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Marn's 1980 Jayco JayFinch6 Pop-up Build Thread

47K views 131 replies 31 participants last post by  Marn 
#1 ·
Hi Everybody! (hi Dr. Marn!)

I'm Dr. Marneaus, you may remember me from such fabulous threads as Marn's 73 Wagoneer Thread, 97 TJ's Build Up and The Official Las Vegas/Southern Nevada Chat Thread

Well today I'm here to bring you a brand new thread, on an entirely new topic!

If you're an avid follower of my antics on this website, you may have heard mention in Marns 73 Wagoneer Thread that an eventual goal of mine was to get a vintage pop-up camper to tow around with my 1973 Wagoneer.

Well, sometimes things happen sooner than we plan! I was conversing with a member of the forum (who also happened to have a wagoneer of his own) on a completely unrelated topic, and he mentioned that he had an older tent trailer listed on craigslist. I found the ad, realized it was exactly what I wanted, and rushed over to take a look. It was, indeed, all that I had hoped for.

I made him an offer, literally as another pair of buyers pulled up, and he accepted. We shook hands, and I said I'd be back in a day or three to pick it up.

The product I purchased appears to be a well cared for 1980 Jayco JayFinch6 Fold-Down Camping Trailer (apparently Jayco called them Fold-Down rather than Pop-Up).

Here are a few pictures from the day I first saw it. Overall, in fantastic condition for a 32 year old trailer. Some minor cosmetic stuff, but literally everything works. no leaks. no tears in the canvas or the interior upholstery. linoleum is a little dirty, but no damage. wood paneling inside is all perfect.

New tires, new battery, new jacks.

3 burner stove, propane heater, manual and electric pump sink, hookups, surge brakes. Currently wired for 4 pin plus an extra 12v wire to charge the battery.

currently painted as such because the Original owner painted it flat black to use as a hunting rig before the PO bought it from him. PO painted it white and blue.


you can see the front sheeting is pressed in a bit. no worries.


Canvas is solid, just a little dirty.




New battery, propane tank is clean, and the hitch for the surge brakes.


Vinyl and screens are perfect, just a lil dirty.


Interior upholstery is nice, not worn or damage.



Kitchen (note that the vinyl on the icebox is fully intact too):


So, I cruised on over after work today, and JF member Roobicon was nice enough to help me tow it over to the storage yard where I work, since my waggy is in storage.


Looks thrilled, doesnt he?


Said he hardly noticed it on the 15 minute drive.

So, we parked it at my work where it'll be stored. I plan to bring it home this weekend to power wash the heck out of it, and get the canvas cleaned up.

Plans for the camper in the future include:

-Paint to match the waggy (wood stripe included)
-Dual Propane tanks
-Solid axle (minor lift) and 5 lug wheels/tires to give it some lift
- Pintle hitch or 3-axis hitch

My overall goal at this point is to just make it slightly more capable than on the 12" rims. I am not looking to build a trail camper, but it needs to be able to traverse soft gravel and sand, as well as steeper and tighter roads. The 12" tires and low clearance are not conducive to that goal. I'll also most likely start doing more of my Expo-style mods to the trailer, rather than my actual truck. This is good because I can keep the truck more original.

Right now, however, it needs literally nothing. I could hook up and tow it wherever I wanted to!

So, enjoy! There's more to come, and I'm pretty psyched.
 
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#9 ·
Actually the brochure says dry weight is 1170. Dry hitch weight is 135

if any of y'all know me, you know when I get my mind on something, it gets done. Fast.

Example, I found out he had the camper for sale, found the ad, called him, emailed my girlfriend the ad, called her, drove over, and told him 'yes i'll take it' within about 30 minutes.

So, considering I'm going to be cleaning it up tomorrow, I wouldnt want to have to clean it again before painting it, right?

I found the paint I need, I was testing it next to my waggy.

I bought 4 different cans, and tested the two that were closest. They are both rustoleum. One is regular rustoleum, the other is painters touch, whatever the difference is, I dunno.

'Gloss Almond' on the left, 'Almond' on the right.

Testing it up against the paint on my truck



Looks like 'Gloss Almond' on the left is almost spot on. That'll do.
 

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#10 ·
Good looking camper Marn. It sounds like you plan on putting a lot more work into such a camper than I plan to. Such campers have always been very utilitarian to me. Use them hard and screw the loose parts back on when you get home, and I have used such accomadations a lot. I took a pop-up pick-up camper to Alaska and back on a Chevy S-10 years ago, then camped out of it for several years in Wyoming. It was my first home away from home when I moved to Wyoming. I slept in it most of one winter in my sister's side yard. When the outside temperature got in the single digits, I did come inside and sleep on her couch with the othe stray cats and dogs. Get that baby out and enjoy it!
 
#11 ·
Hey Marn, if you are gunna put bigger shoes on it than the 12" rubber, skip the 13's and go straight to 14". I put ST205/75D14 on our Coleman. If I happen to need a tire while on road, this is the most common size and readily available. Plus you shouldn't ever have a problem with sidewall blowouts from overheating (a real PITA with those little 12" high-pressure tires).

The 13" tires are HARD to find if you need one. I upgraded the little Jayco we used to have with a lift for the torsion axle and 13" tires (biggest I could find for the 4-lug axle at the time) and that problem was always in the back of my mind.

Watch out for fenderwell clearance, though. These older pop-ups weren't made for bigger tires... interior cabinet space and all that. A spring-over conversion on our Coleman gave me plenty of lift. Just be aware that any substantial life will affect the ability of the stabilizer jacks to reach the ground if the trailer is parked on a slightly sloping campsite. Same for the tongue jack's ability to level the trailer.

Get yourself some reflective bunk-end covers. You'll really appreciate how they keep the radiant heat of the sun on the canvas from making the bunk feel like an oven.

That's a CLEAN trailer. Nice score!:thumbsup:


BTW--- if you need any info on little modifications that make these trailers more user friendly (sink mods, storage ideas, just about anything you can think of and a lot of stuff you wouldn't), check out Pop-Up Explorer and Pop-Up Times sites. Lots of RV sites have small pop-up forums, but these sites are the repository of all things Pop-Up
 
#13 ·
Well, today was cleaning day. We went through this thing top to bottom with a pressure washer, lysol, and some other cleaners.

There are a few spots inside that I need to put some more screws or staples (2 corners where the canvas/plastic edging whatever is falling a little bit).

Need to glue down the wood veneer in a few spots.

Also need to reinforce the rear corner of the door jamb (where your back rests when you're sitting on the couch) because it flexes a bit.

Other than that, we tested everything, and all seemed well. hookups work sink works manually and electric, inverter works, lights work, everything that I had already confirmed i guess.






Thats a 30 sitting next to it, haha.


Sooo....it definitely needs lift and I need a drop hitch in the mean time.


More to come.
 
#19 ·
So, I went to work with paint and wood grain today.

I hemmed and hawed about how to make it best match the waggy with the combo of wood and paint today....If I did 1 thick stripe it would have been centered between the two stripes where they are now. however, the area above and below that (where the stripes are now) is textured like wood and the area in between is corrugated like the rest of the aluminum and would have looked weird.

If I kept just 1 thin stripe it was way too much tan.

I thought about making a thicker strip where the top one is but then half of the vinyl would have been on wood textures aluminum and the lower half would have been kn smooth but corrugated aluminum and it would have covered a horizontal seam as well.

I went back and forth on it all morning. Unfortunately the materials and textures kinda dictated where it would look correct. This is how it came from the factory (as far as the layout not actual colors). I decided it was fine to make it match the waggy and look like they go together rather than like it CAME WITH the waggy.

Make sense?

Well, without further ado, Here is the result of 11 hours, 7 cans of rustoleum gloss almond, and 1458 square inches of vinyl wood grain.



I love the running lights.


So, at about 8:30pm, i towed it back to work and then drove back home. Im pooped, dumped about 20 hours into the camper this weekend, but now, aside from the lift, its exactly what i want, and how I want it.
 
#20 ·
Looks great! Love the Wagoneer, and the trailer is the perfect complement.

The Rustoleum Almond was a life saver for me this weekend, too. I was having trouble getting the Mopar spray touch-up paint I bought to cover over the primer on my trailer, so I used the Almond in satin for two coats, and only used the Mopar Sahara Tan to top coat it. It was just light enough that the darker Sahara Tan stood out and I was able to make sure I got good coverage.

Can't wait to see the lift... I'm sure it'll look great behind the Jeep.
 
#23 ·
I'm bringing it home next weekend to have a forum member who welds look at it. For now it'll prolly just get 3" rectangle stock put between the torsion axle and the frame.

I may end up going axleless.
 
#30 ·
I think he's saying cut the flanges and reuse the brakes. I don't know what you'd use for hubs though

Sent by Paper Planes
Indeed. A complete D35 would work, to clarify what I was suggesting, just cut off the ends of the D35 and weld those to an empty tube, that way you don't have the weight from the pumpkin, and you also get more clearance.

So cut out everything that is in the red area, and weld in a straight tube where the green is. Voila now you have brand new brakes, and leaf brackets already installed.

 
#28 ·
Well went out today and discovered that my brakes are actually 100% inoperable.

I doubt this is helping them work too well...



So, i can obviously stop on my own, and I'm wondering if this is even worth addressing? Maybe just clean everything out real well, disassemble the MC, flush the lines, check the cylinders, and see where I can get without spending more than a few bucks and a few hours?

with a pending axle swap, I figure it probably isnt worth putting any money into the brakes, unless I kept them somehow.
 
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