Newbie with a bunch of questions about a Jaydove

Submitted: Monday, Oct 08, 2012 at 22:48

ThreadID: 98439 Views:2467 Replies:3 FollowUps:1

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Javier

Hi ladies and gents,

I just want to start by introducing myself and telling a brief story about how I got here....

After almost finishing 10 months of landscaping in our new home (notice I said almost!!!), my wife and I decided that we need a break with our very patient kids, they have been putting up with dad working in the backyard every weekend... Long story short, we started shopping around for camping gear, then moved to camper trailers... And while at a public auction on the weekend, I had a rush of blood and put my hand up to what was described as a 89 Jaydove camper...

Shortly before vomiting a little in the back of my throat as the auctioneer yelled 'sold, bidder number please!' we became the proud owner of this camper....

Now come the questions...
What have I bought?
And how do you work it?
And more importantly, how do we enjoy it?

The first thing I discovered is that has a 3 way fridge, stove, 6 berth, annex. I put it up this weekend and everything seems fine, there are no strange noise, and the wheels appear to be tracking straight. The canvas is REALLY good, no holes,tears or fraying.

I will shortly figure out how to post some pictures on here but in the mean time I'm looking for a bit of quick advice, about the fridge..

It's a electrolux (dometic) RM 361. I have plugged it into 240v and it make gurgling noises but doesn't seem to cool, after spending a night researching I found a troubleshooting manual which says it is a 'blockage' as part of the rear of the fridge is getting hot, while other parts aren't.

Any advice would be great, including who in Wollongong services these units. I have been told of one guy who is apparently hopeless.

I apologise for all the dumb questions in advance. But I have a huge list already..

Thanks in advance..

P.S. where is the damn compliance plate on these things..

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Reply By: Member - John L (WA) - Tuesday, Oct 09, 2012 at 08:55

Tuesday, Oct 09, 2012 at 08:55

Can't answer your Dove questions but WELCOME and hope your auction 'moment' will give you lots of camping fun.
The best parts of travelling are the unexpected bits and your bidding sure sounded unexpected for your family!
Cheers Heather

AnswerID: 496343

Reply By: Grumblebum and the Dragon - Tuesday, Oct 09, 2012 at 14:20

Tuesday, Oct 09, 2012 at 14:20

I think there is a Jayco Factory website that has a Jayco Owners Forum. You may get a better respose by posting your queries there.

Cheers John

AnswerID: 496356

Reply By: Javier - Tuesday, Oct 09, 2012 at 21:30

Tuesday, Oct 09, 2012 at 21:30

Thanks guys, appreciate the tips..

Look forward to enjoying some trips away, and showing my kids what life is all about

AnswerID: 496377

Follow Up By: Bob Y. - Qld - Wednesday, Oct 10, 2012 at 13:32

Wednesday, Oct 10, 2012 at 13:32

If you're sick of working in your backyard, you could come up here and do some landscaping in our front yard. Even have a floodlight out there so you could work in the cool of the evening(and through the night, with a little bit of luck).

About this fridge, if you have the time to remove it, take it for a ride, UPSIDE down, preferably on a rough road. Just make sure you tie it down securely, so its not damaged. Then using a soft hammer gently tap all the pipes, before switching it on, and see if it gets cold.

While the fridge is out, you might be able to con the kids to clean out all the dust, spider webs etc from the empty fridge cavity???

In fact, you could try the hammer treatment before taking it for the drive. Leave it overnight, and to give it a headstart, put some ice in the freezer compartment. These fridges go forever, sometimes, but need a lot of TLC along the way.

Back in another life, we used to cart old kero fridges around, lying on their back to transport. The shaking up would do them good, and as long as you got the flame right, and didn't damage any of the pipe work, they'd go every time. Just had to be level, and preferably somewhere cool, and open as little as possible, during the day. This was back in the '70's, and the fridges would have been 20 years old then.

Let us know how you get on,

Bob.