan showed some signs of neglect, lack of maintenance and the effects of a couple of years sitting out in the weather. The paint on the caravan was dry and powdery and needed a good wash and polish. Fortunately the rollout awning and zip on canvas annexe is only a couple of years old and are in excellent condition. The genuine Jayco white hub caps had been subjected to many gutter and concrete pad scrapes over the years, were cracked in places and had discoloured to a creamy yellow colour.
The roof was the worst effected by the weather with a plankton type substance and mould growing on it. The 200 odd screws holding in the windows and in the removable covers etc had become severely rusted over the years and had left rusty stain marks down the body of the caravan. The pop-top hold down clamps had also begun to rust. The wind down stabilizing legs were covered with surface rust and were hard to operate up and down. Although not rusty the draw bar and rear bumper bay were unsightly due to several coats of paint which appeared to have been applied with a brush.
The bumper rubbers on the four corners of the caravan had become so brittle you could break pieces off with your hand. Same applied for the sealing rubbers on the underside of the pop-top roof frame. The window rubbers had hardened and pulled tight in the corners. The clearance lights on one side of the van had suffered the effects of the sun, loosing most of their amber and red colour. The tail lights had suffered the same fate. The power inlet socket and the weatherproof power socket on the outside of the caravan had also become brittle and discoloured from the weather. The trailer connection plug and associated cabling were also in need of some attention. One of the reflectors on the front of the caravan was missing and the other needed replacing.
There were signs that at some time the caravan had been fitted with and old style annexe, there had been two sail tracks fitted on the side of the van one had been removed to allow the installation of the rollout awning. The removal left a large amount of silicon still stuck to the caravan. I guess this is why they did not remove the other one. There was also a rusty old bracket above a window which would have belonged to the old annexe. I am slightly confused by the tyres as they are almost new and have no flat spots from sitting in one position for an extended time. Perhaps the previous owner had the caravan up on blocks. The spare tyre is new as has never been on the road.
One of the fixed windows on the door side has had the glass replaced with polycarbonate and this has been affected by the sun and will need to be replaced.The underside of the caravan is good with only a small amount of surface rust on chassis.
We will also intend to modernize and ad some of the items mentioned on our website www.caravanersfriend.com.
Please return to view future blogs that we will be listing as we pimp our caravan.
You can also view photos of the various items mentioned above in our gallery.
