New to us 2008 jayfeather 23B

Shawn474 · 03-09-2020, 02:27 AM

Hello,
Wife and I just upgraded to a new to us 2008 jayfeather 23b. We have been camping for many years in pop ups that I have bought, fixed, used and sold. We have 2 teenage daughters and two dogs so we outgrew the pop up. My wife would rather tent camp but three back surgeries will not allow me to do so. The hybrid is a perfect compromise since she says it still feels like camping with the tent bed ends.

Long story short, there was extensive water damage to the rear floor and the dealer couldn’t sell it. I lowballed them and they eventually accepted. Took the last day and half ripping out and repairing the floor and once everything sets and I get new linoleum you won’t be able to tell there was ever an issue. Looks like they left the tent end partially open as there is some water staining on one of the mattresses. Walls and ceiling are solid and bone dry. None of the appliances have ever been used. The stabilizer jack foot pads don’t have a mark on them......I don’t think this camper has ever been taken out. It’s literally a new camper otherwise....we will change that as we are planning a couple of week long trips over the spring and summer and possibly a two week trek out west.

I am still trying to acquaint myself with the first world accessories like the water and waste tanks!!!! Everything runs perfectly on shore power. Still trying to figure out how to get 12 volt lights to work when not on shore power using tongue mounted battery. Any thoughts on how to trouble shoot - on my pop ups I always had a resettable dude but I don’t see on on this.....

I look forward to contributing and learning a lot here.

Rayco · 03-18-2020, 08:34 PM

Great camper! We had 2!

Do you have any 12v power? Ours had a fuse in the power line near the battery box. I used to pull the fuse to completely disconnect the battery to avoid draining it when the trailer wasn't in use.

**JFlightRisk** · 03-18-2020, 08:45 PM

Do you know how old the battery is? If it turns out to be the original one, it may be dead to the world.

Shawn474 · 03-18-2020, 08:52 PM

Honestly I think the battery is dead. I unplugged it and the lights lasted for less than 30 minutes before they started to dim. I will take it to the local advance to find out if it’s still good. The date on the battery is 4/18. Maybe I have a bit of warranty left....maybe not. I am going to test it and hopefully switch it out.

**JFlightRisk** · 03-18-2020, 09:11 PM

Yes, the lights should last longer. It may have been run down too low, for too long. It would be a crap shoot if it was to come back to life, or not. They will put a load test on it, but try to charge it up, before taking it to them. A load test tells the health of a fully charged battery.

Jagiven · 03-19-2020, 06:59 AM

May be a dead battery. With a TT, if your not connected to shore power you want to disconnect the battery. There are a lot of parasite power drains on the battery, an example is the CO/Gas detector, radio. All these Parasite power draws can drain down the battery in a few weeks. Deep cycle batteries can only handle so many power drains below 50% charge before damaging the battery.

Another thing to check is the fluid level in the battery cells. If the water level needs to be between the top of the cell and the bottom of the plastic cap. If you need to add water, ONLY use DISTILLED WATER, never use tap or filtered water. The minerals in the water will short out the cells.

Shawn474 · 04-04-2020, 01:31 PM

Got up on the roof and resealed all of the areas around Skylight, Bathroom fan, a/c, antenna and roof seams. I reskinned the floor with luan boards and got a piece of vinyl sheet that was a very close match. The radio wasn’t working so I pulled that, replaced the fuse and everything is working. I haven’t tested the holding tanks or water lines yet but plan to this week when the weather warms up. We cannot wait to get out and use it.

One thing I noticed was that there was a bubble under the roof where the runner had come loose from the roof. It’s about a 5 foot area from the rear of the camper forward where you can tell the rubber is intact but loose from the roof. Is there an “easy” way to fix this? I have read that some have slit the rubber and used roof mastic to reglue it but others have said it’s a bad idea. Anyone have a good remedy that’s cost effective besides replacing the roof?

Rayco · 04-30-2020, 10:29 AM

On our '08, one thing I did that helped battery life a lot was to replace as many of the 12v light bulbs with LEDs. Even with a new battery, it will help a charge last a lot longer

Shawn474 · 06-02-2020, 05:35 AM

We are getting ready to take the camper on it’s maiden voyage. I have a couple questions before we leave; if you all can help Answer it would be much appreciated.

1. On our old pop up camper we used to have had a self resetting fuse connected to the battery. Is it necessary/advised to add one to the jayco? To the best of my ability I can not locate one being installed and am wondering if it is advisable to do so.

2. Do you all advise purchasing a surge protector when hooked up to shore power? If so I have read that many have different features....surge vs low voltage, voltage monitoring, etc? What are the ideal features to have and what brand is recommended? I install home theaters as a hobby and always recommend having one and advise people not to skimp on this so looking for a little advice from the experts here.

3. The only thing we have not tested yet is the hot water heater. I completely emptied the tanks a week ago to flush everything out. Is there a best way to refill everything and purge air from the lines to test the water heater or is it as simple as fill the holding tank, fire up the water heater and test?

Thanks in advance guys......it’s been a long year so far and we can’t wait to get out and disconnect from what’s going on and be with each other as a family for a little while.....

Take care and stay safe,
Shawn

Jagiven · 06-02-2020, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn474

We are getting ready to take the camper on it’s maiden voyage. I have a couple questions before we leave; if you all can help Answer it would be much appreciated.

1. On our old pop up camper we used to have had a self resetting fuse connected to the battery. Is it necessary/advised to add one to the jayco? To the best of my ability I can not locate one being installed and am wondering if it is advisable to do so.

2. Do you all advise purchasing a surge protector when hooked up to shore power? If so I have read that many have different features....surge vs low voltage, voltage monitoring, etc? What are the ideal features to have and what brand is recommended? I install home theaters as a hobby and always recommend having one and advise people not to skimp on this so looking for a little advice from the experts here.

3. The only thing we have not tested yet is the hot water heater. I completely emptied the tanks a week ago to flush everything out. Is there a best way to refill everything and purge air from the lines to test the water heater or is it as simple as fill the holding tank, fire up the water heater and test?

Thanks in advance guys......it’s been a long year so far and we can’t wait to get out and disconnect from what’s going on and be with each other as a family for a little while.....

Take care and stay safe,
Shawn

#1). Most likely there is not self resetting fuse (circuit breaker) at the battery. Many people do install one, especially if they have an electric tongue jack. Typically there is a weatherproof fuse holder near the battery.

#2) Very much a personal thing. If you decide to get one, buy an EMS, not just a simple surge protector.

#3) No real right or wrong way to fill the water heater. Key element you need to displace the air. I open the pressure relief valve so if I am not fully paying attention, any spillage, goes on the ground and not in my grey water tank

If on city water connection, I open the WH cover and flip open the pressure relief valve. If I am busy doing things I do not accidentally over fill my GW tank (and make a mess inside). If I am at a CG and my WH is empty and I am filling my FW tank via the gravity fill port. I will flip on the pump, and open the pressure relief valve. Both tanks can fill at the same time. No matter how you fill the tank you will get some trapped air, that will work its way out as you use the faucets.

Just be careful to not open a faucet and walk away while filling the tank. Did I mention making a mess, if the GW tank overflows.

Shawn474 · 06-02-2020, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jagiven

#1). Most likely there is not self resetting fuse (circuit breaker) at the battery. Many people do install one, especially if they have an electric tongue jack. Typically there is a weatherproof fuse holder near the battery.

#2) Very much a personal thing. If you decide to get one, buy an EMS, not just a simple surge protector.

#3) No real right or wrong way to fill the water heater. Key element you need to displace the air. I open the pressure relief valve so if I am not fully paying attention, any spillage, goes on the ground and not in my grey water tank

If on city water connection, I open the WH cover and flip open the pressure relief valve. If I am busy doing things I do not accidentally over fill my GW tank (and make a mess inside). If I am at a CG and my WH is empty and I am filling my FW tank via the gravity fill port. I will flip on the pump, and open the pressure relief valve. Both tanks can fill at the same time. No matter how you fill the tank you will get some trapped air, that will work its way out as you use the faucets.

Just be careful to not open a faucet and walk away while filling the tank. Did I mention making a mess, if the GW tank overflows.

Thanks so much; this is really helpful information. Really appreciate you taking the time to help answer my questions. Will be sure to report back how it goes

First Time Owner · 06-06-2020, 07:14 AM

You will love your camper, so much room. Did you happen to take pictures of your floor repair. Mine needs fixed, I just don't know where to start. It goes from cabinet into bathroom.

Shawn474 · 06-06-2020, 09:18 PM

Yeah I have a few. The entire wood was rotted so I stripped the floor of the dead wood and dried the remaining out with a heater and Dehumidifier. I then drilled many small holes and injected an epoxy into the floor that spreads and binds to the damaged woods Filled the holes with wood dowels and let dry for two days. Bought a sheet of Luan And reskinned the floor above. Laid new linoleum. Good as new

Shawn474 · 06-07-2020, 02:51 PM

So we got to the campground and everything went fine. Except the water pump won’t stop running. I have opened up all the water line and purged the air. I purged the relief valve at the water heater. There was a hose connected to the water pump so I opened the valve and poured some water into it thinking that would prime the pump. For now, we are just turning it on when we need it. Anyone have a clue as to what’s wrong? It worked perfectly fine until I drained everything to de-winterize it. I don’t see or hear any Air or water leaks anywhere. Any advice while we are camping would be most appreciated!!!! Thanks all

**JFlightRisk** · 06-07-2020, 05:43 PM

Just a thought, but is the water heater full? The pump might be trying to fill it, if it was empty, and it takes a long time to pump 6 gallons into it.

Shawn474 · 06-07-2020, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

Just a thought, but is the water heater full? The pump might be trying to fill it, if it was empty, and it takes a long time to pump 6 gallons into it.

I imagine it wasn’t full. I am unsure how to fill that....I had the potable water tank full and city water connected. How do I independently fill the hot water heater (I have never had a camper in the 5 pop ups that we owned) with a hot water heater.

Shawn474 · 06-08-2020, 03:25 AM

I think I found the problem. The RV was winterized and I am assuming that they bypassed the water heater. I am going to search for the bypass valves and see if o can get it going today

Shawn474 · 06-08-2020, 06:12 AM

So......that didn’t fix the issue. I assume I have an air leak somewhere. Guess I will have to trace all the lines and sure up each connection

Shawn474 · 06-09-2020, 08:34 PM

Got it fixed today; dumped all tanks and refilled the freshwater tank. Connected city water and turned on the water pump. Opened every faucet in the camper - the air sputtered for a few minutes and water started flowing freely. Limo primed and stopped. Works great now. I guess I got it air locked and thankfully it’s fixed now. Thanks for everyone who tried to help and gave me advice

**JFlightRisk** · 06-10-2020, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn474

Got it fixed today

Thanks for the update that it's fixed. When our water heater's empty, we hook up a hose to the city water, and turn on the hot side of the faucets until the water stops sputtering, We pretty much do that at each trip, just to make sure it's full before turning the water heater on. We use the electric side of it most of the time, and don't want to burn out the element. Happy camping!

You may also like: