First time out, some issues

[VA3SLJ]

I have a 2006 Jayco 806 and took it out (to my daughter's farm) for a couple of nights tryout.

Two problems (maybe I should use separate threads?)

1) When it is set up and level (using the level) I have a large gap at the door (see pics).

2) it leaks over the beds.

Any ideas? The leaking is probably reparable once I figure out the best material. Stopped by Camping World in Hamilton, Ontario on my way home and the guy running the store knew nothing. I read that Flexseal might be a good option.

As to the door situation--when I bought it, it was on a cement driveway. Could it be that I just wasn't levelling it properly? Should I use hydraulic jacks in the corner to make it work?

Thanks for the help!

[bankr63]

That looks a 'bit' more pronounced than I recall, but the door openings are built slightly flared toward the top to allow for some amount of out of level and aid in fitting the door to the opening. If it doesn't leak or let bugs in, I wouldn't be too concerned.

Assuming your leak is from the tenting and not a seam? First thing to consider is if it was nighttime only. You may just need more ventilation. Ours would build up condensation on cooler evenings if not well vented. Also, the tenting waterproofing does apparently become permeable over time as the material breaks down in the sun. You might want to just use an overall spray on tent waterproofing to refresh the waterproofing capability. We used an aerosol seam sealer (Canadian Tire or WalMart) with good results any time I noticed a bit of water infiltration.

[VA3SLJ]

Thanks for getting back to me--

I wasn't in the trailer when it was leaking--my wife was. She said it wasn't very cold that night, and it was raining, and so leaking. We are trying a recommended spray from our dealer, then see what happns. The 303 product is also very highly recommended, so I might try that too.

As to the door gap, I can live with it using a piece of foam pipe-insualtion for now. I'm thinking that it is more than should be there, though, because when I prepare the trailer to close up, the travel door doesn't latch until I lower the lid.

What are your opinions on bottle-jacks for levelling?

[bankr63]

In general you shouldn't level from the corners. The jacks at the corners are meant for stabilization only; leveling is accomplished with lifting one tire with blocks or an Andersen type leveler, and the tongue jack. Once level, the corner jacks will stabilize the unit, but shouldn't be used to lift the unit.

Does yours have stab. jacks at all 4 corners? Some of the smaller units only have them at the back but they are easy to add to the front corners too. This might be enough to tighten the door gap too. My 1007 had four and I usually did (still do) mine until they touch down firmly plus about a half turn.

Bottle jacks might work, but again, the frame is not designed for lifting from the corners, so keep it tight but not lifted. I would be a little worried about the frame slipping off the jack top due to rocking inside the trailer during regular use. Stab jacks aren't prone to this issue as they drop from the frame to ground and are firmly attached. Also, they don't require a stable flat platform to use; bottles could be difficult to setup in very uneven terrain.

What I might suggest if you have a couple of bottles lying around is to try it first as a stabilizer, and if it helps then buy a couple of proper stab jacks from Amazon - they are probably cheaper and lighter than the hydraulic bottles, and they are very difficult to misplace once bolted in place.

[DocBrown]

Not sure if your model is affected but older Jayco pop-ups suffered from frame flex on the door side that would cause this gap. It's because there is nothing holding the side together where the door is. Eventually the frame starts to crack. I had a '73 that I had to weld, and our '93 1208 was starting to get that gap the last couple of years we had it.

[Fire_Instructor]

Try and get your axle/wheels level using leveling blocks. Then level the unit front to rear using the tongue-jack. Then you just snug the corners to stabilize, rather than using the corner jacks to try to level. You should find that this gives you a solid, level base, and that the pop=up mechanism works smoothly.