1982 Jayco Poptop Renovation : The Reno....

Here Ye, Here Ye, attention all ye landlubbers (Caravanners).

This being my first caravan and completely new to the whole game I thought it would be helpful to share my experiences with others who are either thinking of buying a busted up old caravan or who might already be the owner of one and contemplating doing a reno on it.

The Galley

It appears as though the previous owner of my van attempted to renovate it but I think he pulled out of it when he realised just how difficult a proper job was going to be. In a bid to just sell it, to an uninformed punter like me, he has screwed together a few bits of ply to make some rather ordinary cabinets. He then painted the whole lot green, covering up the flaws. The berths were dangerously flimsy and in need of some TLC and that is where this caravan renovation story begins.

Two single beds

Personally, I have a bit of history in seafaring pursuits and having done a bit of boat-building and sailing in my time I thought, "hey this sort of thing can't be all that different".

How wrong I was. It did prove one thing however -that I should go have my head examined by a medical professional.

The Green Machine - lean and mean

Being a Boatie er Yachtie, I prefer to use many nautical terms to explain things.

Now boat building generally involves starting with a hull (the outside bit) and then you fit it out with a head, galley, berths and so forth. So I thought renovating a caravan would be much along the same lines. You start with the outside shell and then fit the inside out, just like a boat.

Wrong. You see, I soon realised that well, caravans are built from the inside out and not the outside in like a boat would be, for want of a better description.

I found this video below which quickly explains the construction process;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D32dwN_Cw-0

So now that you have watched the process, you can understand what I mean when I say inside out.

What this means for the would be renovator is that, if you intend to replace the inner linings then it presents a great deal of difficulty as the edges of the linings on the port and starboard sides are actually running through and past the frame of the inside walls of the fore and aft. What this means is that you will end up having to dig and pick all this material out. A painstaking process and really no other way of doing it. The other option is to completely dismantle the whole thing.

Stripped, cleaned and de-nailed

By the time I got to this point I was learning how a caravan is constructed. I begun to wonder why they just don't simply fall apart in a strong breeze. I guess it is more about the sum of its parts, if they built boats like this they wouldn't last 5 minutes on a calm day. Never have I seen such minimalist design, it's really just enough to get it over the line.

This is where the water got in

I started out just hoping to replace the lining where it had water damage and to shore up the quarter berths. But as I would soon come to realise, once you get started , you just have to keep going and gut the whole box.

The sides go in first

So as the process continues.... I saw that all the window frames had to be removed so the plastic edging mould which sits inside the opening where the windows go through could be replaced. At first I tried to carefully remove the moulding but being so old and brittle it just broke away. It did not bother me anyhow because the screws that fix in the window frames were all rusty and in genuine need of replacement anyway.

The window frames are sealed in with a type of grey putty which makes the frames quite easy to gently prise out of the caravans shell once all the screws have been removed. The grey putty stuff is then easily removed by using a stiff plastic ruler with an end ground to a sharp edge. Avoid using a wood chisel or metal scraper as this will scratch the paint off.

Caution: Asbestos was used in just about everything until the mid-eighties and this putty has a very suspicious look and texture and I suspect it could be an asbestos based product. Watch out for the Vinyl flooring also and any fibrous insulation. Take great care when removing it and don't just leave it lying around, handle the stuff as if it were asbestos.

Starboard: Mark where the windows go, remove and then use a jigsaw to cut out the hole

Port

As I fixed the panels to the walls I would first make sure that all the old staples and any loose ply residue had been removed from the framework. I would dry fit (no glue) the new panel at first to check it would fit. If you glue it and it don't fit you'll end up with a whole lot of mess. Press around the panel firmly to squeeze it up against the glue. I used liquid nails as this bonds well and it fills in all the uneven spaces. A couple of strategic staples (preferably where you won't see them later on) is to just hold it all in place until the glue dries. I later removed the staples completely as the glue does all the work.

The lining joint is below the bunk line

So now I have almost completely gutted the van including the overhead cupboards.They had to be smashed out with an axe basically. The cupboards were fixed in place with great big wood-screws from the outside before the outer skin was put on. After the cupboards were completely destroyed in this process I then had to carefully cut off the dangerously protruding screws, flush to the framework with a small angle grinder. An assistant holding the screw end with some pliers will hopefully stop the hot end landing in your boot.

Cut-off the screws before they cut you!

During this renovation I also had to consider where to put the electrical wiring which must be all in place before relining could take place. Again, behind the original power-points and light switches there was this piece of old vinyl flooring presumably to insulate the wires from the outside skin. This vinyl most likely also contains the deadly asbestos, so treat it accordingly. I replaced it with some modern vinyl.

To ensure that I did not drill or put a screw through the wiring I took all these photos you see now so that I could remember where the wires would be later on. It also helps to run the wires either vertical or horizontal as this makes it easier to avoid them later on.

Fortunately, I am a licensed electrician and saved a great deal of money not having to pay for one, but for you if you are not, you must get an electrician in before you re-sheet the walls and back again afterwards to fit it off. The 12volt stuff you can do yourself with a little know how but be sure to avoid the 12 volt DC system getting anywhere near the AC 240 Volt system.

So what all this means is that by the time you get to the point where you need an electrician you should have done your research and all of your planning and settled in the final internal layout. Once the walls go on you cannot easily go back and change things. Any changes will probably require surface conduits.

Power-points are also required to be at least 150mm away from the edge of a sink or handbasin and/or at least 450mm above.

Wires in the wall

The power inlet, note the earthing wire is also connected to the the caravan frame.

It gets a bit tight

Note the way in which the separation between the AC 240V and the DC 12V systems are maintained. However, they do get a little close in the corners as this reduces the need to drill too many holes in the frames which could weaken the structure. Always maintain the Double Insulation on the AC 240V wiring - the outer sheath.

An outdoor power-point for the annexe

The Stern

By now you would have noticed that as I have proceeded along I have installed insulation in-between the inner and outer skins. I found this product, which is commonly used to insulate the cavity walls of buildings to improve their energy efficiency, as a cheap, lightweight, easy to install product. It is simply cut to size using a knife and is quite safe to work with. It is called "Foil-Board" and is a bit thinner than the space between the skins which adds to its insulation properties. If you make it fit tightly between the frames there is no need for glue. In fact the tighter it is, the better it will insulate.
It is electrically conductive so take care near electrical wiring.

The reading lights and backing plates

Here I put slits in the Foil-board so it could be bent to fit it into the curved parts of the roof.

Curving the Foil-board

Looks nice

The foil-board has grid lines on one side as a guide to help it be cut to size. Fitting the insulation has made a huge improvement to the temperature range inside the van.

Once the the inner lining was removed it had revealed where most of the water had been getting in. Some of the timber used in the framework had completely rotted away, particularly up near the focsle. Most likely from the spray generated from the vehicle tyres on many wet road trips. These were replaced and the skin sealed up with a polyurethane sealant - not silicone as it leaks.

These pieces of timber were easy enough to replace and were given a good spattering of Liquid Nails glue and some fine nails to hold it all together. In the corners and where water was getting in I painted the timber side frames using the 50/50 Varnish-Turps mix. The screws which came in from the outside through the aluminium barge strip were also very rusty so I removed them and replaced with corrosion resistant Fencing screws. In true marine style, any screw visble and exposed to the weather was replaced with a Stainless Steel one. I used the 304 grade rather than the more expensive 316 Marine grade as the higher grades are much more expensive and not necessary anyhow. For the internal screws I used fencing or roofing type screws also for their rust resistant properties. I avoided using drywall screws.

In building the berths, I fitted hinged lids to the end portion and the wall sides. The lids have a gas strut fitted to hold them up. It was a good area to store stuff that was not needed on the road but could be brought out once we had set up camp.

Along underneath facing the aisle between the bunks a provision was included for three deep drawers on each side to stow away clothes.

The port berth

The workshop

A range of tools is required but the sash clamps came in real handy when getting into the cabinet making end of the project. A table saw also proved very useful.

Roof straps are a useful clamping tool

I used 42x19mm Meranti timber for the berth frames. I bought a cheap Biscuit Slot Cutter to help join all the pieces together. I glued and screwed the frames together using a quality exterior PVA wood glue. The general idea is to keep the weight down, there is no sense carting around extra kilos over thousands of kilometres. Using too much MDF or Chipboard will dramatically increase the weight gain. The meranti frames are lightweight, strong and reasonably flexible.

I could not find any plywood suitable for the lining that had a suitable appearance, so I opted to use an MDF board instead with a wood-grain pattern. It was a bit heavier than ply but it has a smooth finish, it is relatively cheap and very easy to work with. What I did do however, was treat the backing on every sheet with two coats of a 50/50 Varnish/ Turps mix to ward off any moisture. MDF will just fall apart in water so hopefully this will be enough to stop it deteriorating. I also painted the mix on to the edges wherever a cut was made, again to prevent the ingress of moisture. Additionally, the insulation installed between the inner and outer shells acts as an effective barrier to moisture, in particular, the condensation that will form on the inside of the metal cladding.

The Port and Starboard berths get a tick of approval

Now the fun begins - the dining (mess) and galley area up the fore.

Before

I am now in the process of building the galley. This is where any prior planning will pay dividends. Just like a house or indeed a boat it will have plumbing, electrical, ventilation, drainage, storage, etc.

To keep the weight down and to save a few trees I used the Table Saw to rip down the middle of the 42x19 timber to effectively double its length and halve its weight, ending up with two pieces of timber at 19x19mm. This proved more than adequate to make up the galley cabinets.

Stick-on Vinyl Tiles an added touch

The Galley

The cook-top is all electric. I have a portable BBQ stashed in the front locker and one of those $20 portable Butane Camp Stoves should we need to cook something on the road.

There are 2 taps; one is to pump up the on-board water and the other connects to the mains water when at a park.

A 12V electric Range-hood was fitted over the stove and the most importantly - the bench-top and sink.

Plywood Doors are stronger, the drawers are on runners.

I made my bench-top out of a piece of 18mm marine ply. I even kept the sink cut-out as a chopping board. I had some Everdure resin (2-pack Varnish) and some White Gel-coat lying about in my shed (these were left overs from a boat-building project), I used this to make a nice shiny white water-proof bench-top that was very lightweight in comparison with other materials.

The Bar Fridge and Microwave, the Heavy-Duty Deep Cycle battery is directly underneath and so is the inverter and charging unit.

I have opted to get rid of everything GAS. The stuff scares the hell out of me in enclosed spaces like boats and caravans. The 3-way fridge went to make way for a bar fridge running on AC 240V or from the DC12V through an inverter. The 240V fridge has a rating of 80 watts so I bought a 600W Modified Sine Wave Inverter to power it. On the package the Projecta unit I bought claims that it can run a small fridge but with very little detail as to what they mean by "small" however they say the inverter rating should be a least 6-7 times that of the appliance. Much to my dismay the inverter kept showing a fault light the moment the fridge was connected. I tested the inverter using a 500 watt work light (incandescent lamp) and it worked good, so it must have been that the modified sine wave output cannot get the fridge compressor to run. Thanks to EBAY I found an inverter that has an output of Pure Sine Wave at 1000 watts continuous power for a princely sum of $109.00
I connected this to the fridge and it made all the difference, the fridge runs smoothly and quietly. So there is absolutely no need to cart around those massive gas bottles or buy a caravan fridge costing thousands when all you need is a PURE SINE WAVE inverter, a battery and a charger or for those outback intrepid journeys, a solar panel system.


The Battery Compartment. Note the power-point to run the charging unit

The TV on a hinged bracket.

A cheap TV with an onboard DVD player from Coles (Yes! Coles @ $149) mounts on a modified TV bracket. I happened to notice it while doing the groceries and observed it used a DC 12V power pack to run it. I recently saw a similar unit in a caravan shop selling @ $440!

That is why being a Yachtie helps. Have you heard what they say about them?

"Short Arms with Deep Pockets".

So now we sail on up to the mess-deck.

The dining table top comes away from the stand and it fits between the seats to make a "vee-berth" at the bow.

The table top drops in

A cushion is added

Another berth created

Just for a bit nauti-ness, a marine
light fitting is placed under the bulkhead

A 12V marine cabin light doubles as a dining and reading light

I managed to preserve these overhead lockers

Spare Tyres

Here are a few outside shots

The door is off being repaired

Stainless Steel Screws

8G x 20mm 304 Stainless Steel self-tapper

I used a poly-urethane sealant around the window frames. I put a liberal bead all the way round using up about half a tube. I gently pressed the frames into place until the goop oozed out and held them loosely in place for a couple of days with a couple of screws allowing the sealant to cure fully.
I found it much neater and cleaner to just leave the excess hanging out until it dried and then coming back later on and run around the edge with a sharp knife. Then with the help of the trusty plastic ruler, I could literally just peel the excess goop off. Do not try and clean it off with turps while it is wet, you will end up making more work for yourself cleaning up the mess.