Jayco pop up truck camper

[Scoutman]

Hey first time poster but I've been lurking around the site for a while. Just got registered when this came across my table. I've run across a used Jayco pop up slide in truck camper that I'm wanting ya'lls opinion on.

Some background... my wife and I have been long time campers but with the addition of a little boy and soon to be another little one in October, we're wanting an easier way to get out and about. We still like tent camping but there is so much to packing it all up, setting it all up, and taking it all down, etc. (most of which I have to do). Our other hobby is 4-wheeling in the XJ, hiking, etc. We're hoping to get into more of the backcountry exploration with my Dodge Ram that's more of a family affair. That is if I can find more places in the South to do that. :smiley_drive:

So onto the camper...

-90' model Jayco that fits an 8' or 6' bed.
-I think it will fit my bed and still keep the tailgate
-no bath (don't mind but a potty would be nice)
-The top, fabric, screens, windows, etc. are all in excelent shape
-3 way fridge (supposedly works) it was plugged into 110v and was cold
-Dinette folds down for the kids
-hand pump for sink with small fresh holding tank
-heater and thermostat
-flooring is in good shape under the carpet
-all cushions are in good shape with no tears
-lots of storage
-the jacks and mounts looked in good shape
-latches and mounts were solid

The bad...
-no AC, no fan
-no outside shower
-no hot water heater (this and shower can easily be remedied with a Zodi)
-typical bumps and bruises to the exterior
-propane door was missing and had been replaced with wood
-it had been smoked in at some point
-it had some repair to the front corner wood at some point but looked well repaired
-I didn't move the top up and down, it was up when I got there
-There are some pieces of trim on the exterior that need to be replaced and probably sealed.


The Guy's asking $1500 for it. My wife and I went by at lunch today and took measurements, picts, and just checked it out. I'll go by for another more detailed look later if it's worth it. I think it is. We're looking at buying this one to see how we like the whole truck camper thing and if it works out then we can upgrade later or if not sell it and move on. It seems like a good price for it's condition assuming that there's something I'm not seeing.

I need to check my measurements tonight on my truck. I have an 06 Dodge Ram, quad cab, long bed, single rear wheel, Diesel. It should handle this lightweight with no problems. :sombrero:

I haven't seen many Jayco's on the forums and not many on the interwebs so is there a reason for this or were there just not many of them made?

These picts are from the listing. I took more but will have to host elsewhere.

 

[Northern Explorer]

If it fits, buy it. Like you said if you want to upgrade in the future this will give you a lot of insite as to what you really want out of a truck camper if you were to buy one new and pick the options yourself. For $1500 it looks good to me.

 

[dutchoven]

My first camper was very much like this....I'll never do it again! The price looks good, however, my wife (and myself) regretted not having a wc and shower. We also hike and tent camp a lot so we are use to not having a bivy. If you are going to tote all that weight...I would hold out on a unit with a wc.
just my .02

 

[Scoutman]

My first camper was very much like this....I'll never do it again! The price looks good, however, my wife (and myself) regretted not having a wc and shower. We also hike and tent camp a lot so we are use to not having a bivy. If you are going to tote all that weight...I would hold out on a unit with a wc.
just my .02

What's a WC? What do you regreat about going this route of a starter camper? I don't mind the weight. It's actually not that much than what I'm used to hauling with this truck. About half time it gets used for pulling a 30' gooseneck trailer with 2 jeeps on it (@15k#)

 

[tanglefoot]

It looks good. You might have a little nego room, or see if they'll include the camper jacks.

One thing to look into is the cab-over clearance. If that camper is sized for a mini-truck (and it looks like it is, with the narrow floor width), you may have to space it up on something in your truck bed so that the cabover bed doesn't hit the top of your truck cab before the camper bottom settles into the bed.

 

[Scoutman]

It looks good. You might have a little nego room, or see if they'll include the camper jacks.

One thing to look into is the cab-over clearance. If that camper is sized for a mini-truck (and it looks like it is, with the narrow floor width), you may have to space it up on something in your truck bed so that the cabover bed doesn't hit the top of your truck cab before the camper bottom settles into the bed.

The height from the base of the camper to the bottom of the overhead is about 46" which is really close to what my truck cab is. I have heard of having to shim it up to clear the frame flexing. My bed rails are about 20.5" high and the sides of the camper are about 21" so adding a 2x under it will just give me a little more room there too. After looking at my truck bed, I'm not sure if the tailgate will be able to stay on or not.

I'm pretty sure the 3 jacks and whatever tie downs he has are included. What you don't see in the pictures is the 4 HUGE harbor freight jack stands (@$90 per pair). I'm going to see if he'll throw those in. I had seen on another RV forum where a guy mentions this exact camper and said something about the top not sitting right so I need to see what that's about and if it's a problem or not.

I need to figure out a way to tie this sucker down. I'm looking at making some mounts for the bed that give a turnbuckle a place to hook in each of the 4 corners. Not sure about that yet.

 

[24HOURSOFNEVADA]

What's a WC?

Toilet.

 

[SLO_F-250]

Scoutman,
I say go for it. I bought a similar camper for cheap to start off. Its hard to fork over the money a FWC right off that bat. You'll probably have to tinker with it a bit, but for the price I would say go for it. A cheap starter camper is better then no camper, and if you use it a few times and decide you want to spend the $$$ and upgrade you probably wont lose much on the purchase.

If you have to shim it up, check out the link in my sig. I had to do some major work to get mine sitting right, but am loving it for my first one.
Good Luck!

 

[Scoutman]

Well shoot. I was a few hours too late. It's gone so the search continues...

 

[tanglefoot]

You'll probably be able to find something similar for under $1000, especially for a full-size truck. There seem to be a lot more full-size campers floating around than mini-truck campers. You might prefer a full-size truck pop-up with the extra width in the floor area and greater overall width (that's nice for stretch-out room in the cab-over.

If you like 4-wheel campers, there are usually quite a few older Grandby's (8-foot, full size) around on Craigslist. You should also be able to find a nice assortment of used campers from other manufacturers.

Eric

 

[Scoutman]

You'll probably be able to find something similar for under $1000, especially for a full-size truck. There seem to be a lot more full-size campers floating around than mini-truck campers. You might prefer a full-size truck pop-up with the extra width in the floor area and greater overall width (that's nice for stretch-out room in the cab-over.

If you like 4-wheel campers, there are usually quite a few older Grandby's (8-foot, full size) around on Craigslist. You should also be able to find a nice assortment of used campers from other manufacturers.

Eric

It seems that in the south if it's less than $1k, then it's about one step away from being a meth house or used for a 'hunters cabin'. Meaning they are junk or nasty. I've found a few more around this area that may be worth looking into though, I'll keep looking.

I haven't found the first 4 wheel camper anywhere close to here. I've been pouring through sites almost non stop for the past few days learning as much as I can (slow days at work).

I'm not really attached to any one particular brand. I do find it funny that various forums are sort of brand loyal. RV.net seems to be mostly Lance guys whereas here seems to hold the FWC up on high. That's fine, I'm sure there's a reason. So far what I've seen of the FWC is not very favorable for a couple of small children. I'm not necessairly tied down to a pop up either.

I'm also finding some campers that have been orphaned. The Shadow Cruiser is one that's a couple hours away and there isn't much info out there on it.

I guess bottom line is I'm looking for something in decent shape that's not going to turn into another major project. I have enough of those as it is. Probably nothing made before 1990, hard or soft side, and a full 8-8.5' floor with little to no rear overhang. I can deal with a 7' wide camper but much wider than that and I'm going to feel like I need a yellow banner on the bumper.

 

[Scoutman]

Well it looks like I'm headed to Kentucky this afternoon to look at/buy an 06 model Starcraft Pine Mountain Lonestar. It's got all the goodies that I had on my list.

-Hot water heater
-outdoor shower
-8' long (may be able to close the tailgate)
-pop up
-not a large hang over the sides
-queen bed (although it's not a front to back, it's a side to side)
-ac
-uses standard propane tanks
-4 jacks
-comes with tie downs
-dude is putting a new battery in it this morning and digging out factory paperwork and instruction manuals
-3 way fridge
-heater
-plenty of storage although it looks like outside storage may be lacking but since the end of the bed is open, I should be able to put stuff between the camper and my truck bed.


it's been stored in a heated/cooled shop/barn
it's been used about 4 times
original owner who's throwing in everything that is even remotely related to this camper.

$4700

I'll keep ya'll posted on how it goes. I took my toolbox out of my truck last night and re-disvovered just how long a full 8' bed is. The box had been in there since shortly after I got the truck new. Took the tailgate off too just to be sure and one less thing to worry about. I hope I've got everything to get this camper home. :smiley_drive:

 

[Northern Explorer]

Looks like a good deal.

 

[SLO_F-250]

Sounds like it will do the trick for the first camper! Keep up posted and post some PICTURES!! :sombrero:

 

[Scoutman]

Well I got it after a 13 hour trip to KY and back. It is very nice! This is going to work out well. It's raining right now but I'll get picts posted and start a new thread. :victory: